Goals & OKRs

dashboardSMASHBOARD is built around a simple idea: a number without a goal is just a number. This page explains the goal-first philosophy behind the app and how it maps to OKRs.

What Are OKRs?

OKR stands for Objectives and Key Results. It’s a goal-setting framework used by businesses of all sizes to keep teams focused on what matters most.

An OKR has two parts:

• Objective — a clear, inspiring goal: “Grow monthly revenue”
• Key Result — a measurable milestone that shows you’re making progress: “Reach $15,000 in net sales by March 31”

Why OKRs Work for Shopify Store Owners

Without goals, looking at numbers is just looking at numbers. A dashboard that shows you “$8,452 revenue” doesn’t tell you whether that’s good or bad. But a dashboard that shows:

$8,452 · Hit $15,000 this period · 56% ████░░░ · $6,548 more to go

…tells you exactly where you stand and what you need to do.

OKRs work because they:

• Create urgency. You can see the gap between where you are and where you want to be.
• Make progress visible. The progress bar gives instant feedback without digging through reports.
• Keep you honest. You can’t claim the month is going well when the bar is at 30% on day 28.
• Focus attention. Instead of watching 20 different numbers, you track the 3–5 metrics that actually move the needle.

How dashboardSMASHBOARD Implements Goals

Every card can have a goal attached. When you set a goal, dashboardSMASHBOARD shows:

1. An OKR-style statement in plain English: “Grow 10% vs last period — reach $9,297”
2. A live progress bar (fills as you approach the target)
3. A gap indicator: “$3,241 more to go”
4. An optional Alert — a color-coded pulse on the card border:
   • 🟢 Green — on track or exceeding (≥ 100%)
   • 🟡 Amber — needs attention (≥ 85%)
   • 🔴 Red — at risk or critical (< 85%)

Goal Types

Goal Commitment: Hard vs. Soft

When setting a goal, you can choose whether it’s a hard commitment or a soft/aspirational target:

• Hard (default) — strict Status bands. Standard attainment thresholds apply. The progress bar fills with a solid border.
• Soft — lenient bands for stretch goals. The progress bar renders with a dashed border and Status is evaluated with more generous thresholds, indicating this is aspirational rather than a firm commitment.

Set this in the Simple tab’s Goal commitment dropdown, or use the SOFT / HARD suffix in the Code tab:

GOAL grow sessions to >= 50000 this month SOFT

Direction: Higher vs. Lower is Better

By default, dashboardSMASHBOARD assumes higher is better — reaching a revenue target, growing orders, increasing sessions. But some metrics are better when lower: refund rate, return rate, cost per click, churn.

For these metrics, set Direction to “Lower is better” in the Simple tab, or use DIRECTION lower in the Code tab. This inverts the attainment calculation and the Trend pill color (green = the metric decreased, which is good).

Breaking Down OKRs into Cards

A typical OKR strategy maps directly to a dashboard:

Objective: Grow monthly revenue by 20% this quarter

Each card answers one question. Together, they tell the whole story.

Common Ecommerce Goals to Track

Next Steps

• Create a card with a goal
• Write a SmashGL goal query
• Choose the right visualization for your goal

Still need help? Open a support case