Power BI usage metrics that prove adoption, not vanity opens
Leadership asks “is the BI program working?” and someone pastes report opens. Opens count curiosity, subscriptions firing, and the same analyst hitting refresh. Adoption is return.
Metrics that change decisions
| Metric | Why it matters | Target shape |
|---|---|---|
| Unique viewers / week per certified report | Did the audience show up? | Stable or up after launch, then plateau |
| Returning viewers (seen in 2 of last 4 weeks) | Habit, not a one-time tour | Rising in the first quarter after launch |
| % of exec pack views on certified models | Self-serve sprawl vs golden path | High and climbing |
| Reports with zero returning viewers in 90 days | Retirement candidates | Shrink the catalog |
| Time-to-first-view after publish | Distribution failure vs content failure | Hours, not days |
Workspace usage metrics reports and the admin monitoring artifacts (activity events, Fabric capacity metrics) are inputs. A spreadsheet of opens is not a program KPI.
How to read a quiet report
Before you delete:
- Is it distributed (org app, app audience, Teams tab) or a workspace URL in an email from 2024?
- Is the audience still in Entra, or did the VP leave?
- Is it a regulatory archive? Keep, label, un-pin from apps
- If none of the above: retire. Redirect the org app nav to the successor
Cadence
Monthly 30-minute adoption standup: top 10 certified reports, 90-day zombies, one retirement. Publish the zombie list. Authors behave differently when their report can be unpublished in public.
Usage metrics without named report owners stay trivia. Put the owner in the dataset description the same week you instrument the dashboard.
Instrumenting adoption without standing up another unused report? Book a 30-minute call.