Time Distribution Size Check FAQ
Answers to common questions about how segments are formed, what the count range covers, and how the anomaly is reported, grouped by topic.
Behavior
What is a time segment?
One bucket of rows grouped by the evaluated date field at the chosen interval: one per year, month, week, day, or hour. Segments exist only where the data has rows.
Does the check notice a period with no data at all?
No. A period with no rows produces no segment, so there is nothing to evaluate. Pair the rule with Freshness to catch a feed that stopped entirely.
Are the bounds inclusive?
Yes, both of them. A segment holding exactly Min Count or exactly Max Count records passes.
Which interval should I pick?
The one where you could state "a normal segment holds between X and Y records". Finer intervals turn ordinary variation into failures; coarser ones hide a missing period inside a plausible total.
What does the filter do to the segments?
It runs before the grouping, so filtered-out rows never reach a segment. Scoping to one slice turns the check into a distribution check for that slice.
Anomaly Reporting
What kind of anomaly does the check produce?
A Shape Anomaly, one per failed evaluation. There is no Record Anomaly, because the rule evaluates segment counts rather than individual rows.
What does the percentage in the message count?
The share of time segments outside the range, not the share of records. Three failing days out of thirty is 10.000%.
Can I see which segments failed?
Yes. The anomaly carries the segments that fell outside the range, so you can tell a short period from an oversized one.
Why does the anomaly show no source records?
No individual row is wrong: the violation belongs to the distribution. The failing segments are what you act on.
Can I customize the anomaly message?
No. Custom Anomaly Description only replaces the message on Record Anomalies, and Time Distribution Size emits a Shape Anomaly only.
Configuration
Does the Coverage slider do anything?
No. It appears because it is part of the shared check form, but the rule evaluates segment counts, so there is no per-row pass rate to relax.
Can I change the interval or the bounds later?
Yes. In the UI, open the check, change the properties, and click Update; see Edit a Check for the full steps. Through the API, a PUT to /api/quality-checks/{id} updates the properties object. The rule type, the target container, and the associated Check Template stay immutable.
What permission do I need to create or edit a Time Distribution Size check?
The Drafter team permission on the datastore covers Draft work (creating a check as Draft or editing it while it stays Draft). Anything that puts the check into evaluation, such as creating or editing an Active check, archiving, or deleting, requires the Author team permission (or above). Viewing only requires Reporter. See Permissions for the full matrix.
Should I use Time Distribution Size or Volumetric?
Use this rule when the distribution across periods is the question and you can state a plausible range per segment. Use Volumetric when the question is whether the container's total row count moved compared to how it usually behaves, which needs no bounds to maintain.