Hey Liz 
Truly my pleasure !
Ok now regarding your analysis findings you mentioned that there is no change after performing a manual refresh which is quite peculiar in true essence. One point to checkout here on your side is the default trace on the UWL if you can take a look at it on your side and see if there are any EP-BC-UWL exceptions being thrown.
For guidance you can use the KBA outlined below to capture the trace. If you are able to reproduce the issue at hand, try doing so and then subsequently have a look at the trace. If you see any EP-BC-UWL references you can send them onto me and I will take a look.
Based on whats reveled in the trace this will let us rule out potential errors as contributing factors in the scenario and issue.
Now onto the observations you made:
- Cache validity period = 5 minutes
- Main UWL iview page refresh rate = 5 minutes
- Data Pull Refresh Period = no value defined
Now regarding these parameter settings they are all about striking balance and are dependent on specific system requirements and loads i.e. they will differ among customers.
In terms of the most optimal and recommend setup the baseline point of reference is that of:
- SAP KBA: 1577547 UWL Performance Tips and Considerations
Lastly let us cover the "Delta Pull Refresh Period".
In terms of the Delta Pull itself its configuration and the underlying baseline operations there are a few important points to highlight.
The Delta Pull mechanism of UWL enables new items to be fetched from the back end SAP systems every minute by default every 60 seconds, and every 30 seconds for alerts.
However, this can be configured. The user does not need to use the refresh function to update the inbox. Once items are retrieved, timestamps are updated for the users whose items are successfully retrieved.
- These retrieved items are updated in the UWL cache.
The delta pull period should be no longer than the time that task is required to be updated in the UWL for all new items from the backend.
If the items are created more frequently, the period should be shortened and the opposite. Better results for performance will be with greater values, but in this case, the items may not be always up to date.
The minimal value is 60 seconds, which is also the default. This corresponds to the following parameter on the portal in the UWL Admin UI for the webflow connector - Delta Pull Channel Refresh Period (in Seconds): 60.
If you are using Delta Pull, please ensure that you DO NOT maintain the snapshot pull period and the value in this field (again a parameter on the portal in the UWL Admin UI for the webflow connector) should be deleted.
In other words, it should be left empty as it just creates another temp channel for user and is not required, thus impacting performance.
Let me know how you get on and if you need anymore clarifications here.
Always happy to help out
Kind Regards & Talk Soon
Troy