Tableau Strategies

Chapter 5. Key Performance Indicators

Let’s talk about one more controversial topic in data visualization: key performance indicators, or KPIs. The controversy around KPIs arises because you’re presenting only a single number and, in fact, you’re not using any particular visualization at all—you’re just showing a number or value as text. Still, there is an art to this text, and in this chapter, we will discuss the art of creating a KPI.

This type of analysis aids in answering common business questions such as these:

• What is our revenue this month?

• Did we meet our goal for fundraising dollars last month?

• How does time to ship compare to the same time last year?

• What is the lift of our 20% off promotion?

• How does profit margin change over time (where time is the dimension)?

KPIs are utilized across virtually every organization that uses data. This is because goals established within an organization are often measured using a single metric. The definition of this metric is typically established by leaders and regularly reviewed as a snapshot in time. As the developer of a dashboard, your job is to make this metric readily available. KPIs are usually measured across a single point in time, whether it’s a week, month, or year. This makes it extremely important for any dashboard developer to know the particular time encompassed within a KPI and exactly how to measure that metric.

Developing useful KPIs means providing more than just a single number; it means providing additional context ...