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 performing well across all dimensions. Strong financial outlook, low risk, on schedule, well-resourced.
Generally healthy but with some areas to monitor. Most dimensions are positive; one or two signals may need attention.
Mixed performance. The project has meaningful weaknesses that should be addressed before they compound.
Multiple problem areas. Without active intervention, the project is likely to deteriorate further.
Serious and immediate attention required. Consider escalation to senior leadership.
The five health dimensions
The health score is built from five components. Each one pulls from a different data signal on the project. The more data you have filled in, the more accurate and nuanced the score becomes.
Financial Health
Assessed using the linked NPV calculation and budget-to-actual variance. A positive NPV strongly boosts this dimension. Negative NPV or no financial data reduces it. This is the highest-weighted dimension because financial viability is the foundation of project sustainability.
Signals: NPV > 0, budget on track, actual costs within 10% of forecast
Risk Profile
Driven by the linked Risk Score. A low risk score (below 30) significantly boosts health. A high risk score (above 70) significantly reduces it. The presence of Black Swan events with high probability adds downward pressure. Without a linked risk assessment, this dimension contributes a neutral baseline.
Signals: Risk score < 30, no high-probability Black Swan events, stakeholders aligned
Schedule & Status
Reflects the project status and how far through its duration it is. Active statuses (In Progress) score better than inactive ones. Paused and Cancelled statuses penalise the score. If a project is past its expected end date without being marked Complete, this dimension suffers.
Signals: Status = In Progress, not overdue, milestones trending on time
Resource & Priority
Combines the priority level (High priority projects are scored as organisationally important) with resource utilisation data if available. High priority signals executive attention and resource commitment. Low priority projects score lower on this dimension.
Signals: Priority = High, team members assigned, resource utilisation in healthy range
Activity & Momentum
Measures how recently the project has been updated. A project with no activity for extended periods scores lower here - inactivity is often an early warning signal. Projects with frequent updates, milestone progress, and recent cost entries score well.
Signals: Updated in the last 7 days, milestones progressed recently, costs updated
NO DATA = NEUTRAL BASELINE
Signals
Signals are specific findings extracted from your project data. They appear on the project detail page below the health score ring and are categorised by impact:
- High impact signals - conditions that significantly affect health (e.g. high risk score, negative NPV, no activity in 30 days)
- Medium impact signals - areas to watch (e.g. budget approaching threshold, schedule delay detected)
- Positive signals - strengths to acknowledge (e.g. strong positive NPV, all milestones on track, low risk score)
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 generates a plain-English paragraph of tailored recommendations.
What the AI receives
The AI receives:
- Project name, status, priority, and scale
- Health score and the five dimension scores
- Active signals and their impact levels
- Budget, actual costs, NPV, risk score, and duration data (if present)
The AI does not receive the names of your team members, notes, or any other personally identifiable or sensitive text from your workspace.
What the AI produces
A concise, project-specific recommendation covering the most important actions to improve the project's health, based on the signals that are most elevated. The response is calibrated for a business decision-maker - it is direct, specific, and actionable, not generic.
AI AVAILABILITY
Where Dashly Sense appears
- Dashboard project cards - health score number and colour in the top-right corner
- Project detail page - full Sense panel with score ring, dimension bars, signals, and AI recommendations
- Calendar view - health colour indicators on project entries
Improving your project health score
The score responds to real project data - it cannot be gamed by changing status alone. Here is what meaningfully moves it:
- Run an NPV calculation and link it - the Financial Health dimension is worth up to 30 points
- Run a Risk Assessment and link it - the Risk Profile dimension is worth up to 25 points
- Update the project regularly - the Activity dimension rewards momentum
- Complete milestones - signals progress to both the score and the team
- Keep actual costs updated - enables budget variance tracking
- Set the correct status - Active statuses score better; don't leave projects as Draft when they're running