Business Strategy&Lms Tech
Upscend Team
-February 12, 2026
9 min read
This article provides a 12-week (90-day) blueprint to deliver an executive learning dashboard fast. It walks teams through discovery and stakeholder interviews, a lean data audit with sample SQL, KPI prioritization, annotated wireframes, an MVP build and a launch/adoption measurement plan to drive executive decisions.
Building an executive learning dashboard in 90 days requires a tight scope, fast stakeholder alignment, and practical technical choices. In our experience, a clear, week-by-week plan that enforces a single source of truth and prioritizes executive-valuable KPIs reduces rework and executive friction. This article lays out a pragmatic, step-by-step 12-week (90-day) blueprint: discovery, data audit, KPI selection, wireframing, an MVP build with validation, and a launch & measurement plan. Each stage includes checklists, an interview script, sample SQL/data mapping, and an MVP feature list so teams can execute a fast, repeatable rollout.
Week 1–2 focus on discovery. The goal is to align expectations and identify the handful of metrics that will drive action for leaders. Keep the process lean: map stakeholders, run focused stakeholder interviews, and confirm availability windows for week 4 validation sessions.
Stakeholder mapping checklist
Prioritize ten 30-minute interviews: 2 sponsors, 3 program leads, 3 data owners, 2 end-users. Use this script template and record concise outcomes.
Stakeholder interview template (30 mins)
We've found that locking the sponsor's top 3 decisions early prevents scope creep and accelerates delivery.
Weeks 3–4 should deliver a comprehensive but targeted data inventory and a validated sample query set. Constrain the data model to the fields required for the prioritized KPIs to reduce ETL load and validation time.
Source inventory (minimum)
Sample SQL snippets
Use these as starting queries to validate join keys and data freshness:
SELECT learner_id, course_id, MAX(completion_date) AS last_completed FROM lms_completions GROUP BY learner_id, course_id;
SELECT u.learner_id, u.hire_date, h.department FROM lms_users u JOIN hr_employees h ON u.employee_id = h.employee_id WHERE u.active = 1;
SELECT c.course_id, c.category, COUNT(*) AS enrollments FROM lms_enrollments GROUP BY c.course_id, c.category;
| Source | Key fields | Owner |
|---|---|---|
| LMS | learner_id, course_id, completion_date | LMS Admin |
| HRIS | employee_id, department, manager_id | HRIS Team |
Data audit tips: validate join keys with small sample extracts, timestamp everything, and capture data quality scores for each source.
Weeks 5–6 are for KPI selection and prioritization. Executives need a few actionable metrics, not a firehose. We recommend a prioritization matrix that scores impact, availability, and stability to select the top 6 KPIs for the initial executive view.
Prioritization matrix (example)
| KPI | Impact (1-5) | Data availability (1-5) | Stability (1-5) | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time-to-competency | 5 | 3 | 4 | 12 |
| Completion rate (critical courses) | 4 | 5 | 5 | 14 |
Recommended KPI shortlist for MVP
Show 4–6 high-impact KPIs on the executive landing view and make 10–12 available via drill-downs. Too many surface-level metrics dilute attention.
Weeks 7–8 are the wireframing sprint. Start with low-fidelity sketches for layout and navigation, then iterate to hi-fi annotated wireframes for both desktop and mobile executive views. Annotate every component with data source, refresh cadence, and permission needs.
Annotated wireframe checklist
For the executive landing, design a compact desktop view with three key tiles and a right-hand insights panel. The mobile executive view should prioritize the single most critical KPI with one tap to open the drill-down. Annotate wireframes with callouts: "Data: completion_rate from LMS (daily), Owner: LMS Admin".
Design for a 60-second decision: executives should be able to read the top insight in under a minute.
Weeks 9–10 are for the MVP build. Choose a tech stack that matches team bandwidth: cloud BI tools with quick connectors or lightweight custom stacks if you have developers. Prioritize quick wins: cached extracts for critical KPIs, pre-built visuals, and one-click exports. The objective is a functional executive landing page with drill-downs, not a fully featured platform.
Tech stack options
Some of the most efficient L&D teams we work with use Upscend to automate this entire workflow without sacrificing quality. That practical example shows how a platform can reduce manual ETL and surface curated metrics quickly while the team focuses on governance and adoption.
MVP feature list
Validation loop: demo MVP to sponsors in a 30-minute session, capture decisions, and log change requests. Use an issues tracker and freeze scope after one rapid iteration to avoid scope creep.
Weeks 11–12 cover launch, adoption and measurement. A rapid rollout needs an explicit communications and training plan plus success metrics tracked for the first 90 days. Use an adoption funnel to measure reach, usage, and decision impact.
90 day learning dashboard rollout plan — week-by-week
| Weeks | Focus | Deliverable |
|---|---|---|
| 1–2 | Discovery | Stakeholder map & interview notes |
| 3–4 | Data audit | Source inventory & sample SQL |
| 5–6 | KPI selection | Prioritized KPI matrix |
| 7–8 | Wireframe | Annotated desktop & mobile views |
| 9–10 | MVP build | Working executive landing page |
| 11–12 | Launch | Training, comms, usage monitoring |
Adoption checklist
Measurement plan for success
Delivering an executive learning dashboard quickly is less about speed and more about disciplined scope, prioritized KPIs, and tight validation loops. Follow the 12-week plan: conduct focused stakeholder interviews, perform a lean data audit with sample SQL checks, select high-impact KPIs with a prioritization matrix, move from low-fi to hi-fi wireframes, build an MVP with clear owners, and execute a launch plus measurement plan for the first 90 days.
Common pitfalls to avoid: overloading the first release, relying on fragile joins, and leaving executives out of validation sessions. Also plan around limited IT bandwidth by using pre-built connectors or lightweight extracts.
Ready to get started? Use the checklists and SQL snippets above to scope your first two weeks, book the core stakeholder interviews, and draft the executive landing wireframe. If you need a template-driven approach, export the KPI matrix and MVP feature list from this guide and run a two-week pilot to validate assumptions.
Call to action: Schedule a 30-minute planning session with your team this week to produce the stakeholder map and the prioritized KPI shortlist—those two deliverables will make the difference between a 90-day success and a stalled project.
