Clinical Data Troubleshooting

Last updated: July 23, 2026

If a client's programs, targets, or graphs aren't showing what you expect, the cause is almost always one of a few simple things: a program's status, the filters you have applied, or the date range on a chart. This guide walks through the most common issues and how to fix them yourself.

Programs or targets not showing up

During a session (data collection)

When a session starts, Alpaca loads the client's programs and creates a place to record data for each one. A program will not appear for data collection if its status is one of the following:

  • Mastered

  • Draft

  • Future

  • On Hold

  • Discontinued

Programs only show up for data collection when they are in a working status: Active Baseline, Active, Generalization, or Maintenance. If a target is missing during a session, open the program and check that both the program and that specific target are set to one of those statuses.

A couple of other things to check:

  • Parent training programs are only loaded in the sessions they belong to. They will not appear in a standard direct (97153) therapy session.

  • The right client and the right session type. Confirm you started the session for the correct client and appointment.

On the client's Programs page

On the client's programs view, programs are split across the Behavior, Skills, Parent, and ABC tabs. If a program seems to be missing:

  • Check the tab. A program shows under the tab that matches its type, so a skill-acquisition program won't appear under Behavior.

  • Check your filters. Open the Filters button (funnel icon). The Program Filters panel lets you filter by Status, Data Collection Type, and Domain. If any of these are set, programs that don't match are hidden. Click Clear all to remove every filter and confirm the program reappears.

  • Check the status. A program set to Discontinued, On Hold, or Mastered is still on the client, but it's no longer being actively run. Alpaca does not have a separate "archive" — a discontinued program is the equivalent of an archived one. Use the Status filter to include those statuses if you're looking for an older program.

Changing a program's status (without a full protocol modification)

You do not need to run a protocol modification session to change a program's status. You can update it directly.

Change one program

  1. Open the program from the client's Programs page.

  2. Use the status dropdown in the top-right of the program header.

  3. Pick the new status (for example, moving a program from Active Baseline to Active, or to Discontinued).

  4. Alpaca asks "Move targets too?" — choose Yes, move all targets to move the program and all of its targets to the new status, or No, keep target statuses to change only the program itself.

You'll see a Program updated successfully confirmation. Remember that the statuses below the divider in the dropdown (Mastered, Draft, Future, On Hold, Discontinued) will remove the program from data collection, so only use those when you actually want the program to stop appearing in sessions.

Change several programs at once

To move many programs at the same time, use the Bulk Program Status Change tool (from the client's program settings menu). It lets you select multiple programs, apply a new status to all of them, and optionally add a phase-change line on a date you choose. For a full walkthrough see the Bulk-Changing Program Statuses article.

Graph and chart issues

Charts live on the Chart tab of a program (and in the client's data visualization view). Most graph surprises come from the view controls rather than a data problem.

"No data for this time range"

If the chart shows No data for this time range, the selected period simply has no sessions in it. Under Period, try a wider window — 1M, 3M, 6M, or 1Y — or click Clear to reset the range. You can also set a specific Custom range with the date picker.

Unexpected zero values

A point sitting at zero usually means one of two things:

  • It's a real result. For frequency-based (behavior reduction) programs, zero means the behavior didn't occur during that session — which is often exactly what you want to see.

  • No data was recorded. If a session ran but no trials or measurements were entered for that program, the session can still show up on the chart with little or no value. Open the History or Data Entry tab for the program to confirm whether data was actually collected in that session, and add or correct it if needed.

A few controls also change how values are scaled, which can make a point look higher or lower than expected:

  • Rate (frequency programs) plots a per-hour rate instead of a raw count. Sessions under one hour use a one-hour minimum, so very short sessions can look different from what you'd expect.

  • Frequency and Average (duration programs) switch between how duration data is summarized.

  • Date vs. Session grouping combines same-day sessions or shows each session separately, which changes each plotted point.

Missing phase-change lines and event markers

The vertical lines on a chart (numbered [1], [2], and so on) mark phase changes and client events — for example, when a program moved from baseline to intervention. If one you expect is missing:

  • Check the date range. A marker only appears if its date falls inside the selected Period. Widen the range or clear it.

  • Try Session grouping. In Date grouping, a marker that has no valid date won't be drawn. Switch to Session grouping to see it, or add a date to the line.

  • Confirm the line exists. Open Phase Changes/Events on the chart to review and add markers. The editor has tabs for Program Phase Changes, Target Phase Changes, Client Event Lines, and Target Event Lines. If you're on the combined program view, target-level lines may only appear when you switch to the Single Target view.

The Mastery Filter is greyed out

The Mastery Filter lets you highlight sessions that met the mastery threshold. If it's disabled, the most common reason is that no threshold is defined: "No mastery threshold set for this program's targets — add a mastery criteria to use this filter." Add mastery criteria to the target (on the program's Criteria tab) and the filter becomes available. The filter is also unavailable while Rate is on for programs whose threshold compares per-session totals — turn Rate off to use it.

Still stuck?

If a program still isn't behaving the way you expect after checking status, filters, and date range, reach out to Alpaca support with the client, the program name, and a screenshot of what you're seeing. That context helps us track it down quickly.