How DayBlink Consulting designed an actionable metrics program for a leading U.S. telecom provider
Read the full case study here: Large-Scale Program Metrics Strategy
Introduction
A leading telecommunications provider lacked robust, actionable metrics for leaders in its technology modernization organization. Dashboards and metrics had been requested and built in an ad -hoc fashion, leading to inconsistencies and redundancies. While some existing dashboards and metrics provided useful information (hence were not wasted effort), in many cases they still failed the “so” what test – users did not have concrete actions to take based on changing values.. Recognizing that the state of program reporting was not commensurate with the scale and maturity of the rest of the organization and company, leadership authorized DayBlink Consulting to identify and evaluate existing program metrics, and recommended appropriate future development efforts.
Problem
The technology modernization organization had lots of data, but limited actionable metrics
Despite data, dashboards, and reports, the client lacked a unified, actionable and user-friendly view of overall program health. Much of the existing program relied on displaying data and variables rather than actionable metrics. Documentation was sparse and inconsistent, and the audiences and purposes for each dashboard were rarely defined. Overall, the metric quality did not match the scale and maturity of other functions within the organization and company.
Existing dashboards were often duplicative and fragmented with overlapping data. Many were out of date. As a result, leaders in the organization did not have a single source of truth for various reports and metrics. The absence of an authoritative, automated report or dashboard necessitated time-consuming, manual status updates from team members. These were generally built using static PowerPoint templates that required one-off efforts to create, distribute and maintain Additionally, the existing metrics exhibited high concentration and low variety, with 75%+ of all metrics belonging to the productivity, performance and defect domains (all related to the customer platform SDLC).
Senior leaders sought to generate more accountability and better progress tracking. The metrics program ultimately failed to arm leaders with key information about their areas of accountability and responsibility.
Solution
Our team built a centralized database to remove reporting gaps and provide a one-stop, easily accessible, hub for finding and improving key metrics
We began by cataloging more than 130 existing metrics pulled from over 90 dashboards built across multiple tools. To bring structure to the fragmented metrics landscape, we centralized all existing metrics into a single database, tagging each with key metadata such as owner, calculation logic, and source system. We also developed 37 new metrics to address gaps in the risk reduction, adoption, and financial performance domains.
To assess quality and readiness, we created a metrics checklist with 15 criteria such as documentation, automation and audience clarity. This revealed that while many operational metrics were in place, most lacked business relevance or actionability. Our checklist and heatmap made it easy to view, filter, and prioritize improvements in metric hygiene.
From the cataloged database, we then built a Power BI layer that allowed users to explore metrics through a centralized and searchable interface. For any selected metric, whether existing or net-new, the user can drill into a detailed profile that shows contextual data points like calculation logic, ownership, and gaps across key hygiene criteria.
Through this effort we turned a fragmented reporting environment into a cohesive system supporting metric governance. To further illustrate what future reporting could look like, we created dashboard mockups using select new metrics. Altogether, these efforts established a scalable framework that enabled the organization to manage, improve, and take action on its metrics in support of enterprise transformation.
Outcome
We delivered a centralized database that enables teams to search, report, and act on the metrics that matter
The organization now has insight all of the metrics that exist and a backlog of net-new metrics to begin working on. Each metric is tagged with ownership, calculation logic, and data sourcing to improve clarity and accountability. Using a structured hygiene checklist and prioritization framework, teams can easily evaluate metric quality and focus efforts on the areas that need improvement.
This database is supported by an intuitive, automated Power BI interface that allows users to explore, filter, and drill into individual metric profiles. Key workflows like metric intake and scoring are now largely automated. Reporting on metrics now requires less effort, and changes must adhere to stricter data governance guardrails. In each Power BI Metric Profile, the user can navigate directly to the metric’s source location by clicking a link. The result is a user-friendly “metrics marketplace” that drives transparency, enables consistent ownership, and supports long-term scalability.
Together, these elements provide a clear pathway for building dashboards that neatly track overall program health. The work completed establishes a repeatable model for discovering, evaluating, and implementing metrics across the transformation, paving the way for smarter reporting, faster issue remediation, and better decision-making at scale.