Decisions
Data should do something
A report nobody acts on is decoration. The test for any number is what happens after someone reads it.
05 Oct 2025 · 1 min read
I have made a lot of reports. The ones that survive have one thing in common: something happens after someone looks at them.
Three kinds of data
- Data that drives a decision. A conversion funnel by category tells merchandising where to spend attention this week.
- Data that triggers an action. A product's sales pace that becomes a notification when it is about to sell out.
- Data that shapes an experience. A customer segment that changes what the storefront shows.
Everything else is a chart.
The design rule
Before building a report, write down the action it enables and who takes it. If the answer is "we'll see", do not build it. If the action is the same every time, skip the report and automate the action.
Net, not gross
One small example: every return-on-ad-spend number in our tools is calculated on revenue net of tax. Gross looks better in a meeting and lies about the business. A number you cannot act on is worse than no number.
By Nikhilendra Pratap Singh Deo. Facts here come from public sources or my own posts.