What makes a useful KPI?
A useful KPI is one somebody can influence, understand without a glossary, and compare against something that matters.
Visuioration editorial, 28 July 2026, 5 min read
It connects to a decision
If a number moves and nobody changes what they do, it is a statistic, not a KPI. Conversion rate is useful to a product team because they can change checkout; it is less useful to a warehouse team who cannot.
It has a comparison
A figure on its own tells you little. Show it against the previous period, the same period last year, or a target, and say which one you chose.
It is defined once
Revenue should mean the same thing on every dashboard. Keep definitions in one place and link to them from the metric itself.
It comes in balanced pairs
Pair speed with quality and growth with cost. Customer acquisition cost next to new customers stops one team from optimising one number at the expense of the other.