When a KPI moves sharply, the first job is not to create a complicated dashboard. It is to establish what actually changed.

Start with the size and timing

Compare the current value with a relevant baseline. Check whether the change is sudden, gradual, seasonal or caused by a reporting cutoff.

Check the data before the business story

Look for pipeline failures, missing dates, duplicate records, changed definitions and broken joins. A dashboard change is not automatically a business change.

Segment the movement

Break the metric down by the dimensions most likely to explain it: product, customer type, geography, channel, device or time.

Separate correlation from cause

A segment that moved at the same time is a lead, not proof. Validate the mechanism before recommending action.

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