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Getting started with PowerMetrics

Welcome to PowerMetrics! We’re here to help you succeed with data.

This article introduces some PowerMetrics fundamentals to get you on the path to data discovery, including:

Your data journey - An overview

On your PowerMetrics journey, you'll begin by connecting to your data and choosing the metrics you want to track. Next, you'll visualize your data, by selecting from a variety of chart options. Then, you'll pinpoint related metrics and display them on a dashboard.

From here on your metrics will continue to collect data and build history, enabling you to collaborate, learn, and grow by analyzing, sharing, and monitoring your data.

Connecting to your data - Creating data feed, data warehouse, and semantic layer metrics

When connecting to data from local and cloud-stored files, and data that comes from cloud and API services, you create data feeds. Data feeds, either created by Klipfolio (for instant metrics) or by you (for custom metrics) connect to a data source and channel its data into your metrics. Learn more about data feeds.

You can also connect to data that’s managed and stored in a data warehouse or a semantic layer (Cube and dbt Semantic Layer). In this case, you create data warehouse metrics, semantic layer metrics (for Cube), and dbt Semantic Layer metrics (for dbt). Learn more about data warehouse metrics. Learn more about Cube metrics. Learn more about dbt Semantic Layer metrics.

Visualizing your data

PowerMetrics offers a wide array of chart options for visualizing your metric data. Go here for an introduction to our visualization options.

The first time you open a metric on its homepage, it’s immediately visualized using the most appropriate aggregation type and the most effective chart styles, enabling you to quickly and easily see your data from multiple perspectives, all on one page. However, you’re free to modify the visualization settings to create your own, personal version. Learn more about personalizing visualizations on the metric’s homepage.

PowerMetrics includes the following metric options:

  • Instant metrics: Available for many popular cloud/API services, instant metrics, based on data feeds, help you visualize data quickly.
  • Data feed metrics: Hands-on metrics you create from scratch based on data feeds.
  • Data warehouse metrics: Managed and stored in your data warehouse and visualized in PowerMetrics.
  • Cube semantic layer metrics: Managed and stored in Cube and visualized in PowerMetrics.
  • dbt Semantic Layer metrics: Imported into PowerMetrics from your dbt Semantic Layer project(s).
  • Sample metrics: Managed by Klipfolio in our data warehouse. Sample metrics are based on dynamic, realistic data and behave the same way as those you create from your own data sources. They’re a great, risk-free way to experiment with and explore PowerMetrics before diving in and connecting to your data.
  • Calculated metrics: Combine existing metrics of any type using a formula.
  • Multi-metrics: Compare and consolidate multiple metrics of any type into a single visualization (available in Explorer and on dashboards).

No matter which metric type you choose, our flexible design features will help you build metrics quickly and communicate your business data effectively. Learn more about creating metrics.

After adding metrics, you can, optionally, certify them. Certified metrics are the ones you recommend for use across your organization. Learn more about metric certification.

Setting metric goals and analyzing trends

Keep a close eye on your data and track its progression by adding goals to your metrics. When a goal is reached, you (and everyone with shared access to the metric) can be notified with in-app and email notifications. Learn more about metric goals and notifications.

Making effective decisions begins with understanding how your key business metrics are performing now and how they’re expected to perform in the future. Our normal range and forecast analysis tools help you assess past, current, and future trends in your metrics. You’ll be able to quickly identify outliers in your data (values that fall outside the metric’s normal range) and see a prediction of future metric performance. Learn more about normal range and forecast analysis.

Exploring your metrics - on your own or with help from PowerMetrics AI

After you've added some metrics, it’s time to explore your data. When exploring, you make personalization changes that are only visible to you. It’s a great way to experiment with and find the optimal visualization(s) before adding your metrics to a dashboard.

PowerMetrics AI is your personal exploration assistant. Using a natural language interface, it interprets your questions to automatically create visualizations in Explorer. Use it in conjunction with manual configuration or to automate the entire experience - the choice is yours.

Learn more about exploring your metrics. Learn more about PowerMetrics AI.

Creating metric dashboards

You've got metrics! It’s time to display them on a dashboard.

Metric dashboards are highly flexible and customizable, empowering you to create unique displays tailored to your specific needs and audience. A diverse set of configuration options means you can individualize each dashboard display. Add several views of a single metric and then apply different filters and segmentation to display your data from multiple perspectives, add text and images, and set dashboard-wide date ranges and filters. You can also personalize your dashboard backgrounds using images and preset or custom colours.

On your quest to create the ultimate dashboard, you can preview all of your changes before publishing, so you're free to experiment and learn. Your personalized settings are only visible to you. Learn more about metric dashboards. Learn more about customizing your dashboard display.

If you’re looking for an even faster path to a professional dashboard, add one of our pre-built dashboard templates. These curated, customizable dashboards include essential instant metrics for our most popular services. Learn more about metric dashboard templates.

Sharing metrics

You’ve got a story to tell! Sharing your metrics helps keep everyone informed and progressing toward common goals. It also encourages collaboration and discussion, leading to meaningful action.

You can share metrics and metric dashboards by:

Finding help

Looking for help? We've got it covered! Browse articles in our Knowledge Base, watch videos on our YouTube Channel, and contribute to and ask questions in our PowerMetrics Community. Learn about metrics, as defined by product experts, in MetricHQ. If you're stuck, contact our Support Team at support@klipfolio.com.

Tip: To access our in-app Help, click the  question mark in the left navigation sidebar. In the PowerMetrics Assistant, you can ask questions and get answers (sourced from the extensive range of articles in our Knowledge Base). Click the 3-dot menu in the PowerMetrics Assistant window to open the Help Center/Knowledge Base and to see What's new. You can also contact our Support Team here.

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