Why this exists
Teams drown in views that explain yesterday.
Leaders need a simple panel that shifts today.
Proof beats narrative. Fewer signals beat more.
Quinn builds a one-page dashboard that operators actually use in the room. No drill-down theater. No vanity. Just three signals tied to decisions.
The three signals
1) Receipts Rate
What it is: percent of teams submitting complete weekly receipts on time.
Why it matters: without receipts, everything else is a guess.
Target: 95%+ sustained.
2) Lane Integrity
What it is: work delivered within its declared lane and entry criteria.
Definition: percent of delivered items that matched lane rules at commit time.
Why it matters: lanes fail when shortcuts enter as exceptions.
Target: >90% integrity; trend to 95%.
3) Decision Velocity
What it is: median time from new ask to accepted/deflected decision.
Scope: across the single entry path; excludes items without the minimum facts.
Why it matters: slow decisions create hidden queues and thrash.
Target: 24–72 hours by lane, published.
How it’s calculated
Receipts Rate
Numerator: teams with receipts marked complete by EOW.
Denominator: teams required to submit.
Rules: completeness means hours by category plus change receipts.
Lane Integrity
Numerator: delivered items with all entry criteria met at commit, correct lane tag, correct owner, evidence of acceptance.
Denominator: all delivered items.
Rules: exceptions documented and excluded from numerator.
Decision Velocity
Start: timestamp when the ask enters the single path with minimum facts.
Stop: timestamp of accept or deflect with rationale.
Rules: escalations count once; bounced asks reset only with added facts.
The one-page layout
Top row: headline numbers with 4-week spark lines.
Middle row: heat map by lane and team for integrity and velocity.
Bottom row: receipts compliance list with red only for misses. Names visible.
One page. No tabs. Print works as well as screen.
Cadence and ownership
- Weekly update: data locks Friday 5 pm.
- Monday review: 12-minute read, 8-minute decisions.
- Owner: Ops PM who controls the single entry path.
- Audit: monthly spot-check of five items per lane.
What leaders actually do in the room
- If Receipts Rate dips: stop plans and fix submissions before approving new work.
- If Lane Integrity slips: freeze the lane, tighten entry criteria, retrain owners.
- If Decision Velocity drags: reassign path ownership or narrow the minimum facts.
Decide once. Log it. Move on.
Anti-vanity rules
- No averages without distributions.
- No color for “looks good.” Color only flags action.
- No stale data. If it missed the lock, it’s absent.
- No narrative slides. Decisions sit next to the numbers.
Starter thresholds (tune after two cycles)
- Receipts Rate: alert below 90%, hard stop below 80%.
- Lane Integrity: alert below 85%, hard stop below 75%.
- Decision Velocity: alert above 96 hours, hard stop above 120.
Implementation in three weeks
Week 1 — Facts first
Define lanes, entry criteria, and minimum facts.
Turn on the single path and timestamps.
Collect receipts with a simple form.
Week 2 — Build the page
Wire the three signals. Publish targets.
Run a dry review with last week’s data.
Week 3 — Use it live
Hold the first Monday review.
Decide three actions. Log them on the page.
Remove any metric that did not lead to a decision.
What changes when it works
- Teams submit receipts without nagging.
- Lanes stay clean; exceptions get rare.
- Decisions happen with the right facts, fast.
- Status meetings shrink. Trade-offs get clear.
- Leaders can steer by principle, not vibe.
Operating principles
Count what happened.
Protect the lanes.
Decide on time.
Show only what changes behavior.
Cheat sheet (print and tape up)
Receipts Rate. Lane Integrity. Decision Velocity.
Three signals. One page. Decide with proof.
Quinn’s note to operators: Dashboards are contracts. If a view never changes a decision, remove it.
Next episode (29): Drift Checks
Using lightweight drift checks to catch process decay early and keep the Proofline honest.
