KPI Component

SAIL Design System guidance available for KPIs

Keep an eye on your vital information with KPIs. Learn how to configure and display KPIs on your interface designs so you can showcase your most important data points and trends.

Function

a!kpiField( data, primaryMeasure, primaryText, icon, helpTooltip, align, accessibilityText, tooltip, showWhen, secondaryMeasure, trend, trendFormat, trendIcon, trendColor, secondaryText, iconColor, primaryTextColor, primaryMeasureColor, secondaryTextColor, iconStyle, template, refreshAlways, refreshInterval, refreshOnReferencedVarChange, refreshOnVarChange, refreshAfter, size, primaryTextStyle, loadDataAsync )

Displays a key performance indicator that can be configured using a record type as the source.

Parameters

Name	Keyword	Types	Description
Data	`data`	Any Type	Reference to the record type used as the source of the KPI. Can accept `a!recordData()` or a record type reference.
Primary Measure	`primaryMeasure`	Measure	Determines the numerical values shown in the KPI, configured using `a!measure()`. By default, a count of records is displayed.
Primary Text	`primaryText`	Text	The main text to identify or describe the primary measure.
Icon	`icon`	Text	Icon to display next to the primary text. See the available icons.
Help Tooltip	`helpTooltip`	Text	Displays a help icon with the specified text as a tooltip. The tooltip displays a maximum of 500 characters. The help icon does not show when the label position is `"COLLAPSED"`.
Alignment	`align`	Text	Determines alignment of text on the KPI. Valid values: `"START"` (default), `"CENTER"`, `"END"`.
Accessibility Text	`accessibilityText`	Text	Additional text to be announced by screen readers. Used only for accessibility; produces no visible change.
Tooltip	`tooltip`	Text	Text to display when a user hovers over (web) or long presses (mobile) the KPI. You can use the `fv!primaryMeasure` and `fv!secondaryMeasure` variables as part of an expression defining the tooltip.
Visibility	`showWhen`	Boolean	Determines whether the component is displayed on the interface. When set to false, the component is hidden and is not evaluated. Default: true.
Secondary Measure	`secondaryMeasure`	Measure	Defines the numerical calculations for the KPI’s trend elements, configured using `a!measure()`.
Trend	`trend`	Text	Defines the numerical calculations for trend data in the KPI, configured using the variables `fv!primaryMeasure` and `fv!secondaryMeasure`. If no secondary measure is provided, this parameter is ignored. Valid values: `"AUTO"` (default), `"DIFFERENCE"`, `"PERCENTAGE"`, `"NONE"`.
Trend Format	`trendFormat`	Text	Display value for the given trend. Valid formats are `"AUTO"` (default), `"INTEGER"`, `"DECIMAL"`, `"DOLLAR"`, `"EURO"`, `"POUND"`, `"YEN"`, `"SWISS_FRANC"`, or a custom format defined with text(). For a custom format, you can reference the unformatted result from the data source using fv!value. The display format does not affect the values used in the calculations for the KPI; it is only used for display.
Trend Icon	`trendIcon`	Text	Icon to display next to the trend. Icon to display next to the trend. Valid values: any valid expression, `"AUTO"` (default), or `"NONE"`. See the available icons.
Trend Color	`trendColor`	Text	Determines the color applied to the trend and its icon, configured using `fv!primaryMeasure` and `fv!secondaryMeasure`. Valid values: any valid hex color or `"AUTO"` (default), `"STANDARD"`, `"ACCENT"`, `"POSITIVE"`, `"NEGATIVE"`, `"SECONDARY"`, `"REVERSE"`.
Secondary Text	`secondaryText`	Text	The text placed next to the trend to identify, explain, or provide more information about the data.
Icon Color	`iconColor`	Text	Determines the color applied to the icon. Valid values: any valid hex color or `"STANDARD"` (default), `"ACCENT"`, `"POSITIVE"`, `"NEGATIVE"`, `"SECONDARY"`.
Primary Text Color	`primaryTextColor`	Text	Determines the color applied to the primary text. Valid values: any valid hex color or `"STANDARD"` (default), `"ACCENT"`, `"POSITIVE"`, `"NEGATIVE"`, `"SECONDARY"`.
Primary Measure Color	`primaryMeasureColor`	Text	Determines the color applied to the primary measure. Valid values: any valid hex color or one of the following values: `"STANDARD"` (default), `"ACCENT"`, `"POSITIVE"`, `"NEGATIVE"`, `"SECONDARY"`.
Secondary Text Color	`secondaryTextColor`	Text	Determines the color applied to the secondary text. Valid values: any valid hex color or `"STANDARD"` (default), `"ACCENT"`, `"POSITIVE"`, `"NEGATIVE"`, `"SECONDARY"`.
Icon Style	`iconStyle`	Text	Determines the kind of image shown next to the KPI value and text. Valid values: `"ICON"` (default), `"STAMP"`.
Template	`template`	Text	Defines the template to be used to display the KPI elements. Valid values: `"COMPACT"` (default), `"ADJACENT"`, `"STACKED"`. See the SAIL Design System for component display best practices.
Refresh Always	`refreshAlways`	Boolean	When true, KPI data will be refreshed after each user interaction and each interval refresh. Default: `false`.
Refresh After an Interval of Time	`refreshInterval`	Number (Decimal)	How often KPI data gets refreshed in minutes. When null, KPI data will not be refreshed on an interval. Valid values: `"0.5"`, `"1"`, `"2"`, `"3"`, `"4"`, `"5"`, `"10"`, `"30"`, and `"60"`.
Refresh on Reference Variable Change	`refreshOnReferencedVarChange`	Boolean	When true, KPI data will be refreshed each time the value of any variable referenced in the data parameter is updated. To refresh KPI data when another variable that is not used in the data parameter changes, use `refreshOnVarChange`. Default: `true`.
Refresh on Variable Change	`refreshOnVarChange`	Any Type	Refreshes KPI data each time any of these specific variables change. This allows you to refresh the KPI data when a variable that is not referenced in the data parameter is updated. You can define a single variable (e.g. `refreshOnVarChange: local!var1`) or a list of variables (e.g. `refreshOnVarChange: {local!var1, local!var2}`).
Refresh After	`refreshAfter`	List of Text String	Refreshes KPI data each time a specified event completes. Valid values: `"RECORD_ACTION"`.
Size	`size`	Text	Determines the size of the KPI. Valid values: `"SMALL"`, `"STANDARD"` (default), `"LARGE"`.
Primary Text Style	`primaryTextStyle`	Text	Determines the style to apply to the primary text. Valid values include `"PLAIN"` (default), `"EMPHASIS"`, and `"STRONG"`.
Load KPI Data in Background	`loadDataAsync`	Boolean	Determines whether to load the KPI data independently from the rest of the components in the interface. When true, this can improve user experience by allowing users to view the rest of the page while the data loads. See Asynchronous Loading for more information. Default: false.

Usage considerations

Trends

Trends are an optional addition to the component that show how the primary measure compares to another calculated value. For example, say your KPI tracks the number of social media users that convert to customers. You may want to know the rate that conversions increase or decrease compared to the previous month.

An example of the KPI component with a trend]

To include a trend in your KPI, you must first configure a secondaryMeasure. This determines what to compare against the primary measure. Then, you can set one or more of the following parameters to further refine the trend's display and formatting: trend, trendFormat, trendColor, and trendIcon.

Setting the trendColor parameter

A trend generally falls into one of two categories based on the business impact of an increasing trend. In some cases, an upward trend is good; this is the default assumption Appian makes when displaying the KPI. For example, say your metric is the average customer satisfaction rating. If the average rating is increasing over time, you may want to indicate that with a positive color. Likewise, a negative color would indicate that the average rating is decreasing.

An example of the KPI component with a reverse trend]

But an upward trend can also mean worse performance. If your metric is customer complaints, you want that number to decrease over time. In these cases, setting the trendColor to "REVERSE" will apply the correct colors to your trend.

Customizing the trendColor and trendIcon parameters

By default, trends are configured to appear differently depending on the comparison between the primary and secondary measures. If you want to customize the icons or colors for different results, you can use an a!match() to define those values. Make sure to include values for positive change, negative change, and a default value for no change.

trendIcon: a!match(
  value: fv!primaryMeasure,
  whenTrue: fv!value > fv!secondaryMeasure,
  then: "arrow-circle-o-up",
  whenTrue: fv!value < fv!secondaryMeasure,
  then: "arrow-circle-o-down",
  default: "circle-o"
),
trendColor: a!match(
  value: fv!primaryMeasure,
  whenTrue: fv!value > fv!secondaryMeasure,
  then: "#38CF7F",
  whenTrue: fv!value < fv!secondaryMeasure,
  then: "#DD3457",
  default: "AUTO"
),

See the metric with trend example and guidance on using colors for more information.

Formatting KPI values

The primary value is automatically formatted, but you can override the default format using the measure component's formatValue parameter.

An example of the KPI component configured as Euros]

The trend's value is also automatically formatted, and it can be changed using the trendFormat parameter.

Using the loadDataAsync parameter

Setting the loadDataAsync parameter to true allows the interface to load without waiting for KPI data, displaying a placeholder skeleton in its place. This improves user experience by enabling users to interact with other parts of the interface while the KPI loads.

Only enable this if the KPI component is the slowest-loading component on the interface.

See Asynchronous Loading for more detailed information about enabling asynchronous (async) loading and how it works.

Note: Async loading is not compatible with offline mobile or portal interfaces.

Using now() in the query for a KPI component that has async loading enabled is not supported.

Examples

To experiment with examples, copy and paste the expression into an interface object.

Record type object references are specific to each environment. If you copy and paste these examples into your interface, they will not evaluate. Use them as references only.

Standalone metric

This example uses data from an Order record type to show the average value of an order from a specific date range.

a!kpiField(
  primaryText: "Average order total (Q4)",
  icon: "cash-register",
  data: recordType!AT Order,
  primaryMeasure: a!measure(
    function: "AVG",
    field: recordType!AT Order.fields.total,
    formatValue: "DOLLAR",
    filters: a!queryFilter(
    field: 'recordType!AT Order.fields.entryDate',
    operator: "between",
    value: {
      datetime(2023, 10, 1),
      datetime(2023, 12, 31)
    }
  )
  ),
)

Metric with trend

This KPI adds trend data to the standalone metric to show how the current quarter's average compares to the rest of the year.

a!kpiField(
  data: recordType!AT Order,
  primaryMeasure: a!measure(
    function: "AVG",
    field: recordType!AT Order.fields.orderTotalCost,
    filters: a!queryFilter(
      field: recordType!AT Order.fields.entryDate,
      operator: "between",
      value: {
        datetime(2020, 10, 1),
        datetime(2020, 12, 31)
      }
    ),
    formatValue: "DOLLAR"
  ),
  secondaryMeasure: a!measure(
    function: "AVG",
    field: recordType!AT Order.fields.orderTotalCost,
    filters: a!queryFilter(
      field: recordType!AT Order.fields.entryDate,
      operator: "between",
      value: { datetime(2020, 1, 1), datetime(2020, 9, 30) }
    ),
    formatValue: "DOLLAR"
  ),
  primaryText: "Average order total (Q4)",
  icon: "cash-register",
  secondaryText: "Annual average",
  trendIcon: a!match(
    value: fv!primaryMeasure,
    whenTrue: fv!value > fv!secondaryMeasure,
    then: "thumbs-up",
    whenTrue: fv!value < fv!secondaryMeasure,
    then: "thumbs-down",
    default: "smile"
  ),
  trendColor: a!match(
    value: fv!primaryMeasure,
    whenTrue: fv!value > fv!secondaryMeasure,
    then: "ACCENT",
    whenTrue: fv!value < fv!secondaryMeasure,
    then: "SECONDARY",
    default: "AUTO"
  ),
)

Feature compatibility

The table below lists this component's compatibility with various features in Appian.

Feature	Compatibility	Note
Portals	Compatible
Offline Mobile	Partially compatible	Can be used with offline mobile if it is loaded at the top of the form.
Sync-Time Custom Record Fields	Incompatible
Real-Time Custom Record Fields	Incompatible	Custom record fields that evaluate in real time must be configured using one or more Custom Field functions.
Process Reports	Incompatible	Cannot be used to configure a process report.
Process Events	Incompatible	Cannot be used to configure a process event node, such as a start event or timer event.
Process Autoscaling	Compatible

The following patterns include usage of the KPI Component.

KPI Patterns (Formatting): The Key Performance Indicator (KPI) patterns provide a common style and format for displaying important performance measures.

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