Real-Time Adherence: Coverage and intraday
Objective. Read the interval-by-interval coverage view to find where the floor is thin right now, and explain why a healthy overall headcount can still hide a shortfall in a specific interval or skill.
Coverage and intraday answers 'which intervals today are under-covered, and is the gap opening or closing?' - the view that turns a floor-wide feeling of 'we're busy' into a specific interval a lead can act on before the SLA slips.
See it in the demo
What this screen answers
The customer question is: across the day's intervals, where does required coverage exceed what we actually have staffed and active? A Sales person uses it to show a shortage window forming in real time, not as yesterday's report. A CSM uses it to spot the interval where coverage is thin while there is still time to pull in overtime, move a break, or reassign - the action window that an end-of-day report has already closed.
The task
Scope to the team or queue and look across intervals for where available, active coverage falls below what the interval requires. Read the trend, not just the current cell - a gap that is widening matters more than one that is closing on its own. When you find a thin interval, drill to Live adherence to see who is available to move, and cross-check the exceptions view for whatever is driving the gap. Exact chart labels, interval granularity and the required-versus-actual series names are SME-validation-pending.
How to read it
The classic misread is reading an overall FTE balance as proof every interval and skill is covered. A day that nets out to 'enough people' can still have a 10:00 interval starved and a 15:00 interval overstaffed, and a queue needing a specific skill uncovered while generalists sit idle. Coverage here means required versus actually-active for that interval and scope - not headcount on the roster. Someone scheduled but off-plan is not covering the interval, which is why this view and the adherence layers must be read together.
Honest limits
This screen shows the coverage model on seeded demo data. The required line depends on a forecast or staffing requirement coming from Capacity Planning or Scheduling, and the actual-active line depends on live activity capture - confirm with product which of those feeds are wired for a given customer and how fresh they are. A thin interval here signals where to look; it does not by itself prove the cause or the fix. Do not quote interval length or a specific data latency as fact.
Interpretation check
A healthy overall headcount does not mean every interval and skill is covered. Coverage is required-versus-active per interval and scope, so always read the specific thin interval rather than the day's net balance.
In the field
OVO (contact centre): a thin interval multiplied across queues is where abandon rate climbs, so catching the forming gap intraday is the difference between a staffing move and an apology.
Practical task
On the demo, scope to one queue, find the interval where active coverage falls furthest below requirement, and write a one-line intraday action: the interval, the size and direction of the gap, and the single move you would make before it widens.
Self-check
The day nets out to full staffing, so why can there still be a coverage problem?
Coverage is per interval and per skill. People can be stacked into well-covered intervals while a specific interval or a skill-dependent queue is starved. The net balance hides the shape.
An agent is on the roster for this interval but showing off-plan. Do they count as coverage?
No. Coverage here is required-versus-actually-active. A rostered agent who is off-plan is not covering the interval, which is why coverage and adherence are read together.
Why is Coverage and intraday more actionable than an end-of-day coverage report?
It shows the gap while the interval is still live, so a lead can pull overtime, move a break or reassign. The report shows a gap that has already closed with the day - too late to staff.
Verified vs demo. Coverage and intraday is live in the demo at /#/coverage on seeded data. Exact chart labels, interval granularity, the required-versus-actual series and the upstream forecast/schedule feeds are SME-validation-pending; confirm with product.