Custom Metrics, Custom Success: Mastering KPIs.do's Formula Editor

In the world of business, what gets measured gets managed. But simply measuring isn't enough; you need to measure the right things and understand what those measurements mean for your organization's health and growth. This is where Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) come into play, and where a powerful tool like KPIs.do truly shines.

KPIs.do isn't just another analytics platform; it's a comprehensive metrics management system designed to help you define, track, and analyze your most critical performance indicators with ease. At its heart lies a robust and flexible formula editor, empowering you to create custom metrics tailored precisely to your unique business needs.

Why Custom Metrics Matter

Generic metrics rarely paint a complete picture. Your business has specific goals, unique processes, and distinct drivers of success. Relying on off-the-shelf KPIs might give you some insights, but to truly understand your performance and drive meaningful improvements, you need the ability to define metrics that reflect your operational realities.

This is exactly what KPIs.do's formula editor enables. It transforms your raw data into actionable intelligence, allowing you to:

Track unique business processes: Is customer satisfaction tied to your average resolution time? Create a KPI for it!
Align with strategic goals: Do you have a specific target for market share growth? Define a KPI that calculates it directly.
Gain deeper insights: Sometimes, the most valuable insights come from combining disparate data points in novel ways. The formula editor makes this possible.
React quickly to performance shifts: With custom alerts tied to your unique formulas, you're notified the moment a critical metric deviates from its target.

Diving into the Formula Editor: A Deeper Look

Let's break down how you can leverage the power of KPIs.do's formula editor, using an example to illustrate its flexibility:

import { KPI } from 'kpis.do'

const salesKPI = new KPI({
  name: 'Monthly Sales Growth',
  description: 'Percentage increase in sales compared to previous month',
  formula: '((current_month_sales - previous_month_sales) / previous_month_sales) * 100',
  unit: 'percent',
  target: 15,
  frequency: 'monthly',
  owner: 'Sales Department',
  dataSource: 'sales-database',
  visualization: 'line-chart',
  alerts: [
    { condition: 'value < 0', severity: 'high', message: 'Sales declining' },
    { condition: 'value < 5', severity: 'medium', message: 'Sales growth below target' }
  ]
})

In this Monthly Sales Growth KPI, the formula field is where the magic happens. Here's what you can discern:

Clarity and Simplicity: The formula ((current_month_sales - previous_month_sales) / previous_month_sales) * 100 clearly defines how the KPI is calculated. It's intuitive, even for those without a programming background.
Dynamic Data Integration: KPIs.do connects to your sales-database (as indicated by dataSource), allowing you to refer to dynamic data points like current_month_sales and previous_month_sales directly within your formulas. This means your KPIs are always up-to-date with your latest performance figures.
Mathematical Operations: You have access to standard mathematical operators (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division) to build complex calculations.
Flexibility for Any Metric: From conversion rates ((conversions / visitors) * 100) to customer lifetime value ((average_purchase_value * purchase_frequency * customer_lifetime)) or even employee engagement scores, the formula editor adapts to virtually any metric you need to track.

Beyond the Formula: A Holistic KPI Definition

While the formula is the engine, a complete KPI definition in KPIs.do includes much more, ensuring your metrics are not only calculated but also understood, targeted, and acted upon:

Name & Description: Clearly communicates what the KPI represents.
Unit & Target: Defines the unit of measure and the desired performance level, making it easy to gauge success.
Frequency: Specifies how often the KPI is calculated (e.g., daily, weekly, monthly).
Owner: Assigns responsibility for the KPI, fostering accountability.
Visualization: Suggests how the data can be best presented (e.g., line chart, bar chart).
Alerts: Crucially, you can set up custom alerts based on conditions derived from your formula's output. If value < 0 for sales growth, a high-severity alert is triggered. This proactive notification system means you're always informed when a KPI deviates from its target or reaches a critical threshold.

Empowering Your Business with KPIs.do

KPIs.do isn't just about defining complex formulas; it's about simplifying the entire performance management process.

AI-Powered Insights: Beyond calculation, the platform leverages AI to give you deeper insights into your data.
Real-time Dashboards: Connect to various data sources and get real-time views of your performance.
Automated Reporting: Say goodbye to manual report creation.
User-Friendly Interface: Define KPIs using a simple, agentic workflow that makes complex tasks accessible.

What is KPIs.do? KPIs.do provides a flexible platform to define, track, and analyze your key performance indicators across various aspects of your business.

How do I define a KPI? You can define KPIs using a simple agentic workflow, specifying formulas, data sources, targets, frequencies, owners, and alert conditions.

How does KPIs.do track performance? KPIs.do connects to various data sources and automatically calculates metric values, providing real-time dashboards and automated reporting.

Can I set up alerts for my KPIs? Yes, you can set up custom alerts based on predefined conditions to be notified when a KPI deviates from its target or reaches a critical threshold.