When a waiter up to you in a restaurant and asks "Is everything all right for you?", do you actually say what you honestly think about the food, or do you, perhaps, say something bland, like "Everything’s fine, thank you"? In this context, it is important to incentivising the simplistic. For instance, with reference to the consultancy example quoted earlier, it is unhelpful to pay partners for sales secured (easy to measure) with no reference to the quality of work ultimately delivered (subject to time lags and possibly unknowable). Charting Performance What most organisations cannot immediately identify from performance reports is daily variation, weekly cyclicality and annual seasonality. Instead, data is typically presented as aggregated figures in tabular format. Nor do organisations typically have visibility of significant trends, not least because trends are best highlighted in time-series charts of performance, rather than tabular listings of performance data (see Figure 3 below). For instance, Figure 2 below presents some healthcare data in SPC format, illustrating massive seasonal variation. Figure 2. Massive Seasonal Variation Presented in SPC Format Experience shows that most operational performance indicators deliver little if any value in terms of actionable insights unless they are charted and viewed in time-series format. Fortunately, software for presenting operational data in time-series SPC format is now inexpensive and readily available. Taking a global perspective, any nation seeking to improve the performance of its public services would be well advised to insist that all key operational performance indicators are tracked and presented in SPC, time-series format. The same advice applies to commercial firms too. Indeed, once operational performance is tracked in time-series, SPC format, new opportunities can be gleaned from correlations and comparisons. The photograph at Figure 3, illustrates an initial exploration of insights across nine sites for a major supermarket. Figure 3. Surfacing Actionable Insights from Correlations and Comparisons Differentiating Timespans of Attention and Value
When a waiter up to you in a restaurant and asks "Is everything all right for you?", do you actually say what you honestly think about the food, or do you, perhaps, say something bland, like "Everything’s fine, thank you"? In this context, it is important to incentivising the simplistic. For instance, with reference to the consultancy example quoted earlier, it is unhelpful to pay partners for sales secured (easy to measure) with no reference to the quality of work ultimately delivered (subject to time lags and possibly unknowable). Charting Performance What most organisations cannot immediately identify from performance reports is daily variation, weekly cyclicality and annual seasonality. Instead, data is typically presented as aggregated figures in tabular format. Nor do organisations typically have visibility of significant trends, not least because trends are best highlighted in time-series charts of performance, rather than tabular listings of performance data (see Figure 3 below). For instance, Figure 2 below presents some healthcare data in SPC format, illustrating massive seasonal variation. Figure 2. Massive Seasonal Variation Presented in SPC Format Experience shows that most operational performance indicators deliver little if any value in terms of actionable insights unless they are charted and viewed in time-series format. Fortunately, software for presenting operational data in time-series SPC format is now inexpensive and readily available. Taking a global perspective, any nation seeking to improve the performance of its public services would be well advised to insist that all key operational performance indicators are tracked and presented in SPC, time-series format. The same advice applies to commercial firms too. Indeed, once operational performance is tracked in time-series, SPC format, new opportunities can be gleaned from correlations and comparisons. The photograph at Figure 3, illustrates an initial exploration of insights across nine sites for a major supermarket. Figure 3. Surfacing Actionable Insights from Correlations and Comparisons Differentiating Timespans of Attention and Value
11-03-12-PMA-Symposium-Target-Setting-Paper.docx