Are you familiar with these popular business idioms: “if you can measure something, you can manage it” or “if you can't measure it, then you can't improve it”?
While managing IT starts with metrics measurement, it goes beyond simply gathering the data. The key to success is to have metrics in place that translate performance data into actionable insights that will drive change and service improvements.
Many organizations make the mistake of creating metrics based on currently available data. Our experience is this approach limits measurement to the available tools and processes, which can be insufficient to measure what’s truly valued by the business and mission. A better approach is to ask three essential questions:
What value would the metrics provide?
Who would leverage the metrics and, if so, how?
Is the data reliable?
While performance metrics can be a powerful tool in managing IT, they should be meaningful and support the business and mission objectives to make a real impact. Other best practices for designing IT metrics that matter include:
Know the audience. Designing metrics for the CIO will be different than developing metrics for a Service Owner or Operations Manager. Work with stakeholders to identify what data points will help them be more effective and tailor metrics to their delivery.
Only use “high-fidelity” data. Performance data should be reliable and accurate, preferably provided from a system that can automate the data extraction. The process to pull the data should be simplified, and repeatable.
Streamline the process. Calculating metrics should be as automated as possible with minimal data manipulation. Manual metric calculations can be cumbersome and lead to errors in calculations.
Strike a balance. Too many metrics can be detrimental and distracting. Narrow it down to the key need-to-know items that will inform data-driven insights.
Tie metrics to a greater purpose. Every metric should align with a strategic goal or objective so that it can tell how well the organization is supporting the IT strategy.
Want more info or need help in designing IT metrics that matter? Contact us here!