Project Management Framework
Initiation - Performance Measures/Outcomes
Definition
Performance measures and outcomes are predetermined methods for assessing whether the project achieves its goals. They describe the type of metrics used at the end of the project to measure the quality and effectiveness of the project, and ultimately its overall success.
Why is this important?
"What gets measured gets managed". Determining performance measures and outcomes at the beginning of a project helps assure that the project stays true to the initial purpose and priorities. Defining the desired outcomes or acceptance criteria at the beginning of the project also clarifies the project's scope. Using performance measures ascertains whether the project did indeed succeed, and provides a starting point for developing future lessons learned.
Instruction
Review the project goals and priorities. Determine how to define success and identify appropriate criteria for testing. Criteria can be yes/no questions as well as quantifiable measures. If a change in activity levels is one of the measures, then establish baselines before the project begins. Consider project priorities and design performance measures accordingly. It may be necessary and helpful to choose several different performance measures to determine the success of the project. If the business process will change dramatically due to the project, then it's especially important to choose a basis of comparison that won't change. Choosing some unit of service as the common denominator for the "before" and "after" works well. Some common measures to consider are program cost savings (requires baseline), business process time savings (requires baseline) amount of use that project outputs get (number of website hits, etc), change in number of customer complaints (requires baseline), and nature of customer feedback (may require a survey).
How to scale
Project measures and outcomes tend to be driven by the project's vision, goals and objectives. Even for large projects, consider limiting the total number of project measures and outcomes to a few significant outputs that best illustrate the attainment of the project's goals.
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Performance Measures Examples
Checklists