This process uses the data dictionary, the flat file, and the quarterly report template.
What you’ll end up with
- Correct quarterly totals: raw numbers summed from the quarter’s three months, every ratio recalculated from those totals.
- A meeting deck, sent a couple of days ahead and filed in the quarterly report archive, covering goals against plan, the trend, what worked and didn’t, and next quarter’s plan.
- A confirmed or updated data dictionary, since the measurement review is where drift in the setup itself gets caught.
Before you start
- All three months in the quarter have been produced through the monthly reporting process.
The process at a glance
1
Roll up the quarter
Sum the raw flat file inputs across the quarter’s three months, then recalculate every ratio.
2
Pull the trend
Line up at least four quarters of history; two points aren’t a trend.
3
Run the measurement review
Confirm the north star, KPI tiers, attribution model, and sources of truth still hold.
4
Write and send the deck
Fill in the quarterly report template and send it two days ahead of the meeting.
5
Hold the meeting
Read sections 1 and 2 in advance; spend the meeting on what worked, what didn’t, and decisions.
6
File it
Log the report and any dictionary changes from the measurement review.
1. Roll up the quarter
Sum the raw inputs across the quarter’s three monthly totals (which are themselves already rolled up from weeks), then recalculate every ratio from the quarterly totals. The same rule applies at this level as at the monthly level: never average three monthly ratios directly, since a month with unusual volume would get equal weight to an ordinary one. See data quality and rollup concepts for why.2. Pull the trend
Line up the metric against at least the three prior quarters. A single quarter’s number, on its own, can’t say whether a business is improving, holding steady, or declining; four points can. This is also where seasonality becomes visible in a way a single month can hide.3. Run the measurement review
This is a five-minute check, once a quarter, and it’s the section most teams are tempted to skip. Work through the data dictionary and confirm: is the north star still right, are the tier 1 KPIs still right, did any definition change this quarter, is the attribution model still appropriate, was it validated this quarter, are the sources of truth still correct, and is there an open question older than two quarters. Most quarters, the honest answer to all of these is “yes, still holds,” and that confirmation is itself worth recording. Any change gets logged in the data dictionary’s decisions and changes section with an effective date, before the next quarter’s numbers get produced under the new definition.4. Write and send the deck
Fill in the quarterly report template. Start with goals set last quarter, not with whichever metrics happen to look best this quarter; that ordering keeps the review honest about the plan rather than a highlight reel. Send the deck two days ahead of the meeting so the goals and trend sections can be read in advance.5. Hold the meeting
A quarterly review is a meeting, not a document that happens to get read. A rough allocation for sixty minutes: five minutes on the quarter in one slide, ten on performance and trend (already read in advance, confirmed rather than presented), fifteen on what worked and didn’t, five on the measurement review, fifteen on next quarter, and ten on decisions.6. File it
Log the report in the quarterly report archive, including the headline result and any decisions made. If the measurement review produced changes, confirm they’re recorded in the data dictionary with an effective date before the next quarter starts.Related resources
- Data quality and rollup concepts The rollup mechanics this process depends on.
- Monthly reporting process The process that produces the months this report rolls up.
- Quarterly report template The fill-in template this process produces.
- Quarterly report archive Where the finished report gets filed.
- Yearly reporting process How four of these quarters become the annual review.