The problem with most KPI sets
Performance frameworks tend to grow rather than get designed. A measure is added for a regulator, another for a board question, another because a service manager wanted visibility — and nothing is ever retired.
The result is a report that is complete but not useful. Everything is measured, and nothing is decided.
The decision test
For every measure, ask a single question: if this number moved materially, who would act, and what would they do differently? A measure that cannot answer that question is context, not a KPI. It belongs in an appendix.
Four layers of a working framework
Measures behave differently depending on the question they answer. Separating them prevents a board pack that mixes strategy with operational noise:
- Outcome — did the intended result occur?
- Performance — is delivery meeting the agreed standard?
- Driver — what is causing performance to move?
- Assurance — is the process being followed and the data reliable?
Typical measure mix before and after review
- Before — total reported84 measures
- After — retained26 measures
- Moved to appendix41 measures
- Retired entirely17 measures
Illustrative pattern from performance framework reviews
Definition before dashboard
Disagreement in performance meetings is usually a definition problem, not a data problem. Two teams reporting a different figure for the same measure is a sign the measure was never defined.
Every measure needs a written definition, an owner, a reporting frequency, a tolerance and a stated purpose before it is built into a dashboard.
Questions to test your framework
- Can each measure be traced to a decision someone actually makes?
- Does every measure have a named owner rather than a service area?
- Is the reporting frequency matched to how quickly the measure can move?
- Do you know which measures are leading indicators and which are lagging?
- When did you last retire a measure?
- Is a tolerance defined, so exception reporting is possible?
Any figures shown are illustrative and used to demonstrate an analytical approach. They do not describe a real Coreridge Solutions client.