What is knowledge-base coverage, and how do you measure it in Metabase?
Knowledge-base coverage is the share of required topics or operational objects that have current, owned documentation. The denominator is an explicit inventory—not every page your organization happens to have.
TL;DR — Coverage = required topics with a current, owned doc ÷ required topics. Define “required” before counting pages.
Definition
A topic is covered when it maps to at least one active content item, has an accountable owner, and meets the relevant freshness policy. Common inventories include services, products, processes, policies, teams, and customer workflows.
Data needed
- A required-topic or required-object inventory
- A mapping from each topic to its canonical content
- Owner, lifecycle status, and last-reviewed date
- Topic group, criticality, and audience for drilldowns
SQL pattern
Current, owned coverage by topic groupPostgreSQL
SELECT
topic_group,
COUNT(*) AS required_topics,
COUNT(*) FILTER (
WHERE content_id IS NOT NULL
AND owner_id IS NOT NULL
AND last_reviewed_at >= CURRENT_DATE - INTERVAL '90 days'
) AS covered_topics,
ROUND(
100.0 * COUNT(*) FILTER (
WHERE content_id IS NOT NULL
AND owner_id IS NOT NULL
AND last_reviewed_at >= CURRENT_DATE - INTERVAL '90 days'
) / NULLIF(COUNT(*), 0),
2
) AS knowledge_base_coverage
FROM required_knowledge_topics
GROUP BY topic_group
ORDER BY knowledge_base_coverage ASC;Pitfalls
Using total page count as coverage.→ A large wiki can still miss every critical runbook. Coverage needs a required inventory as its denominator.
Counting stale or ownerless pages as covered.→ Presence alone is weak evidence. Require ownership and freshness for operational topics.
Related
FAQ
How do I build the required-topic inventory?
Start with systems and workflows whose failure creates customer, compliance, security, or delivery risk. Add service catalogs, process lists, policy registers, and onboarding checklists before lower-priority topics.