Article summary
Combine Zalo activity exports without treating separate runs as a single observation. Preserve dates and list sources, and check what each activity field measures before comparing it.
On Monday afternoon, a support team checks 200 recent inquiry numbers. On Wednesday, a colleague screens an order list that has not been updated for six months. The Wednesday group looks less active after the files are combined. The comparison confounds two things. The groups were observed on different days and came from different sources.
Keep the batch name, run time, and list source in your own workbook. They tell you when an observation was made and why a number was included. AppShai lists activity time and activity days as separate Zalo fields. Keep both original values.[1]
Find out what a difference of one day means
Suppose both exports show “3 days.” If the task defines that value relative to each run, the Monday and Wednesday values refer to different dates. If the field counts something within a different window, subtracting three from the run date has no basis. An absolute timestamp also needs a known time zone and definition. Keep the original value by batch until you can verify what it means.
Now imagine that Monday's and Wednesday's checks include the same number. Both return the same absolute activity timestamp and you have confirmed the time zone. You can report that the returned timestamp did not change. A larger relative value on Wednesday could simply reflect two more days since that same event, provided that is how the field is defined. An interpretable new timestamp supports a different statement. Whether the customer read your quote still depends on evidence from the conversation.
Choose a comparison your report can support
- How usable was each batch? Show how many numbers were submitted, how many have usable activity values, and how many are missing. State how missing values enter the counts.
- What changed for the same numbers? Match the two files by full number and compare the shared subset. Mark a number seen only once as a single observation.
- Which group should go first in today's queue? Keep separate queues if the observation times or field definitions are incompatible. If the work depends on a common view, rerun the relevant subsets together and label the observation date.
In the Monday and Wednesday example, report the new inquiries and old orders separately. If the team needs to track changes over time, keep a stable subset from one source for the next comparison. You will have a report the next reader can explain as well as a queue they can use.
Source
- AppShai Zalo activity check · Lists activity time and activity days among the task fields.
