Performance Measurement

Performance Measurement is the establishment of organizational goals and their linkage to business objectives. To do this you have to identify the critical success factors to enable those goals to be met, define the processes and process “owners “in question and map the processes against the critical success factors in a matrix.

The first major step in this process therefore is an analysis of the appropriate scope for performance measures, considering all of the critical success factors for achievement of the goals for the different processes in question. The next logical step requires an evaluation of the existing Performance Metrics against your desired scope. To do that you must map the existing Performance Metrics against all established processes and critical success factors. Then you need to identify any “gaps”; where metrics are not in place for monitoring combinations of critical success factors and processes. In addition, you need to identify the existing metrics for relevance and suggest any appropriate changes. What you end up with is a matrix, documenting “gaps” in the existing performance metrics process and recommendations for any modification or elimination of existing metrics that lack relevance.

If this were an exercise within the IT department, you would next conduct a Technical Evaluation of all existing IT Performance Metrics by reviewing specifications for existing IT metrics (e.g., data collected, method of collection, metrics calculation, service level standards or targets, etc.) Then you would prepare a set of recommendations for change in how existing performance metrics data are captured and how data are analyzed in order to improve measurement reliability and validity.

Next you would review performance standards (i.e., service level standards) against external data sources and, as appropriate, propose modification of target service levels.  Finally, you would establish the IT performance metrics that would fill the “gaps” identified. The key is delivering metrics that are useful in monitoring combinations of both critical success factors and IT processes and draft specifications for these.

At TBI, we often add the additional setup of assessing the organization’s readiness for an IT performance metrics improvement initiative and needed next steps, considering training needs, availability of baseline data, contractual agreements, and other organizational factors.

When all of this is completed, our customers have the specification of new metrics to be developed to supplement the organization’s existing IT performance metrics and recommendation of next steps needed to improve the overall IT metrics process.

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