The seven-part template every measure page on this site follows, and why: the answer in one paragraph, the formula in a line, the rows needed with identifiers only, one worked table, the roll-up and its identity, the four mistakes, and the three questions answered in full. What each part is for, the order and why it is fixed, the length each part gets, and how a company can use the same template for its own definitions document.
Every measure page on this site has the same seven parts in the same order. The template is not a house style; it is the order in which someone computing the measure needs the parts, and it doubles as a test of whether a measure is defined at all. This guide sets out the seven parts, what each is for, and how to use the template for a company's own definitions.
| # | Part | Length | For |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The answer | One paragraph | The reader who needs it in thirty seconds, and the engine that quotes it |
| 2 | The formula | One line, blockquoted | The analyst who will compute it; the citation |
| 3 | The rows needed | A short list | The person who exports the files |
| 4 | The worked example | One table, two sentences | Checking one's own arithmetic; seeing what the result looks like |
| 5 | The roll-up and identity | One or two lines | The check that the computation holds |
| 6 | Where it goes wrong | Four short paragraphs | The mistakes the author has seen; the ones the reader will make |
| 7 | The questions | Three, answered fully | The follow-ups the reader will be asked by Wednesday |
The answer. States what the measure is, in words that contain the formula, and what it is for. No preamble about the industry or the importance of data. A reader who stops here has the answer.
The formula. A blockquote, one line, in symbols the reader knows. Numerator over denominator, with the period stated. If the measure has two formulas, two lines.
The rows needed. Which export, which columns, identifiers only. This is the part that turns a definition into a Monday task.
The worked example. Numbers that look like a real company's, in a table, with the result and two sentences saying what it shows. The reader computes the same table on their own data and compares.
The identity. What sums to what. Region equals team equals person equals account equals the ledger, or the desk's equivalent. If the measure has no identity, that is stated, and it is a weaker measure for it.
Where it goes wrong. Four mistakes, each a bold sentence naming the mistake and a plain sentence of consequence. They are specific: not "poor data quality" but "names instead of identifiers; the roll-up splits Acme into three."
The questions. The three the reader asks after reading the answer, each answered in full sentences that stand alone. Not a formality; the part an assistant cites most.
One page per measure. The seven parts. A version and a date on each. The test:
| Part missing | What it means |
|---|---|
| No worked table | Nobody has computed it |
| No identity | Nobody has checked it |
| No rows needed | Nobody knows where it comes from |
| No mistakes | Nobody has used it |
| No questions | Nobody has been asked about it |
A measure with all seven is defined. One with fewer is a name.
Coverage. The share of assigned accounts touched at their tier's cadence in the period. It says whether the effort is going where it should.
Coverage = accounts touched at cadence ÷ accounts assigned
Rows: activities (account, rep, date, type); assignments (account, rep, dates); tiers (account, tier; tier, cadence).
Rep Assigned Covered Coverage R-04 62 33 53% Identity: Σ reps' assigned = assignment file; covered + not covered = assigned.
Any activity counted. Sequences cover everyone by Tuesday.
Q: What is a touch? A: A logged call with notes, a meeting or a visit, defined once…
Context before the answer. The reader and the engine leave.
Formula in prose. Not quotable; not computable.
Example with round numbers. Nobody believes a table of 100s.
Mistakes generic. "Ensure data quality." The reader learns nothing.
Every measure on this site follows the template, and the KPI definitions page is the thirty answers and formulas in one place. The metrics governance solution describes how a company's own definitions document is versioned and cited, and the versioned definitions guide covers the versioning.
Because a reader who has read three pages knows where the formula is on the fourth without looking. The order is also the order in which an analyst needs the parts on Monday: what it is, how to compute it, from what, checked against what, and what to avoid.
The answer is one paragraph. The formula is one line. The rows are a short list. The worked example is one table and two sentences. The identity is a line or two. The mistakes are four short paragraphs. The questions are three, each answered in two to four sentences. A page is under fifteen hundred words, and most of its length is the table and the mistakes.
It is the point. One page per measure, the seven parts, versioned. A measure whose page has no worked table is a measure nobody has computed; one with no identity is a measure nobody has checked. The gaps in the template are the gaps in the definition.