Create and manage metrics
Link metrics to goals in order to track and evaluate progress toward goals in a more structured and digestible format. Metrics have a dedicated section on the success measure overview tab, adding a visualization for the metric’s progress over time. This helps you communicate progress to stakeholders more effectively and drive faster, more informed decisions.
Adding a metric to your success measure
Success measure (used interchangeably with key result) is the default term for this feature. Organization admins may change what this term is called in your version of goals.
You can add a metric from either the Metric section on the success measure's Overview tab, or the (+) icon in the Progress section in the right sidebar.
Open either entry point and select Add metric, then choose whether to create a new metric or use an existing metric from your organization.
Enter the details in the form.
Create a new metric
When creating a new metric, you’ll have to enter a few pieces of information:
Metric name — A specific, descriptive title to help distinguish this metric from others that may be similar. For example, instead of saying “Monthly Active Users (MAU)”, use “Jira MAU” instead to be more specific.
Unit — Designate the type of measurement you want to use. Choose from:
Number — a plain numeric value, such as a count of subscribers or support tickets.
Percent — a value out of 100, such as a customer retention rate.
A currency — a monetary value, such as revenue or cost savings. Select the currency you want to measure in: USD, CAD, AUD, EUR, GBP, JPY, or CHF.
Choose carefully, unit type can’t be changed after the metric is created.
Start value — This is the value you’d like the metric to start measuring progress from. Typically, this would be the present-day value or a 0, depending on how you’re structuring your metric. For example, if the goal is to increase subscriber count by 10%, the starting value would be the number of subscribers you have today.
Target value — This is the value you are looking to reach with your metric, and will indicate whether you’ve achieved your goal. In the above example, if you have 1,000 subscribers and your goal is to increase that number by 10%, your target value is 1,100.
Period targets (optional) — the values you plan to reach in each month or quarter between your start value and final target value. Period targets require an active Strategy Collection license. See Set a target for each period below.
Once you’ve created a metric, you can adjust the name, start value, and target value at any time. To edit a metric, select the button next to your metric in the goal sidebar and select Settings.
Once a metric has been created, it's not possible to change the unit. If you need to set a different metric unit, you'll need to delete the metric and create a new one. Only the metric creator or a site admin can delete a metric.
Set a target for each period
Adding and editing period targets requires an active Strategy Collection license. Every other part of metrics, including recording metric values and removing period targets that already exist, is available to all customers. To learn more, see Goals and Projects capabilities in Strategy Collection.
A start value and a target value tell you where a metric begins and where you want it to end up. Period targets describe the journey in between — the value you expect the metric to reach in each month or quarter of your goal. With period targets in place, every update becomes a comparison of your actual value against the value you planned for that period.
To set period targets:
Open the success measure your metric is attached to.
Go to the Overview tab and find the Metric section, or hover over the progress bar in the right sidebar, then select Metric settings. You can also set period targets while you’re creating a metric.
Select Add periodic targets.
Choose whether you want monthly or quarterly targets, and the date range you want to set targets for. The range defaults to the goal’s start date and target date.
Enter the value you’re aiming for in each period.
Save your changes.
Things to know
You don’t need to fill in every period. Charts join the targets you have entered, so a period you leave blank shows as a straight line between the values on either side of it.
You can set targets for up to 50 periods on a single metric.
Period targets appear as a target line on the metric chart, including the smaller charts shown on a parent goal’s overview.
When you write a goal update, the target for that update’s period is shown alongside the value you’re recording, so you can compare planned and actual at a glance. If there’s no target for that period, nothing is shown.
Changes to period targets appear in Activity history, at the bottom of the success measure’s Overview tab.
You need edit permissions on the goal to add, change, or remove period targets.
Period targets can also be created and maintained in bulk with the Goals GraphQL API.
If your Strategy Collection license ends
Any period targets you’ve already set are kept and stay visible on your charts and in the API. You won’t be able to add new period targets or change existing ones, but you can still remove them. Recording metric values, including values as of a specific date, isn’t affected.
Record a metric value as of a specific date
You don’t need to publish a goal update to record a new metric value. You can add a value at any time and set the date that the value is true for. This is useful for adding color to a metric’s history.
To add a metric value:
Open the success measure your metric is attached to.
Go to the Overview tab and find the Metric section, or hover over the progress bar in the right sidebar.
Select Add metric data.
Enter the value, then choose the date the value is as of.
Save your changes.
Things to know
You can only record values as of the current date or earlier. Future dates aren’t supported.
The as of date isn’t limited to the goal’s start and target dates, so you can backfill values from before the goal began.
When you add a metric value while writing a goal update, the as of date is limited to that update’s monthly period. For example, in a July update you can choose any date in July. This keeps your commentary and your number anchored to the same period.
You can record more than one value for the same day. Charts display the most recent value recorded for that day.
You need edit permissions on the goal to add a metric value.
Change or delete a metric value
Metric values can't be edited, but they can be replaced. To correct a value, add a new value for the same date and delete the one you no longer need. A value recorded as part of a goal update can be changed by editing that update.
If you record a metric value by mistake, or need to remove inaccurate data, you can delete it from the metric’s data table.
To delete a metric value:
Open the success measure your metric is attached to.
Go to the Overview tab and click on the … button within the metric chart.
Select View data table
Find the row for the value you want to remove.
Select the more actions menu on that row, then select Delete.
Things to know
Metric values can’t be edited directly from the data table. To correct a value, add a new value for the same date and delete the one you no longer need.
A metric value that was recorded as part of a goal update can be changed by editing that update.
The Updated by column in the data table shows who recorded each value.
Changes to a metric also appear in Activity history, at the bottom of the success measure’s Overview tab.
You need edit permissions on the goal to delete a metric value.
Deleting a metric value doesn’t delete the metric itself. To remove a metric entirely, see Create a new metric above.
How metrics contribute to a goal’s progress
Since a goal can have multiple success measures attached, you can use success measures to link several metrics to a single goal. By setting a target value for the metric and a target date for the success measure, you can track progress with each monthly update and see how the metric value changes over time. When you record a value, either in a goal update or directly on the metric, you can set the date the value is as of, so your chart reflects when the number was true rather than when it was entered.
If you’ve set period targets, your update also shows the target for that period, so you can see how you’re tracking against your plan for the period as well as against the metric’s final target value.
Each success measure and its attached metric contributes to the overall progress percentage on a goal. The progress section in the right sidebar of a goal shows a progress bar and percentage that’s averaged from each success measure’s progress.
For example, a sales organization may have the goal, “Increase repeat customers in Q2”, they may want to track several success measures with metrics such as customer retention rate, customer satisfaction, and marketing email open rates. Assuming the goal has 3 success measures with these metrics attached, progress toward the target value for each success measure is averaged making up the progress percentage on the goal.
Best practices for using metrics
If your organization reviews performance on a set cadence, such as a quarterly business review with monthly check-ins, set your period targets when you create the metric. Modeling the path upfront means each update is measured against an expectation you agreed on, rather than a judgment call in the moment.
Though a single metric can be added to multiple goals, it’s best to only connect it to one active goal at a time to see how that goal’s efforts impact the metric. Instead, consider using sequential goals to track the same metric so each effort can track its individual impact on the metric.
When browsing the goals directory, you’ll see a new column for metrics titled Progress, helping you see each goals' progress at a glance. When you create your own saved view of the goals directory, you can use this column to see how each goal is progressing without having to look at each goal.
If you’re starting to track a metric partway through a goal, record its earlier values using the as of date so your chart shows a complete trend from the beginning of the period you need.
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