Executive Dashboard

Design KPI dashboards for executive monitoring. Use for performance tracking, strategic initiatives, and management reporting.

Metadata

• Name: executive-dashboard
• Description: KPI framework for executive performance monitoring
• Triggers: dashboard, KPI, performance metrics, executive reporting, scorecard

Instructions

You are designing an executive dashboard for $ARGUMENTS.

Create a KPI framework that provides visibility into critical business drivers.

Framework

Dashboard Design Principles

1. Strategic Alignment - KPIs tied to strategic objectives
2. Leading + Lagging - Mix of predictive and outcome measures
3. Actionable - Each KPI has an owner who can act
4. Limited - 5-10 KPIs maximum per view
5. Drill-down - Can explore details when needed
6. Real-time or Near Real-time - Timely enough to act

KPI Categories

Category	Purpose	Examples
Financial	Profitability & health	Revenue, margin, cash flow
Customer	Market position	NPS, retention, share
Operational	Efficiency & quality	Cycle time, quality, utilization
People	Human capital	Engagement, turnover, productivity
Growth	Future performance	Pipeline, innovation, launches

Leading vs. Lagging Indicators

Type	Definition	Example
Leading	Predicts future performance	Pipeline, bookings, web traffic
Lagging	Measures past performance	Revenue, profit, market share
Coincident	Current state indicator	Backlog, inventory, headcount

Traffic Light System

• 🟢 Green = On track (within tolerance)
• 🟡 Yellow = At risk (outside tolerance, needs attention)
• 🔴 Red = Off track (significant deviation, action required)

Output Format

## Executive Dashboard: [Business/Function]

### Dashboard Purpose

**Business Unit/Function:** [Name]
**Dashboard Owner:** [Executive]
**Update Frequency:** [Daily/Weekly/Monthly]
**Primary Audience:** [Who uses this]
**Key Decisions Supported:** [What decisions does this inform]

---

### Dashboard Overview

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ EXECUTIVE DASHBOARD │ │ [Business Unit] │ │ As of: [Date] │ ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ │ │ REVENUE MARGIN CUSTOMER OPERATIONS │ │ $50.2M 22.5% NPS: 72 98.2% SLA │ │ 🟢 +8% YoY 🟡 -1pt YoY 🟢 +5pts 🟢 +0.5pt │ │ │ ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ │ │ CRITICAL METRICS │ │ ┌──────────────┬──────────────┬──────────────┬──────────────┐ │ │ │ ARR: $45M │ Churn: 5.2% │ CAC: $2.1K │ LTV: $15K │ │ │ │ 🟢 +12% │ 🟡 +0.5pt │ 🟢 -10% │ 🟢 +20% │ │ │ └──────────────┴──────────────┴──────────────┴──────────────┘ │ │ │ │ 🟢 6 Green │ 🟡 3 Yellow │ 🔴 1 Red │ │ │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

---

### KPI Definitions

#### Financial KPIs

| KPI | Definition | Target | Current | Status | Trend |
|-----|------------|--------|---------|--------|-------|
| **Revenue** | Total revenue (monthly) | $50M | $50.2M | 🟢 | ↑ |
| **Gross Margin** | (Revenue - COGS) / Revenue | 65% | 63% | 🟡 | → |
| **Operating Margin** | Operating income / Revenue | 25% | 22.5% | 🟡 | ↓ |
| **Free Cash Flow** | Cash from operations - CapEx | $10M | $12M | 🟢 | ↑ |
| **ARR** | Annual recurring revenue | $40M | $45M | 🟢 | ↑ |

#### Customer KPIs

| KPI | Definition | Target | Current | Status | Trend |
|-----|------------|--------|---------|--------|-------|
| **NPS** | Net Promoter Score | 70 | 72 | 🟢 | ↑ |
| **Customer Retention** | % retained customers | 95% | 94.8% | 🟡 | → |
| **Churn Rate** | % customers lost (annual) | <5% | 5.2% | 🟡 | ↑ |
| **Market Share** | % of market | 25% | 23% | 🟡 | → |
| **CAC** | Customer acquisition cost | <$2.5K | $2.1K | 🟢 | ↓ |

#### Operational KPIs

| KPI | Definition | Target | Current | Status | Trend |
|-----|------------|--------|---------|--------|-------|
| **SLA Achievement** | % of SLAs met | 99% | 98.2% | 🟢 | ↑ |
| **Cycle Time** | Avg. time to complete | <5 days | 4.8 days | 🟢 | ↓ |
| **Quality Score** | Defect-free rate | 99.5% | 99.1% | 🟡 | → |
| **Utilization** | Resource utilization | 85% | 82% | 🟡 | ↓ |

#### People KPIs

| KPI | Definition | Target | Current | Status | Trend |
|-----|------------|--------|---------|--------|-------|
| **Engagement Score** | Employee engagement | 80 | 78 | 🟡 | → |
| **Voluntary Turnover** | % leaving voluntarily | <10% | 8.5% | 🟢 | ↓ |
| **Productivity** | Revenue per employee | $300K | $315K | 🟢 | ↑ |

#### Growth KPIs

| KPI | Definition | Target | Current | Status | Trend |
|-----|------------|--------|---------|--------|-------|
| **Pipeline Value** | Weighted pipeline | $100M | $85M | 🔴 | ↓ |
| **Win Rate** | % of deals won | 35% | 38% | 🟢 | ↑ |
| **New Product Revenue** | % from products <2yr old | 20% | 18% | 🟡 | → |

---

### Trend Visualization

**Revenue (12-month rolling)**

$60M ┤ │ ╭───● $55M ┤ ╭────────╯ │ ╭──────╯ $50M ┤ ╭─────────╯ │ ╭───────╯ $45M ┤──────╯ │ $40M ┤ └───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬─── J F M A M J J A S O N D

**NPS Trend**

80 ┤ ╭───────● │ ╭───────╯ 75 ┤ ╭───────╯ │────╯ 70 ┤ │ 65 ┤ └───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬─── J F M A M J J A S O N D

---

### Alerts & Exceptions

| Alert | Metric | Condition | Current | Action Required |
|-------|--------|-----------|---------|-----------------|
| 🔴 **CRITICAL** | Pipeline | <$90M | $85M | Sales push needed |
| 🟡 **WARNING** | Gross Margin | <64% | 63% | Cost review |
| 🟡 **WARNING** | Churn | >5% | 5.2% | Retention campaign |

---

### KPI Drill-Down

#### 🔴 Pipeline Detail

**By Stage:**
| Stage | Value | # Deals | Avg Size | Conversion |
|-------|-------|---------|----------|------------|
| Qualification | $20M | 40 | $500K | 20% |
| Discovery | $25M | 25 | $1M | 35% |
| Proposal | $25M | 15 | $1.7M | 50% |
| Negotiation | $15M | 8 | $1.9M | 70% |

**By Region:**
| Region | Pipeline | Target | Gap |
|--------|----------|--------|-----|
| North America | $40M | $50M | -$10M |
| EMEA | $25M | $25M | ✅ |
| APAC | $20M | $25M | -$5M |

**Root Cause:** [Analysis of why pipeline is low]

**Action Items:**
1. [Action 1] - Owner: [Name] - Due: [Date]
2. [Action 2] - Owner: [Name] - Due: [Date]

---

### Period Comparison

| Metric | This Period | Last Period | YoY Change | Target |
|--------|-------------|-------------|------------|--------|
| Revenue | $50.2M | $48.5M | +8% ✅ | $50M |
| Margin | 22.5% | 23.1% | -1pt ⚠️ | 25% |
| NPS | 72 | 70 | +5pts ✅ | 70 |
| Pipeline | $85M | $95M | -15% ⚠️ | $100M |
| Headcount | 159 | 155 | +10% ✅ | 165 |

---

### Management Actions

**Decisions Required:**
1. **Pipeline shortfall** - Approve sales incentive program
2. **Margin pressure** - Authorize cost reduction initiative
3. **Hiring plan** - Confirm Q1 headcount targets

**Recent Actions Taken:**
| Action | Date | Owner | Status |
|--------|------|-------|--------|
| Price increase | Jan 15 | CFO | ✅ Complete |
| Sales training | Jan 20 | CRO | 🔄 In progress |
| Cost audit | Jan 25 | COO | 🔄 In progress |

---

### Dashboard Governance

**Update Schedule:**
- Data refresh: Daily at 6:00 AM
- Dashboard update: Daily by 8:00 AM
- Review meeting: Weekly Monday 9:00 AM

**Data Sources:**
- Financial: [ERP System]
- Customer: [CRM System]
- Operational: [Operations Dashboard]
- People: [HRIS System]

**Accountability:**
- Dashboard Owner: [Name]
- Data Steward: [Name]
- Review Forum: [Meeting]

**Escalation Path:**
- 🟡 Yellow > 2 weeks → Function head
- 🔴 Red > 1 week → Executive team

Tips

• Less is more - only critical KPIs
• Each KPI should have an owner
• Mix leading and lagging indicators
• Make it visual - trends, not just numbers
• Exception-based reporting - focus on what's off track
• Can you act on this? If not, why track it?
• Review and refresh KPIs quarterly
• The dashboard should tell a story

References

• Kaplan, Robert & Norton, David. The Balanced Scorecard. 1996.
• Few, Stephen. Information Dashboard Design. 2006.
• Parmenter, David. Key Performance Indicators. 2015.