QuicData :: KPIs

What Is KPI ?

KPIs or Key Performance Indicators are quantifiable metrics which reflect the performance of an organization in achieving its goals and objectives. Often, KPIs provides benchmarks of critical performance values of an organizations relatives to its industry standards.

The strategically metrics are visually translated through a scoreboard look graphics. These metrics are build upon critical perspective goals mapped from lower-level operational measures to higher-level strategic measures.

For example, an operational KPI would be Plant Uptime. Tactical efforts taken such as introducing new skill or staff retraining would result in improving Plant Uptime, hence increase the Running Time which means more items to be output within the available operating hour. In the perspective of higher level measure, cross departmental support such as Minimum Quality Defects and Delivery Time to the market would mean Reliability and Customer Satisfaction.

KPIs and Workflow

Focusing on the end result or outcomes of a work process is critical when building a KPI especially KPIs that help to achieve strategic goals. But, there is a challenge in measuring these results. Since a process that is started by an individual or department usually is continued or completed by others, then, how do we effectively measure the outcomes when no single individual or department is controlling the whole process? How could we articulate company objectives through enterprise- wide metrics in an integrated measurement?

Workflow Management System or WfM comprise of business processes, workflow and data capture along the process. WfM helps to track and manage a business process wherever it goes, formalizing the business rules with predefined intelligence and provides a clear cause-and-effect interdepartmental relationships or KPIs in a near real time or absolute real time manner.

Benefits of Adopting KPIs

Provide quick and clear performance metrics from low-level single operation up to measurement of cross departmental performance.

Connectivity between departments eliminates dissatisfaction and critism of departmental managers over the management reports.

Each of the metrics is build toward the success of shared organization goals.

The metrics provide the signals to identify ineffective strategies. Thus, proactive corrective measures could be taken to drive the organization back to track.

Increase responsibility and accountability. Since every individual or department participated will affect the overall performance, when failures happen, interdepartmental corporation is needed to overcome the constrains.