← Every exhibit
Executive Diagnostic Framework and Audit Checklist
| Audit Dimension | Exemplary Practice (2 Points) | Acceptable Baseline (1 Point) | Critical Deficiency (0 Points) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Metric Intuitiveness | Value metric directly reflects business success (e.g. processed orders) | Technical metric that requires translation to business value | Obscure technical metric (e.g. raw CPU cycles) that buyers cannot predict |
| 2. Real-Time Telemetry | Usage and spend visible in customer dashboard within 5 minutes | Usage updated daily in customer dashboard | Usage visible only when monthly invoice is generated |
| 3. Automated Alerts | Automated warnings trigger at 50%, 80%, 100% of budget allocation | Manual alerts configured by customer administrators | No alerts; customers discover spending spikes upon invoicing |
| 4. Spending Guardrails | Configurable soft and hard budget caps prevent runaway bill shock | Spending alerts exist, but hard caps are technically unsupported | Completely uncapped consumption with zero budget protection |
| 5. Commitment Floor Share | Over 70% of ARR secured through annual minimum commitments | 40% to 70% of revenue secured through commitments | Pure pay-as-you-go; zero guaranteed revenue floor |
| 6. Graduated Block Pricing | Marginal block tariffs eliminate all volume cliff-jumping anomalies | Tiered pricing with minor boundary anomalies | Severe volume cliffs encouraging artificial usage inflation |
| 7. Metering Auditability | Immutable event logs accessible via self-serve audit portal | Usage logs available upon formal request to support | Black-box billing; vendor cannot provide itemized event logs |
| 8. Bill Shock Relief SLA | Documented policy providing one-time credits for verified software bugs | Ad-hoc executive negotiation for invoice disputes | Rigid enforcement of all invoices, provoking customer litigation |
| 9. Sales Comp Alignment | Rep compensation tied to active consumption milestones | Partial weighting on consumption; mostly booking-based | 100% commission paid upfront on speculative unconsumed bookings |
| 10. Margin-Cost Symmetry | Rate card pricing maintains minimum 75% gross margin across all tiers | Gross margin maintained on average, but power users are dilutive | High-volume accounts generate negative gross margins |
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Reference & Evidence
Source: Table from this essay. Sources and interpretation are given in the article.