At a glance
Avg Frustration Score is the single FullStory-distinctive number for how frustrated your visitors are. It is a composite that rolls up the individual frustration signals, rage clicks, dead clicks, error clicks, thrashing, into one comparable score per session, then averages it across the period. It is the metric to put in front of a non-technical owner: one number, trending up or down, that says whether the on-site experience is getting better or worse without needing to read five separate gauges.
| What it counts | The average per-session frustration score across captured FullStory sessions in the period, derived from the underlying frustration signals. |
| Sample type | Backend API data from FullStory, refreshed on the standard data refresh. |
| Why it matters | It is the headline health number for on-site experience. A rising average means visitors are hitting more friction, which reliably precedes softer engagement and conversion. |
| Reading the value | Watch the direction against the prior period. The component cards, rage, dead, error, thrashing, explain any movement. |
| Currency | count |
| Time window | 30D vsP |
| Alert trigger | rising >baseline |
| Sentiment key | fs_frustration_score |
| Roles | owner, marketing |
Calculation
Calculated automatically from your FullStory data. FullStory derives a per-session frustration measure from its frustration-signal events; Vortex IQ averages that measure across captured sessions in the period and compares it to the prior period. See the At a glance summary above for what the metric tracks and the worked example below for a typical reading.Worked example
A representative reading of Avg Frustration Score for a typical merchant on FullStory. Suppose the score sits flat for weeks, then ticks up week over week. Opening the component cards shows error clicks are the driver, climbing after a payment-provider script change. The composite caught the drift before any single gauge looked alarming on its own. Acting early, the merchant fixes the script and the average settles back. For deeper investigation, use Vortex Mind to attribute the rise to a component signal; for natural-language exploration, ask Ask Viq what pushed frustration up this week.Sibling cards merchants should reference together
| Card | Why merchants reach for it |
|---|---|
fs_rage_click_rate | A core component: repeated clicks on an unresponsive element. |
fs_dead_click_rate | A core component: clicks on elements that do nothing. |
fs_error_click_rate | A core component: clicks that trigger a JS error. |
fs_health_score | The wider UX health composite this score feeds. |
fs_worst_frustration_pages | Where the frustration concentrates by page. |
Reconciling against the vendor’s own dashboard
Where to look in FullStory’s own dashboard: FullStory surfaces frustration through its frustration-signal reporting and session scoring. The exact composite Vortex IQ shows is derived from those signals, so reconcile by comparing the component event rates rather than expecting an identical headline figure. Why the Vortex IQ value may legitimately differ:| Reason | Direction | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Period boundary. Vortex IQ uses 30-day rolling by default; FullStory dashboards may use calendar periods. | Variable | Match the period range. |
| Composite weighting. The way component signals roll into one score may weight differently from a hand-built FullStory view. | Variable | Compare the component rates directly. |
| Segment scope. A FullStory segment may narrow the sessions included relative to the Vortex IQ profile. | Variable | Match segment and filter settings. |