Analytics · Free implementation template
KPI Definition Dictionary
Create one source of truth for KPI definitions, formulas, source systems, owners, and decision use.
Introduction
What the KPI Definition Dictionary is for.
Create one source of truth for KPI definitions, formulas, source systems, owners, and decision use.
A completed analytics template fixes definitions before anyone reads a number, so a disagreement about performance stays a disagreement about the business rather than about the metric. This one covers definition, source, use, change control, and it is written for leadership teams, finance, marketing and sales. Each section is a decision that has to exist before the workflow can be built or automated — the prompts are there to force the decision, not to be filled in for their own sake.
A completed template is also a structured brief. ARIA can read it as the objective, the systems involved, and the constraints that apply, which is what turns the specification into something that runs rather than something that gets filed.
- Category
- Analytics
- Sections
- 4
- Format
- Markdown, no signup
- Best for
- Leadership teams, Finance, Marketing and sales
The problem
Specifications fail on the decisions nobody wrote down.
Most reporting disputes are not data quality problems. They are two teams computing the same metric over different populations, periods, or denominators, and discovering it only when the numbers are already in a board deck.
The second problem is that observed and modelled figures get blended. A projection presented with the same styling as a measurement will be read as a measurement, and the distinction is usually lost within one hop of the source.
Specifying the population, period, denominator, and source of record per metric is what makes a number reproducible by someone who was not in the room when it was built.
You're likely here because
- Two reports disagree on the same metric
- A metric’s definition lives in one person’s head
- Denominators are omitted from reported rates
How it works
From a blank KPI Definition Dictionary to a running workflow.
Each stage is a decision that has to be made once. Making them in this order is what keeps the later ones answerable — you cannot set an automation boundary before you know who owns the record.
Step 01
Define the metric
Name the population, the period, the denominator, and the calculation. A rate without its denominator is not a measurement.
Step 02
Name the source of record
Where two systems can produce the same figure, name which is authoritative, so two reports cannot disagree by construction.
Step 03
Separate observed from modelled
Measured values and projections are stored and presented distinctly. Blending them produces a statistic that reads as observed and is not.
Step 04
Set the refresh contract
State how often the figure updates and how far back it can move. Analytics data is reprocessed; a number that changes after the fact is not a defect if it was declared.
Step 05
Record the gaps
Where evidence does not exist, say so. A stated gap is more useful than a plausible estimate that later gets quoted as fact.
The template
Every section, with the prompts that force the decision.
Section 01
Definition
Section 02
Source
Section 03
Use
Section 04
Change control
After it is filled in
What the completed specification is actually consumed by.
Filling in the KPI Definition Dictionary produces an artifact, and an artifact on its own changes nothing. What matters is what consumes it afterwards.
Handed to the runtime, the definitions in a completed analytics specification become the calculation, applied identically every time it is computed. That removes the specific failure this template exists to prevent: two teams reporting the same metric over different populations and discovering it only when both numbers are already in front of an executive.
It does not settle whether the metric is the right one. A definition can be perfectly reproducible and still measure something nobody should be managing to. The specification makes the disagreement about the business rather than about the arithmetic, which is the point — but the business disagreement still has to be had.
Implementation path
How to actually fill it in.
- 01
Write the metric definitions before building any dashboard; the dashboard is the easy part.
- 02
Have two people independently compute one metric from the definition. If they disagree, the definition is incomplete.
- 03
Tag every displayed figure with its source system and capture period.
- 04
Mark estimated inputs visually distinct from measured ones wherever the figure is shown.
- 05
Re-validate the definitions once a quarter, since upstream systems change what they emit.
Controls this specification sets
Controls that matter.
Control 01
Figures are traceable to the system and period they came from.
Control 02
Estimated values stay labelled as estimates everywhere they appear.
Control 03
Access to underlying rows follows the permissions of the source system.
Control 04
Definition changes are versioned, so historical comparisons stay honest.
Worked examples
When teams reach for this one.
Reconciling conflicting reports
Conflicts almost always resolve to different populations or periods rather than different data.
Onboarding a new analyst
A dictionary is the difference between reproducing last quarter’s number and re-deriving it slightly differently.
Before board reporting
Every headline figure should trace to a dictionary entry, or it cannot be defended under questioning.
Limitations
What this template does not do.
- A dictionary standardises definitions; it does not improve underlying data quality.
- Definitions drift as source systems change and need scheduled review.
- Industry benchmark comparisons remain unreliable unless the benchmark states its own definitions.
- It does not resolve whether a metric is the right one to manage against.
FAQ
Questions about the KPI Definition Dictionary.
Who should fill in the KPI Definition Dictionary?
The people who own the outcome, together. This template is written for leadership teams, finance, marketing and sales, and the value comes from surfacing disagreement between them rather than from one person completing it alone.
How long does it take?
A focused session, usually one to two hours for a first pass. Sections that take much longer are normally pointing at a real disagreement, which is the template doing its job rather than failing.
Is it free, and is there a signup?
Free, with no gate. The Markdown download link at the top of this page returns the full template immediately.
What happens after it is filled in?
The completed template becomes the specification the build works from. You can hand it to ARIA to resolve into an objective and an execution path, hand it to an internal team, or use it to brief a vendor — the artifact is the same in each case.
Does this replace the tooling?
No. It specifies what the tooling has to do. Analytics tools differ in how much of this they can enforce, which is itself useful information when you are comparing them.
How often should it be revisited?
When the process it describes changes, and on a scheduled review otherwise. A specification that no longer matches what runs is worse than none, because people still trust it.
More analytics templates
Other analytics specifications.
Keep exploring
Related reading and next steps.
Start with ARIA
Hand the brief to ARIA.
A completed template is a structured brief. Tell ARIA the objective and it resolves the systems involved and the execution path — so the specification becomes a running workflow, not another document.
- ARIA acts only through the systems and permissions you connect.
- Connections use scoped credentials you can change or revoke.
- Actions are recorded, and consequential ones can require approval.
Start here
Fill it in, then hand it to ARIA.
A completed template is a structured brief. ARIA can resolve it into the objective, the systems involved, and the execution path — so the specification becomes a running workflow rather than another document.