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The cost for ground travel from/to airport

The average nightly cost of a hotel room at the host site At international locations

At domestic locations

The cost for the web/teleconference A system with recurring fees

A system with annual fees

The salary of the technician

The amount of time the technician spends on each conference

The total number of web/teleconferences

This metric is a good example of how to build from a root question to an abstract picture and finally to the data, measures, and information needed to tell the story. The best part of this example, though, is that it was created to satisfy the request of the service provider. Our webconferencing technician requested the metric to answer the question his boss had been asking him. I warned him that if the answer came back, “No, get rid of the service,” that I wasn’t going to hide the results. He agreed. Partly because he is a loyal employee—and if the data accurately showed that it was not worth the cost, he’d be the first to advocate dropping the service. And partly because he “knew” that the service was a worthwhile one. He knew the worth of it since he worked with it every day.

The service provider usually already knows the answers that you’ll build metrics to validate.

This metric is published quarterly to show the benefits of web/teleconferencing for the organization.

Recap

In this chapter, we covered the following:

Getting to the root question: It is imperative to get to the root question before you start even “thinking about” data. The root question will help you avoid waste. To get to the real root, I discussed using Five Whys, facilitating group interventions, and being willing to accept that the answer may not include metrics. Make sure you define every facet of the question so you are perfectly clear about what you want.

Testing the root question: I provided some suggestions on how you can test if the question you’ve settled upon is a true root question. Even with the tests, it’s important to realize that you may not have reached it when you draw your picture. You may have to do a little rework.

Developing a metric: This is more about what you shouldn’t do than what you should. You shouldn’t think about data. You shouldn’t design charts and graphs. You shouldn’t jump to what measures you want. Stay abstract.

Being an artist: The best way I’ve found to stay abstract is to be creative. The best way to be creative is to avoid the details and focus on the big picture. One helps feed the other. Draw a picture—it doesn’t have to be a work of art.

Identifying the information, measures, and data needed: Once you have a clear picture (literally and figuratively) it’s time to think about information, measures and data. Think of it like a paint-by-numbers picture. What information is required to fill the picture in? What color paints will you need? And make sure you don’t leave out any essential components.

Collecting measures and data: Now that you know what you need, how do you collect it?

How to collect data: I presented four major methods for collecting data: Using automated sources, employing software and hardware, conducting surveys, and using people.

Conclusion

This chapter covered how to create a root question and, based on that, how to design a metric. I also covered how to identify and collect the information, measures, and data needed to turn the metric picture into a usable metric.

Bonus Material

A different way of thinking about metrics. A different way of approaching metrics. These are part of what I’m trying to share with you.

The school my six-year-old attends uses fundraisers to supplement its funding. Recently, the school was selling coupon books for local fast-food restaurants at the low cost of five dollars. Not a bad deal—I easily got back my investment by using just one coupon.

I like this fundraiser. In my opinion, it gives a more-than-fair value for the price and the school gets a generous share of the funds. The