What to change
Missing classification should remain visible as an unresolved category rather than vanish from the total. Ask the analyst to compare the input row count and measure total with the output after joining the lookup. Add a deliberate unknown label to a test sample and confirm how it is represented. Assign ownership for reviewing new source values without automatically treating them as errors or inventing a channel to make the table look complete.
A worked example
Illustrative example
Illustrative test: The test example includes one known source and one unknown source, both contributing to the total. A newly introduced partner label may have no match in the channel lookup. The revised report places its eligible activity in an unassigned group instead of dropping it. A known and an unknown fictional source both remain in the overall total. The classification owner then reviews the new label deliberately, making the gap visible without inventing a category just to produce a complete-looking chart.
What this means for your practice
A channel chart can look complete while quietly losing visits whose source label is missing from a lookup table. Ask your analyst to compare totals before and after that classification step. An unfamiliar source should remain visible as unassigned or unresolved until someone reviews it. Add one fictional unknown label to the test sample and check that its activity still contributes to the overall total. Assign an owner to maintain classifications as new campaigns or partners appear. The aim is an honest report, not a perfectly tidy list produced by dropping inconvenient rows. A missing category is a question to resolve, not evidence that the underlying activity did not happen.
How to check the result
The report preserves all eligible activity and identifies unresolved classification.
A mistake to avoid
A tidy list of channels is not evidence that no observations were lost.
Turn reading into a next step
Your action checklist
Work through these checks with your team or supplier. Tick the ones you have resolved and leave unknowns open.
Record what you know, what is still missing and the answer you need from your team or supplier.
Use project decisions only, without personal, patient or confidential details. Entries stay in this page and are not submitted to Kay & Co. Copy or download before leaving; this page does not save your notes.
Further reading
These sources provide background for the topic. The practice examples and checklist are illustrative planning suggestions from Kay & Co.
Related guides
Need help with this?
Tell us what is getting in the way. Kay & Co. can help you understand the options and turn the next step into something that works for your practice.
Explore marketing & search services or discuss your project.
Try the free Healthcare Digital Planner to find your starting priority.