In prior sections we only briefly mentioned the charts you’ve seen on the administrative screens. Now that we’re more familiar with the data behind those charts, we’re ready for a closer look. It’s important to learn how to read and use these charts because they are truly powerful tools that provide a lot of useful information at a glance.

Unless otherwise noted, the information in this section applies to both the program and step type activity summary charts.

Let’s start by looking at the parts of the chart.

Let’s focus on the April 2021 section of the chart below. We see the purple area reaches the “17” line on the chart. This doesn't mean that seventeen people completed the Small Group step. In this kind of chart, the Small Group area begins where the Serve area ends…they are stacked on top of each other, hence the term “stacked area chart”.

The Baptism, Starting Point Class, and Small Group steps each had four completions. Five people completed the Baptism step. Adding those up, we get seventeen total completions in April 2021 as pictured below.

Unlike the Step Program area chart, the Step Type area chart is "overlapping" and not "stacked". It's important to know the difference between these two types of charts.

In the example below, the green area (Completed) extends to the “6” line in February 2021. This actually means six people Completed the step. Also in May 2021 we see that four people Started the step, represented in blue. The blue and green areas overlap, hence the term "overlapping area chart".

Chart Filters

Our Step Charts hold a lot of valuable information, so much that it takes some slicing to make sense of it. Let's discuss some ways to filter Step Charts.

1. Measures (Trends, Totals, Campuses)

• Steps: Displays total step numbers by type.
• Total Steps: Sums all step types per period. Ideal for spotting overall engagement.
• Total Step-Adjusted Impact: Calculates the total of all step types multiplied by their impact weight. Useful for understanding overall impact trends. Must have an Impact Weight set.
• Impact-Adjusted Steps: Shows how each step type contributes to impact by multiplying step counts by impact weight. Must have an Impact Weight set.
• Engagement Type: Breaks down steps by Milestone and Rhythm categories. The Step Type must have an Engagement Type set.
• Organizational Objective: Breaks down steps by the objective assigned to each type. This helps leaders assess balance across ministry focus areas, such as Outreach and Discipleship.
• Program Completions: Displays total program completions for each period.
• Avg. Total Steps Per Weekend Attendee (Campus Only): Displays the average number of total steps each weekend attendee has taken during a selected time period. For help setting up calculation of Average Weekend Attendance, see the Metrics section of the Admin Hero Guide.
  • Formula: Campus Total Steps (based on your current filters) ÷ average campus attendance (rounded to the nearest whole number)

2. Status (Trends, Totals, Campuses)

• All Statuses: Includes both completed and non-completed steps.
• All Completion Statuses: Shows only steps marked as complete.
• All Non-Completion Statuses: Shows only steps not yet completed.
• In Progress: Steps NOT marked as Is Complete.
• Complete: Steps marked as Is Complete.

The Measure toggle is available on the Trends, Totals and Campuses chart, helping you present step-related data in ways that make sense depending on the data you need.

The Status toggle utilizes the Statuses you have already set and filters chart data by the stage each Step is in.

The Start Date or Completion Date is plotted based on the Status you choose. For example, when you select the All Completion Statuses measure or any status marked Is Complete, the chart plots the Completion Date instead of the Start Date.