Improve predictive analysis results by configuring prediction settings to use a specific set of closed Cases in the calculation. For example, you can define an interval to ensure that the calculation only uses Cases that completed recently.

To access prediction settings, on the Predictive Analysis page, in the upper-right corner, click the Analyses Options icon and select Prediction Settings:

After clicking the Analyses Options icon, which looks like gears, the system displays the Prediction Settings option.

Selecting Prediction Settings

The system opens the Predictive Settings dialog box, which provides options to select a time interval and a categorical column:


Predictive Settings dialog box

Predictive Settings dialog box

Limiting predictive data by time interval

Ensure that the prediction calculation provides realistic results by defining the time interval for closed Cases. Predictive analysis works best when you use recent or near real-time data for the prediction model. You might also want to exclude data that contained an irregularity that would skew the results in the prediction model. For example, if an unusual supply chain issue occurred early last month that is now resolved, then you can limit the data to start from a time period after the resolution.

The default time interval for predictive analysis is First Date Recorded to Now. This interval means that the system includes all closed Cases from the first date and time recorded in the dataset to the current date and time. If the View creator used scheduling to keep the data fresh, then these default values might still provide recent data.

If the data is not as recent as you want, on the Predictive Settings page, in the Timestamp Selection section, update the timestamp type and value fields. For example, in the following figure, the Start Timestamp Type field lists options that you can use to define a start timestamp from a certain time ago, from a specific date, or from the first date of recorded data in the dataset:

Predictive Settings Timestamp Selection

Predictive Settings Timestamp Selection

If you want to select a categorical column in addition to defining a timestamp interval, in the Column name field, select the column and then click Apply Settings to return to the Predictive Analysis page. You can apply only a timestamp interval, only a categorical column, or both settings.

Limiting predictive data by a categorical column

If you select a categorical column, then for each Case, the system only uses Cases that share the same column value in the prediction calculation. The following figure shows an example of these column settings:

Predictive Settings Column Name

Predictive Settings Column Name
NOTE: Applying a categorical column does not necessarily generate more accurate predictions. Use your knowledge of your business process data to select meaningful columns. For example, the city for Cases likely affects Case duration. Other categorical columns might lead to less accurate predictions if the values do not have a meaningful effect on the Case duration.

Applying a Categorical Column use case

In this use case, you want the prediction calculation to match the City column value between closed and open Cases. For example, if the city for open Case 346 is Boston, then you want the system to only use closed Cases from Boston to predict when Case 346 will finish. The same would be true for Cases in Chicago, Atlanta, Austin, and all other cities in the dataset. You want the system to only use closed Cases from each respective city to predict when open Cases from the same city will complete.

Using the following sample dataset, when you do not select a column, the Predictive Analysis page shows None for Selected Column and predicts that Case 346 will finish in 3hs42m:


The Selected Column values shows None and the Time Remaining in this example is 3hs42m.

Example of Time Remaining with no column selected

To apply a categorical column, click the Analyses Options icon and select Prediction Settings to open the Predictive Settings dialog box. In the Categorical Column Selection section, select City and then click Apply Settings, as shown in the following figure:


Selecting the City column to include in the calculation

Selecting the City column to include in the calculation

The system closes the Predictive Settings dialog box and returns to the Predictive Analysis page, which now shows City for Selected Column. To run the calculation with the City column selection, in the upper-right corner, click Perform Prediction. The system now predicts that Case 346 will finish in 46m3s:


Example of Time Remaining with City column selected.

Example of Time Remaining with City column selected