metrics-dashboard-designer
Comprehensive metrics dashboard strategy including North Star Metric definition, AARRR Pirate Metrics framework, product engagement tracking, 5 role-specific dashboards, alert configuration, data infrastructure planning, and 90-day implementation roadmap for data-driven decision making
$ 安裝
git clone https://github.com/maigentic/stratarts /tmp/stratarts && cp -r /tmp/stratarts/skills/retention-metrics/metrics-dashboard-designer ~/.claude/skills/stratarts// tip: Run this command in your terminal to install the skill
name: metrics-dashboard-designer description: Comprehensive metrics dashboard strategy including North Star Metric definition, AARRR Pirate Metrics framework, product engagement tracking, 5 role-specific dashboards, alert configuration, data infrastructure planning, and 90-day implementation roadmap for data-driven decision making version: 1.0.0 category: retention-metrics
metrics-dashboard-designer
Step 0: Pre-Generation Verification
IMPORTANT: Before generating the HTML output, verify you have gathered data for ALL required placeholders:
Header & Score Banner Placeholders
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{{BUSINESS_NAME}}- Company/product name -
{{DATE}}- Generation date -
{{DASHBOARD_COUNT}}- Number of dashboards (typically 5) -
{{METRIC_COUNT}}- Total metrics tracked -
{{ALERT_COUNT}}- Number of alerts configured -
{{MRR_VALUE}}- Current MRR -
{{LTV_CAC}}- LTV:CAC ratio -
{{FRAMEWORK_TYPE}}- Framework (e.g., "AARRR PIRATE METRICS")
North Star Metric Placeholders
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{{NSM_VALUE}}- Current NSM value -
{{NSM_NAME}}- NSM name -
{{NSM_DESCRIPTION}}- Why this metric matters -
{{NSM_DRIVERS}}- 3 driver metric items
AARRR Placeholders
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{{AARRR_STAGES}}- 5 stage cards with metrics
Dashboard Placeholders
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{{DASHBOARD_CARDS}}- 5 dashboard cards with metrics lists
Metrics Dictionary Placeholders
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{{METRICS_TABLE_ROWS}}- 8-10 key metrics with details
Alerts Placeholders
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{{ALERT_CARDS}}- 6 alert cards with thresholds
Data Stack Placeholders
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{{DATA_STACK_SECTIONS}}- 3 sections (Sources, Warehouse, Visualization)
Roadmap Placeholders
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{{ROADMAP_PHASES}}- 3 phase cards
Chart Data Placeholders
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{{FUNNEL_LABELS}}- JSON array (AARRR stages) -
{{FUNNEL_DATA}}- JSON array (user counts) -
{{MRR_LABELS}}- JSON array (months) -
{{MRR_DATA}}- JSON array (MRR values) -
{{RETENTION_LABELS}}- JSON array (days) -
{{RETENTION_DATA}}- JSON array (percentages) -
{{ENGAGEMENT_LABELS}}- JSON array (days) -
{{DAU_DATA}}- JSON array (DAU values) -
{{WAU_DATA}}- JSON array (WAU values)
DO NOT proceed to HTML generation until all placeholders have corresponding data from the user conversation.
Mission: Design a metrics dashboard that tracks what matters—North Star Metric, AARRR funnel, product engagement, business health, and operational performance. Define KPIs, set targets, choose visualizations, and create a single source of truth for data-driven decision making.
STEP 1: Detect Previous Context
Ideal Context (All Present):
- revenue-model-builder → Revenue streams, unit economics, CAC, LTV
- customer-persona-builder → User segments for cohort analysis
- product-positioning-expert → Value metrics, success indicators
- growth-hacking-playbook → AARRR framework, North Star Metric
- go-to-market-planner → GTM metrics, channel performance
Partial Context (Some Present):
- revenue-model-builder → Business metrics available
- growth-hacking-playbook → Growth metrics framework available
- customer-persona-builder → User segmentation available
No Context:
- None of the above skills were run
STEP 2: Context-Adaptive Introduction
If Ideal Context:
I found outputs from revenue-model-builder, customer-persona-builder, product-positioning-expert, growth-hacking-playbook, and go-to-market-planner.
I can reuse:
- Revenue streams & unit economics (CAC: [X], LTV: [Y], target margins)
- User segments (for cohort analysis & segmentation)
- Value metrics (core success indicators)
- AARRR framework (Acquisition, Activation, Retention, Referral, Revenue)
- GTM metrics (channel performance, conversion rates)
Proceed with this data? [Yes/Start Fresh]
If Partial Context:
I found outputs from some upstream skills: [list which ones].
I can reuse: [list specific data available]
Proceed with this data, or start fresh?
If No Context:
No previous context detected.
I'll guide you through designing your metrics dashboard from the ground up.
STEP 3: Questions (One at a Time, Sequential)
North Star Metric
Question NSM1: What is your North Star Metric?
The North Star Metric (NSM) is the single metric that best captures the core value you deliver to customers. It should be:
- Leading indicator of sustainable growth
- Aligned with customer value and business value
- Actionable by the team
Examples:
- Slack: Messages sent per day
- Airbnb: Nights booked
- Spotify: Time spent listening
- Notion: Weekly active users who create content
Your North Star Metric: [e.g., "Monthly Active Projects Created"]
Why this metric?: [What customer value does it represent?]
Question NSM2: What is the current baseline and target for your NSM?
Current Baseline: [e.g., "1,200 monthly active projects"] 3-Month Target: [e.g., "2,500 monthly active projects"] 12-Month Target: [e.g., "10,000 monthly active projects"]
Key Drivers: [What 2-3 metrics drive your NSM? e.g., "New user signups, activation rate, returning user rate"]
AARRR Metrics (Pirate Metrics)
Question AARRR1: ACQUISITION - How do you measure user acquisition?
Primary Acquisition Metrics (choose 3-5):
- ☐ Website visitors (unique, sessions)
- ☐ Signups (total, by channel)
- ☐ App installs (iOS, Android)
- ☐ Lead magnets downloaded
- ☐ Demo requests
- ☐ Trial starts
- ☐ Other: [specify]
Your Top 3 Acquisition Metrics:
- [Metric name] — Current: [X], Target: [Y]
- [Metric name] — Current: [X], Target: [Y]
- [Metric name] — Current: [X], Target: [Y]
By Channel Breakdown:
- Organic Search: [X%]
- Paid Search: [X%]
- Social Media: [X%]
- Referral: [X%]
- Direct: [X%]
- Other: [X%]
Question AARRR2: ACTIVATION - How do you measure user activation?
Activation Definition: What must a user do to experience the "aha moment"?
Examples:
- Facebook: "Add 7 friends in 10 days"
- Dropbox: "Upload first file"
- Slack: "Send 2,000 team messages"
Your Activation Event: [e.g., "Create first project with 3+ tasks"]
Activation Metrics:
- Activation Rate: [e.g., "42% of signups complete activation within 7 days"]
- Time to Activate: [e.g., "Median time: 12 hours from signup"]
- Activation by Cohort: [e.g., "Organic: 48%, Paid: 38%, Referral: 62%"]
Current Performance:
- Activation Rate: [X%]
- Target: [Y%]
- Gap: [Z percentage points]
Question AARRR3: RETENTION - How do you measure user retention?
Retention Timeframes:
- Day 1 Retention: [X%] (users who return the next day)
- Day 7 Retention: [X%] (users who return within a week)
- Day 30 Retention: [X%] (users who return within a month)
Cohort Retention:
- Track cohorts by signup month
- Measure: What % of January signups are still active in February, March, etc.?
Retention Curve:
- Current D30 Retention: [e.g., "35%"]
- Target D30 Retention: [e.g., "50%"]
- Best-in-Class Benchmark: [e.g., "60% for productivity SaaS"]
Churn Metrics:
- User Churn Rate: [X% per month]
- Revenue Churn Rate: [X% MRR per month]
- Negative Churn?: [Yes/No — do expansions offset churn?]
Question AARRR4: REFERRAL - How do you measure referral and virality?
Referral Metrics:
- Referral Rate: [e.g., "15% of users invite others"]
- Invites Sent per User: [e.g., "2.3 invites/user"]
- Invite Acceptance Rate: [e.g., "22% of invites convert to signups"]
- Viral Coefficient (K): [e.g., "0.35" — (2.3 invites × 0.15 referral rate)]
K-Factor Goal:
- K < 1: Sub-viral (growth requires paid acquisition)
- K = 1: Self-sustaining (each user brings one more)
- K > 1: Viral growth (exponential growth)
Your K-Factor: [Current K] Target K-Factor: [Target K]
Referral Program:
- ☐ No referral program
- ☐ Incentivized referral (both parties get reward)
- ☐ Non-incentivized referral (share features)
Question AARRR5: REVENUE - How do you measure revenue and monetization?
Revenue Metrics (choose 5-7):
- Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR): [Current: $X, Target: $Y]
- Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR): [Current: $X, Target: $Y]
- Average Revenue Per User (ARPU): [Current: $X, Target: $Y]
- Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC): [Current: $X, Target: $Y]
- Customer Lifetime Value (LTV): [Current: $X, Target: $Y]
- LTV:CAC Ratio: [Current: X:1, Target: 3:1 or higher]
- Payback Period: [Current: X months, Target: <12 months]
- Net Revenue Retention (NRR): [Current: X%, Target: >100%]
- Gross Margin: [Current: X%, Target: >70%]
By Plan/Tier Breakdown:
| Plan | % Users | MRR per User | Total MRR | Target MRR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | X% | $0 | $0 | — |
| Starter | X% | $X | $X | $Y |
| Pro | X% | $X | $X | $Y |
| Enterprise | X% | $X | $X | $Y |
Product Engagement Metrics
Question PE1: How do you measure product engagement?
Core Engagement Metrics:
- Daily Active Users (DAU): [Current: X, Target: Y]
- Weekly Active Users (WAU): [Current: X, Target: Y]
- Monthly Active Users (MAU): [Current: X, Target: Y]
- DAU/MAU Ratio: [Current: X%, Target: >20% for "sticky" products]
- WAU/MAU Ratio: [Current: X%, Target: >50%]
Session Metrics:
- Sessions per User per Day: [e.g., "2.4 sessions/user/day"]
- Average Session Duration: [e.g., "8 minutes"]
- Pages/Screens per Session: [e.g., "5.2 pages"]
Feature Adoption:
| Feature | % Users Who Used (30d) | Target |
|---|---|---|
| [Core Feature 1] | X% | Y% |
| [Core Feature 2] | X% | Y% |
| [Power Feature 1] | X% | Y% |
| [Recently Launched Feature] | X% | Y% |
Question PE2: How do you segment users by engagement level?
Engagement Segmentation (RFM Model: Recency, Frequency, Monetary):
| Segment | Definition | % Users | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Champions | Recent, frequent, high-value users | X% | Upsell, referrals, beta access |
| Loyal Users | Frequent users, moderate recency | X% | Engagement campaigns, rewards |
| At Risk | Previously active, now declining | X% | Win-back campaigns, surveys |
| Hibernating | Low frequency, low recency | X% | Re-engagement or let churn |
| New Users | Recent signup, low frequency (still onboarding) | X% | Activation campaigns |
Power User Cohort:
- Definition: [e.g., "Users who log in 5+ days/week and use 3+ features"]
- % of User Base: [X%]
- Revenue Contribution: [Y% of MRR]
Business Health Metrics
Question BH1: What are your key business health metrics?
Financial Health:
- Burn Rate: [$X/month]
- Runway: [X months]
- Cash Balance: [$X]
- Gross Margin: [X% — target >70% for SaaS]
- Operating Margin: [X% — path to profitability?]
Unit Economics:
- CAC: [$X per customer]
- LTV: [$X per customer]
- LTV:CAC Ratio: [X:1 — target 3:1]
- Payback Period: [X months — target <12 months]
Growth Efficiency:
- Magic Number (Sales Efficiency): [ARR Growth / Sales & Marketing Spend — target >0.75]
- Burn Multiple (Capital Efficiency): [Net Burn / Net New ARR — target <1.5]
- Rule of 40: [Growth Rate % + Profit Margin % — target >40]
Operational Metrics
Question OM1: What operational metrics should you track?
Customer Support:
- Tickets per Month: [X]
- First Response Time: [X hours — target <2 hours]
- Resolution Time: [X hours — target <24 hours]
- Customer Satisfaction (CSAT): [X% — target >90%]
- Net Promoter Score (NPS): [X — target >50]
Product Performance:
- Uptime: [X% — target 99.9%+]
- Page Load Time: [X seconds — target <2s]
- API Response Time: [X ms — target <200ms]
- Error Rate: [X% — target <0.1%]
Team Velocity (if applicable):
- Story Points per Sprint: [X]
- Deployment Frequency: [X per week]
- Lead Time for Changes: [X days]
STEP 4: Dashboard Design
Question DD1: What dashboards do you need?
Dashboard Hierarchy:
1. Executive Dashboard (CEO, Leadership)
Purpose: High-level business health at a glance Refresh: Real-time or daily Metrics:
- North Star Metric (big number + trend)
- MRR/ARR (current + growth %)
- Key AARRR metrics (Acquisition, Activation, Retention, Revenue)
- Runway (months remaining)
- LTV:CAC ratio
Visualizations:
- Big number cards for NSM, MRR
- Line charts for trends (last 90 days)
- Funnel chart for AARRR
- Cohort retention heatmap
2. Growth Dashboard (Marketing, Growth Team)
Purpose: Track acquisition channels and conversion funnel Refresh: Daily Metrics:
- Traffic by channel (organic, paid, social, referral, direct)
- Signups by channel
- Activation rate by channel
- CAC by channel
- Conversion rates (visitor → signup → activated → paid)
Visualizations:
- Stacked bar chart (traffic by channel over time)
- Funnel chart (visitor → signup → activated → paid)
- Table (channel performance: spend, signups, CAC, LTV, ROI)
3. Product Dashboard (Product Team, Engineering)
Purpose: Track engagement, feature adoption, product health Refresh: Daily Metrics:
- DAU, WAU, MAU
- DAU/MAU ratio (stickiness)
- Feature adoption rates
- Session metrics (duration, frequency)
- Error rates, performance metrics
Visualizations:
- Line charts (DAU/MAU over time)
- Heatmap (feature usage by user segment)
- Bar chart (top features by usage)
- Performance dashboards (uptime, response times)
4. Revenue Dashboard (Finance, Sales)
Purpose: Track revenue, churn, expansion Refresh: Daily Metrics:
- MRR, ARR
- New MRR, Expansion MRR, Churned MRR
- Net Revenue Retention (NRR)
- ARPU by plan
- Churn rate (user and revenue)
Visualizations:
- Waterfall chart (MRR movement: starting MRR + new + expansion - churn = ending MRR)
- Line chart (MRR over time)
- Pie chart (MRR by plan tier)
- Table (cohort analysis)
5. Retention Dashboard (CX, Product)
Purpose: Track churn, at-risk users, win-back Refresh: Weekly Metrics:
- D1, D7, D30 retention
- Cohort retention curves
- Churn rate by cohort
- At-risk user count (declining engagement)
- NPS, CSAT
Visualizations:
- Retention curves by cohort
- Heatmap (cohort retention over months)
- List view (at-risk users + engagement score)
Question DD2: What tool(s) will you use for your dashboard?
Dashboard Tools:
- ☐ Google Data Studio / Looker Studio (free, easy, integrates with Google Analytics)
- ☐ Tableau (powerful, expensive)
- ☐ Metabase (open-source, SQL-based)
- ☐ Mixpanel (product analytics, event-based)
- ☐ Amplitude (product analytics, cohort analysis)
- ☐ ChartMogul (SaaS metrics, MRR, churn)
- ☐ Baremetrics (Stripe integration, SaaS metrics)
- ☐ Custom dashboard (built in-house, e.g., React + D3.js)
- ☐ Other: [specify]
Your Tool: [Name] Why this tool?: [Reasoning — cost, features, integrations, team familiarity]
Question DD3: How will you organize alerts and monitoring?
Alert Strategy:
| Metric | Threshold | Alert Channel | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Star Metric | <X% growth week-over-week | Slack #alerts | CEO |
| MRR | <$X (below target) | Finance | |
| Churn Rate | >X% (above acceptable threshold) | Slack #cx | CX Lead |
| Activation Rate | <X% (below target) | Slack #growth | Growth Lead |
| Website Uptime | <99.5% | PagerDuty | Engineering |
| Support Response Time | >2 hours | Slack #support | Support Lead |
Review Cadence:
- Daily: Growth Lead reviews acquisition, activation
- Weekly: Leadership reviews NSM, MRR, key AARRR metrics
- Monthly: Deep dive into cohort retention, churn analysis, unit economics
STEP 5: Data Infrastructure
Question DI1: What is your data stack?
Data Sources:
- ☐ Product Database (PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, etc.)
- ☐ Analytics Tools (Google Analytics, Mixpanel, Amplitude, Segment)
- ☐ Payment Processor (Stripe, Chargebee, Recurly)
- ☐ CRM (Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive)
- ☐ Support Tools (Zendesk, Intercom, Front)
- ☐ Marketing Tools (Mailchimp, Customer.io, Facebook Ads, Google Ads)
- ☐ Other: [specify]
Data Warehouse:
- ☐ None (query production databases directly — not recommended)
- ☐ Snowflake (scalable, cloud data warehouse)
- ☐ BigQuery (Google Cloud, integrates with Google Analytics)
- ☐ Redshift (AWS, legacy but still popular)
- ☐ Other: [specify]
ETL/ELT Pipeline:
- ☐ Fivetran (automated data pipelines)
- ☐ Stitch (simpler, cheaper than Fivetran)
- ☐ Airbyte (open-source alternative)
- ☐ Custom scripts (Python, dbt)
- ☐ None yet
Your Data Stack:
- Sources: [List]
- Warehouse: [Name or "None yet"]
- ETL: [Name or "None yet"]
Question DI2: How will you ensure data quality?
Data Quality Checks:
- ☐ Automated tests (e.g., dbt tests: not-null, unique, referential integrity)
- ☐ Anomaly detection (alert if metric drops >X% or spikes >Y%)
- ☐ Manual spot checks (weekly review of key metrics)
- ☐ Data lineage tracking (document how each metric is calculated)
- ☐ Version control for SQL queries (Git repo for dashboard queries)
Documentation:
- ☐ Data Dictionary (document every metric: definition, source table, calculation, owner)
- ☐ Metric Definitions Doc (shared with entire team)
- ☐ Changelog (track changes to metric definitions over time)
STEP 6: Implementation Roadmap
Question IR1: What is your 90-day implementation plan?
Phase 1: Foundation (Weeks 1-3)
Goal: Set up basic tracking and core dashboards
-
Week 1: Event Tracking Audit
- Audit existing event tracking (Google Analytics, Mixpanel, etc.)
- Identify gaps (e.g., missing activation events, no cohort tracking)
- Implement missing events (using Segment, Amplitude, or custom tracking)
-
Week 2: Define Metrics
- Finalize North Star Metric
- Define AARRR metrics with thresholds and targets
- Document metric definitions (Data Dictionary)
-
Week 3: Build Core Dashboard
- Create Executive Dashboard (NSM, MRR, AARRR)
- Set up automated refresh (daily or real-time)
- Share with leadership team
Deliverable: Executive Dashboard live, core events tracked
Phase 2: Expand (Weeks 4-6)
Goal: Build role-specific dashboards
-
Week 4: Growth Dashboard
- Build acquisition funnel (visitor → signup → activated)
- Add channel breakdown (organic, paid, social, referral)
- Set up CAC tracking by channel
-
Week 5: Product Dashboard
- Build engagement dashboard (DAU, MAU, stickiness)
- Add feature adoption tracking
- Set up cohort retention analysis
-
Week 6: Revenue Dashboard
- Build MRR tracking (new, expansion, churn)
- Add cohort-based LTV analysis
- Set up churn monitoring
Deliverable: Growth, Product, and Revenue dashboards live
Phase 3: Optimize (Weeks 7-12)
Goal: Refine, automate, and drive adoption
-
Week 7-8: Alerts & Monitoring
- Set up automated alerts (Slack, email)
- Define escalation paths for critical metrics
- Test alert thresholds
-
Week 9-10: Data Quality
- Implement automated data quality tests (dbt tests)
- Set up anomaly detection
- Create data changelog
-
Week 11-12: Team Training & Adoption
- Host dashboard training sessions for each team
- Create self-service guides (how to use dashboards)
- Establish review cadence (daily, weekly, monthly)
Deliverable: Full dashboard suite live, alerts running, team trained
STEP 7: Generate Comprehensive Metrics Dashboard Strategy
You will now receive a comprehensive document covering:
Section 1: Executive Summary
- North Star Metric and why it was chosen
- Dashboard strategy overview (5 dashboards)
- Key targets and baseline performance
Section 2: AARRR Framework Deep Dive
- Acquisition: Top 3 metrics, channel breakdown, targets
- Activation: Definition, activation rate, time to activate, cohort performance
- Retention: D1/D7/D30 retention, cohort curves, churn rates, benchmarks
- Referral: Referral rate, viral coefficient, referral program details
- Revenue: MRR/ARR, ARPU, LTV, CAC, LTV:CAC ratio, NRR, margins
Section 3: Dashboard Architecture
- Dashboard 1: Executive Dashboard (purpose, metrics, visualizations, refresh frequency)
- Dashboard 2: Growth Dashboard (acquisition funnel, channel performance)
- Dashboard 3: Product Dashboard (engagement, feature adoption, session metrics)
- Dashboard 4: Revenue Dashboard (MRR waterfall, cohort LTV, churn)
- Dashboard 5: Retention Dashboard (retention curves, at-risk users, NPS)
Section 4: Alerts & Monitoring
- Alert rules (metric, threshold, channel, owner)
- Review cadence (daily, weekly, monthly)
- Escalation paths for critical issues
Section 5: Data Infrastructure
- Data sources (product DB, analytics, payment processor, CRM, support, marketing)
- Data warehouse (Snowflake, BigQuery, Redshift, or None)
- ETL/ELT pipeline (Fivetran, Stitch, Airbyte, custom)
- Data quality strategy (automated tests, anomaly detection, documentation)
Section 6: Metric Definitions (Data Dictionary)
| Metric Name | Definition | Calculation | Data Source | Owner | Target |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Star Metric | [full definition] | [formula] | [source] | [person] | [target] |
| MRR | Monthly Recurring Revenue | Sum of active subscriptions | Stripe | Finance | $X |
| [etc. for 20-30 key metrics] |
Section 7: Implementation Roadmap
- Phase 1 (Weeks 1-3): Event tracking audit, metric definitions, core dashboard
- Phase 2 (Weeks 4-6): Role-specific dashboards (growth, product, revenue)
- Phase 3 (Weeks 7-12): Alerts, data quality, team training
Section 8: Success Criteria
- Dashboard adoption (X% of team uses dashboards weekly)
- Data-driven decisions (X% of product decisions cite dashboard metrics)
- Metric improvement (NSM grows X%, activation rate improves Y%, churn decreases Z%)
Section 9: Common Pitfalls to Avoid
- Vanity metrics (page views, signups) vs. actionable metrics (activation rate, retention)
- Too many metrics (dashboard overload)
- No ownership (every metric needs an owner)
- Ignoring data quality (garbage in, garbage out)
- Building dashboards in a vacuum (get team input)
Section 10: Next Steps
- Share dashboard with team
- Schedule weekly metric review meetings
- Integrate with retention-optimization-expert (use retention data to reduce churn)
- Integrate with onboarding-flow-optimizer (use activation metrics to improve onboarding)
STEP 8: Quality Review & Iteration
After generating the strategy, I will ask:
Quality Check:
- Does the North Star Metric align with core customer value?
- Are AARRR metrics complete and measurable?
- Are dashboard roles clear (who uses which dashboard)?
- Are targets realistic and time-bound?
- Is the data infrastructure plan feasible?
- Is the implementation roadmap broken into actionable sprints?
Iterate? [Yes — refine X / No — finalize]
STEP 9: Save & Next Steps
Once finalized, I will:
- Save the metrics dashboard strategy to your project folder
- Suggest running retention-optimization-expert next (to act on retention data)
- Remind you to schedule a weekly metrics review meeting with your team
8 Critical Guidelines for This Skill
-
North Star Metric must be leading, not lagging: Choose a metric that predicts growth (e.g., "Projects created") over a vanity metric (e.g., "Signups").
-
AARRR metrics must be complete: Don't skip Referral or Revenue just because they're hard to track. Every business has all 5 stages.
-
Dashboards must match roles: Don't build one giant dashboard for everyone. Build 5 focused dashboards for different teams.
-
Targets must be realistic: Use industry benchmarks (e.g., SaaS D30 retention: 30-50%, DAU/MAU: 20%+, LTV:CAC: 3:1).
-
Data quality is non-negotiable: No dashboard is better than a dashboard with wrong data. Invest in data quality from Day 1.
-
Every metric needs an owner: Assign ownership for each metric. If no one owns it, it won't improve.
-
Alerts prevent fire drills: Set up automated alerts for critical metrics (NSM, MRR, churn, uptime). Don't rely on manual checks.
-
Adoption > features: A simple dashboard that everyone uses beats a complex dashboard that no one understands. Prioritize clarity and adoption.
Quality Checklist (Before Finalizing)
- North Star Metric is clearly defined and aligns with customer + business value
- AARRR metrics are complete (all 5 stages covered)
- Each metric has: definition, baseline, target, owner, data source
- 5 dashboards are defined (Executive, Growth, Product, Revenue, Retention)
- Alert rules are set for critical metrics
- Data stack is documented (sources, warehouse, ETL, quality checks)
- Implementation roadmap is realistic and broken into 3 phases (12 weeks)
- Benchmarks are cited (SaaS standards for retention, DAU/MAU, LTV:CAC, etc.)
- Data Dictionary includes 20-30 key metrics with full definitions
- Next steps include team training and integration with downstream skills
Integration with Other Skills
Upstream Skills (reuse data from):
- revenue-model-builder → Revenue streams, CAC, LTV, margins
- customer-persona-builder → User segments for cohort analysis
- product-positioning-expert → Value metrics
- growth-hacking-playbook → AARRR framework, North Star Metric, growth loops
- go-to-market-planner → GTM metrics, channel performance
- content-marketing-strategist → Content performance metrics
- email-marketing-architect → Email engagement metrics (open rate, click rate, conversions)
- social-media-strategist → Social media metrics (followers, engagement, referral traffic)
- community-building-strategist → Community metrics (DAU/MAU, retention, member growth)
Downstream Skills (use this data in):
- retention-optimization-expert → Use retention dashboard to identify at-risk users and churn drivers
- onboarding-flow-optimizer → Use activation metrics to improve onboarding
- customer-feedback-framework → Cross-reference NPS/CSAT with retention and churn data
- investor-pitch-deck-builder → Use MRR, growth rate, unit economics for traction slides
- financial-model-architect → Use historical metrics to build revenue projections
End of Skill
HTML Editorial Template Reference
CRITICAL: When generating HTML output, you MUST read and follow the skeleton template files AND the verification checklist to maintain StratArts brand consistency.
Template Files to Read (IN ORDER)
-
Verification Checklist (MUST READ FIRST):
html-templates/VERIFICATION-CHECKLIST.md -
Base Template (shared structure):
html-templates/base-template.html -
Skill-Specific Template (content sections & charts):
html-templates/metrics-dashboard-designer.html
How to Use Templates
- Read
VERIFICATION-CHECKLIST.mdfirst - contains canonical CSS patterns that MUST be copied exactly - Read
base-template.html- contains all shared CSS, layout structure, and Chart.js configuration - Read
metrics-dashboard-designer.html- contains skill-specific content sections, CSS extensions, and chart scripts - Replace all
{{PLACEHOLDER}}markers with actual analysis data - Merge the skill-specific CSS into
{{SKILL_SPECIFIC_CSS}} - Merge the content sections into
{{CONTENT_SECTIONS}} - Merge the chart scripts into
{{CHART_SCRIPTS}}
HTML Output Verification
After generating the HTML output, verify the following:
Structure Verification
- Header uses canonical pattern with gradient background (#10b981 → #14b8a6)
- Score banner shows dashboard count, metric count, alert count, MRR, LTV:CAC
- Verdict box displays framework type (AARRR)
- All 8 sections present: Executive Summary, North Star, AARRR, Dashboards, Metrics Dictionary, Alerts, Data Stack, Charts, Roadmap
- Footer uses canonical pattern with StratArts branding
Content Verification
- North Star Metric container with value, name, description, 3 drivers
- 5 AARRR stage cards with letter, name, metric, target, and details list
- 5 dashboard cards with name, audience, purpose, and metrics list
- Metrics dictionary table with 8-10 rows (name, category, current, target, owner, source)
- 6 alert cards with metric, threshold, and channel
- 3 data stack sections (Sources, Warehouse, Visualization)
- 90-day roadmap with 3 phase cards
CSS Verification
- Dark theme applied (#0a0a0a background, #1a1a1a containers)
- Emerald accent color (#10b981) used consistently
- AARRR stages have top border accent
- Category badges use distinct colors (acquisition=green, activation=blue, retention=amber, referral=purple, revenue=red)
- Dashboard cards have left border accent
- Responsive breakpoints at 1200px and 768px
Chart Verification
- funnelChart: Horizontal bar showing AARRR funnel
- mrrChart: Line chart with filled area for MRR growth
- retentionChart: Retention curve (D1 to D90)
- engagementChart: Dual-line (DAU + WAU)
- All charts use Chart.js v4.4.0
- Dark theme defaults applied (color: #888, borderColor: #333)
Data Consistency
- AARRR funnel data flows logically (Acquisition > Activation > Retention > Referral > Revenue)
- MRR in score banner matches chart endpoint
- LTV:CAC ratio is calculated correctly
- Metrics table current values match corresponding section values
Repository
