Design System Progress Dashboard Spec

Prerequisites

• At least 3 months of design system operation (need trends, not just a snapshot)
• Someone willing to own dashboard updates (metrics rot fast without an owner)
• Stakeholders who will actually look at the dashboard (build for readers, not for yourself)

When NOT to use this

• If your system is brand new — wait until you have data to show trends
• If nobody reads reports — fix the visibility problem before building another report
• If you only need to track internal team work — use simpler project management tools
• If your organization doesn't value transparency — some cultures punish honesty

Consider instead

• You need to prove value once, not ongoing: Use the ROI Calculator for a one-time business case
• You need real-time adoption tracking: Use the Adoption Dashboard template for detailed component-level data
• Stakeholders want a presentation, not a dashboard: Use the Executive Pitch Deck for narrative storytelling with data