Difference Assessment: A Detailed Overview

The Difference Assessment Builder compares a current value against an immediately preceding value and displays the change as a:

• Difference (absolute change)
• Percentage Difference (percent change)
• Z-Score (standardized change)

Unlike a Baseline Assessment, which compares values to a fixed baseline, a Difference Assessment compares values to the most recent previous observation. This makes it ideal for monitoring day-to-day, session-to-session, or measurement-to-measurement changes.

Common use cases include:

• Daily HRV changes
• Day-to-day body weight fluctuations
• Changes in wellness scores
• Performance testing progression
• Acute workload changes
• Session-to-session recovery monitoring

Assessment Name

Enter a unique name for the assessment.

This name is used internally when editing, assigning, and managing layouts.

Examples:

• HRV Change
• Daily Weight Difference
• Wellness Delta
• Jump Height Change

Display Name

The column header displayed within dashboards and reports.

This can be a shortened version of the assessment name.

Examples:

• HRV Δ
• Weight Change
• Wellness %
• Jump Diff

Assessment Field

Select the metric you want to compare against its previous value.

Examples include:

• HRV
• Resting Heart Rate
• Body Weight
• Wellness Score
• Countermovement Jump Height
• Sprint Time
• Any custom assessment field

Use Most Recent Value Instead of Today's Value

Determines how the "current" value is selected.

Disabled

Only values recorded on the selected dashboard date are considered.

Enabled

The most recently available value is used, even if it was recorded before the selected date.

This is useful when measurements are not collected every day.

Example:

A user recorded body weight three days ago but not today.

With this option enabled, the most recent body weight will still be used in the comparison.

Compare Against

Determines which value serves as the comparison point.

Previous Own Values

Compares a user against their immediately preceding value.

Example:

Result = +8

Group Values

Compares the user's value against a selected group's current or aggregated value.

This is useful when evaluating performance relative to teammates, positions, or other groups.

Comparison Method

Determines how the difference is calculated.

Difference

Displays the absolute change between values.

Example:

Previous body weight = 180 lbs

Current body weight = 184 lbs

Result = +4 lbs

Percentage Difference

Displays the percentage change between values.

Example:

Previous HRV = 80 ms

Current HRV = 88 ms

Result = +10%

Z-Score

Displays the change as a standardized score relative to the selected comparison population.

This can be useful when comparing athletes across different scales or measurement ranges.

Include Values After

Allows you to ignore values recorded before a specific date.

This is commonly used when:

• Starting a new season
• Beginning a rehabilitation process
• Creating a new monitoring period
• Excluding outdated historical records

Exclude Values Before

Removes values recorded before the selected date from consideration.

This helps ensure comparisons are only made within a desired timeframe.

Exclude Values After

Removes values recorded after the selected date from consideration.

This is useful when creating assessments for historical periods or specific seasons.

Value to Display

Determines which result appears in dashboards and reports.

Common options include:

Comparison Value

Displays the calculated difference, percentage change, or Z-score.

Current Value

Displays the athlete's current value.

Previous Value

Displays the comparison value used in the calculation.

Most users select Comparison Value.

Number of Decimals to Display

Controls the rounding applied to displayed values.

Examples:

Icon

Allows an icon to be displayed alongside the assessment value.

Icons are commonly used to quickly communicate:

• Improvement
• Decline
• Alert status
• Compliance
• Readiness

Thresholds and Color Coding

Thresholds can be applied to automatically color-code results based on the calculated difference.

Common examples include:

HRV Change

Wellness Score Change

Body Weight Change

Apply Thresholds to Comparison Value

Determines whether thresholds evaluate:

Enabled

The calculated difference, percentage change, or Z-score.

Example:

Current HRV = 90

Previous HRV = 80

Difference = +10

Thresholds evaluate +10.

Disabled

Thresholds evaluate the current raw value instead.

Example:

Thresholds evaluate 90, not the calculated difference.

For most Difference Assessments, enabling this option is recommended.

Common Use Cases

Daily HRV Change

Compare today's HRV to the previous recorded HRV value.

Body Weight Percentage Change

Monitor day-to-day body weight fluctuations.

Wellness Trend Monitoring

Track changes in athlete wellness scores over time.

Team Comparison

Compare an athlete's score against a group's current average.

Example Setup

Goal: Display the percentage change in HRV compared to the athlete's previous recorded value.

This configuration will display the percent increase or decrease in HRV relative to the athlete's most recent prior measurement and automatically apply threshold colors based on the magnitude of change.