Aglet

Keep Scheduled Report Snapshots Self-Explanatory

The durable lesson is the context a report must carry when it leaves the interactive view. Preserve the schedule parameters and distinguish generation time from data freshness. A future reader should be able to understand a saved snapshot after the report’s defaults or underlying records have changed, without asking its original author what was selected.

Keep the lesson for the next incident

  1. Document required snapshot context

    State which filters, periods, units, generation details, and freshness information belong with the artifact. Explain how its destination relates to the captured result and current data. Connect the contract to schedule defaults so a new parameter cannot make snapshot meaning depend on an invisible selection.

  2. Retain distinguishable scheduled variants

    Keep two controlled variants with different populations or periods and independently expected values and labels. Include an older-data example if supported. Record why each timestamp matters so future checks do not collapse generation and freshness into one date that makes the artifact look current without establishing the age of its source result.

  3. Review template and default changes

    Assign review when snapshot templates, schedule parameters, report defaults, cache behavior, or destination links change. Compare the controlled artifacts and their context. Track missing or misleading labels separately from delivery failures, while preserving both outcomes so a delivered notification is not treated as proof that its attached report is understandable or correct.

What to carry forward

Close with an explicit snapshot-context contract, distinguishable schedule fixtures, and an owner for template or default changes. Preserve any unavailable historical or freshness evidence. The next reader should be able to explain which report instance an artifact represents and why its numbers may differ from an interactive view opened later.

Technical background: Metabase documentation.

Keep the decision with the work.

Use a Work Item in Aglet to record the problem, the evidence you have, and the next decision. Add an owner and priority, then keep updates in the discussion so the next person can follow the reasoning.

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