Metrics are the quantitative indicators you use to gauge the health of your business. When building or adjusting your strategy, it's important to look at trends in the metrics that matter to you and identify which ones you need to focus on the most.
In Cascade, all metrics can be found in the Metric Library - either from a connected integration source or manually created. The Metrics library brings all your metrics under one page, providing visibility into performing and the non-performing business metrics. From there, they can be connected to a measure to bring in this data so it can be tracked over time.
An example would be a metric 'Total business revenue value', that brings in the total revenue on a monthly basis. This metric, once connected to the measure "Achieve total business revenue of $15m in 2025" now gives us a way to track progress against a specific target with a timeframe and owner to ensure the business is on track to meet expected figures.
Different types of metrics
In the Metrics library, there can exist three different types of metrics that are either brought in from an integration (connected), metrics that have been manually created in the Library (manual) and aggregated metrics (calculated). You can search for a metric, sort metrics or toggle "Display manual metrics" to display the manually tracked metrics along with the imported and calculated metrics, if any.
Connected metrics: Include metrics tracked with Excel , Google Sheets, or Snowflake via native integration or metrics tracked via custom integration. Native integrations can be accessed in the "Connect metrics" tab or by clicking +Create new metric in the "Library" tab.
Manual metrics: Can be created by clicking +Create new metric in the "Library" tab. The data would require a manual input from an enabled user in the workspace. See Create Manual Metrics for details.
Calculated metrics: Can aggregate existing or imported metrics to either provide a sum or average value via "Metric trees". See Create Aggregated Metrics with Metrics Calculations. Note: you can have 'related' metrics, which will group metrics together similarly to calculated metrics, to establish a relationship but will not have any calculation associated.
Metric Display
The label in the top left of the individual metric card will dictate the type of metric. You can also see the Name of the metric, the current value, change vs last month and if it's connected to a measure (indicated by the measure icon in bottom left). 
Whether you have an integrated or manual metric, when you first connected/created it, you would have been prompted to set up the metric details which determines how the data will be displayed (Last value, Average of values, Sum of values) and grouped (Daily, Weekly, Monthly,Quarterly, Half year, Yearly). These settings can be changed at any time. Simply click on a metric to view and edit additional metric details. See Manage Existing Metrics via Sidebar
for a full breakdown.
If you intend to have a metric connected to a measure, the "group data" and "total is" details will impact how these values are brought into the measure.
Metrics vs Measures:
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Metrics |
Measures |
|---|---|
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Not time-bound: Metrics have no deadline or due date. |
Time-bound: it is mandatory to have specific start and due dates for Measures. |
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No target: You should create a measure from a metric if you with to set a target to define success for your strategy. |
Have a specific target that must be achieved by the due date. |
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Can live in any data source (Google Sheets, Excel, etc.,). |
Measures live in Cascade. |
|
Can import multiple metrics to Cascade at once if they are stored in a single data source. |
Measures are a type of success criteria that always sit below a parent objective |
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All imported metrics are available in a single page, the Metrics library. |
Can be viewed across Home, Plans and teams, Reports and Insights |
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These can exist alone and can also be connected to measures (new or existing) in the workspace. |
These cannot exist alone and need to be associated with an objective. |
FAQs
How many metrics can I bring in with this new functionality?
There is no limit to the number of metrics you can import.
Can I connect the same metrics to multiple measures?
Yes you can, this is one of the main advantages of metrics.
Can I pull the metrics data into reports?
Yes, you can use the "Performance of Single Metric" widget and also "Current State of Metric"widget to see how a metric is performing over time.
How can I bring in data from a source outside Excel, Google Sheets and Snowflake
You will most likely require a custom integration - Cascade supports custom integrations with a wide variety of platforms, including databases, project management, business intelligence, enterprise resource planning, customer relationship management systems, and more. Contact our team for specific inquiries.