KPI first, query second

Explain the two-step model and create a KPI shell.

A brand-new KPI shows up everywhere and says nothing — no data, because nothing has told it where to look yet.

Query Builder separates Add new KPI from Add new query — two distinct buttons for two distinct things. Add new KPI opens a form for the identity: Category and KPI name (both required), an optional KPI description with its own small rich-text toolbar, Unit, a Measurement choice — Average, Cumulative, Last value, First value, the same four behaviours as the Σ/Ø/last/first symbols from Module 3, spelled out in full here — and Direction of valuation: Higher is better or Lower is better. Save and add another sits beside Add, for creating several KPI shells in one sitting.

Add new query is a separate page, not a modal, and it's here — not on the KPI form — that Assigned KPI lives: a dropdown reading "Please select a KPI" until you choose one. A query without an assigned KPI has nowhere to attach its result; a KPI without an assigned query has nothing to calculate. Either half can exist alone and do nothing useful.

The query page header also carries its own record-keeping: Status, Created by, Created on and Last update, plus two tabs — Notes, a free-text box for anything worth writing down about the query, and AI Description, a generated summary of what the query does. Before a KPI is assigned, AI Description has nothing to work from and says so plainly: "No description yet - this query is not assigned to a KPI. Assign one and save the query."

Creating the KPI shell first is what lets you name the thing, decide what "higher" or "lower" means for it, and settle its measurement before a single number is attached. A freshly created KPI is empty everywhere it appears — no figure, no chart, nothing to compare against plan — for exactly one reason: it has an identity but no query assigned yet. That's the expected state of step one, not a bug to chase down.

The Add new KPIs modal, with Category set to Please Select, an empty KPI name field, a KPI description rich-text box with Bold/Italic/list/Markdown toggles, a Unit dropdown reading None, Measurement radio buttons (Average selected, Cumulative, Last value, First value), Direction of valuation radios (Higher is better selected, Lower is better), and Cancel, Save and add another, and Add buttons. — 1Category and KPI name, both required
2Measurement — four options, matching Module 3's Σ/Ø/last/first
3Direction of valuation
4Save and add another, for building several shells at once
ValueWorks 2026.08

The New Query page, with a Back link, the New Query title, an Assigned KPI dropdown reading Please select a KPI, an empty calculation canvas with Clear top right, a Components row (Subquery, Source Table, Constant) and Operators row (+ − × ÷ and brackets), a collapsed Advanced settings section showing Update range set to On data availability and an unchecked Calculate future values if possible checkbox, and Run query, Status Draft, and Create Query controls along the bottom. — 1Assigned KPI — this is where a query gets linked to a KPI shell, not on the KPI form itself
ValueWorks 2026.08

The New Query page header collapsed to show only its metadata row — Status Draft, Created by Valueworks Admin, Created on and Last update timestamps — with Notes and AI Description tabs beneath it, Notes active and its text box empty. — 1The Notes tab — empty here, free text when used
2Status, Created by, Created on, Last update — the query's own metadata
ValueWorks 2026.08

The same New Query page header a minute later, with the AI Description tab active instead, reading: No description yet - this query is not assigned to a KPI. Assign one and save the query. — 1AI Description, active tab — before a KPI is assigned, it has nothing to summarize yet and says so
ValueWorks 2026.08

Takeaways

Add new KPI and Add new query are two separate steps, not one.
The KPI shell holds identity — Category, name, description, Unit, Measurement, Direction of valuation.
Assigned KPI lives on the query page, not the KPI form — it's the link that makes either half useful.

Surfaces covered

Add new KPI vs Add new query (two separate buttons)
Create KPI: name, description, unit, measurement, direction of valuation
Assigned KPI
Why a new KPI shows no data until a query exists

Micro-check

Two quick questions

Practice only — nothing here is scored or recorded.

1. You created a KPI five minutes ago and it shows no data anywhere. What's the most likely reason?

2. Where does the Assigned KPI dropdown actually live?