Signal Type Taxonomy

Every metric in the GASP Standard carries one of four primary signal types, which tells you what kind of metric it is.

What Signal Types Are For

Dashboard design: Outcomes go on the executive summary; operational metrics go on team dashboards.
Target setting: Set targets on outcomes, not on operational metrics. Track leading indicators to predict misses early.
Root cause analysis: When an outcome misses, look at its leading indicators and the operational metrics that feed them.

Outcome

72 metrics

A result you set targets for. If this misses, someone has a hard conversation.

Test: "Is there a target on this in a board deck or comp plan?"

Leading

38 metrics

A signal that moves ahead of an outcome, so a change here today shows up in an outcome next quarter.

Test: "If this drops, which outcome will suffer, and after what time lag?"

Efficiency

68 metrics

A ratio of how well inputs convert to outputs: the kind of number you benchmark against peers.

Test: "Is this a ratio where both numerator and denominator matter independently?"

Operational

137 metrics

A volume, velocity or process metric you manage day to day, the machinery that keeps the business running.

Test: "Is this something a manager reviews in a weekly standup?"

How We Classified

We classified each metric by asking the test question for each signal type. Outcome is defined by accountability (someone has a target on it) rather than by time orientation. Win Rate is Efficiency: a conversion ratio benchmarked against peers, although Sales watches it as a target. Three of the four DORA metrics are Operational, managed in engineering standups; Change Failure Rate is Efficiency, a ratio of failed to total deployments.

Dual-Tagging

9 metrics carry both a primary and secondary signal type. We keep dual tags for metrics that serve two audiences. Net Revenue Retention (NRR), for example, is both an Outcome (CS sets targets on it) and an Efficiency benchmark (investors compare it across companies). "I can't decide" is not a reason for dual-tagging.

Distribution

Type	Count	% of Total
Outcome	72	24%
Leading	38	12%
Efficiency	68	22%
Operational	137	45%

Dual-tagged metrics count in both types, so the percentages can sum to more than 100%.