Profiles (also known as groups) are used in 12CU Analytics to categorize users and devices into meaningful segments. This allows organizations to analyze occupancy and behavior patterns for specific populations while maintaining privacy. Examples include departments, employment types, studies, locations, or distinguishing people from non-person devices such as printers and IoT equipment.
Why Use Groups?
Groups provide several benefits:
- Analyze behavior and occupancy patterns for specific populations.
- Compare different user segments, such as departments or employment types.
- Exclude non-person devices (such as printers) from occupancy metrics.
- Improve reporting without exposing individual user data.
Understanding Profile Types and Profiles
A profile type represents a category, while a profile represents a value within that category.
Example
| Profile Type | Profiles |
| Department | IT, Finance, HR |
| Employment | Full-time, Part-time |
| Degree | Bachelor, Master |
| Study | Computer Science, Engineering |
For example:
- Department is a profile type.
- Finance is a profile belonging to that profile type.
Default Profiles
A default profile should exist for every profile type.
Examples:
- Unknown Department
- Unknown Study
- Unknown Degree
If a user has no assigned profile for a specific profile type, the default profile is applied automatically.
Multiple Profiles per User in 12CU are supported, A user can belong to multiple profile types.
Grouping Requirements and Best Practices
When creating groups:
- Ensure the grouping complies with applicable privacy and legal requirements.
- Avoid very small groups.
- As a rule of thumb, groups should contain at least 20 people.
- Use meaningful descriptions that are easy to recognize in the dashboard.
- Always define default profiles for every profile type.
Profiles and groups are a core component of 12CU Analytics that enable meaningful segmentation of users and devices. A complete setup consists of:
- Defining profile types
- Defining profiles
- Assigning users to profiles
By following the recommended structure, using default profiles, and maintaining proper file formatting, organizations can ensure reliable group-based reporting and analysis within the 12CU Analytics platform.