smartKPIs.com Frequently Asked Questions

Welcome to the Frequently Asked Questions, or FAQs area. Here are listed the most common questions about Performance Management and KPIs, and the answers for them. If you have additional questions that are not present below, you can search through the materials available on this site, post a comment for a specific KPI or visit our blog here.

FAQ Categories

KPIs (5)	Performance Management (7)

FAQs in category KPIs

No.	Question	Answer
1	What is a KPI?
2	Why using KPIs?
3	How do I formulate a KPI?
4	Which KPIs should I monitor?
5	What are some best practices in creating a KPI dashboard?


Q1. What is a KPI? [top]
KPIs or Key Performance Indicators are the selected measures that provide visibility into the performance of a business and enable decision makers to take action in achievinvg the desired outcomes. Typically, KPIs are monitored and distributed in dashboards or scorecards to provide everyone in the organization with an understanding of the strategy implementation progress. KPI utilization enables learning and improvement on critical operations, capabilities and processes across business areas.

Q2. Why using KPIs? [top]
When an outcome is monitored and the trend is analysed by using a KPI, the results reflect if the right things are done right. Using KPIs triggers behavior changes. It enables intense focus and scrutiny and when used appropriately drives improvement.

Q3. How do I formulate a KPI? [top]
The formulation of the right KPIs should follow certain specific steps. The following questions provide a useful guide: • What? (brainstorm on the variables, which may provide means to measure change in the objectives or phenomena) • How much? (to define the magnitude of the change we want to achieve) • Who? (in order to clarify who belongs to the target group) • Where? (specific information on the intervention area) • When? (definition of the time frame).

Q4. Which KPIs should I monitor? [top]
KPIs vary from one organization to another. They should reflect the specific strategy and environment in which it operates. The following two questions should provide clues as to what you should be measuring: 1. What is the business objective to be monitored? 2. What are the valuable actions or behaviors I’m trying to encourage?

Q5. What are some best practices in creating a KPI dashboard? [top]
1. Select a limited number of relevant performance measures. 2. Document each measure thoroughly. 3. Use data visualization techniques to make the dashboard interesting. 4. Streamline the data gathering process. 5. Update and review data frequently. 6. Take action when require. 7. Learn and share insights. 8. Change the dashboard when required, to reflect the changes in the business environment. 9. Keep it on one page. 10. Ensure it is relevant and the value added by it makes the effort worthwhile.

Performance Management Books

Articles Bookstore Education and learning FAQs Forum KPIs 101 Templates smartKPIs.com recommends Useful links

KPI examples published/updated

To date: 7014
Today: 0

This month: 7
This week: 16

KPI training

Australia Measuring and learning with KPIs training

smartKPIs Performance
Management IQ test

The statement:

"% Graduation Rate"

is an example of


Mission Statement	Vision Statement
Goal	Objective
Target	SMART Objective
Critical Success Factor (CSF) / Value Driver	smartKPI / Key Result Indicator (KRI)
Metric / Performance Measure / Performance Indicator	Key Performance Indicator (KPI)
Initiative	Milestone