Metadata
Metadata is used to add specificity to an action. When you create a mission, you can add metadata as the name:value pair within the rule to collect information specific to the action the user needs to perform. Using metadata, you can use the same action to complete different tasks of the same type. For example:
- You have the general action READ_ARTICLE. You have one mission that requires users to read any article (action=READ_ARTICLE), a second mission to read the September Press Release (action=READ_ARTICLE and metadata=ID:1234), and a third mission to read the October Press Release (action=READ_ARTICLE and metadata=ID:3456). Show me this example
or
- You have a Bunchball Go program using the HUB_CLICK_THROUGH action to access external content. You have a mission that requires users to visit your intranet (action=HUB_CLICK_THROUGH and metadata=url:https://mycompany/intranet/internal.htm) and your training site (action=HUB_CLICK_THROUGH and metadata=url:https://mycompany/training/internal.htm). Show me this example
Metadata Rules
Nitro currently supports up to a total of 10 metadata pairs to be associated with actions logged. However, analytics can only support up to 5 metadata pairs.
If the metadata sent to Nitro does not exactly match what is defined in the rule, the action will not complete the mission. The metadata:
- Name and Value are case-insensitive.
- Name cannot contain a comma or a colon
- Value cannot contain a comma
- Value can contain spaces, but the Name should not
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Must be UTF-8 encoded
Self-Reporting Rules Metadata
When using self-reporting rules, we recommend that:
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You create actions only used for self-reporting rules. If a self-reporting rule uses an action that is also used in other missions, then completing a self-reporting rule may make progress on or complete other missions. For example, Mission A uses a self-reporting rule with the TRAINING action. Mission B uses a Number of Actions rule with the TRAINING action and no metadata. When a user marks the self-reporting rule as complete, it logs the TRAINING action which will complete Mission A and Mission B.
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You MUST add metadata to all self-reporting rules. Metadata ensures that when a user marks a self-reporting task as complete, it will only complete that mission and not all missions that have a self-reporting rule using the same action. Nitro automatically adds metadata to the self-reporting rule when you save it, but you can add additional metadata if necessary.
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You only edit self-reporting rule metadata during off-peak hours. If you edit the metadata at the same time a user is marking the task as complete, it will put the rule in a bad state. This happens because the user logs the rule with the old metadata, but the mission is looking for the new metadata. The rule will not complete for that user and it will remain in a "Submitted" status until manually remediated by an administrator.
Nitro Metadata
Nitro automatically logs metadata for quizzes, self-reporting rules, On The Spot card redemptions, and recognition events.
View Action Metadata
You can view the metadata sent with an action in the User Management view or with GET /users/{userId}/actions. Use this to verify that the information sent to Nitro matches the metadata defined in the mission.
See also
Example: Reward users that receive a specific type of recognition