# Reading Your Briefing

A guide for managers to getting the most from each briefing

Use the briefing to prepare for a performance discussion or a location visit. Start with its conclusion, read the evidence for the issues that need attention, then decide how to respond to the recommended actions.

This guide covers the meaning of the findings. For the online experience, see [The Scoop Portal](https://docs.scoopanalytics.com/docs/scoop-portal).

## Start with the first page

The PDF's first page summarizes the briefing. In the portal, start with the headline and key figures at the top of the page. They give you:

- the overall severity rating;
- the main pattern this cycle;
- the most important actions.

The analysis that follows gives the evidence behind each point. Open the parts relevant to your visit or management discussion.

## Check the dates

Every briefing shows two dates:

- **Data through:** the last date included in the data. Figures such as "month to date" are measured up to this date.
- **Generated:** the date the briefing was produced.

## Understand the severity rating

Every location, and every unit above it, has one of six ratings:

| Rating | Meaning |
|---|---|
| **Critical** | Visit this week |
| **Severe** | Priority for this quarter |
| **Moderate** | Issues to address |
| **Watch** | One more month of this means trouble |
| **Mild** | Generally stable with minor concerns |
| **Healthy** | Stable or growing |

**Watch** ranks as more serious than **Mild**. Watch describes a location that looks acceptable today but is heading in the wrong direction. Mild describes a location that is stable with small issues.

Ratings reflect how large, how sustained, and how widespread an issue is.

## Review triggers are prompts, not verdicts

A **review trigger** means a result crossed a threshold that your operators set, so Scoop investigated it. It does not mean the location is failing. The severity rating shows overall health, and the review triggers show which topics were looked at more closely.

## Read the figures behind each finding

Findings include supporting figures and explain the comparison, such as a year-over-year decline or a result below the peer group average. Depending on the data available, comparisons include:

- the same period last year;
- recent periods at the same location;
- your targets;
- comparable locations, called the peer group.

Read the baseline with each figure so you know what the change is measured against. In the portal, chart titles state the finding, and marked periods or categories point to the relevant evidence.

Pay particular attention to these distinctions:

| Check | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Period | A month so far and a completed month cover different amounts of time. Read the actual comparison dates. |
| Type of measure | Sales during a period and inventory held at a date describe different things. A balance can remain steady while the activity behind it weakens. |
| Group being compared | A peer group, a district total, and a wider market may cover different locations or populations. |
| Total and underlying mix | A healthy total can contain a weak category. An average can move because the mix changed. |

Where a briefing includes market information, read its source period with the finding. The date the briefing was generated does not make every underlying observation current.

A scorecard's cell shading compares one measure across the locations on that page. It is separate from the overall severity rating. A trend line beneath a metric tile shows the history of its change against last year, rather than the absolute level of the metric.

## Read the new visuals precisely

![A1 transaction and average-sale chart with a marked recent period](https://docs.scoopanalytics.com/assets/scoop-example-v1/A05-trend.png)

*Illustrative example: the chart distinguishes fewer transactions from a fall in average sale. The marked span directs attention to the recent pattern.*

| Visual | How to read it |
|---|---|
| District total | The combined measure across the included locations. Its percentage change compares the combined current and prior values. |
| Metric tile trend | A history of YoY changes. A point at zero means no change against that prior-year period, not zero sales. The final unfinished month has a dashed segment and open point. |
| Finding-based chart title | A concise statement of what the evidence explains; read it with the axes and dates. |
| Marked period or category | Where to look for the evidence behind the title. Other observations remain visible for context. |
| Scatter | Two measures for each location. Read the labels, dividing lines, and named points before interpreting a quadrant. |
| Scorecard shading | Relative standing for one measure within this page's population. A top-third value can coexist with a concern on another measure. |

In the [sample briefing](https://docs.scoopanalytics.com/docs/sample-performance-briefing), A2 gross margin falls from 44.0% to 42.1%. That is about 1.9 percentage points. It is different from a relative percentage change. Read units and baselines with every comparison.

## When the cause is not certain

Read the finding in three parts: what the figures establish, what they suggest, and what the manager should check. These may appear together in the analysis rather than under separate headings.

For example, fewer transactions can explain a sales decline while leaving the reason for the lost transactions open. A visit might establish whether the issue concerns availability, customer traffic, or conversion. The recommendation gives you a specific way to investigate that open question with the team.

Before the discussion, identify the affected category or group, the period to review, and the records or activity to inspect. [Inside a Scoop Investigation](https://docs.scoopanalytics.com/docs/inside-an-investigation) shows how these pieces fit together.

## Use "What to Watch Next"

This section lists conditions that do not need action yet but are moving the wrong way. Use it to agree what you will check before the next review. A stable location may also have a strength worth protecting.

## If something looks wrong

If a finding does not match what you know about your location, use the portal's **Feedback** button or tell your usual contact at Scoop. Explain which finding needs attention and what local context is missing. We investigate reports of errors and confirm when a correction will apply.

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**Related:** [What You Receive](https://docs.scoopanalytics.com/docs/what-you-receive) · [Working with Action Plans](https://docs.scoopanalytics.com/docs/working-with-action-plans) · [Key Concepts](https://docs.scoopanalytics.com/docs/key-concepts)