Governed metric coverage
How much of what your business actually reports on has one agreed, documented definition.
01 What it is
Why anyone looks at this number
How much of what your business actually reports on has one agreed, documented definition.
It is the practical measure of whether you have a single version of the truth. Low coverage is why two dashboards disagree and why nobody trusts either.
02 The formula
How it is worked out
Governed metric coverage = metrics_with_a_governed_definition ÷ metrics_used_in_reporting grain : quarter × domain unit : percentage source : The semantic layer, compared against a report inventory
Count usage, not existence. A governed definition nobody consumes has not improved anything — coverage should be weighted by how often each metric is actually used.
03 Worked example
The same number, with real inputs
| Metrics used across reporting | 340 |
| With a governed definition | 190 |
| Calculation | 190 ÷ 340 |
| Result | 55.9% |
Nearly half of what leaders read has no agreed definition. That is the real reason the monthly review spends its first twenty minutes reconciling numbers.
04 What moves it
Four things that actually change this number
Semantic layer adoption
Whether tools consume definitions or rebuild them.
Report sprawl
Every ungoverned dashboard adds to the denominator.
Ownership
Definitions need a business owner, not just a modeller.
Self-serve tooling
Easy ad hoc analysis creates ungoverned metrics faster than anything else.
05 Where the number lives
The system, the record and the fields
| System of record | Key record | Fields you need |
|---|---|---|
| The semantic layer, compared against a report inventory | Metric definition joined to Report / Dashboard | metric_name, formula, grain, owner, source_model, report_usage_count |
Count usage, not existence. A governed definition nobody consumes has not improved anything — coverage should be weighted by how often each metric is actually used.
06 How it goes wrong
Three ways this metric misleads people
Counting definitions, not usage
A library of 500 unused definitions scores well and changes nothing.
Fix: Weight by consumption.Governing the easy metrics first
Coverage rises while the contested numbers stay ungoverned.
Fix: Start with the metrics that appear in the board pack.No deprecation
Old definitions live alongside new ones and both get used.
Fix: Version and retire definitions explicitly.08 Questions
Frequently asked
Where should we start?
With the numbers already in the board pack. Those are the metrics people argue about, and governing them removes the most friction per definition.
How is this different from a data catalogue?
A catalogue tells you what exists. A governed metric tells you what a number means and guarantees every consumer computes it the same way.
One definition, everywhere it is used
SCIKIQ stores this metric once and serves it to every dashboard, board pack and agent that asks.