Control reports

---
title: Control reports
description: Control reports visualize data over time using standard deviations to show statistical likelihood and identify outliers.Create a control chart to determine whether a business process is in a state of statistical control.Change the look of your control report.
locale: en-US
canonical_url: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/now-intelligence/reporting/c\_CreatingControlCharts.html
release: brazil
product: Reporting
classification: reporting
topic_type: concept
last_updated: "2026-09-10"
reading_time_minutes: 13
breadcrumb: [Core UI Report types, Core UI Reporting, Reporting, dashboards, and Performance Analytics in the Core UI, Platform Analytics]
---

# Control reports

Control reports visualize data over time using standard deviations to show statistical likelihood and identify outliers.

**Note:** This topic is about creating Core UI reports, not Platform Analytics data visualizations. You can still create Core UI reports in the Platform Analytics experience, depending on how your instance is configured. For more information, see [Create a Core UI report](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/brazil/markdown/now-intelligence/reporting/t_CreateYourOwnReport.md).

Control reports display data as a series of connected points. The blue line at the center of the report is drawn at the mean. Upper and lower control limits, represented by red lines, indicate the thresholds at which activity is considered statistically unlikely. If the process is in control, all points are plotted within the control limits. You may want to investigate any activity outside these limits.

These reports use Z-scores to indicate statistical likelihood.

```
Z-score = (Observation - Mean) / Standard Deviation
```

The upper and lower green lines indicate plus and minus two times the Z-score. The upper and lower red lines indicate plus and minus three times the Z-score.

**Note:** When accessibility is enabled, this visualization includes a report that screen readers can interpret. For more information, see [Enabling accessibility features](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/brazil/markdown/platform-user-interface/c_SetUpSect508ComplianceFeature.md).

\[Omitted image "ControlChart.png"\] Alt text: Control report

**Note:** The mean is the sum of the data points on the **Data Points** line divided by the number of points. These values depend on the aggregation \(Count, Average, Sum, or Count Distinct\). This mean can differ from averages in other reports based on the same data if the other reports use different aggregations. For example, the mean number of incidents \(**Count**\) per month over a period is different from the mean **Average** duration of those same incidents.

**Parent Topic:**[Core UI Report types](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/brazil/markdown/now-intelligence/reporting/report-types-creation-details-rd.md)

## Create a control report

Create a control chart to determine whether a business process is in a state of statistical control.

### Before you begin

Role required: itil, report\_user, report\_group, report\_global, report\_admin, or admin. To create a meaningful report, you must have the right to access the data you want to report on.

### About this task

**Note:** This topic is about creating Core UI reports, not Platform Analytics data visualizations. You can still create Core UI reports in the Platform Analytics experience, depending on how your instance is configured. For more information, see [Create a Core UI report](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/brazil/markdown/now-intelligence/reporting/t_CreateYourOwnReport.md).

### Procedure

1.  Open the Platform Analytics Data visualization library and select **Create data visualization**, then select **Core UI** in the modal that opens.

    The **com.snc.par.coreui.report\_create.enabled** system property must be `true`.

2.  On the **Data** tab, give the report a name that reflects the information being grouped.

3.  Select the applicable source for the report.

<table id="choicetable_t31_tst_1x"><tbody><tr><td id="d54917e253">

**Data source**

</td><td>

Also called a report source, a data source is a table with filters applied to provide a single source of information for all users. For more information, see [Report sources](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/brazil/markdown/now-intelligence/reporting/c_ReportSources.md).**Note:** If you select a data source used by existing reports, a notification prompts you to view them.

</td></tr><tr><td id="d54917e272">

**Table**

</td><td>

The raw data from a table with no filters applied. When you select a table, its short description appears below the table name.For trend reporting, you can also select a remote table, which aggregates, in memory, data retrieved from an external source. Then select a **Trend by** field option to aggregate its data. To learn more about remote tables, see [Retrieving external data using remote tables and scripts](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/brazil/markdown/servicenow-platform/remote-tables.md).

</td></tr><tr><td id="d54917e291">

**External import**

</td><td>

Choose an existing imported report source, or select the Upload icon \(\[Omitted image "upload-icon.png"\] Alt text: Upload icon\) to import a new file. See [Create a Core UI report from an imported Microsoft Excel document](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/brazil/markdown/now-intelligence/reporting/create-report-with-imported-data-source.md).

</td></tr><tr><td id="d54917e316">

**MetricBase**

</td><td>

MetricBase enables you to collect, retain, analyze, and visualize custom time series data on the ServiceNow AI Platform. For more information, see [MetricBase](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/brazil/markdown/servicenow-platform/metricbase.md).

</td></tr></tbody>
</table>4.  On the **Type** tab, enter **Control** in the filter, select the report type, and click **Next**.

    The application shows a preliminary version of the report. To view the updated report at any time, select **Run**.

5.  On the **Configure** tab, fill in the following fields and select **Next**.

<table id="table_tnr_fth_bp"><thead><tr><th>

Field

</th><th>

Description

</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>

Configure function field

</td><td>

Configure fields based on calculation of multiple inputs including arithmetic functions. For more information, see [Report on function fields](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/brazil/markdown/now-intelligence/reporting/function-fields-reporting.md). Function field results are calculated when the report is run. You can use the results for aggregations and grouping. You have to save the report before you can configure function fields.Configured function fields appear in the **Group by** and **Additional group by** lists after you save the report.

</td></tr><tr><td>

Trend by

</td><td>

Table field whose values you want to show in a time sequence. Select the info icon \[Omitted image "icon-info.png"\] for a description of the selected field. **Note:** If you selected a remote table in the **Table** field, the option you select in this field aggregates the data that was retrieved from an external source and aggregated in memory. To learn more about remote tables, see [Retrieving external data using remote tables and scripts](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/brazil/markdown/servicenow-platform/remote-tables.md).

</td></tr><tr><td>

per

</td><td>

Time period to group data by. The range of available time periods depends on the calendar that you selected. Time periods range from an hour to a year. You can also specify a date.**Note:** If reporting per week: When the report range includes more than one calendar year, inconsistencies result when a week is split between two years. To show data values more accurately according to ISO weeks, add and enable the **glide.db.aggregates.trend.use\_iso\_week** property in the System Properties \[sys\_properties\] table.

</td></tr><tr><td>

Aggregation

</td><td>

Mathematical calculation to perform on the data. The default is **Count**, which shows the number of records selected.To show only unique records, select **Count Distinct**.

 Select **Average**, **Sum**, or **Count Distinct**, to show a list of fields from the selected **Table**. Select a field to **Aggregate by** from this list.

 If you group the report by a field and select an **Average** aggregate, you get the average of each group. If a Total value is shown, it is the average of these group averages, not of the individual field values.

 Select **Minimum** or **Maximum** to show the maximum or minimum value for each segment of the report.

 For more information on aggregation options, see [Aggregation in Core UI reporting](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/brazil/markdown/now-intelligence/reporting/aggregation-reporting.md).

 If you choose **Average**,**Sum**, **Count Distinct**, **Minimum**, or **Maximum**, you may be able to aggregate on fields from extended tables. See [How to report on extended tables](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/brazil/markdown/now-intelligence/reporting/t_AccessFieldExtendedTable.md).

 For information about aggregating on FX currency values, see [FX Currency values in reporting](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/brazil/markdown/now-intelligence/reporting/fx-currency-values-reporting.md).

</td></tr><tr><td>

Set Value Formatting

</td><td>

Enables you to configure how to show numerical values in reports, including decimal precision, rounding, minimum and maximum duration units, and abbreviations for duration units. See [Value formatting in reports](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/brazil/markdown/now-intelligence/reporting/value-formatting-reports.md).

 **Note:** Decimal precision does not work on currency fields.

</td></tr></tbody>
</table>6.  Configure the sort order of the applicable fields in the report \(column, row, Group by, Stack by or Trend by depending on the report type\).

    Select the filter icon \(\[Omitted image "List\_FilterIcon.png"\] Alt text: Filter icon for lists\) and choose **Add Sort**.

    1.  In the Sorting Order list, choose the field you want to sort on and then choose **a-z** or **z-a** for alphabetical order or reverse alphabetical order.

        The list contains all possible fields from the report's source and fields on extended, or related, tables. The only effective values, however, are the fields chosen for the current report \(column, row, Group by, Stack by, or Trend by depending on the report type\).

        **Note:** On fields from dot-walked \(extended\) tables, you can only sort on date fields.

    2.  Select the sort plus icon \(\[Omitted image "sort-order-plus-icon.png"\] Alt text: Sort plus icon\) to configure additional sorting order conditions. \(Select the sort minus icon \( \[Omitted image "sort-order-minus-icon.png"\] Alt text: Sort minus icon\) to delete configured sorting order conditions.\)
    3.  Select **Save**.
    For fields of the type Choice list, sort order is not determined alphabetically based on Label, it is sorted based on the **Value** of the choice field. For multi-level pivot table and heatmap reports, sort order is determined by the sequence of the choices in the list.

    \[Omitted image "choice-list-sort-order.png"\] Alt text: Report sorted by priority choice list

7.  To limit the information displayed in the report, select the filter icon \(\[Omitted image "List\_FilterIcon.png"\] Alt text: Filter icon\) and specify conditions to filter the report data.

    To learn how to construct conditions, see [Condition builder](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/brazil/markdown/platform-user-interface/c_ConditionBuilder.md).

    **Note:** In aggregated and list reports, language-dependent filter conditions may return zero results on localized instances.

8.  On the **Style** tab, fill in the fields as appropriate to configure the appearance of the report.

9.  Click **Save** to generate the report.


### What to do next

-   Select the Report info icon \(\[Omitted image "Form\_ReferenceLookupIcon.png"\] Alt text: Info icon\) and add a description of the report.
-   Select the sharing icon \(\[Omitted image "ShareIcon.png"\] Alt text: Sharing icon\) to open the **Sharing** menu. On this menu, you can add the report to a dashboard, export the report to PDF, publish the report to the web, and set visibility and schedules.

## Control report style options

Change the look of your control report.

When you create or edit a report, select the **Style** tab for options to configure the look of your report. The options are organized under two or more of the following tabs: **General**, **Title**, **Legend**, and **Axis**. To see how the report looks with the changed settings, select **Save**.

<table id="table_h1l_1jh_yq"><thead><tr><th>

Field

</th><th>

Description

</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td class="sub-head" colspan="2">

General

</td></tr><tr><td>

Display data labels

</td><td>

Check box to show the value for each data point.

</td></tr><tr><td>

Custom chart size

</td><td>

Enable the option to specify the width and height of the report in pixels.**Note:** The chart size is ignored when you export the report to PDF. In PDFs, the full page width is used to show the chart.

</td></tr><tr><td>

Chart width

</td><td>

Width of the report in pixels. The default value is 600. This field is available when **Custom chart size** is selected.

</td></tr><tr><td>

Chart height

</td><td>

Height of the report in pixels. The default value is 450.This field appears when **Custom chart size** is selected.

</td></tr><tr><td>

Chart size

</td><td>

Chart size. This field is available when **Custom chart size** is cleared. Options are **Small**, **Medium**, and **Large**.**Note:** The chart size is ignored when you export the report to PDF. In PDFs, the full page width is used to show the chart.

</td></tr><tr><td>

Drilldown view

</td><td>

List view to show when a user selects a segment of a report for which no drilldown report type is specified. This view is also used when the user reaches the lowest drilldown level of a report. See [Configure the list layout](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/brazil/markdown/platform-administration/t_ConfigureTheListLayout.md). If you specify a **Report drilldown**, **Drilldown view** is ignored.For more information, see [Define a report drilldown](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/brazil/markdown/now-intelligence/reporting/c_DrillingDownWithinReports.md).

</td></tr><tr><td>

Decimal precision

</td><td id="decimalPrecisionEntry">

Number of decimal places to show. You can show from zero to four decimal places. Default value: 2. To change the default value, create the system property glide.chart.decimal.precision and specify the value. **Note:** Percentage labels don't change accordingly with the decimal precision specified.

 \[Omitted image "DecimalPrecision-BarReport.png"\] Alt text: Decimal precision - Bar report \[Omitted image "DecimalPrecision-DonutReport.png"\] Alt text: Decimal precision - Donut report

</td></tr><tr><td class="sub-head" colspan="2">

Title

</td></tr><tr><td>

Show chart title

</td><td>

When the chart title is shown for the report.-   **Never**: Never show the chart title.
-   **Report only**: Shows the chart title on reports.
-   **Always**: Shows the chart title on reports, dashboards, and landing pages.

</td></tr><tr><td>

Chart title

</td><td>

The chart title has a maximum length of 40 characters. If no title is entered, the report name is used for the title. This field appears when **Report only** or **Always** is selected from the **Show chart title** list.

</td></tr><tr><td>

Size of the chart title

</td><td>

Size of the chart title in pixels. This field appears when **Report only** or **Always** is selected from the **Show chart title** list.

</td></tr><tr><td>

Chart title color

</td><td>

Color of the chart title. This field appears when **Report only** or **Always** is selected from the **Show chart title** list.

</td></tr><tr><td>

Custom chart title position

</td><td>

Check box to specify X and Y coordinates for the position of the chart title. This field appears when **Report only** or **Always** is selected from the **Show chart title** list.

</td></tr><tr><td>

Title horizontal alignment

</td><td>

How the chart title is aligned horizontally. This field is available when the **Custom chart title position** option is cleared.

</td></tr><tr><td>

Title vertical alignment

</td><td>

How the chart title is aligned vertically. This field appears when **Custom chart title position** is cleared.

</td></tr><tr><td>

Chart title X position

</td><td>

Number of pixels to adjust the chart title position right or left. By default the title appears at the center top of the chart. To move the chart title to the right, enter a positive value. To move the title to the left, enter a negative value.This field appears only when **Custom chart title position** is selected.

</td></tr><tr><td>

Chart title Y position

</td><td>

Number of pixels to adjust the chart title position up or down. By default the title appears at the center top of the chart. To move up the chart title, enter a positive value. To move the chart title down, enter a negative value.This field appears only when **Custom chart title position** is selected.

</td></tr><tr><td class="sub-head" colspan="2">

Legend

</td></tr><tr><td>

Show legend

</td><td>

Enable this option to show a chart legend. This check box appears when a **Group by** field is selected on the report form.Legends are truncated by default. To adjust truncation lengths, configure the properties **glide.chart.label.legend.truncate\_to** and **glide.chart.label.legend.truncate\_to.large**. For more information, see [Core UI Reporting properties](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/brazil/markdown/now-intelligence/reporting/reporting-properties.md).

</td></tr><tr><td>

Legend horizontal alignment

</td><td>

How the legend is aligned horizontally. This field appears when **Show legend** is selected.

</td></tr><tr><td>

Legend vertical alignment

</td><td>

How the legend is aligned vertically. This field appears when **Show legend** is selected.

</td></tr><tr><td>

Show legend border

</td><td>

Enable this option to show a border around the legend. This check box appears when **Show legend** is selected.

</td></tr><tr><td>

Left align legend text

</td><td>

Enable this option to left-align the legend text when the report is viewed in a browser. By default, the legend text is centered. When the report is exported to PDF, PNG, or JPG, the legend remains centered. This check box appears when **Show legend** is selected.

</td></tr><tr><td class="sub-head" colspan="2">

Axis

</td></tr><tr><td>

Y axis and X axis

</td><td>

Axis to configure the titles, appearance, and labels for.

</td></tr><tr><td>

Title

</td><td>

Title for the axis.

</td></tr><tr><td>

Title size

</td><td>

Size of the axis title in pixels. Default value is 12.

</td></tr><tr><td>

Title bold

</td><td>

Enable this option to show the axis title in a bold typeface.

</td></tr><tr><td>

Opposite

</td><td>

On the **X axis** tab, enable this option to show the X-axis title on the right side of the report instead. On the **Y axis** tab, enable this option to show the Y-axis title on top of the report instead of across the bottom.

</td></tr><tr><td>

Display grid

</td><td>

On the **X axis** tab, enable this option to show horizontal grid lines on the report. On the **Y axis** tab, enable this option to show vertical grid lines on top the report.

</td></tr><tr><td>

Grid dotted

</td><td>

Enable this option to show dotted grid lines instead of solid lines.

</td></tr><tr><td>

X axis / Y axis label size

</td><td>

On the **X axis** tab, specify the size of the labels for the rows of the report. On the **Y axis** tab, specify the size of the labels for the columns in the report.

</td></tr><tr><td>

Label bold

</td><td>

Enable this option to show the labels of the report in a bold typeface.

</td></tr></tbody>
</table>