Metric Definitions
Part of Business intelligence architecture for growing companies
Choosing an initial business question for a BI programme
Choose a first BI question with a real decision, clear owner, workable data and an answer the business can check.
Choose the first business intelligence (BI) question around a recurring decision with a named owner and data the team can inspect. “Build an executive dashboard” describes a deliverable. “Which service queue needs additional capacity at the weekly planning meeting?” identifies a decision, audience and time frame.
Turn an ambition into a question
Ask the decision maker what they do now, what they might change if the answer changes, and when they need it. Name the population and period: “How many cases did we complete last week, by queue?” is more workable than “How are operations performing?” Then identify what counts as a completed case and which system records it.
An easy chart is a poor first choice if nobody will use its answer. A valuable question may also be a poor first project if its records cannot be accessed or teams have not agreed on its meaning.
Compare candidate questions
| Test | What to ask |
|---|---|
| Decision | Who will act, and what action might change? |
| Timing | When is the answer needed, and how often? |
| Definition | Can the owner say what counts and what is excluded? |
| Data | Which system records the event, and can a sample be inspected? |
| Checking | Is there a source figure or record set for a fixed period? |
| Delivery | Can the first answer serve a small, relevant audience? |
Use the table for discussion, not a numerical score. The first question should matter enough to be used and be bounded enough to complete. If its definition or data path is unresolved, record that dependency before committing to it.
Write a brief for the first answer
Record the question, decision owner, readers, measure definition, source, reporting period, update expectation and known exclusions. Describe the smallest useful answer, such as a weekly table with a trend and a queue breakdown. Choose a fixed period whose figures can be checked against the source.
For an open-case backlog reviewed each Monday, the team would need to define when a case enters and leaves the backlog, the time zone for the cut-off and how reopened cases count. The figures cannot be trusted until those rules and the source records are checked.
Check whether the answer helps
Show the draft to the decision maker. Ask them to explain the figure, point to an unexpected case and describe what action they would consider. Compare selected records and totals with an agreed reference for the same period.
Capture any missing fields or ambiguous statuses as follow-up work. If the answer has no user, revisit the question before expanding the reporting system.
