The "what would I do if this number doubled or halved tomorrow?" test — if no action follows, it's vanity

Test: For any proposed metric on a dashboard, ask: "If this number doubled or halved tomorrow, what specific action would I take?" If none, it's vanity (followers, total pageviews, cumulative signups).

Source: Synthesis of practitioner literature.

Confidence: Industry-consensus.

Why this matters for Candid: The single sharpest client-facing framing in the brief — cuts through "show me everything" reflexes in one question. Anchors R1 — Before building any dashboard, qualify every proposed metric: named owner + named decision + action threshold; if it fails the "what would I do if it moved?" test, drop it and Five criteria separating a used dashboard from a vanity one: built for daily user / every metric tied to decision+threshold / embedded in existing workflow / trusted / few metrics (~5-7 per view).