Operations Dashboard

D05 - Measurement Sophistication

Definition

A living, curated set of operational metrics, typically six to eight, updated on a consistent cadence and structured to answer whether the operation is becoming more efficient, performing within acceptable bounds, and carrying any escalation-worthy risk.

A dashboard built by accumulation — adding a metric whenever someone asks for one, produces a display that accurately describes the past without enabling any decision about the future.

A designed dashboard starts from the three questions it needs to answer and works backward to the minimum metrics required.

Indicators

• Your current dashboard has more than ten metrics.
• A metric was added in the last year because someone asked about it, not because a specific decision required it.
• You have never removed a metric from your dashboard.

Quick Win

• Count your current dashboard's metrics.
• For each metric on your current dashboard, write one sentence describing the specific decision it informs.
• Any metric you cannot write a sentence for is a dashboard accumulation artifact, not a designed element.

Assess

• Take the HQ Score Assessment

Apply

• The Operations Dashboard Builder
• The Industry-Specific KPI Library

Related

• Minimum Viable Dashboard
• Board Operations Summary
• Lagging Indicator
• Leading Indicator
• Goodhart's Law