Metrics_ How to Improve Key Business Results - Martin Klubeck [3]
Why
Why metrics? To improve. I know I’ve already stated that. But, why metrics specifically? Why not use any of the other methods du jour (TQM, Six Sigma, Balanced Scorecard, etc.)? The funny thing is, any of the methods you choose will require you to use metrics—or at least the components of metrics (data, measures, or information). As a foundation, these improvement methods want you to first measure your existing state so that after you implement the methodology for improvement, you will see how well the improvement procedures worked. All of these methods also want you to measure the amount of time, money, and effort that went into the improvement effort. But none of that will actually help you improve the thing you want to improve!
Metrics help you in some basic ways that make it an important tool for improvement on its own accord. Metrics will provide insights into the thing you want to improve—be it a product, service, or process. This insight is valuable to those doing the job—fulfilling the need or providing the service. It helps them see their efforts in a new light, often in a more complete picture. It will help them find ways to improve. It will also help them see the benefits they’ve reaped. It will provide cherished feedback that the team can use to make continuous improvement a reality (instead of the latest catch-phrase).
Metrics also provides insights for upper management. It allows the team leader to market the improvement effort to those who control the funding. It shines a light on your efforts so you can gain support for the improvement efforts.
It also allows you to share your efforts with your customers in ways they easily understand. They gain insight to how things are changing for the better. Look at any new product release (I especially like Apple’s semi-annual announcements) and notice the amount of metrics sprinkled throughout.
Metrics provide insight. They also provide a level of legitimacy to your argument. All other things being equal, data is a tie breaker. If you and another department have competing requests for resources, the one with data wins.
When
Ideally, you’d not undertake a metrics effort of any significant scale until your organization could show that it was not suffering from organizational immaturity—the inability to take on enterprise-wide change. But, that’s only a prerequisite for implementing a program organization-wide. If you are in charge of a department or unit and you want to implement a department-wide metrics program, you only have to ensure that your unit is capable of the change. If you provide one or two services or products, you shouldn’t have a problem implementing a metrics program. Remember, metrics are only a tool for improvement, so you’ll need to implement other improvement tools along with metrics. Metrics can tell you where to focus your efforts. Metrics can tell you how successful your efforts are. But metrics on their own are not a set of solutions.
Chances are very good that you already collect data and measures. You may have automated tools that track, collect, and even spit out reports full of data and measures. You may feed information into an annual report. You may already fulfill requests for specific measures. Depending on your industry, there may be well-worn standards that have been used for years (if not decades). These are not necessarily metrics per my definition, nor are creating such standards the intent of this book. Those data and measures are reported, but not used. They aren’t used to improve a process, product, or service.
It may be time for you to start using your information for your own benefit. It may be time for you to develop a metrics program. The major question you have to ask is, are you ready, willing, and able to change? Do you want to improve?
You’ll learn in this book that part of the “when” is collecting information