KPI

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are measurable values set to assess the success of a project or objective.

Why agile organizations love KPIs

KPIs are valuable tools for :

• Setting goals ;
• Monitor progress towards these objectives;
• Accelerate decision-making thanks to these observations.

They enable organizations to test and learn quickly from their actions.

Whether your organization is agile, Opal, holacratic, sociocratic or traditional, KPIs can be used in any context, as long as you have an objective in mind. They can be used :

• punctually, to measure the success of a specific short-term objective;
• to support the company's overall objectives.

Advanced and delayed KPIs

There are two types of KPIs:

• Laggingindicators measure the past results of an action. For example, monthly sales are a lagging indicator, as they reflect actions taken in the past.
• Leadingindicators focus on the future. They indicate what might happen. For example, customer satisfaction or monthly active users may be better indicators of future profits than current sales.

Companies tend to favor lag indicators such as revenues or profits. Yet it is essential to include leading indicators to anticipate and positively influence future performance.

Choosing the right KPIs

Setting objectives and metrics to analyze their success is accessible to everyone, but choosing the right KPIs to drive rapid organizational growth is more complex.

• A good KPI encourages the achievement of a strategic objective through quantitative indicators that show what remains to be done.
• A poorly-filled KPI is a signal to rethink strategy.
• A KPI achieved too easily is useless if it doesn't push the team or organization to surpass itself.

Difference between KPI and OKR

OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) and KPIs don't serve the same purpose.

• OKRs aim to set inspiring and ambitious goals for a group or organization.
• KPIs, on the other hand, focus solely on measurable performance. Although these metrics must be linked to an objective, the methodological framework of KPIs does not guarantee this connection, unlike OKRs, which place it at the heart of their approach.