Getting Started in Brightmetrics

This guide walks you through the five core steps to get up and running in Brightmetrics, from building your first dashboard to investigating a single call down to every second of its journey through your system. Each section includes a short video walkthrough and step-by-step written directions, so you can learn how you learn best.

1. Create your first dashboard

When you log in to Brightmetrics, you'll land on the Dashboards page. What you see next depends on your account setup. You'll either see a dashboard that has already been shared with you, or you'll be greeted by the Dashboard Wizard, which will walk you through creating your first dashboard.

There are two ways to create your first dashboard:

Option 1: Use the Dashboard Wizard

If the Dashboard Wizard appears when you log in, you can step through it to set up your first dashboard. The wizard will guide you through naming your dashboard and selecting a template. Follow the on-screen prompts to complete each step.

Option 2: Create a dashboard manually

If the wizard doesn't appear, or if you've opted out of it, you can create a dashboard from the three-dot menu:

1. 1

   Click the three dots (⋯) in the upper right corner of the Dashboards page.

   

2. 2

   Select Create Dashboard from the menu.

3. 3

   Select a dashboard template. When you choose a template, your dashboard will automatically be filled with 5-8 charts relevant to that view. For your first dashboard, we recommend starting with a template focused on the queues or groups in your system that handle incoming interactions.

   Note

   The templates available to you will depend on your Brightmetrics subscription and the phone system module you're connected to. For example, Genesys (PureCloud), MiVB, MiCC, and RingCentral each have their own set of templates. Select the one that best matches what you want to monitor.

   Important

   We recommend selecting a template rather than starting from scratch. Choosing No Template will require you to build each chart individually, which is better suited for experienced users.

4. 4

   Click Create. Your dashboard will open with pre-built charts already in place, ready to display your data.

If you already see a dashboard when you log in, a colleague has shared one with you, and you're ready to go. Continue to the next section to start exploring your data.

2. Explore the underlying data

Each chart on your dashboard is a gateway into your data. Click the magnifying glass icon to open a summary report, then keep drilling down until you reach a Cradle to Grave view that shows the complete timeline of a single call from start to finish. If something looks off in a chart, that's your signal to dig deeper.

1. 1

   From your dashboard, find a chart you want to explore. Look for the magnifying glass icon on the chart and click it.

   

2. 2

   Clicking the magnifying glass opens a summary report view, an aggregated breakdown of the data behind that chart.

3. 3

   To drill deeper, click the green + icon next to a row in the summary. This expands the view to show detail data: one row for each individual call or interaction that makes up that summary.

4. 4

   Find the call you want to investigate and click on that row. The Cradle to Grave view opens.

5. 5

   The Cradle to Grave view shows a visual timeline of the entire call. Each colored bar represents a leg of the call, such as an IVR segment, a queue wait, or a live agent interaction. Click any bar to see its full details in the panel below, including start time, end time, duration, and queue name.

   Use the timeline to answer questions like: Was the caller transferred too many times? Did they wait too long in queue? Was the call routed to the right place? Every leg of the call is visible here, so nothing is hidden.

   

   Tip

   Use the Team Activity tab to see which agents were logged into the queue during that call. This is useful for investigating staffing gaps, confirming agent availability, or reviewing who was responsible for a specific interaction. Use the Recordings tab to access call recordings if your system is configured to capture them.

3. Create your first report

Reports let you pull and analyze historical data for a specific time period. Rather than building a report from scratch, Brightmetrics gives you a set of report templates to choose from, organized by what you want to see, such as queue activity or agent performance. Reports are also where the investigation often begins. Use them to surface patterns, spot outliers, and identify the specific calls or time periods worth digging into further.

1. 1

   Navigate to the Reports section from the left navigation menu.

2. 2

   Browse the available report templates and select the one that matches what you want to analyze. For example, a Queue Summary report to see how your queues performed, or an Agent Detail report to review individual agent activity.

3. 3

   Once the report opens, use the filter bar at the top center of the screen to refine your results. You can add or remove filters such as date range, queue, agent, or media type to narrow the data to exactly what you need.

4. 4

   On the left side panel, you can add or remove dimensions (how the data is grouped, such as by queue or by hour) and values (the metrics you want to see, such as Total Calls or Average Handle Time). Adjust these to customize the report for your needs.

5. 5

   The report will update automatically as you adjust your filters and selections. When it looks the way you want, it's ready to explore or save for future use.

4. Drill through your report to Cradle to Grave

While the dashboard is useful for spotting issues in real time, reports give you a more structured way to investigate historical data. If a manager flags a pattern or a customer complains about a specific interaction, a report is often the best starting point for finding the call in question.

Reports work the same way as dashboards when it comes to drilling into underlying data. From any summary report, you're just two clicks away from a Cradle to Grave view of an individual call.

1. 1

   From your summary report, find the row you want to explore. For example, a queue with a high number of abandoned calls, or an agent with an unusually long average handle time.

2. 2

   Click the green + icon next to that row. The view expands to show detail data: one row for each individual call or interaction that makes up that summary figure.

3. 3

   Click on any row in the detail view to open that specific call's Cradle to Grave view.

4. 4

   Use the Cradle to Grave timeline to trace the full path of the call, from initial contact through every transfer, queue wait, and agent interaction, all the way to disconnect. Click any segment bar to see its full details in the panel below.

   

   Note

   You can click Export to PDF in the upper right corner of the Cradle to Grave view to save or share the call timeline.

5. Save, share, schedule, and export reports

Once you've built a report you find useful, Brightmetrics gives you several ways to keep it, share it with your team, and automate its delivery.

Here's a quick overview of what each option does:

Have questions or need help building anything? Our support is included in your subscription! Reach out to support@brightmetrics.com, and our team can help.