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Part of Marketing KPIs for people who want the details
Marketing KPIs Checklist for Retiring an Old Metric
Use this marketing KPIs checklist to decide when to retire a metric, trace dependent reports, preserve history, and close collection and access cleanly.
| Case | What to check | Record or action required |
|---|---|---|
| Dependency sweep | Current and archived reports, scorecards, targets, alerts, and decision routines | Name each use and owner; mark it for removal, replacement, or retention |
| Retirement rationale | Whether the decision still exists, the KPI still informs action, or maintenance and redundancy are concerns | Consult the owner and users; document the reason and any remaining use |
| Proposed successor | Whether it serves the same decision and how its calculation, population, source, or reporting window compares | Keep both definitions distinguishable and label any break in the series |
| Existing results | Prior definitions and results, any recalculation, and whether earlier reports need correction | Preserve enough context to interpret the historical series and identify changes |
| Closeout | Approvals, dependent uses, collection, access, and follow-up responsibility | Assign each action and leave retirement incomplete while a known use lacks a disposition |
Use this review when a KPI seems unused, its former decision has changed, or a replacement is under consideration. It follows the metric from the retirement decision through closeout, rather than releasing a campaign report. The outcome should be a clear decision and a record of what changes, how prior results remain interpretable, and which reports or processes still depend on the measure.
Map the KPI's uses before changing anything
Start by checking every place the KPI appears or influences work before changing any report or collection. Review current and archived reports, recurring scorecards, targets, alerts, and decision routines. This inventory reveals which teams or processes need a defined outcome before the metric changes.
Ask the owner to verify the inventory because a search for the KPI's name can miss a report using another label or an underlying calculation. Record each use, its owner, and whether it will be removed, replaced, or retained for a stated reason. Related review prompts appear in the campaign measurement checklist.
Definition and Use Gate Checks
- Purposegoal, decision, user, cadence
- Formulanumerator, denominator, unit, example
- Populationeligibility, grain, geography, exclusions
- Timeevent time, window, maturity, timezone, refresh
- Sourcesystem owner, lineage, permissions, retention
- Targetbasis, threshold, range, review date
- Actionresponse, owner, authority, deadline
An existing definition record can help identify the precise measure being reviewed, but it cannot replace a dependency check. Use it as a starting point, then confirm the full inventory with the owner. Clear definitions also support sound measurement, as outlined in KPI best practices.
Test the reason for retirement with its users
Begin with the decision the KPI was created to inform. Retirement may make sense if that decision no longer exists or the measure no longer changes anyone's actions. Consider the reason carefully rather than assuming that a quiet scorecard proves the measure has no remaining purpose.
A KPI may also be difficult to maintain or redundant with another measure, but state that as the reason instead of treating it as self-evident. Ask the owner and people who use it whether its use is current or historical, and whether a suggested successor serves the same decision rather than merely sharing its label.
- What decision or action does the KPI currently inform?
- Who still relies on it, and for what purpose?
- Is it still used, or does it appear only in old reports?
- Is a replacement proposed, and does it support the same decision?
A measure that appears inactive in one scorecard may still guide another team's work. If its use is uncertain, keep that as an open question rather than treating it as grounds for removal. Record the reason, who was consulted, and any use requiring a separate decision; the role of managerial use is a useful reminder.
Compare a successor before continuing the series
Compare a proposed successor with the retiring KPI before presenting it as a continuation. It should serve the same decision, not merely carry a similar label. When the measures differ, give each a distinct definition so readers can identify what the reported values represent.
A successor may use a different calculation, population, source, or reporting window. A change in the series may therefore reflect a definition change instead of a performance change. Marketing KPI examples offer illustrations of how measures are defined and used; for a product-specific reference, consult Google Analytics attribution documentation.
Keep past results interpretable
Keep the prior definition and supporting records needed to interpret earlier results, together with the retirement reason and effective date. If reports continue with a successor, label the transition in both the report and decision record so readers can identify the measure used in each period.
Do not silently overwrite an old series with values from a different KPI. If historical values are recalculated, document the change and retain enough context for a reviewer to distinguish original figures from revised ones. The metric owner should state whether earlier reports remain valid as published or need correction, avoiding misreading the numbers.
Retiring a KPI does not automatically authorize deleting every source record used to calculate it. Separate stopping the metric's reporting from decisions about data retention, access, and applicable privacy or contract requirements. The FTC privacy and security guidance is a separate reference for those reviews. Identify what collection, reporting, and access will stop and what must remain, with a reason; consider the handling of historical results.
Assign the remaining closeout work
Use a retirement record to state what is ending, the reason, who approved it, how each report or process will be handled, and whether a successor will be used. This record links the decision to its practical consequences instead of leaving dependent uses for readers to infer.
- Decision:What is being retired, why, and who approved the decision?
- Scope:Which reports, processes, or teams use the KPI, and what happens to each use?
- Transition:Is there a successor, how does it differ, and how will the change be labeled?
- History:Where are the previous definition and results kept, and how should readers interpret the series?
- Collection and access:What will stop, what will remain, and who will carry out the change?
- Follow-up:Who will confirm that dependent reports and access have been updated?
For every item, note the evidence location, owner, decision date, and any unresolved exception. Do not mark retirement complete while a known report or use has no disposition. Keep the record with the KPI definition and change history, identify responsibility for collection, access, and follow-up, and use the broader marketing KPIs reference when reconsidering the metric's role in the measurement program.
