Metrics

Metrics are standalone measurements that you track over time, independent of objectives. Use them for KPIs and recurring measurements that span multiple cycles.

Metrics vs Key Results

While Key Results are tied to specific objectives and cycles, Metrics are persistent measurements that you track continuously.

Key Results — Cycle-bound targets for specific goals
Metrics — Ongoing KPIs tracked across cycles

Example

"Monthly Active Users" might be a Metric you always track, while "Reach 10,000 MAU" would be a Key Result for a specific quarter.

Creating a Metric

Navigate to the Metrics page
Click "New Metric"
Enter a name (e.g., "Monthly Active Users")
Add an optional description
Set the direction — whether higher or lower values are better
Optionally add a unit (e.g., "users", "$")

Metric Direction

The direction tells Runsheet how to interpret changes:

Higher is better — Revenue, users, satisfaction scores
Lower is better — Churn rate, bug count, response time

This affects how trends are displayed — green for improvements, red for declines.

Updating Metrics

Click on a metric to open its detail view, then add a new data point. Each update records:

The new value
When it was recorded
Who made the update
An optional note for context

The metric sparkline on the main page shows recent trends at a glance.

Linking Metrics to Key Results

When creating a metric-type Key Result, you can link it to an existing Metric. This allows the Key Result to automatically pull values from the Metric, reducing duplicate data entry.

Linked Key Results still have their own start and target values — they just share the current value with the Metric.

Best Practices

Keep your Metrics list focused — track only what matters
Update Metrics on a consistent schedule
Use clear, unambiguous names (include time period if relevant)
Add context in notes when values change significantly