Measuring the Success of Strategic Initiatives

Measuring Information Technology’s Success

•Key performance indicator – measures that are tied to business drivers

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•Metrics are detailed measures that feed KPIs

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•Performance metrics fall into the nebulous area of business intelligence that is neither technology, nor business centered, but requires input from both IT and business professionals

•Efficiency IT metric – measures the performance of the IT system itself including throughput, speed, and availability

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•Effectiveness IT metric – measures the impact IT has on business processes and activities including customer satisfaction, conversion rates, and sell-through increases

  

•Regardless of what is measured, how it is measured, and whether it is for the sake of efficiency or effectiveness, there must be benchmarks – baseline values the system seeks to attain

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•Benchmarking – a process of continuously measuring system results, comparing those results to optimal system performance (benchmark values), and identifying steps and procedures to improve system performance