In ActivTrak, Screen Time categories (Productive, Unproductive and Undefined) are captured and categorized as either Active or Passive.
Contents
- Active Time vs. Passive Time
- Active Time Details
- Configuring Active Time
- Passive Time Details
- Configuring Passive Time
- Summary & Detailed Views
- Frequently asked questions
- Learn more
Active Time vs. Passive Time
| Active Time | The user is currently providing input to the machine via keyboard, mouse, etc. |
| Passive Time | The user has stopped providing input to the machine |
| Inactive Time | The Passive Time collection period has expired (based on your configuration) and there is no input into the machine |
Example 1
Rebecca has joined a Zoom meeting. At the start of the meeting, she shares her screen and clicks through a PowerPoint presentation. Since there is mouse input, this time is reported as Active Time.
A coworker then starts sharing their screen, and Rebecca stops interacting with her machine to listen. Since the account’s Passive Time Settings are set to begin at 2 minutes and stop at 5 minutes, the first 2 minutes that Rebecca is not interacting with her machine are recorded as Active Time, and the following 5 minutes are recorded as Passive Time.
After 7 total minutes of no input to her machine, Rebecca’s time switches to Inactive, and tracking has stopped until inputs via mouse or keyboard resume.
Note: If your account has Offline Meetings enabled and the user has a qualifying meeting on their calendar, inactive time will be recorded for the duration of the user's inactivity during the scheduled meeting time to fill in time from in-person activity.
Example 2
Jose is working in Microsoft Excel, an application that is classified as Productive in their ActivTrak account. They step away for a break without locking the screen. They are away for 8 minutes before touching the mouse again.
Since the account’s Passive Time Settings are set to start at 3 minutes and stop at 10 minutes, the first 3 minutes that Jose is not interacting with their machine are recorded as Productive Active Time. The following 5 minutes are recorded as Productive Passive Time because the activity immediately before going Passive was Productive.
Since Jose returns to their desk before Passive Time is configured to stop, Active Time resumes immediately after Passive Time, and they do not have an Inactive period.
Active Time Details
Throughout the workday, users engage in various tasks that involve using their keyboard or mouse, such as composing emails, working within spreadsheets, editing graphics, or creating slideshow presentations. This work involves active movements, which is why it is labeled as Active Time within the ActivTrak App.
By default, ActivTrak stops collecting Active Time after 60 minutes of reporting on a single activity. To change the duration and customize the configuration of Active Time, review Configuring Active Time.
Active Time is represented within ActivTrak as the darker, bolder color of each of the Productivity statuses:
Configuring Active Time
The Account Configuration page (Settings > Account Configuration > Data tab > Active Time Settings) allows you to configure Active Time collection based on your organization's needs and habits.
Passive Time Details
Throughout the workday, users engage in many tasks that do not involve using their keyboard or mouse - for example, collaborating with a colleague in person, watching a training video, attending a meeting, or speaking with a customer on the phone. This work is not idle, and that's why time away from the keyboard and mouse is labeled as Passive Time within the ActivTrak app.
By default, ActivTrak starts collecting Passive Time after 2 minutes of the employee not actively using or providing input into their computer. These 2 minutes are included in the prior activity’s duration.
Passive time is represented within ActivTrak as the lighter color of each of the Productivity statuses:
Configuring Passive Time
Passive Time collection can be configured based on your organization’s needs and habits via the Account Configuration page (Settings > Account Configuration > Data tab > Passive Time Settings).
Summary & Detailed Views
Summary and Detailed Views are displayed across reports in ActivTrak. Summary Views display the sum metrics (i.e., Productive Time), including both Active Time and Passive Time durations.
Detailed Views break down Active and Passive time explicitly.
Frequently asked questions
How is the productivity ratio calculated?
Within Summary Views, productivity ratios are calculated by dividing the productive active and productive passive time by the total time.
Within Detailed Views, productivity ratios are calculated as productive active time divided by total time.
To view the productivity ratio using Active Time only, use the Detailed view in Productivity by User, as shown below.
Summary View
Detailed View
To view Real-time Visibility using Active Time only, click on the settings cog and select “Use Active Time.”
How can you see the details of Passive Time?
In the Activity Log, you can see that each passive activity shows the details of the employee's last activity before going inactive. These details indicate how each passive episode is classified according to its productivity status.
In this example, mail.google.com is considered a Productive activity and classified as Productive Active. The employee went passive while in Gmail, so that passive time is classified as Productive Passive.
Given that the user is not interacting with their computer while in Passive mode, ActivTrak cannot determine exactly what they are doing. Therefore, we stopped collecting passive time after 5 minutes to prevent over-reporting.
If an Admin changes the Active Time or Passive Time settings, does this alter historical data?
No, modifying when Active or Passive Time begins or ends will inform the Agents associated with your account to track new activity data differently, but will not apply changes retroactively. Historic data will remain as-is.
How have the Active Time or Passive Time settings been adjusted?
Each adjustment of passive time configuration will be recorded in the Security Audit Log (Settings > Security > Audit).
Active Time entries show the following:
- Event: UpdateActiveTimeSettings
- Description: Active Stop
- Action Data:
Stopping adjustments with the minutes the stop has been set
Infinite stops will show as “ActiveStop: Indefinite”
Passive Time entries show the following:
- Event: UpdatePassiveSettings
- Description: Passive Start or Passive Stop
- Action Data:
Starting adjustments will show with the minutes the start has been set
Stopping adjustments with the minutes the stop has been set
Infinite stops will show as “PassiveStop: Indefinite”
What is the impact of adjusting Active Time or Passive Time?
Live Data
If the passive time is clipped or set to stop after 0-30 minutes, passive time throughout the data, app, and reports will reflect this change. This time will resemble Passive Locked (when the computer is locked or asleep).
Insights
When an admin adjusts the passive start/stop, the historical data will not change. Modifying when passive starts/stops will inform the agents associated with your account to track data differently and will not update historical data. It will only affect data moving forward, and we cannot recover or adjust historical data.
Admins will see the following warning prior to saving adjustments to the Passive Time Configuration: