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Why does the same KPI show different values in different dashboards?
It usually happens because each dashboard calculates the metric separately, with different filters, date logic, currency handling or source tables. The fix is to define each metric once in a shared data model and have every dashboard use that definition.
Typical causes:
- One report excludes refunds, another includes them.
- Date fields differ, such as order date versus invoice date.
- Time zones shift transactions across days.
- Different joins duplicate or drop rows.
Solve it with a governed layer: metrics defined in SQL models or a semantic layer, documented, and tested. Then dashboards select from those definitions instead of rebuilding logic. When someone asks why numbers differ, you can trace both back to a single documented rule.
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