Metrics
Define revenue, churn and your other key numbers once, then certify them: simple, ratio and derived metrics, formats, lineage and history.
A metric is one of your business numbers, defined once: Revenue, Average order value, Net revenue. Dashboards, notebooks, the agent and your AI assistant all use the same definition, so everyone gets the same number. You’ll find them under Semantic layer then Metrics.
Three kinds of metric
| Kind | What it is | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Simple | One measure from a data model, with an optional extra filter | Revenue = sum of paid order amounts |
| Ratio | One metric divided by another. Each is added up first, then divided, so it’s never an average of averages | Average order value = Revenue ÷ Orders |
| Derived | A formula over other metrics | Net revenue = Revenue − Refunds |
Metrics are built on data models, so set one up first. For now, a ratio or derived metric can only be queried when all of its parts come from the same data model.
Create a metric
Start one
Go to Metrics then New metric. Or ask the agent: “Draft a revenue metric from paid orders.”
Define it
On Definition, pick the kind. For a simple metric, choose the Data model and Measure, and add an Extra filter if you need one. For a ratio, pick the Numerator and Denominator metrics. For a derived one, write the Formula, inserting metrics by name.
Describe it
On Details, give it a Label and a Description: say what it means and what it leaves out (“Paid orders, excluding refunds and tax”). Set how it’s shown (below).
Create it and check it
Click Create. The Explore tab charts the metric over time from real data. Check it against a number you trust.
Details
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Number format | Auto, number (1,234.5), compact (1.2K), percent (25%) or currency ($1,234), with the currency and decimals. Charts of the metric use it. |
| Good direction | Up is good, down is good, or neutral. Colors changes green or red, so a drop in churn shows as good news. |
| Default time grain | The step it trends by unless someone picks another: day, week, month, quarter or year. |
| Owner | Who to ask about this number. |
| Tags | Comma-separated labels for finding it, like finance, kpi. |
Draft, certified, deprecated
Every metric has a status, shown as a badge wherever it appears:
| Status | Means |
|---|---|
| Draft | New or changed, and not vouched for yet. Everything the agent creates starts here. |
| Certified | Someone checked it and vouched for it. The agent prefers certified metrics. |
| Deprecated | Still works, but marked as on its way out. Point people to its replacement. |
- Certify appears on a saved metric that isn’t certified. The metric records who certified it and when.
- Editing a certified metric’s definition sends it back to draft, so a changed formula is never still vouched for by someone who checked the old one. Descriptions and formats can change without that.
- The ⋯ menu has Return to draft, Deprecate and Delete metric.
Who can certify
Any member of your organization can create, edit and certify metrics. People certify; the agent and AI assistants can only draft.
Lineage and history
- Lineage shows the data model the metric is built on, the metrics it uses, and the metrics that use it.
- History keeps every saved version, with who changed it and when. Restore this version brings an old one back.
- Renaming a metric updates the metrics and saved metric queries that refer to it.
- A metric that other metrics build on can’t be deleted. Saved queries that ask for a deleted metric stop working, so when a metric is in use, deprecate it rather than deleting it.
Where metrics show up
- Explore tab on each metric: chart it by any time grain, split and filter it. See Explore and query metrics.
- Saved queries and dashboards, as metric queries that follow the definition.
- The Data Agent checks your metrics before writing SQL, and says which one it used.
- Claude and ChatGPT, through the
list_metricsandquery_metricstools.
A first set
For a subscription or online business, start with Revenue, New customers, Active customers, Churn rate and Average order value. That covers most Monday questions.
Something unclear or missing? Troubleshooting covers the common errors, or message us.