A cumulative metric totals current and previous values through a specified period. It shows the organization’s state and overall progress at each point in time rather than only what changed during that period. section 7.3.1
Cumulative views help track measures such as total recurring revenue and customer base growth. They should usually be paired with an incremental version, which isolates new values for each period and reveals changes in performance. section 7.3.1
Use cumulative metrics with these cautions:
- A continually rising total can hide slowing growth or declining period-by-period performance. section 7.3.1 section 7.4
- Treat an unaccompanied cumulative measure cautiously because it can become a vanity metric that looks positive without supporting actionable decisions. section 7.3.1
