How many metrics should be on a dashboard?

Between 5 and 10. Research from [Stephen Few](https://www.perceptualedge.com/) on dashboard design shows that humans can monitor 5-9 metrics effectively. Beyond that, attention fragments and the dashboard becomes a data dump. Use the three-tier hierarchy (business outcomes, product health, leading indicators) to prioritize. If you need more than 10 metrics, split them across two dashboards for different audiences.

What is the difference between a KPI dashboard and a reporting deck?

A dashboard is a live, always-on view of current performance. It answers "what is happening right now?" A reporting deck is a periodic snapshot with analysis and narrative. It answers "what happened last quarter and what are we doing about it?" The dashboard feeds the deck. Review the dashboard weekly; build the deck monthly or quarterly. The [quarterly business review template](/templates/quarterly-business-review-template) provides a structure for the periodic reporting format.

Should we use real-time or daily refresh?

Daily refresh is sufficient for most product dashboards. Real-time dashboards create a temptation to react to noise instead of signal. The exceptions are operational dashboards (error rates, latency) and launch-day dashboards where real-time monitoring is essential. For product health metrics like activation rate or NPS, daily is more than enough.

How do we choose alert thresholds?

Start with historical data. Look at the metric's range over the past 90 days. Set the warning threshold at the 10th percentile (the bottom of normal range) and the critical threshold at a level that has never been sustained for more than 1 day. After 30 days, adjust based on alert volume. If you are getting more than 2 alerts per week on a single metric, the threshold is too tight.

What tool should we use for the dashboard?

The tool matters less than the metric definitions and layout. Amplitude and Mixpanel work well for product analytics. Looker and Metabase work well for cross-source data (product + revenue + support). Google Sheets works in a pinch for small teams. The key criteria: can it pull from all your data sources, does it support auto-refresh, and can it send alerts? Pick the tool your team will actually look at. ---

KPI Dashboard Template

What This Template Is For

A KPI dashboard is the team's shared view of reality. It answers "how is the product performing right now?" without requiring anyone to run a query or open a spreadsheet. A well-designed dashboard changes team behavior. When activation rate is visible on a screen that people see every day, the team makes different decisions than when activation rate lives in a quarterly report that three people read.

Most teams build dashboards wrong. They add every metric they can think of, the dashboard becomes a wall of numbers, and nobody looks at it after the first week. The fix is not better tooling. It is better metric selection. A dashboard should contain 5-10 metrics that the team can actually influence, organized in a logical hierarchy from business outcomes to leading indicators.

This template walks you through metric selection, layout design, data source mapping, and alert configuration. It is tool-agnostic: whether you use Amplitude, Mixpanel, Looker, Metabase, or a Google Sheet, the framework is the same. For help choosing which metrics to track, the NPS Calculator can benchmark your customer satisfaction, and the metrics library covers definitions for common product metrics. The Product Analytics Handbook provides the full framework for building a measurement practice from scratch.

How to Use This Template

Start with the Metric Selection section. List every metric the team currently tracks, then ruthlessly cut to the 5-10 that directly measure the team's impact. If a metric is "nice to know" but the team cannot influence it, remove it.
Organize metrics into the hierarchy: 1-2 business outcomes at the top, 2-3 product health metrics in the middle, and 3-5 leading indicators at the bottom.
Map each metric to its data source and define the exact calculation. Two people looking at "activation rate" should see the same number. This requires a precise definition, not a label.
Set targets and alert thresholds for every metric. A metric without a target is a number. A metric with a target is a decision-making tool.
Design the layout. Put the most important metrics at the top-left (where eyes go first). Group related metrics together.
Set up automated alerts for threshold breaches. The dashboard should find you when something goes wrong, not the other way around.
Review the dashboard weekly with the team. If any metric has not been discussed in 4 weeks, consider removing it.

The Template

Dashboard Overview

Field	Details
Dashboard Name	[Name, e.g., "Growth Squad - Weekly KPIs"]
Owner	[Name]
Team	[Team name]
Tool	[Amplitude / Looker / Metabase / Tableau / Google Sheets]
Refresh Cadence	[Real-time / Hourly / Daily / Weekly]
Audience	[Who looks at this dashboard: team, leadership, company-wide]
Last Reviewed	[Date]

Metric Selection Framework

Before adding a metric to the dashboard, it must pass three tests:

Actionable. Can the team directly influence this metric through their work? If not, it is a vanity metric.
Timely. Does the metric move fast enough to be useful at the dashboard's refresh cadence? Annual metrics do not belong on a daily dashboard.
Unambiguous. Is the calculation precise enough that two people running the same query get the same number?

Metric Hierarchy

Tier 1: Business Outcomes (1-2 metrics)

These are the outcomes the business cares about. They move slowly and are influenced by many teams. The dashboard tracks them for context, not for daily decision-making.

Metric	Definition	Current Value	Target	Timeframe
[e.g., Monthly Recurring Revenue]	[Exact calculation]	[Value]	[Target]	[Monthly/Quarterly]
[e.g., Net Revenue Retention]	[Exact calculation]	[Value]	[Target]	[Monthly/Quarterly]

Tier 2: Product Health (2-3 metrics)

These measure the product's core value delivery. They move at a weekly cadence and are the primary indicators of whether the product is healthy.

Metric	Definition	Current Value	Target	Alert Threshold
[e.g., Weekly Active Users]	[Exact calculation]	[Value]	[Target]	[Below X = alert]
[e.g., Activation Rate]	[Exact calculation]	[Value]	[Target]	[Below X = alert]
[e.g., NPS / CSAT]	[Exact calculation]	[Value]	[Target]	[Below X = alert]

Tier 3: Leading Indicators (3-5 metrics)

These are the metrics the team can move this sprint. They are leading indicators of Tier 2 metrics. If the team is doing the right work, these numbers move first.

Metric	Definition	Current Value	Target	Alert Threshold
[e.g., Onboarding Completion Rate]	[Exact calculation]	[Value]	[Target]	[Below X = alert]
[e.g., Feature Adoption (new feature)]	[Exact calculation]	[Value]	[Target]	[Below X = alert]
[e.g., Time to First Value]	[Exact calculation]	[Value]	[Target]	[Above X = alert]
[e.g., Support Tickets (category)]	[Exact calculation]	[Value]	[Target]	[Above X = alert]

Data Source Mapping

Metric	Data Source	Table/Event	Calculation	Update Frequency
[Metric 1]	[Tool: Amplitude, Stripe, DB]	[Specific table or event name]	[SQL query, formula, or tool config]	[Real-time / Daily]
[Metric 2]	[Tool]	[Table/event]	[Calculation]	[Frequency]
[Metric 3]	[Tool]	[Table/event]	[Calculation]	[Frequency]
[Metric 4]	[Tool]	[Table/event]	[Calculation]	[Frequency]
[Metric 5]	[Tool]	[Table/event]	[Calculation]	[Frequency]

Dashboard Layout

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  TIER 1: BUSINESS OUTCOMES                              │
│  ┌──────────────┐  ┌──────────────┐                     │
│  │ [Metric 1]   │  │ [Metric 2]   │                     │
│  │ $X.XM MRR    │  │ X% NRR       │                     │
│  │ ▲ X% MoM     │  │ ▲ X% MoM     │                     │
│  └──────────────┘  └──────────────┘                     │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  TIER 2: PRODUCT HEALTH                                 │
│  ┌──────────────┐  ┌──────────────┐  ┌──────────────┐  │
│  │ [Metric 3]   │  │ [Metric 4]   │  │ [Metric 5]   │  │
│  │ X,XXX WAU    │  │ X% Activation│  │ X NPS        │  │
│  │ [sparkline]  │  │ [sparkline]  │  │ [sparkline]  │  │
│  └──────────────┘  └──────────────┘  └──────────────┘  │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  TIER 3: LEADING INDICATORS                             │
│  ┌──────────────┐  ┌──────────────┐  ┌──────────────┐  │
│  │ [Metric 6]   │  │ [Metric 7]   │  │ [Metric 8]   │  │
│  │ X% Onboard   │  │ X% Feature   │  │ Xm TTFV     │  │
│  │ [sparkline]  │  │ [sparkline]  │  │ [sparkline]  │  │
│  └──────────────┘  └──────────────┘  └──────────────┘  │
│  ┌──────────────┐  ┌──────────────┐                     │
│  │ [Metric 9]   │  │ [Metric 10]  │                     │
│  │ X Tickets    │  │ X% Retention │                     │
│  │ [sparkline]  │  │ [sparkline]  │                     │
│  └──────────────┘  └──────────────┘                     │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  TREND CHARTS (select 2-3 key metrics for deep view)    │
│  ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐    │
│  │ [Line chart: Key metric over 12 weeks]          │    │
│  │ [Include target line and alert threshold]       │    │
│  └─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘    │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Alert Configuration

Metric	Condition	Severity	Channel	Audience
[Metric 1]	Below [X] for [Y] consecutive days	Critical	Slack #alerts + PagerDuty	PM, Eng Lead
[Metric 2]	Below [X] for [Y] consecutive days	Warning	Slack #team-channel	Full team
[Metric 3]	Above [X] (degradation)	Critical	Slack #alerts + email	PM, Eng Lead
[Metric 4]	Week-over-week change > [X]%	Info	Slack #team-channel	Full team

Alert response protocol.

Critical: Investigate within 1 hour. IC assigned from on-call rotation.
Warning: Investigate within 1 business day. PM or Eng Lead triages.
Info: Review in next standup. No immediate action required.

Review Cadence

Review	Frequency	Participants	Focus
Daily glance	Daily	Individual team members	Spot anomalies
Weekly team review	Weekly (standup or dedicated 15 min)	Full team	Trends, blockers, sprint impact
Monthly deep dive	Monthly	Team + stakeholders	Goal progress, strategy adjustments
Quarterly target reset	Quarterly	Team + leadership	Set new targets based on actuals

Filled Example: SaaS Product Dashboard

Dashboard Overview

Field	Details
Dashboard Name	ProjectFlow - Product Health Dashboard
Owner	Sarah Kim, Senior PM
Team	Growth Squad
Tool	Amplitude (product metrics) + Stripe (revenue) + Metabase (custom queries)
Refresh Cadence	Daily (metrics), Real-time (alerts)
Audience	Growth Squad (daily), Product leadership (weekly), Exec team (monthly)
Last Reviewed	March 2026

Metric Hierarchy

Tier 1: Business Outcomes

Metric	Definition	Current Value	Target	Timeframe
Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR)	Sum of all active subscription amounts as of the last day of the month. Excludes one-time charges and credits. Source: Stripe.	$1.24M	$1.5M	Q2 2026
Net Revenue Retention (NRR)	(Starting MRR + Expansion - Contraction - Churn) / Starting MRR, trailing 12 months. Source: Stripe + internal billing.	104%	115%	Q4 2026

Tier 2: Product Health

Metric	Definition	Current Value	Target	Alert Threshold
Weekly Active Users (WAU)	Unique users who performed at least 1 core action (create/edit project, complete task, add comment) in a 7-day rolling window. Source: Amplitude.	8,420	12,000	< 7,000 (Critical)
7-Day Activation Rate	% of new signups who complete their first key action (create a project with at least 1 task) within 7 days of signup. Source: Amplitude cohort.	34%	50%	< 28% (Warning)
NPS (30-day users)	Net Promoter Score from in-app survey triggered at day 30. Promoters (9-10) minus Detractors (0-6) as % of respondents. Source: Delighted.	42	55	< 30 (Warning)

Tier 3: Leading Indicators

Metric	Definition	Current Value	Target	Alert Threshold
Onboarding Completion Rate	% of new signups who complete all 3 onboarding steps (profile, first project, invite teammate) within 24 hours. Source: Amplitude funnel.	61%	85%	< 50% (Warning)
AI Feature Adoption	% of WAU who used at least 1 AI-powered feature (AI summary, AI task generation, AI status update) in the past 7 days. Source: Amplitude.	18%	35%	< 12% (Warning)
Time to First Value (TTFV)	Median minutes from signup to first key action (project creation) for users who activate. Source: Amplitude.	4.2 days	< 5 min	> 1 day (Warning)
Week-1 Support Tickets	Count of support tickets from users in their first 7 days, normalized per 100 signups. Category: "Getting Started." Source: Zendesk.	23 per 100	< 10 per 100	> 30 per 100 (Warning)
Trial-to-Paid Conversion	% of free trial signups who convert to a paid plan within 30 days. Source: Stripe + Amplitude user matching.	8.2%	12%	< 6% (Critical)

Data Source Mapping

Metric	Data Source	Table/Event	Calculation	Update Frequency
MRR	Stripe	`subscriptions`	Sum of `plan_amount` where `status = 'active'`	Daily (midnight UTC)
NRR	Stripe + Internal	`mrr_snapshots`	Rolling 12-month cohort calculation	Monthly
WAU	Amplitude	`core_action` event	Count distinct `user_id` in 7-day window	Hourly
Activation Rate	Amplitude	`project_created` event	Cohort: signups in week N who fire `project_created` within 7 days / total signups in week N	Daily
NPS	Delighted	API sync	(Promoters - Detractors) / Total Respondents x 100	Weekly (survey cadence)
Onboarding Completion	Amplitude	`onboarding_step_completed` event	Funnel: step 1 → step 2 → step 3 within 24h	Daily
AI Feature Adoption	Amplitude	`ai_feature_used` event	Distinct users with any `ai_feature_used` event / WAU	Daily
TTFV	Amplitude	`signup` → `project_created`	Median time delta between events for activating users	Daily
Week-1 Tickets	Zendesk	Tickets with `user_age < 7 days` tag	Count / (signups in same week / 100)	Daily
Trial-to-Paid	Stripe + Amplitude	`subscription_created` event	Users with paid subscription within 30 days of signup / total signups in cohort	Daily (30-day lag)

Alert Configuration

Metric	Condition	Severity	Channel	Audience
WAU	< 7,000 for 2 consecutive days	Critical	#growth-alerts + PagerDuty	Sarah (PM), Alex (Eng Lead)
Trial-to-Paid	< 6% for trailing 7 days	Critical	#growth-alerts	Sarah, Lisa (VP Product)
Activation Rate	< 28% for trailing 7 days	Warning	#growth-squad	Full team
TTFV	Median > 1 day for trailing 7 days	Warning	#growth-squad	Full team
AI Adoption	< 12% for trailing 7 days	Warning	#growth-squad	Full team
Week-1 Tickets	> 30 per 100 signups for trailing 7 days	Info	#growth-squad	Sarah

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Adding too many metrics. If your dashboard has more than 10 metrics, nobody will look at it. Every metric you add dilutes the signal. Cut aggressively. A metric should earn its place on the dashboard by directly informing a decision the team makes regularly.
Tracking metrics the team cannot influence. Total revenue is important, but if your team only owns onboarding, tracking total revenue on your dashboard is noise. Track the metrics your team's work directly moves.
Missing precise definitions. "Active users" means different things to different people. Define every metric precisely: what events count, what time window, what user segments are included or excluded. Two people querying the same metric should get the same number.
No alert thresholds. A dashboard without alerts requires someone to remember to check it. Set thresholds for every metric so the dashboard finds you when something goes wrong. Start generous (avoid alert fatigue) and tighten as you learn the normal range.
Never reviewing the dashboard as a team. A dashboard that only the PM looks at is a personal monitoring tool, not a team artifact. Review it weekly in standup or a dedicated 15-minute slot. Discuss what changed, why, and what the team should do about it.

Key Takeaways

Limit the dashboard to 5-10 metrics organized in a three-tier hierarchy
Every metric needs a precise definition, a target, and an alert threshold
Review the dashboard weekly as a team. If a metric has not been discussed in 4 weeks, remove it
Set alert thresholds based on historical data. Adjust after 30 days to avoid alert fatigue
The dashboard should drive decisions, not just display numbers

About This Template

Created by: Tim Adair

Last Updated: 3/4/2026

Version: 1.0.0

License: Free for personal and commercial use

KPI Dashboard Template