Use denominators to decide whether a metric is measuring volume, risk, conversion, or mix.
Counts show workload; rates show likelihood. Name the opportunity A denominator is the population that had a chance to be counted: visitors who could convert, invoices that could fail, tickets that could breach SLA, or accounts that could renew. Match metric to decision For capacity planning, use counts. For quality comparison, use rates. For customer harm, show both so leaders can see total impact and process reliability. Show the sample size Percentages without sample sizes hide uncertainty and importance. A large percentage on a tiny base may be interesting, but it should not outrank a smaller percentage affecting thousands.
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