Profile variables: Best practices

Generate healthy data in your community by following best practices for creating and using profile variables.

Keep the following considerations in mind when creating and using profile variables:

Create profile variables before importing

By default, Community imports new profile variables as single choice question types even if the value is an open end. For example, if you import a profile variable with open-ended values named "Address", Community will store the values as a list of options in a single choice question where there is actually one unique value for each member.

It is recommend to create the variable in Community before you import your profile data. When the data is imported, Community will then map the values to the correct question type.

Use descriptive names and descriptions

Profile variable names should be easy to recognize by you and other admins when searching for a variable to filter, distribute, and report on.

Use the Description field to:

Describe what the variable is for.
Avoid creating duplicate variables.
Describe whether the data comes from a Community activity or a customer's system of record.

Profile variables cannot share the same name

A profile variable should be renamed before deleting if it needs to be replaced. When renaming, it is recommended to append the date it will be deleted to the profile variable name. This makes it impossible for future variables to share the same name. For example, Age Deleted 2020-04-19.

Avoid commas in profile variable names

Using a comma in a profile variable name will result in an error if you try to update the profile variable through a CSV import or system upload later.

Delete unused profile variables

Unused profile variables previously used as flags or for an adhoc survey should be removed. If you want to use the same name for a new profile variable, rename the old profile variable before deleting.

Letter casing

It is recommended to use the correct letter casing when creating profile variable values and to encourage members to use the correct casing if it is a text profile variable. The application supports only one version of the casing. For example, if a text profile variable called Country was created and the value was initially saved as "Canada". Even when members type in "canada", the application will save the profile variable as "Canada".

Avoid using text profile variable types

Text profile variable types should be rarely used. Open-end values are harder to sample, report, filter, or determine trends. An exception is if it is used to include a member's home address or residing city.

Remove duplicates

Duplicates of the same profile variable should be removed. Duplicates can be removed by either deleting unused data or exporting the duplicate and then merge the profile variables together.

Determine a schedule for updating profile variables

Determine a plan to keep profile variables up to date depending on the frequency which the data would potentially change for a member. Remember that enough time should pass for it to feel reasonable to ask again. For example, you can ask college students every year if they have the same major, but not every month.

Use a conversational tone

Use a conversational tone when updating profile variables. When re-asking questions, acknowledge that you have asked these questions before and would like to ensure that you have the most up-to-date information about your members.

Create identity variables

Identity variable values are unique to each member (for example, a phone number or loyalty card number). You can use an identity variable to identify a member in a survey link or redirect them to another survey. Identity variables are also useful for tying members back to other systems so you can map their data points.

To create an identity variable, set the variable Type to Identity at the time you create the profile variable. For more information, see:

Avoid using more than 1000 variable values

Single and multiple choice profile variables that contain more than 1000 values should not be used as survey questions. When a profile variable requires more than 1000 values, consider one of the following options:

Save the values as a Text or Number profile variable type. For more information, see Add a profile variable.
Use a Set Value action to group similar values together. For more information, see Set Value. For an example of how to group values with a Set Value action, see Create an age roll-up without using calculated dates.

Use Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) time values

UTC time should be used for format dates. CSV files do not recognize local time formats; UTC format will ensure that all dates reflect the appropriate day and time. When importing date values, follow the ISO 8601 format (YYYY-MM-DD) guidelines to format the date.

The correct format can be configured in Excel by:

Select the cells with the dates.
Right-click and select Format Cells.
In the Number tab, select Custom.
Enter yyyy-mm-ddThh:mm:ssZ.
Click OK.

Example
`2015-04-29T15:16:55Z` Note: Before importing Date values, you must create a Date profile variable with the same name. Only Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) time values are supported.

Group numeric and date values

Use a Set Value action in surveys to roll up numeric and date values to save time creating conditions for each value when filtering the data. For more information, see Set Value and Create an age roll-up without using calculated dates.

Use one profile variable to store multiple flags

Avoid creating profile variables used only once. It is recommend that you create a single choice variable you can repurpose in different activities.

Note: Consider using a multiple choice profile variable if you want to view previously flagged values in the CSV. When uploading your CSV, check that the profile variable name is edited so that it matches the profile variable name in Community.

Example: Use a profile variable to flag members
You want to invite members who have not participated in an activity in the last 30 days. On May 1, 2021 you create a new profile variable called "Participation Flag" with the answer option "No participation in April 2021". Export the member data, identify those members who had no participation in the month of April and populate the Participation Flag column with "No participation in April 2021". Then you import the CSV file back into Community. On September 1, 2021 you want to flag members who have not participated in an activity since August 1, 2021. Instead of creating a new profile variable, open the variable you created in May, and add a new value named "No participation in August 2021". After you export the your data, flag the members who meet your criteria with "No participation in August 2021" in the CSV file, and import the data back into Community. For those members who already had a value set for April, Community will overwrite the old value with the new one; their history is preserved so you don't need to the old value. Going forward, you can either keep adding values to this profile variable to flag members who meet your criteria, or update the existing values to suit your needs.

Example: Use a profile variable to flag members

You want to invite members who have not participated in an activity in the last 30 days.

On May 1, 2021 you create a new profile variable called "Participation Flag" with the answer option "No participation in April 2021". Export the member data, identify those members who had no participation in the month of April and populate the Participation Flag column with "No participation in April 2021". Then you import the CSV file back into Community.

On September 1, 2021 you want to flag members who have not participated in an activity since August 1, 2021. Instead of creating a new profile variable, open the variable you created in May, and add a new value named "No participation in August 2021". After you export the your data, flag the members who meet your criteria with "No participation in August 2021" in the CSV file, and import the data back into Community. For those members who already had a value set for April, Community will overwrite the old value with the new one; their history is preserved so you don't need to the old value.

Going forward, you can either keep adding values to this profile variable to flag members who meet your criteria, or update the existing values to suit your needs.