Why write the definitions down first?
Two teams present two revenue numbers in the same meeting, and the conversation turns into a debate about the data warehouse. In our experience the warehouse is usually fine. The definitions are not.
Before anyone builds a dashboard, agree in writing on what counts as a closed month, when a refund reverses a sale, and which currency conversion date applies. Most of the disagreement disappears on that page, before a single query is written. The same rule sits under AI workflow automation: do not automate a reporting ritual until the metric is owned. It is also how we treat measurement in the AI for Small Business playbook.
- One written definition per metric, owned by a named person
- The definition ships next to the dashboard, not in a separate document
- Changing a definition is a dated change, not a silent edit