KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) are measures used to evaluate the success of a company or organization. Depending on your needs, you can define the KPIs you want to evaluate specific points within your company. Key Performance Indicators can therefore be used on a large as well as a small scale.
Why use KPIs for your projects?
KPIs allow you to identify areas that need to be improved. The information gathered through the KPIs will be used to make decisions.
At the project portfolio level, they are used to have a global vision. They will help you identify areas that need additional attention in your different projects. The objective of KPIs is to provide you with an overview of the efficiency and achievement of objectives for each project in your portfolio.
KPIs are therefore essential for any organization that seeks to maximize the return on its investments in terms of time, money and resources.
They provide insight into where improvements can be made and which strategies are most effective.
Depending on your project areas, certain KPIs will be more relevant. For example, to evaluate a project focused on digital presence, the most effective KPIs will be: website visits, social media engagement...
By providing visibility on the performance of all the actions implemented, the key performance indicators allow :
monitor progress
make informed decisions
And this, on the areas in which they must concentrate their efforts.
The use of KPIs is therefore essential to maximize the resources and performance of the projects a company wishes to develop in the market. In the long run, these analyses and measurements will give you a competitive advantage.
What makes a good KPI for project management?
All the effectiveness of a KPI is obtained by defining its usefulness and objectives as precisely as possible. Echoing the previous section, the type of project you are running will determine in advance the usefulness of a KPI.
But more generally, KPIs should be units of measurement that will help your projects to be :
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Realistic
Temporarily limited
This methodology is the SMART methodology.
When you choose the key performance indicators for each project, they must meet specific needs.
However, sometimes it can be difficult to determine them before the implementation of the project. Here are some criteria, related to the SMART method, that will help with an initial choice.
Your KPIs must :
have a bond to a defined objective
measure a specific aspect throughout the project
have a time limit
be simple for the collaborators, which will avoid difficulties linked to misunderstanding
be parameterized in a way that helps in decision making
be customized to your project
Now that we have defined the principles, we will look at three types of KPIs, which are generally the most used, on any type of project portfolio.
Efficiency KPIs
The big picture of your project is measurable through its effectiveness. This is the first aspect to analyze in the realization of projects, because this observation will allow you to make decisions that affect more specific parts of your project.
These KPIs allow you to monitor the implementation of projects, their progress and the difficulties encountered. To make this observation, you can use these different KPIs:
KPIs for completed tasks
Progress rate KPI
Productivity measurement KPI
Measuring the quality of the work planned and the quality produced will allow you to re-evaluate your project and its execution in order to correct existing defects.
This first type of key performance indicators will then allow you to focus on controlling more specific issues within your project, such as costs.
Cost KPIs
During the implementation of your projects, financial strategies and assumptions were discussed. To help you control your estimates and take stock of reality, cost KPIs are key. With them, you will be able to measure the actual costs and the initially planned costs.
Here are some clues you can use:
external expenses (external purchases)
hours spent on projects
investments
Following the efficiency and cost indicators, you can, in the third step, make an assessment of the two areas analyzed to look at the timeframes related to the project.
Les KPI de délais
This indicator measures whether a task takes longer to complete than originally planned.
Task duration KPI
KPI of time spent on the project
Delay rate KPI
Duration deviation KPI
Delay Deviation KPI
Key performance indicators focused on deadlines allow you to control any delays that may occur.
The implementation of these different KPIs allows you to control the evolution of your project portfolio. By measuring these different aspects during the execution of your projects, you will be able to improve the overall execution. This will help you to quickly identify difficulties and take the right decisions.
Of course, this list is not exhaustive, there are many other types of KPIs and you can also create your own KPIs adapted to your needs. The key to their success lies in the relevance of their use.
Manage your project KPIs with Strategeex
At Strategeex, we have a platform, STEER, that allows you to structure your project portfolio to successfully manage your different projects according to their typologies.
To ensure the success of your projects, we have integrated two steering phases into STEER:
The use of a GANTT chart
The objective is to monitor the progress of each phase of your projects. You will be able to visualize the status of each phase and control your prioritization follow-up from the beginning to the end of the project.
Tracking success with KPIs
In combination with GANTT tracking, a KPI module is available from STEER. It will allow you to create your indicators, make projections and analyze current results, and compare your KPIs.
Thanks to tools such as the global scoreboard and the dashboard, you will be able to compare your KPIs and set up performance indicators in line with your projects and their specific stages.
STEER is the right platform for you if you want to centralize all your management tasks.
If you want more information, you can now read our blog post on the subject or make an appointment with our experts.
Strategeexement,