Zendesk Support

This package models Zendesk Support data from Fivetran's connector. It uses data in the format described by this ERD.

This package enables you to better understand the performance of your Support team. It calculates metrics focused on response times, resolution times, and work times for you to analyze.

Optional features (for Zendesk Professional or Enterprise users)

• Package converts metrics to business hours
• Package calculates SLA policy breaches

Models

This package contains transformation models, designed to work simultaneously with our Zendesk Support source package. A dependency on the source package is declared in this package's packages.yml file, so it will automatically download when you run dbt deps. The primary outputs of this package are described below. Intermediate models are used to create these output models.

model	description
zendesk__ticket_metrics	Each record represents a Zendesk ticket, enriched with metrics about reply times, resolution times, and work times. Calendar and business hours are supported.
zendesk__ticket_enriched	Each record represents a Zendesk ticket, enriched with data about its tags, assignees, requester, submitter, organization, and group.
zendesk__ticket_summary	A single record table containing Zendesk ticket and user summary metrics.
zendesk__ticket_backlog	A daily historical view of the ticket field values defined in the ticket_field_history_columns variable for all backlog tickets. Backlog tickets being defined as any ticket not in a 'closed', 'deleted', or 'solved' status.
zendesk__ticket_field_history	A daily historical view of the ticket field values defined in the ticket_field_history_columns variable and the corresponding updater fields defined in the ticket_field_history_updater_columns variable.
zendesk__sla_policies	Each record represents an SLA policy event and additional sla breach and achievement metrics. Calendar and business hour SLA breaches are supported.

Installation Instructions

Check dbt Hub for the latest installation instructions, or read the docs for more information on installing packages.

Include in your packages.yml to stay up to date with the latest release!

packages:
  - package: fivetran/zendesk
    version: [">=0.8.0", "<0.9.0"]

Package Maintenance

The Fivetran team maintaining this package only maintains the latest version. We highly recommend you keep your packages.yml updated with the dbt hub latest version. You may refer to the CHANGELOG and release notes for more information on changes across versions.

Configuration

By default, this package looks for your Zendesk Support data in the zendesk schema of your target database. If this is not where your Zendesk Support data is, add the following configuration to your dbt_project.yml file:

# dbt_project.yml

...
config-version: 2

vars:
  zendesk_source:
    zendesk_database: your_database_name
    zendesk_schema: your_schema_name 

Adding Passthrough Columns

This Zendesk Source package allows for custom fields to be added to the stg_zendesk__ticket model. These custom fields will also persist downstream to the zendesk__ticket_enriched and zendesk__ticket_metrics models. You may add your own customer fields to these models by leveraging the below variable.

# dbt_project.yml

...
vars:
  zendesk__ticket_passthrough_columns: ['account_custom_field_1', 'account_custom_field_2']

Tracking Ticket Field History Columns

The zendesk__ticket_field_history model generates historical data for the columns specified by the ticket_field_history_columns variable. By default, the columns tracked are status, priority, and assignee_id. If you would like to change these columns, add the following configuration to your dbt_project.yml file. Additionally, the zendesk__ticket_field_history model allows for tracking the specified fields updater information through the use of the zendesk_ticket_field_history_updater_columns variable. The values passed through this variable limited to the values shown within the config below. By default, the variable is empty and updater information is not tracked. If you would like to track field history updater information, add any of the below specified values to your dbt_project.yml file. After adding the columns to your dbt_project.yml file, run the dbt run --full-refresh command to fully refresh any existing models.

# dbt_project.yml

...
config-version: 2

vars:
  zendesk:
    ticket_field_history_columns: ['the','list','of','column','names']
    ticket_field_history_updater_columns: [
                                            'updater_user_id', 'updater_name', 'updater_role', 'updater_email', 'updater_external_id', 'updater_locale', 
                                            'updater_is_active', 'updater_user_tags', 'updater_last_login_at', 'updater_time_zone', 
                                            'updater_organization_id', 'updater_organization_domain_names' , 'updater_organization_organization_tags'
                                          ]

Note: This package only integrates the above ticket_field_history_updater_columns values. If you'd like to include additional updater fields, please create an issue specifying which ones.

Changing the Build Schema

By default this package will build the Zendesk staging models within a schema titled (<target_schema> + _zendesk_staging), the Zendesk intermediate models within a schema titled (<target_schema> + _zendesk_intermediate), and the Zendesk final models within a schema titled (<target_schema> + _zendesk) in your target database. If this is not where you would like your modeled Zendesk data to be written to, add the following configuration to your dbt_project.yml file:

# dbt_project.yml

...
models:
  zendesk:
    +schema: my_new_schema_name # leave blank for just the target_schema
    intermediate:
      +schema: my_new_schema_name # leave blank for just the target_schema
    sla_policy:
      +schema: my_new_schema_name # leave blank for just the target_schema
    ticket_history:
      +schema: my_new_schema_name # leave blank for just the target_schema
  zendesk_source:
    +schema: my_new_schema_name # leave blank for just the target_schema

Disabling Models

This package takes into consideration that not every Zendesk account utilizes the schedule, domain_name, user_tag, organization_tag, or ticket_form_history features, and allows you to disable the corresponding functionality. By default, all variables' values are assumed to be true. Add variables for only the tables you want to disable:

# dbt_project.yml

...
config-version: 2

vars:
  using_schedules:            False         #Disable if you are not using schedules
  using_domain_names:         False         #Disable if you are not using domain names
  using_user_tags:            False         #Disable if you are not using user tags
  using_ticket_form_history:  False         #Disable if you are not using ticket form history
  using_organization_tags:    False         #Disable if you are not using organization tags

Note: This package only integrates the above variables. If you'd like to disable other models, please create an issue specifying which ones.

Extending and Limiting the Ticket Field History

This package will create a row in zendesk__ticket_field_history for each day that a ticket is open, starting at its creation date. A Zendesk ticket cannot be altered after being closed, so its field values will not change after this date. However, you may want to extend a ticket's history past its closure date for easier reporting and visualizing. To do so, add the following configuration to your dbt_project.yml file:

# dbt_project.yml

...
config-version: 2

vars:
  zendesk:
    ticket_field_history_extension_months: integer_number_of_months # default = 0 

Conversely, you may want to only track the past X years of ticket field history. This could be for cost reasons, or because you have a BigQuery destination and have over 4,000 days (10-11 years) of data, leading to a too many partitions error in the package's incremental models. To limit the ticket field history to the most recent X years, add the following configuration to your dbt_project.yml file:

# dbt_project.yml

...
config-version: 2

vars:
  zendesk:
    ticket_field_history_timeframe_years: integer_number_of_years # default = 50 (everything)

Opinionated Modelling Decisions

Business Time Metrics Logic

This dbt package takes an opinionated stance on how business time metrics are calculated. The dbt package takes all schedules into account when calculating the business time duration. Whereas, the Zendesk UI logic takes into account only the latest schedule assigned to the ticket. If you would like a deeper explanation of the logic used by default in the dbt package you may reference the DECISIONLOG.

Database support

This package is compatible with BigQuery, Snowflake, Redshift and Postgres.

Contributions

Additional contributions to this package are very welcome! Please create issues or open PRs against main. Check out this post on the best workflow for contributing to a package.

Resources:

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• Check out Fivetran's blog
• Learn more about dbt in the docs
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