• Nov 16, 2015
• Comments Off on Documenting KPI Processes
• Lavery McGlynn

Documenting KPI Processes

I can hear the groans already. I have rarely met anyone who is a fan of creating documentation, so this advice is not an easy sell! But I promise that if you take the time and effort to document your KPI processes, you will improve your accuracy, the project’s longevity, and reduce your time spent on rework.

So much time in performance measurement can be wasted on needless repetition. Re-answering and rethinking about why you’re measuring certain things, how you’re measuring them and why it’s important. While you should always revisit your measures to make sure they are correct, it shouldn’t be to check why you’re doing them!

Measures should be designed very deliberately to monitor specific performance results. Your performance results are derived from your strategic or operational goals or objectives. If you don’t document which measures relate to which performance results, you’ll be confused later on when you try to use those measures.

In PuMP we document the links between measures and results using a Results Map. Our Measure Design template also helps you to track the dialogue that occurs when you set about choosing the measures in the first place.

Documenting the calculation rules for each measure will reduce inaccuracy in your results. Find out more about improving your results here [link to inaccuracy and repetition blog].

All of this documentation will help you when gaining buy-in for your KPIs. By answering questions like which performance result the measure is intended for, and what other measures you considered and why you rejected them, you lend credibility to all of your decisions.

Don’t underestimate the impact of clear documentation on the amount of time you’ll save in measuring performance.