Same name, different meaning
Revenue, margin or active customers are calculated differently across reports, even though every team uses the exact same label.
KPI Glossary
A KPI glossary for metrics you can trust
MetricsMap gives BI teams a shared home for business KPI definitions and their technical trail. Scattered knowledge becomes a maintained metrics catalog everyone can rely on.
See the workflowTraceable metadata
Definition
What does the entry mean?
Ownership
Who reviews and decides?
Technical trail
Which sources belong to it?
The starting point
Why scattered documentation is not enough
Unclear ownership
Without an owner, a status and review context, it stays unclear who owns a definition and whether it is fit for real decisions.
Business meaning without data
Wiki definitions explain the term but rarely show which tables, fields or other KPIs actually sit behind the calculation.
The approach
From a single entry to documentation you can rely on
- 01
Name the metric clearly
Create a self-explanatory name and add synonyms so users still find the right KPI even when they search with different wording.
- 02
Capture definition and calculation
Document the meaning, formula, unit and business scope together, instead of separating calculation logic from its business context.
- 03
Assign owner and status
Give each definition an owner and move it through a clear lifecycle: Draft, Approved, Certified or Deprecated, in a traceable way.
- 04
Connect sources and dependencies
Link KPIs to data models and dependent metrics through stable references, so renames never break the underlying technical trail.
MetricsMap
Features for a metadata foundation you can trace
Searchable KPI definitions
Business description, formula, unit, domain, owner and synonyms all live in one shared, findable entry.
Review and certification
Roles and status separate draft, approved, certified and deprecated definitions from one another.
ID-based references
Dependencies point to the metric itself. A rename changes the display name, not the stored relationship.
Linked data models
Tables and fields can be documented as metadata and connected to the metrics that rely on them.
Example: Monthly Recurring Revenue
Alongside the definition, the team documents unit, owner, status, calculation logic and the source tables used. Dependent KPIs like Net Revenue Retention can point to the same reviewed definition.
Tell the terms apart
- KPI glossary
- Connects the business definition, ownership and calculation logic of a single metric.
- Metrics catalog
- Usually the ordered set of all KPIs; in MetricsMap it is the list and search view onto the glossary.
- Data catalog
- Inventories technical data objects more broadly. A KPI glossary focuses on the meaning and governance of metrics.
Related articles
Frequently asked questions
Why do you need a KPI glossary?
Without a shared KPI glossary, teams calculate the same metric differently and decisions rest on conflicting numbers. A KPI glossary keeps definition, formula, owner and sources in one place, so a metric means the same thing to everyone and stays traceable down to the data source.
Which fields belong in a KPI glossary?
At minimum name, a plain-language definition, formula or calculation rule, unit, owner, status and the relevant data sources. Synonyms and dependencies improve search and traceability.
Who should maintain KPI definitions?
Business owners are responsible for the meaning, while BI teams add the technical trail. A review by reviewers or admins separates capture from certification.
Does MetricsMap store business data?
No. MetricsMap stores metadata about metrics, data models and relationships, but no raw business data, and it never runs BI queries.
Build your shared KPI glossary
Start with the metrics that matter most and connect their business definitions to their technical origin.
Start your KPI glossary in MetricsMap