Logical checks and errors
OR function: flag a support ticket when either trigger applies
Escalate a ticket if a service is down or if its response age exceeds 24 hours. Check all four truth-table cases and exact threshold equality.
Two independent reasons to escalate a ticket
A helpdesk escalates any ticket marked Yes in Service down (column B) or waiting strictly longer than the 24-hour threshold stored in E2 (column C).
| Ticket (A) | Service down (B) | Age hours (C) |
|---|---|---|
| TK-1 | Yes | 6 |
| TK-2 | No | 30 |
| TK-3 | Yes | 36 |
| TK-4 | No | 24 |
Write the OR test and check the boundary
OR returns TRUE as soon as at least one condition is TRUE, and FALSE only when every condition is FALSE. Notice TK-4 at exactly 24 hours: because the rule uses >$E$2 rather than >=$E$2, 24>24 is FALSE.
=OR(B2="Yes",C2>$E$2)Both conditions true still produces one flag
TK-1 (service down only), TK-2 (over 24 hours only), and TK-3 (both service down and 36 hours old) each evaluate to a single TRUE. Unlike adding two separate COUNTIF totals—which would count TK-3 twice—a row-level OR flag marks each qualifying ticket once.
=IF(OR(B5="Yes",C5>$E$2),"Escalate","Standard")Test the 24-hour threshold in the practice grid
Check row 5 (TK-4): at C5 = 24 the formula returns FALSE (Standard). Change C5 to 25 and recalculate to see it flip to TRUE (Escalate).
Try the example
Use the original values or change them to test your understanding.