KPI Dashboard¶
What to Measure · Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly¶
Metrics exist to tell you the truth when your feelings lie. You will have weeks where you feel productive and have solved nothing. You will have weeks where you feel lost and have made real progress. This dashboard surfaces the signal. Update it honestly. Do not optimize for good-looking numbers.
Anti-KPIs (what NOT to track): Time spent on YouTube watching algorithm explanations. Number of tabs open. How many resources you’ve bookmarked. Whether your code looks clean. These are comfort metrics, not progress metrics.
Weekly Metrics (7 items — review every Sunday)¶
# |
Metric |
Green |
Yellow |
Red |
|---|---|---|---|---|
W1 |
Problems solved this week |
≥5 |
3–4 |
<3 |
W2 |
Problems solved without AI assist |
100% of W1 |
80–99% |
<80% |
W3 |
Lab notebook entries |
≥4 (≥2 in buffer weeks) |
2–3 |
<2 |
W4 |
Saturday deep work block completed |
Yes, 3h+ |
Yes, <3h |
No |
W5 |
Concept → implementation cycle done |
Yes (Mon→Tue) |
Partial |
No |
W6 |
Portfolio rung advanced |
Yes |
No, but on schedule |
Behind schedule |
W7 |
Slippage logged (if any miss) |
N/A |
Logged |
Not logged |
Weekly retro (2 minutes, Sunday):
Week of: [dates]
W1-W7 status: [G/Y/R for each]
What moved: [1 sentence]
What didn't: [1 sentence]
Next week priority: [1 thing]
Monthly Metrics (4 items — review last day of each month)¶
# |
Metric |
Green |
Yellow |
Red |
|---|---|---|---|---|
M1 |
Phase exit check passed |
All gates |
3/4 gates |
<3/4 |
M2 |
Cumulative problems solved |
On/ahead of pace |
1 sprint behind |
2+ sprints behind |
M3 |
Portfolio rung(s) for this month |
Complete |
In progress, publishable by +2 weeks |
Not started |
M4 |
Green weeks this month |
≥3 of 4 weeks |
2 of 4 |
≤1 of 4 |
Monthly retro (10 minutes, last Sunday of month):
Month: [M1-M9]
Phase exit check: [pass/partial/fail + details]
Cumulative problems: [Easy: ___ / Medium: ___ / Hard: ___]
Portfolio rung status: [Rung X: status, link if published]
Valley of Despair active? [Y/N] — if Y, read 99_pre_mortem/05_motivation_collapse.md
Next month theme: [from 01_month_by_month.md]
One thing to protect: [specific]
Quarterly Metrics (3 items — review end of Q1/Q2/Q3)¶
Q1 Review — End of October 2026 (after M3)¶
Q1 Quarterly Review
Date: October 31, 2026
---
Phase completion: P0 complete? [Y/N] P1 complete? [Y/N] P2 in progress? [Y/N]
Problem count: Easy: ___ Medium: ___ Hard: ___
Portfolio rungs: Rung 1: [status] Rung 2: [status]
AI discipline: Honest assessment — did you use AI to generate solutions? [Y/N, details]
Valley of Despair readiness: Read 99_pre_mortem/05_motivation_collapse.md? [Y/N]
Q2 plan: One specific adjustment to the rhythm based on Q1 data: [___]
Q2 Review — End of January 2027 (after M6)¶
Q2 Quarterly Review
Date: January 31, 2027
---
Phase completion: P2 [Y/N] P3 [Y/N] P4 in progress [Y/N]
Problem count: Easy: ___ Medium: ___ Hard: ___
Portfolio rungs: Rung 1-4 status
Valley of Despair: Passed? [Y/N] How?
Codeforces: Account created [Y/N] Virtual contests run: ___
Background alignment: One Zoho proposal or observation made using DSA concepts [Y/N, details]
Q3 plan: [___]
Q3 Review — End of April 2027 (M9 FINAL)¶
Q3 / M9 FINAL Review
Date: April 27, 2027
---
HARD GATES:
Rung 6 (DP Handbook): Published? [Y/N] Link: ___
Rung 7 (CF Rating ≥1200): Rating: ___ Contests: ___ Profile: ___
Full portfolio status:
Rung 1: [link]
Rung 2: [link]
Rung 3: [link]
Rung 4: [link]
Rung 5: [link]
Rung 6: [link]
Rung 7: [link]
Rung 8: [link]
Problem counts: Easy: ___ Medium: ___ Hard: ___
LeetCode profile: ___
Codeforces profile: ___
Can you say the pitch sentence from memory?
"An applied ML engineer who rebuilt CS foundations from scratch — complexity theory through competitive solving — over 9 months, shipping 6 public proof-of-work artifacts that demonstrate systematic algorithmic thinking."
→ [Y/N]
Portfolio Rung Tracking Table¶
Update this table at every monthly retro.
Rung |
Artifact |
Status |
Link |
Month Completed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Complexity Audit |
Not started |
— |
— |
2 |
DS Library |
Not started |
— |
— |
3 |
Algorithm Visualizer Posts |
Not started |
— |
— |
4 |
LeetCode 100 Medium |
Not started |
— |
— |
5 |
Graph Algorithm Showcase |
Not started |
— |
— |
6 🚨 |
DP Pattern Handbook |
Not started |
— |
— |
7 🚨 |
Codeforces Rating |
Not started |
— |
— |
8 |
Capstone Showcase |
Not started |
— |
— |
Cumulative Problem Pace¶
Target pace for 9 months (approximate, not a quota):
Month End |
Easy (cumul.) |
Medium (cumul.) |
Hard (cumul.) |
|---|---|---|---|
M1 (Aug) |
15 |
0 |
0 |
M2 (Sep) |
20 |
25 |
0 |
M3 (Oct) |
25 |
45 |
0 |
M4 (Nov) |
30 |
60 |
2 |
M5 (Dec) |
35 |
75 |
5 |
M6 (Jan) |
40 |
100 |
8 |
M7 (Feb) |
45 |
120 |
15 |
M8 (Mar) |
50 |
140 |
25 |
M9 (Apr) |
55 |
160 |
35 |
Note: These are guidance paces, not quotas. Quality > quantity. A problem solved with full comprehension (can re-solve from scratch a week later) counts. A problem solved with AI assist does not count. An honest count of 100 Medium is worth more than a padded count of 160.
The M9 Hard-Gate Checkpoint¶
On April 27, 2027, two questions determine whether M9 is complete:
Is Rung 6 (DP Pattern Handbook) published? → If no: 4-week extension, no exceptions.
Is Rung 7 (Codeforces ≥1200, ≥5 contests) achieved? → If no: 4-week extension, enter more contests.
Everything else is evidence. These two gates are the verdict.
Return to [04_weekly_rhythm.md] · Next: [06_background_alignment.md]