Indicators

Indicators are quantitative metrics tracked over time to measure your plan’s performance. Unlike Key Results (which measure progress toward a specific target), indicators provide ongoing monitoring of important metrics across the life of your plan.

Indicators vs. Key Results

	Indicators	Key Results
Purpose	Ongoing metric monitoring	Measure progress toward a goal
Timeline	Continuous, with historical data	Time-bound to an objective
Tracking	Baseline → milestones → final target	Current value vs. target
Chart	Historical trend line with targets	Progress bar
Weight in plan progress	40% (KPI)	30% (OKR)

Tip

Use indicators for metrics you track continuously (budget utilization, satisfaction scores, enrollment numbers). Use key results for specific measurable outcomes tied to an objective.

Indicator Fields

Field	Description
Name	What you’re measuring (required)
Description	Context and measurement methodology
Unit	How it’s measured (%, $, count, or custom unit)
Current Value	Most recent measurement
Baseline Value	Starting point for comparison
Direction	Which way is “good” (see below)
Target Milestones	Date-based target values
Status	Auto-calculated health status
Responsible	Who owns this indicator
Due Date	When the final target should be reached
Linked Objective	Which objective this indicator supports (optional)

Direction Types

The direction defines how progress is interpreted:

Increase

Increase — Higher values are better.

Example: Student graduation rate (target: increase from 75% to 90%)

Decrease

Decrease — Lower values are better.

Example: Average response time (target: decrease from 48h to 24h)

Maintain Above

Maintain Above — Keep the value above a threshold.

Example: Staff satisfaction score (maintain above 80%)

Maintain Below

Maintain Below — Keep the value below a threshold.

Example: Budget variance (maintain below 5%)

Creating Indicators

The Indicator Creation Wizard guides you through setting up a new indicator in 6 steps:

1. Context

   Optionally link the indicator to an objective in your plan.

2. Details

   Enter the indicator name, description, unit type (percentage, currency, count, or custom), and measurement direction.

3. Data

   Set the baseline value with a date. Add any historical measurements you already have (past dates only).

4. Targets

   Define target milestones with future dates. You must set at least one final target. Intermediate milestones help track expected progress over time.

5. Assignment

   Select the responsible person who will own and update this indicator. The due date is auto-filled from the final target date.

6. Review

   Confirm all details before creating the indicator.

Note

You need at least one historical value and one target milestone to create an indicator. This allows the system to calculate progress and determine status.

Indicator Statuses

Indicator status is automatically calculated based on progress relative to the expected timeline:

Status	Meaning	Visual
On Track	Progress meets or exceeds expected pace	Green
At Risk	25-50% behind expected progress	Yellow
Achieved	Final target reached (100% or more)	Green check
Not Achieved	More than 50% behind expected progress	Red

How Status is Calculated

The system compares your actual progress against where you should be based on the timeline:

• Progress = (current value - baseline) / (final target - baseline)
• Expected progress is interpolated based on the current date within the indicator’s timeframe
• If actual progress is close to or ahead of expected progress → On Track
• If actual progress is 25-50% behind → At Risk
• If actual progress is more than 50% behind → Not Achieved
• If the final target is reached → Achieved

Charts and History

Mini Chart

Each indicator displays a compact chart in its details modal showing:

• Historical values plotted over time
• Target milestones as reference points
• Visual trend of your indicator’s performance

Click the chart to open the full History Modal.

History Modal

The History Modal provides full data management for your indicator:

• View all historical data points in a table
• Add new values with a date (past dates only)
• Edit target milestones and their dates
• Change measurement direction if your tracking approach evolves
• Change unit type if needed
• See progress calculation with current value, baseline, and targets

Caution

Changing the direction or unit type affects how progress and status are calculated. Existing data is preserved, but the interpretation changes.

Dashboard Integration

Indicators contribute significantly to your plan’s overall health:

• Plan Progress Card — Indicators account for 40% of the weighted plan progress (vs. 30% for OKRs and 30% for Actions)
• Indicators Breakdown Card — Shows total indicator count, number achieved, and average progress
• Plan Integrity Card — Flags indicators without linked objectives as potential gaps

Best Practices

• Set meaningful baselines — A baseline without context makes progress hard to interpret
• Update regularly — Indicators are most useful when data is current; set a regular cadence for updates
• Use direction types appropriately — Not everything should increase; sometimes maintaining a level is the goal
• Add intermediate targets — Milestones between baseline and final target help track whether you’re on pace
• Link to objectives — Connecting indicators to objectives improves plan integrity and gives context to the numbers
• Keep the number manageable — 5-10 indicators per plan is usually sufficient; too many dilutes focus

Next Steps

• OKRs - Compare with Key Results for measuring objective-level outcomes
• Reports - See how indicators appear on dashboards
• Overview - Understand where indicators fit in the plan structure