Who this is for. Anyone with SmartResearch access: analysts, managers and finance leads. Access. Included for everyone at an organization whose subscription covers SmartResearch, whatever their role. No permission needs to be assigned. See the Roles and Access Reference.
An answer arrives as several parts. Knowing what each one is for is the difference between trusting a figure and checking it.
Figure 1. A completed answer, showing the reasoning trace, narrative, chart, data table, follow-up questions and sources.
Parts of an answer
Each part earns trust in a different way, from the timed steps of the Reasoning trace to the caveats carried in the Narrative.
Table 1. What an answer contains
Part |
What it gives you |
|---|---|
Reasoning trace |
A header such as Analyzed in 6 steps · 50.2s. Expanding it lists each step with its own timing. |
Narrative |
The answer in prose, including any caveat about the figure. |
Reporting window |
The period the answer covers, and whether a figure is point-in-time or trailing. |
Chart |
A visualization where one helps, such as your value plotted against a typical range. |
Data table |
The rows behind the figure, with a row count and paging controls. |
Follow-up questions |
Suggested next questions you can select instead of typing. |
SOURCES |
The data the answer drew on, named explicitly. |
Data Stamp |
A record of when the answer was produced and against what. |
Check where a figure came from
Read the SOURCES section at the foot of the answer.
Sources are named in full, for example Workday — AP Vendor Bills and Metrics Studio — Days Payable Outstanding (DPO, Billed Basis).
Where a source names a Metrics Studio definition, the formula behind the figure is published in the catalog. See Metrics Studio Catalog.
Check the period
The answer states its reporting window. A single figure can combine two periods, for example a trailing 90-day billing denominator against a point-in-time payables balance
The window reflects your Default time range unless the question overrides it. If a figure covers the wrong period, check your preferences before reporting a fault. See User Preferences.
What the Data Stamp records
Data Stamp sits below SOURCES and is collapsed by default. Select it to see the two things that scoped the answer.
Table 2. Data Stamp
Entry |
What it records |
|---|---|
Time period in preferences |
The window the answer used, with its dates, for example Last 12 months followed by the range. This is your Default time range unless the question overrode it. |
Entities in scope |
The entities the answer could draw on, for example All entities you have access to, or the narrower set from your Business Context. |
These are the first two things to read when a figure does not match a report you trust. They say what the answer was scoped to, rather than what you meant to ask for.
An answer can return more than one table
Where a question needs several queries, the answer returns a result set for each and shows them as tabs above the table. Only the selected one is displayed, so a figure you expected may be on another tab rather than missing.
Each tab is named for the columns it holds, for example DPO DAYS, Vendor Name, Total Open Amount, Open… and Currency, Total Billed Amount Last 90…. Long names are truncated on the tab. Select a tab to switch the table beneath it. The row count, the pagination and Export CSV all apply to the selected tab only.
Before concluding that an answer is incomplete, check whether it has more than one tab. A single question about days payable can return the ratio, the vendors behind it and the currency split as three separate sets.
Export the data
The export controls differ in scope. Export all rows as CSV takes the full result set, while Export CSV takes only the table as shown. The chart carries its own export menu, separate from the table. It offers Export As PNG, Export As JPG, Export As PDF, Export As SVG, Export As CSV and Export As XLSX, so you can take the picture or the numbers behind it.
An export downloads straight away through your browser, named data-export.csv, and lands wherever your browser puts downloads. It does not appear under Downloads in the notification panel, which is used by other parts of the platform.
Table 3. Controls on a result table
Control |
What it does |
|---|---|
Export all rows as CSV |
Downloads the full result set, not only the visible page. |
Export CSV |
Downloads the table as shown. |
Copy answer |
Copies the response. |
Copy question |
Copies the question you asked. |
Rows per page |
Sets how many rows load at once. |
First Page, Previous Page, Next Page, Last Page |
Move through a long result. The footer reports your position, for example 1 to 1 of 1. Page 1 of 1. |
A whole analysis, its summary, chart and table together, can also be exported to Word or PDF in one action. That is separate from the CSV controls above, which take the result table only.
Give feedback
Select Give positive feedback or Give negative feedback.
Negative feedback can raise a support ticket, so a wrong answer reaches someone rather than being lost.
Either thumb opens a feedback dialog rather than sending straight away. The dialog is headed Positive Feedback or Negative Feedback to match the thumb you chose, and nothing is recorded until you select Submit. The positive dialog carries the comment box alone; the category and the ticket option appear on the negative one only.
Table 4. The feedback dialog
Field |
What it does |
|---|---|
Feedback details |
Free text. The prompt reads What made this answer helpful? for positive feedback and What made this answer unhelpful? for negative. Optional unless you ask for a ticket. |
Type of issues |
Categorises the problem. Negative feedback only. Optional unless you ask for a ticket. The choices are Data Accuracy, User Experience, Summary or Insight and Other. |
Also submit a support ticket |
Negative feedback only. Raises a ticket alongside the feedback, and you receive an email confirmation with the ticket number. |
Ticking Also submit a support ticket changes the form. Both fields become required and are marked so, Feedback details: (optional) is relabelled Describe the problem, and Submit is unavailable until both are filled. The form says why as you go, with Select the type of issue so support can route your ticket under the category and Add a short description for support to work from under the box.
Clearing the checkbox returns both fields to optional. Without a ticket a bare vote is enough, and the comment is genuinely optional.
On success the dialog closes and the workspace confirms Positive feedback submitted or Negative feedback submitted. The confirmation disappears after a moment, but the thumb you chose stays filled and highlighted, so the answer carries your vote whenever you return to the chat.
Change or remove feedback
Selecting the same thumb again removes the vote. No dialog opens, the thumb returns to its unfilled state, and the workspace confirms Positive feedback removed or Negative feedback removed. Selecting the opposite thumb opens the dialog again for the new vote.
Submitting shares your current chat history with the Auditoria team so the answer can be reproduced. The dialog states this. Do not submit feedback on a conversation whose contents you are not willing to share.
Select Cancel to close without sending. Cancelling records nothing.
Scenarios
Table 5. What to do when an answer is not straightforward
Scenario |
What you see |
What to do |
|---|---|---|
A step fails and retries |
The trace shows the failure and the retry, each timed. For example, Computing metric failed is followed by the same step completing on the next attempt. |
Nothing. A failure followed by a successful retry is not a reason to distrust the answer. A failure with no successful retry is. |
The figure is implausible |
SmartResearch says so in the narrative. Where a figure is implausible, SmartResearch says so: a DPO in the thousands of days comes back with the caveat that a healthy DPO is 30 to 60 days and that the result points to a data quality issue. |
Treat the caveat as the answer. Review the underlying data before using the figure. |
The table is empty |
A row count of zero. |
Check the instance, then your default entities and time range. |
No sources are listed |
The SOURCES section is absent. |
Treat the figure as unverified and ask again. |
SmartResearch states on every screen that it can make mistakes and asks you to validate responses. The reasoning trace and SOURCES exist so that you can.
Related information
For more information, see Troubleshooting.
For more information, see Metrics Studio Catalog.