Martin Klubeck - Planning and Designing Effective Metrics

PLANNING AND DESIGNING EFFECTIVE METRICS

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Martin Klubeck

Planning and Designing Effective Metrics

Copyright 2015 by Martin Klubeck

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ISBN-13 (pbk): 978-1-4842-0827-4

ISBN-13 (electronic): 978-1-4842-0826-7

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Managing Director: Welmoed Spahr

Lead Editor: Jeff Olson

Technical Reviewer: Russ Cheesman

Editorial Board: Steve Anglin, Mark Beckner, Gary Cornell, Louise Corrigan, James DeWolf, Jonathan Gennick, Robert Hutchinson, Michelle Lowman, James Markham, Matthew Moodie, Jeff Olson, Jeffrey Pepper, Douglas Pundick, Ben Renow-Clarke, Gwenan Spearing, Matt Wade, Steve Weiss

Coordinating Editor: Annie Beck, Rita Fernando

Copy Editor: Kimberly Burton

Compositor: Mary Sudul

Indexer: SPi Global

Artists: Martin Klubeck and Alyssa Klubeck

Cover Designer: Anna Ishchenko

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For my children and my wife. My best measures of success are your levels of happiness.

Contents

About the Author

Martin Klubeck is a strategy and planning consultant at the University of Notre Dame and a recognized expert in the field of practical metrics. He holds a masters degree from Webster University in human resources development and a bachelors in computer science from Chapman University. Other books by Martin include; Why Organizations Struggle So Hard to Improve So Little, Metrics: How to Improve Key Business Results, and The Professional Development Toolbox. His passion for simplifying the complex has led to the development of a simple system for developing meaningful metrics. Klubeck is also the founder of the Consortium for the Establishment of Information Technology Performance Standards, a nonprofit organization focused on providing much-needed standards for measures. You can find more information about Martin and his efforts in simplifying the complex at his website, MKKnowledgeBuilders.com.

About the Technical Reviewer

Russ Cheesman is a senior information technology professional and consultant with experiences in all phases of the System Development Life Cycle. Much of his career had been devoted to enabling IT solutions for business problems and/or opportunities. He has served as an IT manager and practitioner in many industry sectors, including banking/financial, manufacturing, construction, retail, pharmaceutical, telecommunications, and health care. Mr. Cheesman, in recent years, has been practicing business performance measurement and management within several IT and health care organizations through the use of business strategy, balanced scorecards, metrics, key performance indicators, and business analytical systems.

Mr. Cheesman was happy to serve as the senior technical reviewer for this book and related concepts on metrics, and looks forward to its release and subsequent value to all those individuals, groups, and organizations that desire improvement, continuous maturation, and peak performance.

Acknowledgments

The purpose of an acknowledgment, as I understand it, is to let those people who helped make this achievement possible know that I didnt forget their contributions. This chore makes this easily the most stressful part of writing a book.

I dont want to forget any of my friends or colleagues who helped me by reviewing, critiquing, or suggesting edits to the work as it was in progress, especially: Don Padgett, Danita Leese, Leah Lang, Keith (Mac) McIntosh, Marin Stanek, and my brother Irving. Thanks for the short-notice reads. Thanks for the kind words. And thanks for being there.

Of course, Russ Cheesman has to be thanked for his work as my technical reviewer. Although Russ and I disagreed as often as we agreed about metrics and their use, when asked for a recommendation, I immediately thought of Russ for the job. His honest and passionate position, his large knowledge base, and his expertise made him an easy choice. Thanks, Russ, for your hard work, your many suggestions, and your honest appraisals.

I want to give a special thanks to Michael Langthorne. Not only were you my most dependable reviewer, but your early and consistent encouragement to take this journey, on my own, was instrumental to me starting and finishing this work. I appreciate your help, guidance, and gentle but steady shoves very much. Thanks. I truly could not have done this without you.

I also want to thank Jeff Olson, Kimberly Burton, and Annie Beck. Although you made up the Apress editorial team, and were just doing your jobs, I cant say I saw you that way. I greatly appreciate your help. You were honest, consistent, and fair. You were focused on producing the best product possible for Apress while showing sincere concern for my position as an author. Someday, if the chance ever arrives, Im buying the first round.

Last, but as the saying goes, not least, I want to thank my family. Especially my wife, Kristine. This time around, you successfully feigned interest in my progress, if not in the work itself. I appreciate the effort and I love you dearly. Alyssa, thanks for your help with the fairy tales and allowing me to use your art work for the book. I look forward to seeing your name on more jacket covers. I love you.