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Adding goals to your metrics

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.

This article includes:

About metric goals

PowerMetrics includes two types of goals:

  • Threshold goals: Threshold goals are not associated with a specific time period. When you set a value for a threshold, and choose to be notified, you’ll receive a notification when you cross the threshold value in either direction (depending on the notification settings you select).

  • Recurring target goals: Recurring targets are associated with a specific time period. When you set a value for a recurring target and ask to be notified when you reach the target, you can choose to receive a notification immediately or to be notified at the end of the specified time period. If you ask to be notified when you don’t reach the target, you’ll receive a notification at the end of the specified time period if you don’t reach the target.

Adding metric goals

This section describes how to add threshold and recurring target goals to a metric.

Here are a few things to note about adding goals:

  • You can add up to 10 goals to a single metric.

  • You can only add, edit, and delete goals for a metric if you created the metric or if someone shared it with you and gave you editing access.

  • When a metric is deleted, its goals are also deleted.

  • You can't add goals for specific segments in segmented metrics. If your metric includes segments, set “Segment by” to “None” (access this setting by clicking the metric visualization’s “Data” tab).
    Note: If you want to add a goal for a specific segment, you can filter for that segment when adding the goal.

  • First day of week settings affect goals that have a weekly periodicity, for example, if Sunday is set as the first day of week, weekly threshold goals will be triggered if the goal is reached by Sunday and weekly recurring goals will trigger on Sunday. The default first day of week in Klipfolio is Monday. This is an account-wide setting that can be modified. Go here to learn more.

  • Goals use the first day of week and time zone as set for the account. If these are modified, you need to edit existing goals to reflect the new settings. To do this, open the metric, click the Goals button, then, click the goal’s 3-dot menu and select Edit. When the goal opens, click Save.

Adding threshold goals

To add a threshold goal to a metric:

  1. In the left navigation sidebar, click Metrics to display the Metric List page.
  2. Select a metric from the list to open it.
  3. Click the Goals tab in the right sidebar. If needed, click the Goals button in the top right corner of the window to display the Goals tab.
  4. If the metric doesn’t have any goals yet, click + New goal. (See below.)
  5. If the metric already has at least one goal, click the + button beside Goals & Notifications instead. (See below.)
  6. Under Name, give your goal a meaningful name.
  7. Under Metric, the service icon, metric name and aggregation type displays. If you want to create a more specific goal, click +Add filter. Note: This option is only available for metrics that include data that can be filtered.
  8. At Periodicity, the default selection for the goal is automatically set to align with the metric visualization’s current periodicity. Note: Only time-based metrics (those with time in the x-axis) have a periodicity setting.
    For a goal to display in a metric visualization, you need to make sure the periodicity settings align. For example, if the goal periodicity is set to “daily” (the goal is based on daily values) and the metric visualization periodicity is set to “monthly” (the metric visualization is based on monthly values), the goal won’t display in the metric because it’s not based on the same values. Go here for more tips on selecting the optimal periodicity setting.
  9. Under Goal type, select Threshold.
  10. Under Condition, select Above or Below and, under Threshold, enter a number for the threshold value.
    The threshold value will display as a dotted line in the metric chart. If you choose to be notified, an alert will be triggered when the metric crosses the threshold value. (See the following step.)
  11. Under Notify when, the checkbox to enable notifications is selected by default. If you don't want to be notified when the metric crosses the threshold, deselect the checkbox beside Metric crosses threshold.
    Note: You can only select one notification condition for a single goal. However, if you want to be notified when the metric value is above and when it’s below the threshold, you can simply add a second goal and select the other notification choice.
  12. Click Save.
  13. To add more goals for this metric, start again at step #5. (See below.)
    Note: To edit or delete a goal, click its 3-dot menu. Users with view-only access will not see this option. (See below.)

Adding recurring target goals

To add a recurring target goal to a metric:

  1. In the left navigation sidebar, click Metrics to display the Metric List page.
  2. Select a metric from the list to open it.
  3. Click the Goals tab in the right sidebar. If needed, click the Goals button in the top right corner of the window to display the Goals tab.
  4. If the metric doesn’t have any goals yet, click + New goal. (See below.)
  5. If the metric already has at least one goal, click the + button beside Goals & Notifications instead. (See below.)
  6. Under Name, give your goal a meaningful name.
  7. Under Metric, the service icon, metric name and aggregation type displays. If you want to create a more specific goal, click +Add filter. Note: This option is only available for metrics that include data that can be filtered.
  8. At Periodicity, the default selection for the goal is automatically set to align with the metric visualization’s current periodicity.
    For a goal to display in a metric visualization, you need to make sure the periodicity settings align. For example, if the goal periodicity is set to “daily” (the goal is based on daily values) and the metric visualization periodicity is set to “monthly” (the metric visualization is based on monthly values), the goal won’t display in the metric because it’s not based on the same values. Go here for more tips on selecting the optimal periodicity setting.
  9. Under Goal type, select Recurring target.
  10. Under Target time frame, select from End of each day, week, month, or year.
    Note: The goal’s periodicity must be < = the target time frame, for example, if the periodicity is “Hourly”, then the chosen target time frame can be “End of each day” (or end of each week, month, or year). If the periodicity is “Weekly”, the target time frame can be set to “End of each week” (or end of each month or year).
    Note: If you’re on a pricing plan with a restricted date range window, you can still choose “End of each year” as a target time frame. When calculating values for recurring target goals and notifications, we consider the last value only. Date range window plan limits won’t prevent you from being notified at the end of each year if you don’t reach a target goal.
  11. Under Target value, enter a number for your value.
    For bar, line, and area charts, the target value will display as a horizontal dotted line, with crosshairs indicating the intersection of target value and target time frame. For summary charts, the target value will display at the right end of the progress bar if the goal hasn’t been reached and as a vertical dotted line if the goal has been exceeded.
  12. If you want to be notified immediately when the target has been reached, select the check box beside When target has been reached. (See below.)
  13. If you want to be notified based on the target time frame you selected above, under Notify when, select Target has been reached and/or Target has not been reached, depending on the conditions by which you want to be notified.
  14. Click Save.
  15. To add more goals for this metric, start again at step #5.
    Note: To edit or delete a goal, click its 3-dot menu. Users with view-only access will not see this option. (See below.)

Tips for choosing goal periodicity

When you add a goal to a metric, you select the periodicity by which you want to display the data, for example, you might want to see it on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis.

Here are a few things to consider when choosing goal periodicity:

  • Access to the “yearly” periodicity setting depends on your pricing plan. The range of data you can access is defined by your pricing plan. For example, if your plan includes a date range window of up to 2 months, the “yearly” periodicity option will not be selectable. If you want to view a longer range of data, you can upgrade to a more comprehensive plan with a larger date range window. Note: Pricing plan date range restrictions don’t apply to direct to warehouse, semantic layer, or dbt Semantic Layer metrics.

Pricing plans and your date range window.

  • Periodicity choice and chart type. When adding or editing a goal, choosing "None" as the periodicity will automatically display the metric visualization as a summary chart. For example, if it was a bar chart and you choose “None” for the goal periodicity, it will change to a summary chart (the best choice for the data).

  • Periodicity settings for transactional data. In transactional data, new values add to previous values (all values are combined to create a total). The metric value is calculated based on the queryable range, for example, if your plan includes a date range of up to 1 year, the metric value will be based on up to 1 year of data at a time. We recommend choosing an appropriate periodicity for transactional data metric goals, based on the amount of data you have access to. Don’t set the periodicity to “None” unless you want to sum the values over the date range window (time period) as defined by your plan. Note: Pricing plan date range restrictions don’t apply to direct to warehouse, semantic layer, or dbt Semantic Layer metrics.

What is transactional data?

  • Periodicity settings for current values data. In current values data, new values replace previous values (each import gives you the current value). You may find “None” to be the most effective periodicity setting for current values data metric goals. However, the choice depends on how you want to visualize your goals.

What is current values data?

Displaying metric goals

Goals can be displayed in bar, line, area, and summary charts on the metric homepage, in Explorer, or on a dashboard.

Here are a few things to note about displaying metric goals:

  • Only one goal can be displayed at a time. You can add up to 10 goals to a single metric but you can only view one goal at a time in a metric visualization.

  • Goals inherit the metric’s sharing rights. If a metric is shared with you, you can see its goals (if you have view access) or see and edit its goals (if you have edit access).

  • Goals are not supported for multi-metrics. Not sure what a multi-metric is? Go here to learn more.

  • You can add a goal to any metric but, for the goal to display, you'll need to select a non-segmented bar, line, area, or summary chart, where the metric visualization and goal settings (periodicity, aggregation type, and filters) are aligned. For example, if the metric visualization is set to display “monthly” values, the goal periodicity should also be set to “monthly”. In addition, the time frame you select for a recurring target goal needs to align with the metric visualization’s date range, for example, if you select a time frame of “end of each week” for a recurring target and the metric visualization’s date range doesn’t include at least one week of data, the goal will not display on the visualization.

Displaying goals in metrics and on dashboards

The following procedures assume you’ve already added goals to your metrics.

To display a goal in a chart on the metric homepage:

  1. In the left navigation sidebar, click Metrics to display the Metric List page.
  2. Select a metric from the list to open it.
  3. On the metric page, click the 3-dot menu for the metric view within which you want to display a goal. Then, select Personalize view.
    Note: You must choose a metric view that can be visualized as a bar, line, area, or summary chart.
  4. Select the goal you want to display. (See below.)
  5. Depending on the current metric visualization settings, the goal will either display in the metric view or, if your metric visualization and goal settings don’t align, the following message will display:
  6. Click Match settings to update the metric visualization settings to match with the goal’s settings.
    Note: If you want to return to the previous visualization settings, you’ll need to do so manually. The settings won’t auto-revert if you stop displaying the goal.

To display a goal in a chart in Explorer:

  1. In the left navigation sidebar, click Metrics to display the Metric List page.
  2. Select a metric from the list to open it.
  3. On the metric page, click the Goals tab in the right sidebar. If needed, click the Goals button in the top right corner of the window to display the Goals tab.
  4. In the goal description, click View goal in Explorer. (See below.)

To display a goal in a metric (on a dashboard):

  1. In an open dashboard, click the Edit button in the upper-right corner.
  2. Select the metric within which you want to display a goal.
  3. In the Display tab, under Goal, select the goal you want to display. If you don’t want to display any goals in the metric, select None.
  4. Depending on the current metric visualization settings, the goal will either display in the metric or, if your metric visualization and goal settings don’t align, the following message will display:
  5. Click Match settings to update the metric visualization settings to match with the goal’s settings.
    Note: If you want to return to the previous visualization settings, you’ll need to do so manually. The settings won’t auto-revert if you stop displaying the goal.
  6. Click Save.
    The goal will display in the metric for everyone who has shared access to the metric and the dashboard.

Displaying goals in bar, line, and area charts

When you add a threshold or a target goal to a bar, line, or area chart, the goal value displays as a dotted line. When you add a target goal, a crosshair displays at the intersection of target value and target time frame.

Here are a couple things to note about displaying goals in bar, line, and area charts:

  • Crosshairs will only display in the metric if the metric’s date range includes the target time frame (the metric periodicity must be greater than or equal to the target time frame). For example, if the target time frame is set to “End of each year” and the metric date range is set to only show one month of data, the crosshairs will not display.

  • Goals cannot be visualized for bar charts with 100% stacked column and 100% stacked bar styles and area charts with the 100% stacked area style. Goals are represented by numeric values. These chart styles convert values to 100%, making them inappropriate for plotting threshold and target goals.

Here are some examples of metric goals displaying in bar and line charts:

Example 1: You set a recurring target goal (value = 650) with a monthly target time frame and a weekly periodicity. The goal will display in a bar chart like this (note the goal value is indicated by a horizontal dotted line and the intersection of target value ($650) and target time frame (end of each month) is indicated with crosshairs:

Example 2: You set a threshold goal (value = 500) with a weekly periodicity. The goal will display in a line chart like this (note the goal value ($500) is indicated with a horizontal dotted line):

Displaying goals in summary charts

In summary charts, threshold goals and recurring target goals display somewhat differently. When you set a threshold goal you’ll see how close you are to a goal. Your metric value is tracked as it moves above or below a threshold, resulting in a more fluid, less linear pattern than with recurring target goals. When you set a recurring target goal you’ll see your metric progress, starting from the beginning and moving toward a goal. 

Threshold goals in summary charts

  • The goal value displays as a vertical dotted line. (See below.)

  • The current metric value is indicated by a vertical, downward-pointing arrow. (See below.)

  • The hash marked area within the chart indicates the “unexpected” region (as opposed to the grey area of the chart, which represents the expected or “normal” range for the metric). Notifications for the goal (if enabled) will be sent when the metric value enters this region of the chart. (See below.)

Recurring target goals in summary charts

  • Recurring target goals display as a progress bar and are always read from left to right.

  • The range start (at the left end of the progress bar) depends on the metric visualization’s data shape. For transactional and periodic summary data, the range start is zero. For current values data, the range start is the previous known value.

  • The chart uses either a blue or a red progress bar. Blue indicates a positive trend in the data (the current value is better than the starting value) and red indicates a negative trend (the current value is worse than the starting value). Whether ascending or descending values are considered “negative” or “positive” depends on the metric. For example, if your metric includes sales totals, a higher (ascending) number demonstrates a positive trend but, if your metric includes cost to acquire customers, a lower (descending) number indicates a positive trend.

  • The goal value displays numerically at the right end of the progress bar if the goal hasn’t been reached. If the goal has been exceeded, the goal value displays as a vertical dotted line. Note: By clicking the goal value, you can switch between displaying a delta value or a percent change.

See below for an example of a recurring target goal that hasn’t been reached:

See below for an example of a recurring target goal that’s been exceeded:

  • The current metric value displays within the blue or red section of the progress bar, as a percentage or a numeric value in relation to goal completion. (See below).

Accessing goal details

You can access goal details from:

  • Your list of notifications (by clicking the Bell icon in the left navigation sidebar). Here you’ll see the goal name and description and its status. If you click on a goal notification, you’re taken to the associated metric with the goal displayed.

  • An open metric (by clicking the Goals tab and selecting a goal under Goals & Notifications). On each goal tile, you’ll see the goal name, description, and goal owner's name. You can also edit or delete a goal here using the 3-dot menu. (See below.)

Being notified when metric goals are reached

You can choose to be notified about the progress of metric goals you create and those that are shared with you. By enabling notifications, you'll receive in-app and email notifications when goals are reached.

PowerMetrics includes two types of goal notifications:

  • Email notifications: An email notification is sent when a metric goal is reached. This ensures everyone is informed even if they’re not logged into PowerMetrics. Email notifications include the date and time the goal was reached and a quick link to go to the metric (with the goal displayed) in PowerMetrics.

  • In-app notifications: A message pops up on the PowerMetrics screen when a metric goal is reached. This enables you and your team to react quickly to changes in data when needed. In-app notifications include the time the goal was reached. If you click anywhere in the notification, the metric opens with the goal displayed.

Viewing and managing goal notifications

On the Notifications page, accessed by clicking the Bell icon in the left navigation sidebar, you can view all of your active notifications, starting with the most recent 5 items and sorted in descending order by creation date. Selecting a notification from the list opens the associated metric with the goal displayed.

The Notifications page is also where you enable and disable email and in-app notifications (using on/off toggles, accessed by clicking the 3-dot menu - see below).

Here are a few things to consider for notifications:

  • Enabling and disabling notifications. When you have notifications enabled, you’ll receive notifications for all of the goals you create and those that are shared with you. You can’t turn notifications on and off for individual metrics and goals.

Note: Disabling and enabling email notifications for your goals also enables and disables other email notification types (for example, token expiry emails). The only exception is the email notifications you receive when colleagues share metrics with you. You’ll continue to receive those even if you disable email notifications here.

  • Notification expiry. Notifications expire and are removed from your list after 30 days. When a metric is deleted, its goals are also deleted. If there were notifications for the metric’s goals, they’ll be retained in your list until they expire but you won’t be able to interact with them.

Notifications for threshold goals

When you add a threshold goal to a metric, you can choose to be notified when the metric value crosses above the threshold or when the metric value crosses below the threshold.

If you choose to be notified when the metric value crosses above the threshold, you’ll receive a notification when:

  • The metric value is equal to or exceeds the threshold, for example, if the threshold value is “5”, you’ll be notified when the metric value crosses the threshold and is > = 5.

You are notified once when you cross above the threshold. For example, If the threshold value is “5” and you’re notified when the metric value is “5”, you won’t be notified again if the metric value increases to “6”.

Note: You’ll also be notified if the metric value crosses from above the threshold to below the threshold and then back above the threshold. For example, if the threshold value is “5” and the metric value was “6”, went down to “4”, and then back up to “5”, you’ll be notified that it crossed above the threshold.

If you choose to be notified when the metric value crosses below the threshold, you’ll receive a notification when:

  • The metric value drops below the threshold, for example, if your threshold value is “5”, you will be notified when the metric value < = 5.

You are notified once when you cross below the threshold. For example, If the threshold value is “5” and you’re notified when the metric value is “4”, you won’t be notified again if the metric value decreases to “3”.

Note: You’ll also be notified if the metric value crosses from below the threshold to above the threshold and then back below the threshold. For example, if the threshold value is “5” and the metric value was “4”, went up to “6”, and then back down to “4”, you’ll be notified that it crossed below the threshold.

Notifications for recurring target goals

When you add a recurring target goal to a metric, you can be notified immediately when the target has been reached. You can also choose a time frame (end of each day / end of each week / end of each month / end of each year) to signify when you want to be notified that the target has or has not been reached.

If you choose to be notified immediately when the target has been reached, you'll receive a notification when:

  • The metric value reaches the target value, regardless of the selected target time frame.

For example, if you set a time frame of “end of each week” and you reach the goal on day 2 of the week, you’ll receive the notification then, not at the end of the week.

If you choose to be notified at the end of the time frame if the target has been reached, you’ll receive a notification:

  • At the end of the target time frame you selected, for example, if you chose “end of each day”, you’ll be notified at the end of the day if the metric value reached the target value.

If you choose to be notified at the end of the time frame if the target has not been reached, you’ll receive a notification:

  • At the end of the target time frame you selected, for example, if you chose “end of each week”, you’ll be notified at the end of the week if the metric value at that time is below the target. Note: As per PowerMetrics settings, the first day of the week is Monday and the last day of the week is Sunday.
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