Dashly Sense
Dashly Sense - Project Health Engine
Dashly Sense is the intelligence layer of the platform. It synthesises all available project data into a single health score and - when AI is enabled - generates plain-English insights and recommendations tailored to each project.
What is the health score?
Every project has a health score from 0 to 100. It is computed in real time from the project's data - no manual input required. The score reflects the project's overall trajectory across five dimensions and is displayed:
- As a number in the top-right corner of each project card on the dashboard
- As a prominent score ring on the project detail page
- As a colour-coded status label (Excellent, Good, Fair, At Risk, Critical)
Health score bands
The project is on strong footing across all five dimensions. Financial outlook is positive, risk is managed, schedule is on track, and the team is active.
Generally healthy with one or two areas to monitor. Most signals are positive; minor issues should be watched but are not urgent.
Mixed performance. The project has meaningful weaknesses that should be addressed before they compound.
Multiple problem areas flagged. Without active intervention, the project is likely to deteriorate further.
Serious and immediate attention required. Escalation to senior leadership should be considered.
The five health dimensions
The composite score is a weighted average of five dimensions. Each dimension pulls from a different data signal. The more data you have filled in, the more accurate the score becomes. Weights reflect the relative importance of each dimension to overall project health.
Schedule
Evaluates the project's timeline position. Completed projects score 100. Cancelled projects score 20. Active projects that are past their end date are flagged as overdue and score significantly lower. Milestone completion rates also influence this dimension - a high proportion of overdue milestones signals schedule risk, while near-complete milestone sets signal momentum.
Signals: project_overdue, milestones_overdue, near_complete, status-based baseline
Budget
Measures cost performance relative to the approved budget. Projects with no budget set score a neutral 50 with a warning. On-budget or slightly under scores well (80+). A moderate overrun of 10-25% starts reducing the score meaningfully. Severe overruns above 50% push the score below 20. Positive NPV adds a bonus signal; negative NPV triggers a warning.
Signals: no_budget, on_budget, moderate_overrun, severe_overrun, positive_npv, negative_npv
Risk
Driven directly by the linked risk score from the Risk Calculator. Score = 100 minus the raw risk score. A low risk score (below 30) produces a strong dimension score with a positive signal. Scores in the 45-70 range flag medium risk. Scores above 70 flag high risk and significantly reduce this dimension. Projects with no linked risk assessment score a neutral 50.
Signals: no_risk, low_risk, medium_risk, high_risk
Progress
Reflects how the project's status aligns with its position in the timeline. Completed projects score 100; Cancelled score 15; Paused scores 30 with a warning. In-Progress projects in their first half of the timeline score 80. Projects that started but have not been moved out of Draft or Planning after their start date are flagged as stale or extended-planning.
Signals: paused, stale_draft, extended_planning, status-based baseline
Activity
Measures how recently the project has been updated. Updated within the last 7 days scores 95 (recent). 8-14 days scores 80. 15-30 days scores 65. 31-60 days flags low activity (score 38). 61-90 days is stagnant. Over 90 days is inactive. Completed and Cancelled projects are exempt - they score a flat 70 with no penalty, since inactivity is expected once closed.
Signals: recent, low_activity, stagnant, inactive
NO DATA = NEUTRAL BASELINE
Signals
Signals are specific findings extracted from each dimension. They appear on the project detail page below the health score ring and are categorised by impact:
- Critical signals - conditions that significantly drag health (e.g. budget overrun above 50%, risk score above 70, project overdue)
- Warning signals - areas to watch (e.g. budget approaching threshold, moderate overrun, low activity)
- Positive signals - strengths to acknowledge (e.g. positive NPV, low risk score, near-complete milestones)
Up to five signals are surfaced per project, ranked critical-first. The full dimension breakdown always shows all five scores.
AI Recommendations (Dashly Sense AI)
When Dashly Sense AI is enabled, a Get AI Insights button appears on each project detail page. Clicking it sends the project's health data, signals, and key metrics to Dashly's AI engine (Claude, by Anthropic), which returns a plain-English paragraph of tailored recommendations.
What the AI receives
- Project name, status, priority, and scale
- Health score and the five dimension scores with their weights
- Active signals and their impact levels
- Budget, actual costs, NPV, risk score, and duration data (where present)
The AI does not receive team member names, notes, comments, or any personally identifiable text from your workspace.
Quota
AI insight requests are subject to a per-user daily quota based on your plan: 10 per day on Pro, 50 per day on Dashly Scale. The quota resets at midnight UTC. Once the daily limit is reached, the button is disabled until the next day.
AI AVAILABILITY
Portfolio Pulse
On the dashboard, Dashly Sense reads your whole portfolio at once and writes a short summary plus a ranked "needs attention" list - the projects with overruns, poor health, overdue timelines, or negative NPV, worst first. Each item links straight to its project. The read is generated once and shared across your team, and refreshes when the portfolio changes or when someone taps Refresh.
Explain this score
On any project's Sense panel, Explain this score turns the numbers into plain language: why the score is what it is, and the specific factors lifting or dragging it. When the project has a linked risk assessment, it also includes a short risk read - what could go wrong and why. Explanations are cached, so re-opening one is instant and does not consume AI quota.
Where Dashly Sense appears
- Dashboard Portfolio Pulse - an AI read of the whole portfolio with a ranked needs-attention list
- Dashboard project cards - health score number and colour in the top-right corner
- Project detail page - full Sense panel: score ring, five dimension bars, signals, AI recommendations, Explain this score
- Business Portfolio - portfolio-level health breakdown and KPI strip use health scores across all projects
- Calendar view - health colour indicators on project timeline entries
Improving your health score
The score responds to real project data. Here is what moves it most:
- Set a budget and keep actual costs updated - the Budget dimension (25%) cannot score well without both figures
- Run a Risk Assessment and link it - unlocks the full Risk dimension (20%) rather than a flat 50 neutral
- Set start date and duration - lets Schedule and Progress dimensions reason about overdue state and timeline position
- Add and complete milestones - milestone completion rate feeds Schedule signals directly
- Update the project regularly - the Activity dimension (15%) rewards momentum; inactivity beyond 30 days starts flagging
- Keep status accurate - do not leave projects as Draft when they are actively running; In Progress unlocks schedule scoring