How does Zendesk record its business hour metrics?

Question

Answer

Zendesk has two different types of native metrics.

Multi-event metrics. Multi-event metrics are based on ticket status and record their values in events throughout the ticket lifecycle.
Single-event metrics. Single-event metrics record only one value for the whole ticket.

Agent wait time, Requester wait time, and On-hold time are multi-event metrics that are based on ticket status and record their values in events throughout the ticket lifecycle. These events are added to a running total as the ticket statuses change. The metrics capture the schedule at the time of the status change to determine business hours for that event and do not recalculate earlier status change events. This means the status-based metrics may include multiple schedules in the business hours total.

In contrast, First reply time, First resolution time, and Full resolution time are single-event metrics that record only one value for the whole ticket. These metrics use the schedule at the time of the relevant event and apply it for the full duration of the ticket. This means single-event metrics will use only one schedule in their business hours value, even if the ticket schedule changes.

For more information, see the article: About native Support time duration metrics.

Note: This only applies to business hours. If you are seeing a discrepancy in your reports with business hours, use calendar hours instead. For more information, see the article: Why do I see negative values when I subtract time duration metrics during business hours?