Governed Metrics in AskCorral

When a metric or dataset in your account has been marked governed — reviewed and maintained by CorralData rather than built ad hoc — AskCorral prefers it over writing new SQL from scratch. You'll see a note like "computed from governed metric ⟨name⟩" under the answer, so you know exactly where the number came from and can trust it without having to check the underlying query yourself.

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How it works

By default, AskCorral answers questions by writing SQL against your connected data on the fly. That's flexible, but for metrics your team relies on repeatedly — revenue, active patients, retention rate — you want the same number every time, computed the same way, not a fresh interpretation per question.

Governed metrics and governed datasets solve that:

• A metric can be marked governed once it's been defined and reviewed. When a question matches a governed metric, AskCorral answers directly from that metric's definition instead of writing new SQL.

• A dataset can be flagged governed (CorralData-maintained) the same way. If a question could be answered from either a governed dataset or a non-governed one covering similar data, AskCorral prefers the governed one.

• Either way, the response carries a provenance note — the metric or dataset name and its governed status — so it's clear the answer came from a reviewed source, not a one-off query.

This only applies when a governed metric or dataset actually matches the question. Long-tail, exploratory questions with no governed match are answered exactly as before — AskCorral still writes SQL on the fly for anything outside your governed set.

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What you'll see

1

Ask a metric question

Ask AskCorral something that matches a metric your team has already defined and governed — for example, "what was our retention rate last quarter?"

2

Get the answer with provenance

The response includes the number along with a note such as "computed from governed metric Retention Rate" — so you know it came from the reviewed definition, not a fresh query.

3

Reconcile with confidence

Because the same governed metric answers the same question the same way every time, you can compare answers across conversations, or against a board built on the same metric, and expect them to match.

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Where this fits

• Governed metrics and datasets are set up and maintained by your CorralData team — reach out if there's a number you'd like turned into a governed metric so it answers consistently everywhere it's asked.

• This works alongside Row-Level Security: a governed metric still respects RLS, so two users asking the same governed question can get different (correctly scoped) numbers if their row-level access differs.

• See AskCorral Agent for the broader picture of what the agent can do beyond metric questions — building, debugging, and analyzing across your account.