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Pro-Active Metrics Management

Choosing a Metrics Management Solution

A business decision is only as good as the metrics


that inform it. The quality of these metrics depends
on three factors: accuracy, timeliness and
presentation.
Understanding the importance of metrics,
businesses are investing in defining and monitoring
key performance indicators (KPIs). These indicators
must not only accurately reflect the state of the
business and current trends, but they must also be
presented to users in a manner that induces
effective, pro-active decision making.
This paper reviews the capabilities of metrics
management software and outlines the most
important features and capabilities to look for in a
solution.
Pro-Active Metrics Management 2

Metrics Collection & Delivery


One of the key goals of businesses today is the collection and delivery
In today’s business of the metrics decision makers need to make timely, informed and
reality, metrics must well-reasoned choices. Even in businesses where the key performance
be gathered from
indicators (KPI) have been defined and the data that drives them is
multiple, disparate
systems and sources
available, the collection and delivery of the metrics can fail. Metrics that
across the are timely, accurate, in context and easy to understand are not
organization. immediately available to those who need them most: boards,
executives, managers and others at all levels of the organization.
No one is to blame. Until recently the tools needed for effective
delivery of these metrics were simply not available. Reporting provides
detailed profiles of the state of affairs as they were at a specific
moment in the past. Business intelligence (BI) systems provide
comprehensive data and deliver metrics; but these systems are
prohibitively expensive and the metrics they provide are limited to
those derived from the data inside the BI system. In today’s business
reality, metrics must be gathered from multiple, disparate systems and
sources across the organization.

The Metrics Management Investment


Since the last generation of dashboards appeared on the market at the
end of the 1990s, ‘dashboard solutions’ have often been promoted as
the answer to decision-makers’ need to know. Unfortunately, however,
dashboards alone are not a solution. They are an essential part of the
solution; they are effective for delivering metrics and for presenting
them and making them accessible. But dashboards are only as good as
the metrics they present; their value as decision-making tools is a
function of both how well they present metrics and of the quality of
the data behind these metrics.
What is needed, then, to transform decision-making from educated
guesswork based on partial information and hunches to a truly rational
and informed process based on timely, accurate metrics is not simply
dashboards. This transformation requires a pro-active metrics
management tool—one that can gather data from across multiple
Pro-Active Metrics Management 3

systems and deliver metrics to dashboards in context and with as much


or as little detail as decision-makers require.
PureShare metrics
management Selecting a Solution
solutions are
making a difference
Due to the emergence of metrics management software and to the
in large and mid- diversity of dashboard-type products on the market, the search for a
size organizations solution can be confusing. The following is a set of high-level criteria
engaged in a wide for evaluating metrics management solutions.
range of activities.
These include:
biotechnology, Figure 1: Sample PureShare metrics management dashboard
entertainment,
finance, food and
beverage,
government, health
care, insurance,
manufacturing,
retail and
telecommunications.

Metrics management dashboards should provide users with the


information they need to make informed, reasoned decisions.

Pro-Active Metrics Management


Look for the ability to trigger effective preventative and corrective
action.

The crucial differentiator for metrics management solutions is the level


of pro-active metrics management they support.
Pro-Active Metrics Management 4

Pro-active metrics management is a function of a solution’s ability both


to trigger appropriate actions in systems with which it interfaces, and to
facilitate timely decisions by the persons responsible for key results
areas (KRA) in the organization.
It is important to understand here that more than one capability
defines a product’s level of support for pro-active metrics
management. Two important capabilities are:
ƒ Thresholds, alerts and notifications. A pro-active solution uses
thresholds and alerts set from absolute values or trends (or a
combination of these) to keep users informed.
ƒ Triggers and corrective/preventative action. A pro-active
solution is able to initiate actions when thresholds are
compromised. For example, it can send an e-mail alert, or
launch a script

Technology Agnostic
Look for no restrictions on metrics data sources.

Very few organizations use a single technology to meet all their data
and performance needs.

Figure 2: Data-agnostic metrics dashboard solution

PureShare ActiveMetrics can retrieve data from virtually any source.


Pro-Active Metrics Management 5

Typically, different technologies have been implemented because each


is the best available for a specific area of the business: financial
reporting, trouble-ticket management, etc.
A pro-active metrics management solution must be able to query
seamlessly a wide array of different databases (and even spreadsheets)
for key indicators and, if required, use indicators derived from different
sources in the same dashboard.

Easy Availability
Look for web-based, easily customizable user interface (UI) design
with multi-language support.

Organizations today are rarely limited to a single geographic location,


and often work around the clock. A metrics management solution’s
dashboards must be available at all times and anywhere in the world,
and because key metrics must be made available to many people, the
solution should not require specialized viewing tools.
Users should need nothing more than a web browser to view metrics
dashboards over the Internet or an intranet.

Security
Look for configurable, secure user and data source access.

Since metrics tell critical information about the business, they usually
convey sensitive information. Dashboards and the information they
contain should therefore be easily protected without sacrificing their
availability.
Further, the metrics management solution should be able to access data
that is protected behind various security barriers and firewalls without
jeopardizing the integrity of these security measures.

Usability
Look for ease of use for both end users and dashboard developers.

As with anything else, a metrics management solution is of little value


if it is not widely adopted by users. Users can be classed into two areas:
Pro-Active Metrics Management 6

end users and dashboard designers. Any solution must be easily usable
by both.
A solution should Assuming that the metrics dashboards are easily accessible to those
both offer who need them anywhere and at anytime, the design of the dashboards
immediate benefits
themselves and the metrics they present should be evaluated:
and support
increasing ƒ Are the dashboards clear and easy to understand so that users
sophistication and
grasp instantly what they are being shown and what it means for
new project roll-
outs over time. their areas of responsibility?
Ask if the vendor ƒ Can thresholds, trends and warnings be easily and clearly
has dashboard identified by the end user?
templates.
ƒ Can legends to explain data be easily integrated into the
dashboards?
ƒ Are relationships between metrics easily established by the end
users?
ƒ Do the dashboards allow drill-down views for more detailed
information, and other view changes requested by users?
ƒ Does the solution offer clean and consistent display of metrics
without visual “noise”?
Usability for dashboard designers may be less noticeable day-to-day,
but it is critical, for it is the designers who will be responsible for the
rapid development and deployment of dashboards to monitor KPIs,
and hence for critical business information.
When evaluating solutions consider
ƒ What skill sets do the dashboard designers require?
ƒ Is training necessary, and if so, how much is required? A rule of
thumb is that that no more than a few days’ training should be
needed for staff to become effective dashboard designers.
ƒ Do the solution’s dashboard design interfaces permit
development of simple dashboards to start, with increasing
complexity added as designers increase their expertise and
Pro-Active Metrics Management 7

decision-makers develop their use of metrics to run the


business?
PureShare ƒ Does the solution allow users and designers to select dashboard
Accelerators are
designed for rapid
look and feel, including branding the dashboards with your
deployment in organization’s logo and colors?
specific areas of the
business. In most
Deployment
environments they
can get metrics Look for templates that facilitate rapid deployment without restricting
collected and start future development.
delivering them to
Deployment brings together a host of other criteria that should be
dashboards in a
matter of days. examined, and is often the litmus test of these: technology
requirements, availability, security and usability.

PureShare Accelerators offer rapid deployment of dashboards for


specific purposes.

Generally, the more effective the dashboards that can be designed, and
the more rapidly that the metrics management solution can be
deployed, the better the solution because its effect is immediate.
Pro-Active Metrics Management 8

Often, a pro-active metrics management solution is brought into a new


area of the business to facilitate improved decision making right from
the start, or into an area that is struggling in order to effect profound
changes. In either case, getting the solution up and running and the
metrics dashboards to decision makers quickly is of primary
importance.
However, rapid deployment in itself is not sufficient reason to select a
solution. Beware of instant solutions that limit the ability to grow and
improve how metrics are monitored and managed in the future.

Power & Flexibility


Look for the ability to deliver the metrics management capabilities that
meet the needs of your business environment.

The power and flexibility of a metrics management solution


encompasses a wide range of capabilities. Questions to ask when
evaluating solutions include:
ƒ Can the dashboard pull data from diverse databases and
technologies? If the proposed solution cannot do this, if it is
limited to one or two proprietary database technologies, go no
further.
ƒ Can dashboard designers define the polling periods for queries,
and can these be dynamically updated if required?
ƒ Can metrics be based on aggregate queries; that is, can the
metrics management solution pull together different types of
data from different sources and make sense of it? For example,
can it use one type of data for targets, another for progress, and
yet another to show trends?
ƒ Can the dashboards maintain histories based on user defined
parameters?
ƒ Does the solution offer different dashboard views for different
users?
Pro-Active Metrics Management 9

ƒ Can metrics shown on dashboards be filtered, and can this


filtering be configured by the dashboard designer?
ƒ Do the dashboards manage thresholds, and what sort of actions
can these thresholds trigger: e-mails, scripts, queries, etc.?
Context includes
the date and time ƒ Are metrics presented in context? Does the solution present
the metric was numbers, or does it present meaningful information: quantities
updated. In many or percentages measured against targets, comparison of
cases, a metric has
value only if the quantities for different periods, trends, etc.?
user knows when
the data was Figure 4: How parameters can be used to simply dashboard design and
retrieved. implementation, and improve usability.

Parameters can be used to filter data so that users see only the
information they need to see. In the example above, one data is filtered
by region. All users see the same dashboard, but users in Region East
see data for their region, while users in Region West see information for
their region.

Whatever the case, the dashboard designer should spend time


understanding not only the data behind the indicator, but also the data
that creates the context for the indicator (such as revenue targets, time
Pro-Active Metrics Management 10

period coverage, maximum capacities, etc.). This rule should guide the
dashboard designer through every step of design, from data gathering
to detailed composition of displays.

The Future
Look for the capability to initiate and sustain positive transformations
of the business.

It is wise to find out if the capabilities offered by a solution will restrict


what can be done in the future. Does the solution lend itself easily to
additions and improvements, both in the way data is collected for
metrics and to the dashboards that users see?
Deployment of a truly pro-active metrics management solution will
almost immediately provide insights into how business decisions are
made, and will reveal opportunities for improving the decision-making
process, for managing the metrics used in this process—and ultimately
for transforming the business.

Figure 5: Simple alert triggered by a threshold

Thresholds can be used with alerts to transform dashboards from


passive monitoring devices into active vehicles inducing corrective and,
especially, preventive decisions and actions.
Pro-Active Metrics Management 11

Conclusion
Managers and technical experts looking for a metrics management
solution face a growing number of options.
When evaluating solutions for metrics management, prospective buyers
should arm themselves with knowledge about what these types of
solutions can and cannot do, and with a list of evaluation criteria. And,
finally, before buying they should ask two questions that encompass
the others:
ƒ Will this solution simply record what happened in the past, or
does it reveal what is going on now and, based on current
trends, what is likely to happen in the future?
ƒ Is the solution truly pro-active? Does it include displays,
thresholds and triggers not just to monitor what is going on, but
also and critically to automatically initiate appropriate actions,
and to facilitate reasoned, informed decisions?

About PureShare
PureShare is a metrics management software vendor that develops
proactive, web-based corporate performance monitoring and enterprise
reporting applications.
PureShare’s proactive metrics management applications empower
business users to see key performance indicators (KPI) in real-time and
allow business managers to accurately gauge performance. With
PureShare, organizations can harness corporate data into powerful
visual metrics that:
ƒ Automate the reporting and monitoring of key performance
indicators (KPIs), as well as data transformations.
ƒ Enable discovery of new insights into the business, and to
react quickly to those – rather than making after-the-fact
corrections.
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ƒ Trigger positive change by focusing on factors that directly


impact corporate performance.
PureShare products include:
ƒ PureShare ActiveMetrics™, a web-based corporate
performance management application that proactively monitors
and measures KPIs within the context that each manager,
executive or operator requires, providing real-time executive
views of performance drawn from any data source.
ƒ PureShare ReportRouter™ is a web-based reporting
framework that simplifies access to reports from across
reporting platforms.
PureShare’s customers include Global 1000, Fortune 500, and mid-size
organizations in ITSM, support, financial, insurance, retail and other
industry sectors.

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