Business analysis glossary
Metric
What it is
A metric is any quantifiable measure, such as number of orders, average delivery time or percentage of failed payments. All KPIs are metrics, but not every metric is important enough to be a KPI. Metrics can be counts, percentages, averages, durations or ratios, and each needs a clear definition of what is included.
Why it matters
Metrics describe what is happening. Choosing which few of them become KPIs prevents dashboards from becoming a wall of numbers that nobody acts on. Distinguishing metrics from KPIs prevents the common problem of dashboards with fifty numbers where nobody can tell which three really matter.
Example
Marlow Online Store tracks dozens of metrics such as page views and basket size. Only checkout conversion rate is promoted to a KPI because it directly reflects the checkout improvement project's goal. The other metrics remain available to help explain changes in the KPI, but they are not on the main screen.