A “predictive” metric answers the question:
- What has happened?
- Why did that happen?
- What will happen next?
- What should we do next?
You Answered: D
Correct Answer: C
Descriptive metrics tell us what has happened. Diagnostic metrics tell us why those things occurred. Both of these categories are often referred to as “lagging indicators”, because they look at things in the past.
Predictive metrics speculate about what will happen, and prescriptive metrics can be used to suggest actions that would bring about a desired change. These are referred to as “leading indicators” because they address things that have not yet occurred.