What is the difference between Span and Outgoing Count?

This video and article talk you through the key differences between two Orgvue generated Properties: Span and Outgoing Count.  



Other considerations
The Span value for individual contributors is left blank. The Outgoing Count value for individual contributors is set to 0. This only becomes significant it you want to use the Average function as shown in the image below.  


In this example the Sales Manager has a Span of 10 and an Outgoing Count of 10 but you see the difference when you look at the AVG. 
This is because the calcs are as follows: 
Span AVG = 10/1 = 10
Outgoing Count AVG = (10+0+0+0+0+0+0+0+0+0+0)/11 = 0.91
Note that you can Outgoing Count AVG to match the Span AVG if you add a filter Is Leaf = False as this would exclude all individual contributors from the visualisation and the calculation.  

Examples of when to use each Span
We have seen in the example above that Span can often be simpler when calculating AVG. 
It can also be useful where there are particular positions that you would like to discount. The most common example of this would be to exclude Executive Assistants reporting into the C-Suite as they are typically not considered a management burden. 
Another example would be where you wish to filter out specific positions marked with specific actions such as Closed.  

Examples of when to use Outgoing Count
When you are looking at positions more generally then it is better to discount the impact of filters and use outgoing count. For example if a manager has direct reports from two different functions then filtering to a particular function would show a Span number that could be misleading as it would discount the reports in the other function.

Summary
Both Span and Outgoing Count can be useful but it is important to understand what each is telling you.  Adding both to visualisations, initially, can help you identify the most appropriate for your analysis.  If you do need further support then speak to your Administrator or Customer Success Manager.      

See also:  What is the difference between Depth, Height and Layers?