Which project metrics do you track on your projects?
In what format do you present your metrics to make them more useful?
Thank you,
Maria Saving Changes...
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Thomas WalentaGlobal Project Economy ExpertHackenheim, Germany
Maria,
there are many, and the one you use depends on the context and should reflect on the priority of targets. Take the Olympics as an example, and schedule is the priority one.
If you track metrics that do not reflect the priorities, you may conclude to have failed the project while having achieved priority targets. Sounds masochistic.
For projects depending on a core team, I found the team morale index TMI accurate, predictive, and reflecting the human side of projects. Humans feel issues before they can be detected in data. Saving Changes...
There are two sets of metrics - one relates to delivery & control objectives while the other relates to outcome objectives. The former might be prescribed by a portfolio governance body such a PMO and be context-dependent, especially on the scope of the project, whereas the latter should be identified within the project's underlying business case.
Presentation of the metrics depends on organization standards and the tooling available. In a simple case, the metrics might be presented solely to representatives of the project's governance body (e.g. sponsor, client) through regular status reports whereas in a more elaborate situation, an EPM or PPM tool might have the metrics populated regularly and displayed to portfolio-level executives in a dashboard.
PMO Leader | Speaker & Mentor | Content Leader – PMOGA Latin America
Hub| Catholic University of UruguayMontevideo, Montevideo, Uruguay
Common metrics in project management:
These metrics will help you measure the progress, efficiency and success of your project.
Progress:
Task completion rate: What percentage of tasks have been completed?
Schedule variance: Is the project ahead of schedule, behind schedule, or on schedule?
Earned Value: How much work has been completed relative to the budget spent?
How you present metrics is key to making them understandable and actionable. Here are some suggestions:
Visualizations: Use graphs, charts and tables to represent data clearly and concisely.
Key KPIs: Focus on the key performance indicators (KPIs) that are most relevant to your project and your stakeholders.
Comparisons: Compare current data against established targets and historical data to identify trends.
Concise reports: Create concise, easy-to-understand reports, avoiding information overload.
Regular presentation: Present metrics on a regular basis (weekly, bi-weekly or monthly) to keep everyone informed.
Visualization tools: Use tools such as Excel, Power BI, Tableau or project management software to create interactive visualizations. Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
First of all my recommendation is making a closer look about your stakeholders, at all level, needs to have as information to take decisions. Just to put this inside the PMI´s standards and frameworks the business analyst is accountable for that. Second, today, my recommendation, after you have initial needs from stakeholders use generative AI to define the metrics in detail Just ChatGPT or mainly PMI´s Infinity. That will help as a proposal about metrics but after that, if you create it applies, you have to make your work about to prepare the data. Saving Changes...
Metrics should be tailored to the situation. To extend Thomas' metaphor of the Olympics, the same key indicators don't describe the same objectives. A very skinny diver makes a small hole in the water scoring high points, but they probably won't win gold in power-lifting.
Similar to Kiron, my two main categories are product focused, and the second relate to the efficiency delivering the product. The customer is paying for utility. The usefulness of the product is fundamentally the value we are selling. My first set of objectives is the value of the product to the customer. A better product will appeal to more customers and generate better cash inflow.
My second set of objectives and metrics is how efficiently we deliver that value (cash outflow). How much energy/money did we have to expend and how does that equate to financial performance? That's where metrics like EVM come in. Ultimately it's how much we're spending for how much we're getting back.
How I report on those metrics also depends. I use a lot of data analytics and most people don't understand the math at all, so I have to make it intuitive. I will often try several different visualizations and get feedback from people I trust to find the right one for a unique circumstance. If some number is really important, I have to make it stick out.
I will sometimes blindside a colleague with a graph or one page summary in their email on purpose, so they can give me feedback on whether it is clear without explanation. On several occasions I have found that it didn't come across as I meant and had to rethink the format.
Keith Saving Changes...
Thomas, Kiron, Fabian, Sergio, and Keith, thank you for your valuable insights.
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1 reply by Sergio Luis Conte
Aug 12, 2024 5:32 PM
Sergio Luis Conte
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You are welcome. Thank you very much for open this interesting post and give me the opportunity to participate and learn from all comments. Regards
Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
Aug 12, 2024 3:34 PM
Replying to Maria Hrabikova
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Thomas, Kiron, Fabian, Sergio, and Keith, thank you for your valuable insights.
You are welcome. Thank you very much for open this interesting post and give me the opportunity to participate and learn from all comments. Regards Saving Changes...
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