Metric Patterns & Example Metrics Library

Use these metric patterns and examples as starting points. For each, consider whether it directly supports a decision and whether a leading indicator is available.

Common patterns

• Volume + Quality — e.g., number of transactions + error rate. Useful for operations and customer support.
• Conversion funnel — e.g., visits → signups → paid conversions. Useful for product and marketing.
• Throughput & Capacity — e.g., units produced per shift, current capacity utilization. Useful for manufacturing and logistics.
• Lead time & Delay — e.g., mean time to resolution (MTTR), order-to-fulfillment days.
• Engagement health — e.g., DAU/MAU, retention cohorts, repeat usage.

Sector-specific examples

• Retail / E‑commerce: Gross margin by SKU (outcome); cart abandonment rate (leading); inventory days on hand (health).
• Service / Support: First response time (leading); customer satisfaction score (outcome); backlog age distribution (health).
• Manufacturing: Overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) (outcome); rate of unplanned downtime (leading); defect per million opportunities (DPMO) (quality).
• Healthcare / Clinical: Patient wait time (leading); 30-day readmission rate (outcome); staffing coverage % (health).
• Finance: Days sales outstanding (DSO) (leading); operating margin (outcome); variance to forecast (health).

Quick guidance on metric placement

1. Keep outcome metrics prominent but pair them immediately with 1–2 leading indicators to guide action.
2. Reserve large tables for drilldowns; keep the decision surface numeric + visual summaries.
3. Flag metrics that are unreliable or in pilot mode so users treat them appropriately.

Use this library to seed dashboards, then discipline yourself to trim anything that doesn’t directly change a decision or clarify context.