Create and Manage Metrics Policies

Use a Metrics Policy to standardize the settings that generate your reports, so different reports built by different people produce comparable, consistent results. A Metrics Policy is a named, reusable set of values for specific report fields. You can mark each field as mandated, so no report user can override it, or as a default, so a report starts with that value but users can still change it.

Which reports support Metrics Policies

Metrics Policies apply to the Cohort Report, the Days Sales Outstanding Report, and the Advanced Subscription Momentum Report (including its Drilldown view). If your account still uses the classic Days Sales Outstanding Report, Metrics Policy support isn't available for it yet.

Create a Metrics Policy

A Metrics Policy has a name, an optional description, and a set of governed fields. Each field you include can be mandated or left as a default.

To create a Metrics Policy

1. From the Admin page, under Analytics Reporting, click Metrics Policies.
2. Click Add Metrics Policy.
3. Enter a Name. (Optional) Enter a Description.
4. For each field you want the policy to govern, check Included.
5. For each included field, check Mandated if report users should never be able to override it, or leave it unchecked so the value only serves as a default that users can still change. Enter the field's Value.
6. Click Save.

Governable fields are grouped into four categories: Calculations, Dates, Filters, and Details. Some fields only apply to specific report types, so the fields available to include can vary depending on which reports support Metrics Policies.

Manage Metrics Policies

From the Metrics Policies list, click a policy's name to view its details, including whether it's owned by another entity (see Metrics Policy ownership below). Each row in the list also offers the following actions:

• To change a policy's name, description, or field values, click Edit next to it.
• To create a new policy that starts from an existing one's values, click Clone.
• To remove a policy, click Delete. Deleting a policy removes it from every report that used it and clears it from your account's default if it was set.
• To make a policy your account's default so it's pre-selected on new reports, click the hollow star next to it. Click the filled star on the current default to clear it.

How a field's included and mandated settings work

How a Metrics Policy applies to a report

When you create or edit a report that supports Metrics Policies, a Metrics Policy field lets you select one, or choose Ad-Hoc (no policy) to build the report without one. If your account has a default Metrics Policy set, it's pre-selected on new reports, but you can still switch to a different policy or to Ad-Hoc.

Fields governed by a selected policy show a purple indicator: a darker shade for a mandated field, a lighter shade for a field that only carries a default value. Changing a mandated field's value automatically deselects the policy from the report.

If a mandated field's value can't be applied when you run a report (for example, a Register the policy references was renamed or deleted), the report fails with a message asking you to deselect the policy, select a different policy, or have your administrator update the policy.

Metrics Policy ownership

If your account has multiple entities, a Metrics Policy is owned by the entity it was created in. A policy owned by a different entity than the one you're currently viewing is read-only. You can still clone it to create your own editable copy.