The collection and reporting of metrics can determine the past and current health for any given project or program and can provide key insights of the program between success and failure. Metrics, if compiled and tracked correctly, do not lie and this unbiased information can be used to refute baseless assertions of perceived performance and show actual performance based on facts giving the ability to make reliable informed decisions. The understanding of the project’s actual performance can provide an avenue for action based change, if the metrics show a negative trend. On the other side of the coin if the trends are always great then the metric needs to be reevaluated to ensure it is still worth measuring or if it is being measured correctly. Another great outcome of performance metrics are the passive communication of goal progression or milestone attainment. Milestones and goals, which are derived from the business case and developed during the initiation phase and additionally defined in the planning phase of the project, gives the opportunity to ascertain the health of a project and are quick references to the project’s success or struggle.

Metrics that are collected and reported should be related directly to the objective of the project or program. Just because data is collected for a particular action does not mean it needs to be compile and reported. A good basic rule is to avoid collecting every random data point, which can then be sliced and diced any arbitrary way, because someone at one time wanted the data which is now lo-longer important but is just interesting. In the world of data collection there are bad numbers and there are good numbers that can be used to save the day.

The fewer and simpler the metrics the easier; a metric should be comparative, understandable, a ratio or rate, and behavior changing.

• Comparative – Comparing metrics across periods of time, groups of users or product, or similar competitors provides an understanding of which way things are moving.
• Understandable – If an outsider cannot make heads or tails of the numbers being tracked then what’s being tracked may be too complex. Also, if the numbers that are focused on cannot be easily remembered it becomes difficult to effectively discuss them and in turn makes it harder to initiate a cultural change.
• A Rate or Ratio – Rates and ratios as they are, are comparative. Rates and ratios are developed over time and gives a realistic health check and are easier to act upon.
• Behavior Changing – Reading the metric what will you do different or how will you change to ensure the project/program to gets on track to achieve the desired end product?

Limit the amount of metrics to only the essentials that are most important to the project or program, otherwise known as key performance indicators or KPI’s. For example, in a manufacturing environment the KPI’s are usually schedule, cost, and quality; these three simple metrics/reports can provide a wealth of information pertaining to the health and status of the project. At a glance, the project manager will know if the project is ahead of schedule, on schedule, or late; and if late the project manager can then initiate an audit of the processes to determine why. These KPI’s can also be incorporated into a dashboard which could be just as easy as a stop light indication of red, yellow, and green.

Leading and lagging metrics can both be useful but both provide a different purpose. Lagging metrics report information from the past but it is important to know that the information is based on something that has already happened. Leading metrics try to predict the future by providing an indication of what will likely happen. This potential prediction will allow you to quickly change outcomes going forward; a leading indicator can be based upon a risk, which through observation or recognition of the impending issue can be mitigated and changed to minimize the impact.

Metrics developed through thorough analytics measure progress towards goals and milestones and should be used to speed up the decision making process to ensure the project/program is and can be healthy and successful.