Business metrics are any measurement of organizational performance, such as revenue figures, website traffic, call center service levels, and results from different internal and external business activities. Business metrics are an important aspect of business intelligence because they provide the raw data that is used to formulate key performance indicators (KPIs). A KPI performs an assessment of the data provided by a business metric in order to improve decision making and organizational performance. That's not to say that a business metric is not useful to monitor, rather to optimize a metric's usefulness, it should be monitored with organizational objectives in mind. Business metrics are increasingly being tracked using KPI Dashboards or mobile BI dashboards.
As noted above, a business metric is not a KPI, although the two terms are often used interchangeably. While a business metric is data generated by your organization's performance, a KPI provides an assessment of that performance. Depending on the results of that assessment, individuals can use that knowledge to adjust behavior, capitalize on a new opportunity, or simply maintain the status-quo. Transforming a business metric, like current service level, into a KPI requires effort and a keen understanding of organizational objectives.
For example, a service level metric simply shows the current value or ratio; however, a service level KPI will show the current value compared to a predetermined objective. An agent monitoring that KPI should be able to tell immediately if they need to act on the metric and be directed on what action should be taken. As you can see in the image below, it is apparent what the state of each KPI is and what type of action should be taken.
Staying on top of the latest business metrics and the state of KPIs is central to any business intelligence strategy. As discussed above, formulating KPIs requires effort and an understanding of objectives. Once the KPIs are formed, the next step is to broadcast that message to improve efficiency and decision making processes throughout the enterprise. Therefore, the success of any business intelligence strategy depends on getting the message out there so people can monitor and contribute to organizational performance.
The most effective way to broadcast this message is by using a KPI dashboard. Organization's have two options when it comes to dashboards: a desktop KPI dashboard and a mobile BI dashboard. Each type of KPI dashboard has its strengths and weaknesses - but that is alright as they are also designed to complement each other. A desktop KPI dashboard is great for performing impressive analytical functions and is the traditional choice for enterprises. A mobile BI dashboard provides anywhere/anytime access to KPIs via smartphones (iPhone, BlackBerry, Android) and tablets (iPad, Playbook), and is currently in its early adopter phase. In either case, the decision to deploy a KPI dashboard is a wise one because it ensures that everyone in your organization can monitor changing business metrics and help to improve operational performance.
Klipfolio is an industry leader in KPI dashboards offering best-in-class desktop KPI dashboards and mobile BI dashboards.
