The difference between an indicator and a target
Launch library · evergreen read
An indicator is something measured to track progress, a proxy that stands in for a broader, sometimes harder to observe change happening underneath. A target is a specific, defined level that indicator is expected to reach, giving a campaign something concrete to aim for directly and honestly, without pretending the number tells the whole story alone.
Indicators without targets can drift without any clear sense of whether progress is fast enough or on track, while targets set without a clear underlying indicator can become arbitrary numbers disconnected from what actually matters to the campaign's real, underlying goal for the people it ultimately serves and hopes to help.
Setting both together, a meaningful indicator paired with a realistic target, gives a campaign a workable way to track progress honestly, provided the target itself was set thoughtfully rather than chosen simply because it sounded ambitious or reassuring at the outset of planning season, before any real data existed.