Actionable Reporting

Technical Explanation

Actionable reporting means delivering insights that directly enable decisions. Reports should not just present data—they should guide specific next steps.

Actionable vs Informational

Aspect	Informational	Actionable
Question	"What happened?"	"What should we do?"
Output	Data dump	Decision guide
Next step	Unknown	Clear
Stakeholder role	Passive	Active

Questions That Drive Action

• What is the most important finding?
• What decision does this inform?
• What should we do differently?
• Who is responsible for acting?
• When should action be taken?

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Code Examples

Using the CatCafe dataset:

-- ACTIONABLE REPORT 1: Revenue warning with recommendation
SELECT
    'REVENUE ALERT' as status,
    SUM(total_amount) as weekly_revenue,
    (SELECT SUM(total_amount) FROM orders
     WHERE status = 'completed'
     AND order_date >= CURRENT_DATE - INTERVAL '14 days'
     AND order_date < CURRENT_DATE - INTERVAL '7 days') as prev_week_revenue,
    SUM(total_amount) - (
        SELECT SUM(total_amount)
        FROM orders
        WHERE status = 'completed'
        AND order_date >= CURRENT_DATE - INTERVAL '14 days'
        AND order_date < CURRENT_DATE - INTERVAL '7 days'
    ) as change,
    'Increase marketing spend by 20% for underperforming segments' as recommendation,
    'Marketing Lead' as owner,
    'Within 48 hours' as deadline
FROM orders
WHERE status = 'completed'
AND order_date >= CURRENT_DATE - INTERVAL '7 days'
HAVING SUM(total_amount) < (
    SELECT SUM(total_amount)
    FROM orders
    WHERE status = 'completed'
    AND order_date >= CURRENT_DATE - INTERVAL '14 days'
    AND order_date < CURRENT_DATE - INTERVAL '7 days'
);

-- ACTIONABLE REPORT 2: Churn risk with action
WITH churn_risk AS (
    SELECT
        customer_id,
        MAX(order_date) as last_order,
        COUNT(*) as order_count
    FROM orders
    GROUP BY customer_id
    HAVING MAX(order_date) < CURRENT_DATE - INTERVAL '30 days'
)
SELECT
    cr.customer_id,
    c.name,
    c.email,
    cr.last_order,
    cr.order_count,
    DATE_PART('day', CURRENT_DATE - cr.last_order) as days_since_last_order,
    'Send win-back email with 10% discount' as recommended_action,
    'Customer Success' as owner
FROM churn_risk cr
JOIN customers c ON cr.customer_id = c.id
ORDER BY cr.last_order ASC;

-- ACTIONABLE REPORT 3: Conversion analysis with recommendations
WITH funnel AS (
    SELECT
        COUNT(DISTINCT user_id) FILTER (WHERE event = 'page_view') as visitors,
        COUNT(DISTINCT user_id) FILTER (WHERE event = 'signup') as signups,
        COUNT(DISTINCT user_id) FILTER (WHERE event = 'first_purchase') as purchasers
    FROM user_events
    WHERE event_date >= CURRENT_DATE - INTERVAL '30 days'
)
SELECT
    visitors,
    signups,
    purchasers,
    signups * 100.0 / NULLIF(visitors, 0) as signup_rate,
    purchasers * 100.0 / NULLIF(signups, 0) as conversion_rate,
    CASE
        WHEN signups * 100.0 / NULLIF(visitors, 0) < 5
            THEN 'Low signup rate - Review onboarding flow'
        WHEN purchasers * 100.0 / NULLIF(signups, 0) < 20
            THEN 'Low conversion - Review pricing/offers'
        ELSE 'Conversion within expected range'
    END as recommendation
FROM funnel;

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The Cat Analogy

Cat cafe shift report:

Informational report:

Shift summary:
- 45 customers visited
- 12 cat adoptions
- 8 cat food purchases
- Revenue: $1,200

Actionable report:

Shift report WITH recommendations:
- 45 customers visited (DOWN 20% from last week)
- Root cause: Fewer weekend walk-ins

RECOMMENDATIONS:
1. Add weekend promotional event (Marketing, by Fri)
2. Extend happy hour to weekends (Ops, by next week)
3. Monitor weekend traffic daily (Manager, ongoing)

This week's priority: Weekend conversion
Owner: Marketing Lead
Deadline: Friday planning, weekend test

Same data, actionable report drives decisions!

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Exercises

Exercise 1

What makes a report "actionable" vs just informational?

Exercise 2

Transform this into an actionable report: "This week: 100 signups, 10 purchases, $5,000 revenue."

Exercise 3

Why is it important to assign owners and deadlines in actionable reports?

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Key Takeaways

• Actionable reports guide specific decisions
• Always include: findings, recommendations, owners, deadlines
• Connect data to next steps
• Don't just dump data—drive action