KPI Cards on a Dashboard: What Types Exist?

[Assel_Dochshanova_Pazylbekova]

At first glance, a KPI is just a number on a dashboard. But depending on the task, cards can vary significantly in structure. I'd highlight several groups:

1. Single  one number
2. Monitoring  number + delta + trend
3. Multi-metric  one main metric with several related ones in a single card
4. Threshold  a value alongside its target
5. Progress  visual % of completion
6. Comparative  plan vs fact, segment A vs segment B
7. Status  where the color matters more than the number itself 🟢🟡🔴

Today I want to focus on monitoring KPIs  where you can immediately see not just the current value, but also the dynamic: delta to the previous period and a trend line.

In Qlik Sense, I build these cards using an HTML Box. It's not a separate widget  it's a string expression where HTML is assembled via & concatenation, and Qlik calculations are embedded directly inside the string:

='<div style="font-family:Arial; padding:12px;">' &
  '<div style="font-size:11px; color:#888;">OPERATIONS COUNT</div>' &
  '<b style="font-size:28px;">' & Num(sum(cnt)/1e6, '#.##0,00') & ' M</b>' &
  '<span style="color:' & If(wow > 0, '#2E8B57', '#B22222') & ';">' &
    Num(wow, '+##0,0%;-##0,0%') & ' WoW' &
  '</span>' &
'</div>'

The delta color is calculated dynamically with If()construction directly inside the style attribute. Writing this HTML manually isn't necessary: ChatGPT handles it well, just describe the layout you want.

Pro tip for reuse: use variables and master measures. To create a second KPI with the same design, simply copy the block and replace the master measure and variables using Find & Replace.

The card with a trend line at the bottom is built from three objects inside a Layout Container:

1. HTML Box main value and delta
2. Line Chart trend line with no axes or labels
3. Layout Container combines them into a single block

The result looks like a fully polished product design using only the built-in tools of Qlik Sense.

Dashboard example built in Qlik Sense showing 6 KPI card types: Monitoring (value + delta + trend line), Multi-metric (primary metric with additional metrics), Status (with background color), Comparative (two dimensions side by side), Progress (value + % of target), and Single (standalone number).