Performance-driven IT: How Metrics can transform IT services and operations by Charles Araujo

Author:Charles Araujo
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: TSO (The Stationery Office)

5.8 Managing the ecosystem

Understanding the ecosystem is only the beginning. To be useful, you must apply this concept to help move the organization forward. Every organization will require the use of all types of metrics in the ecosystem. But each type of metric must be handled differently and discretely. If you allow them to get muddled, they will lose their effectiveness.

Remembering that the only purpose of capturing a metric is to drive behavioural change to help the organization achieve its goals, we must understand the sort of behaviour that each type of metric will drive. Operational metrics will drive in-the-moment actions and reactions. They will be used to dynamically reprioritize activities, escalate situations and monitor transactional performance. Project metrics will be used to drive development activities, ensuring that teams are effectively balancing demand between the operational run-state and new developments. Adoption metrics will drive the specific changes in behaviour that are required to ensure that new practices are embraced within the organization. Performance metrics will drive long-term behavioural changes that are required to improve overall operational performance.

Each of these types of behaviour is different and, therefore, the metrics that are used to drive them must be managed discretely. This is complicated by the fact that each type of metric has a different shelf life. While the data derived from operational metrics is transient, the operational metrics themselves typically last a very long time, as the basic information needed to manage the day-to-day operations of the organization remains fairly static over a long period. The shelf life of project metrics will be tied specifically to the life of each given project. Adoption metrics will be retired as soon as adoption is achieved and replaced with new metrics based on the new changes being introduced. Performance metrics will be tied to the organization’s strategic goals, with the entire model refreshed continually to ensure that it is measuring the IT organization’s ability to perform against its intended objectives.

You therefore need to establish an explicit management process to monitor and control your metrics ecosystem. While there is no one way to accomplish this, you should put in place specific guidelines on when and how each type of metric is to be used, and the method by which that metric will be monitored and refreshed. Your management approach must not attempt to treat each metric equally. It must specifically account for the different purposes and limitations of each type of metric and provide guidance on its use, as well as dictate an appropriate refresh process for each one.

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