The idea in practice

A percentage is easy to repeat and easy to misread. Showing the underlying counts and period lets the reader judge whether a change is large, comparable or affected by a small baseline.

Try the distinction on a real task

This is an illustrative request, not a customer result or a promise that every connected service supports every step.

Show the counts behind this conversion rate and explain the comparison window.

How to apply it

  • Define the numerator and denominator
  • Check their periods
  • Present counts with the rate

What to check

Check whether the sample is complete and comparable.

A mistake to avoid

Do not use a dramatic percentage to hide a tiny or changing base.

Using Bris for this work

Analytical work starts with a question and a defined dataset. Bris can help organize sources, examine figures and prepare a reviewable output. Check the units, date window, missing values and formulas before using the result to make a decision.