Which of the below represents an internal kpi that indicates the earning power of a project?

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Create key performance indicator (KPI) visualizations

• Article
• 08/15/2022
• 3 minutes to read

In this article

APPLIES TO: ✔️ Power BI Desktop ✔️ Power BI service

A Key Performance Indicator (KPI) is a visual cue that communicates the amount of progress made toward a measurable goal. For more about KPIs, see Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in PowerPivot.

When to use a KPI

KPIs are a great choice:

• To measure progress. Answers the question, "What am I ahead or behind on?"

• To measure distance to a goal. Answers the question, "How far ahead or behind am I?"

KPI requirements

A designer bases a KPI visual on a specific measure. The intention of the KPI is to help you evaluate the current value and status of a metric against a defined target. A KPI visual requires a base measure that evaluates to a value, a target measure or value, and a threshold or goal.

A KPI dataset needs to contain goal values for a KPI. If your dataset doesn't contain goal values, you can create them by adding an Excel sheet with goals to your data model or PBIX file.

• Power BI Desktop
• Power BI service

Note

Sharing your report with a Power BI colleague requires that you both have individual Power BI Pro licenses or that the report is saved in Premium capacity.

How to create a KPI

In this example, you'll create a KPI that measures the progress you've made toward a sales goal.

1. From the Fields pane, select Sales > Total Units This Year. This value will be the indicator.

2. Add Time > FiscalMonth. This value will represent the trend.

   

3. In the upper-right corner of the visual, select the More options ellipsis (...) and select Sort axis > FiscalMonth.

   

4. Select the ellipsis again and choose Sort axis > Sort ascending.

   

5. Check that Power BI has sorted the columns in ascending order by FiscalMonth.

   Important

   Once you convert the visualization to a KPI, there's no option to sort. You must sort the visualization now, if desired.

   Once sorted correctly, your visual will look like this:

   

6. Convert the visual to a KPI by selecting the KPI icon from the Visualization pane.

   

7. To add a goal, drag Total Units Last Year to the Target field.

   

8. Optionally, format the KPI by selecting the paint brush icon to open the Format visual pane.

   

   • Callout value - controls the indicator's display units, decimal places, and text formatting.

   • Icons - when set to On, the visual shows small icons next to the value, a green checkmark for an increasing value, and a red exclamation point for a decreasing value. The value's direction is set by Trend axis.

   • Trend axis - when set to On, the visual shows the trend axis as the background of the KPI visual. People consider some KPIs better for higher values and consider some better for lower values. For example, earnings versus wait time. Typically a higher value of earnings is better versus a higher value of wait time. For this report, select Direction > High is good. Optionally, change the color settings.

     

   • Target label - when set to On, the visual shows the value's label. Distance to goal sets the style and direction of the distance from the goal.

     

   • Date - when set to On, the visual shows the date. Optionally, change the font, and its style and color.

KPIs are also available on your mobile devices. It gives you the option to be always connected to your business's heartbeat.

Considerations and troubleshooting

If your KPI doesn't look like the one above, it may be because you didn't sort by FiscalMonth. KPIs don't have a sort option. You'll need to start again and sort by FiscalMonth before you convert your visualization to a KPI.

Next steps

• Tips and tricks for Power BI Map visualizations

• Visualization types in Power BI

More questions? Try the Power BI Community

What is an internal KPI?

What are the 4 main KPIs?

What are the 5 key performance indicators?

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