What Comprises a Project Run KPI?

Before delving into project run KPI, it is important to first define what KPI is. It stands for key performance indicators. This is a measurement tool used to identify key points in any given business. This is also used as a tabular form to find out if the targets are being met or if there are areas for improvement for every metric measured. Without a given set of standard key performance indicator sheet, a company will not have a clear understanding of what it wants to achieve, let alone actually achieve it.A key performance indicator log sheet or tabular form is used not only to measure the project run KPI as a whole unit, but also in terms of specific areas of opportunity for each employee. It is an accepted logic that how a single employee performs in any department has something to do with how a project will work out. For example, people in human resources who do not meet their deadline in producing manpower for operations will significantly impact business. Although in the eyes of many, human resources department employees may seem less visible on the production floor, they are actually the ones who measure the skill set of every employee who will go live on the production area.The first thing to keep in mind when it comes to project run KPI is target. What is the desired result? In many projects, quality of the output is the top metric measured. When the quality is identified, every output from a certain process is measured against a standard reference. In industries where the output is not tangible, the quality measured is how the customer service experience is executed. This applies mostly in the customer service industry through business process outsourcing and fast food chains. For tangible goods, the physical characteristics and durability of the product are tested.The next KPI that should never be forgotten is customer satisfaction. People have the misconception that customer satisfaction is only applicable to end users or consumers. This is actually incorrect. All people who have involvement in a process are customers. Every stakeholder is customer. In the example given above, the customer is the operations department. The output is the yield percentage and efficiency of employees passed on by the human resources department. If the employees hired do not have the skill set required to do the project, then the human resources did not do their job and operations department is not at all satisfied.It is essential that people who develop key performance indicators should take into consideration all inputs and processes involved that will come up with the desired result or output. This way, every step is measurable and manageable. Targets should be set clearly and expectations should be met. People should not miss opportunities to improve on defects. These things should also be quantifiable by numbers. Any manager working on a project should know that what cannot be measured cannot be managed. Therefore, a project run KPI should be data driven.