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Measuring performance isn't easy; too often, performance measurement initiatives falter because:

• those charged with planning and implementing the initiative had little or no prior experience with performance management and measurement (often, with the best of intentions, they repeat common, predictable, and sometimes fatal mistakes)
• management’s information needs were not identified in advance, and a well-thought-out conceptual framework and implementation plan was not developed (in one case, after a year’s work, the first performance report was submitted to senior management two months late; the designers were told "this is not the information we need to see")
• too much performance information materialized too soon (the organization’s capacity to assimilate, interpret, and react to it was overwhelmed)

To help assure the success of a performance management initiative:

• understand management’s information needs
• have a clear picture of what you are trying to achieve and how you will do it
• involve people who have actually established and managed performance management systems
• study what other organizations are doing - learn what works and what doesn’t
• manage expectations - make sure all key participants understand and agree on what will be accomplished and when
• use a limited pilot to gain experience (in other words, confine your mistakes to a small area that you can fix quickly), and demonstrate early results

Performance management initiatives can materially improve the way an organization plans and conducts its business; careful preparation and a disciplined approach can make it happen.

Next, we will briefly discuss some of the other things you need to know.

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Introduction To IT Performance Management And Measurement, Lesson 7 of 13

 

 

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