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Signals are not all measured the same way. Reading them faithfully means knowing three things about each one: its grain, its window, and its confidence. The legend reports all three per signal — read it, don’t assume.

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Grain and window

Grain is the cadence a signal is expressed at:
  • quarter — one value per quarter
  • month — one value per month
  • snapshot — a point-in-time reading
  • rolling — a moving window that slides forward
  • all-time — a cumulative or lifetime value
Window is the span the value summarizes. Grain and window are independent.

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period_key is not the measurement window

A signal’s period_key is the observation period — when the value was recorded. It is not the same as the measurement window — what span the value covers.Example: a period_key of 2026-07-01 may summarize the last 90 days, not the month of July. Report the value against the window it actually measures, not against its period label.
This is also why a default vertical_card can hold signals with different period_keys — each channel returns its newest observation, so the card is completeness-first, not a single aligned period. Never describe a default card as “all data from quarter X”. Use a strict period= when you need alignment.

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Confidence: fact vs. estimate

Every value carries a confidence:
  • fact — computed or retrieved directly from the data.
  • estimated — a projection or proxy.
Never present an estimated value as a measured fact. An estimate stays an estimate all the way into the answer. If two signals disagree and one is estimated, say so — the confidence is part of the finding.

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Rankings: exact values vs. bands

Some signals carry exact values; others intentionally give a band, quartile, or class. Respect whichever representation the signal uses.
Do not fabricate an exact rank from a band signal. If the feed represents something as a quartile or class, that is the resolution — inventing “#14” from an “upper-quartile” band is a grounding error.

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Reporting-lag caveat

Recent periods can be incomplete — data is still arriving. A dip in the newest, still-filling window is a reporting lag, not a confirmed decline. Preserve that caveat, especially for paid-media reach.