As project managers, we are often asked to demonstrate through indicators that we are going to achieve well our project, objectives, etc… Part of our job is to create these indicators and report them in order to ensure that our processes are compliant, robust and fully managed.

Measuring a process can be very hard. To have relevant measures can be difficult because the objective of this is to manage the process. Measuring a process is not the only way to manage it. In fact, there are other ways to manage it like audits and so on. But the measures are the first step to see the quality of my process and if I’m not manage only documentation.

So how to build KPI, measure or indicators that will help me to manage my process?

There are some quality methods to make it like GQM (Goals Questions Metrics) or some ISO/AFNOR documentation like FD X50-171, etc…But in this post, we aren’t going to talk about the tools or documentation but the characteristics to build them.

4 characteristics are necessary to build relevant measure in order to really manage my process: Quality, Timeliness, Applicability and Efficiency.

Quality

Measure the quality of a process is to ensure that my process meet is purpose or its requirements. So are my deliverables meeting the requirements? In fact, we don’t check all the deliverables of my process, it’s not relevant and a it’s a waste of time. But what is important to measure is the critical deliverables or interface documents. And you have the choice to measure them during the process or at the end.

So to do that, answer those questions:

What are my deliverables?

Which of them are critical?

When I must check them to ensure quality?

Timeliness:

Measuring the timeliness means that you ensure that your process is effectively delivers or interact with other at the expected time. It’s one of measure that is simply to find. Is my process gives the good information at the right time? The objective is to check that my process is given the good document or the good information when it is required, not before and not to late.

So to do that, answer those questions:

Is my process given good information on the good review?

Is my process on time to make the review?

Is my process on the time planned?

Applicability:

Measuring it is very difficult and this KPI is almost forgotten.  Its objective is to measure that all the actors are following the process.  Not in details but for the main steps.  Make an audit is a part of the answer but not only.

So to do that, answer those questions:

Are the main reviews with the good actors have been performed?

Are the main deliverables available at the end ?

Are people using the process tool ?

Do my process actors can tell me when the process is not follow ?

Efficiency

Measure the efficiency of a process is also important. It gives you a good idea about the effort you make to do things right. Like applicability, it’s often forgotten. But it’s major for each process responsible or quality manager to have an overview of  his process efficiency. The objective is to check that the organization doesn’t cost to much for the quality reached.

So to do that, answer those questions:

Does my process have too much people for the result I will deliver?

Do I have the right resource to obtain the right result?

Do I make too many loops to obtain the right results ?

The answers you will give with your team are just the first step to do. It probably appears that for each process, you can’t give an answer. Don’t be afraid, it’s normal. These 4 characteristics must be taken into account but if you have no answer, it means that the measure is probably  not relevant. However you must think of these 4 parameters to start in the right way and ensure quality of your dashboard. Don’t create too much of indicators, they must help you to manage your process, not just some information that you can’t use. Quality is not just about indicators or measurement. We can’t manage people and way of working by indicators.

Share with us your point of view or your experience on measurement in project management and don’t forget to join us on http://ask.quasutra.com/

Tagged as: PMOT, Project management measurement, Quality indicators