Defining Your Goals

In the book, Measure What Matters, chapter three was really insightful. The seven steps to the perfect measurement program really gave me perspective on how to prove results and use results to improve. The first step discusses how to define goals and objectives really showed how goals should be measurable as well as specific. A date, a budget and an intended audience should be included to have a good goal. Step two discusses how to define your environment, audiences, and roles. This just helps by going into detail about each of these and how they can be attained. Steps three and four are all about what will it cost and how to determine benchmarks which are both really crucial steps. Step five says to define your key performance indicators. Each objective might require a different type of measurement so it is important to find these key indicators in each goal/objective of your program. Step six discusses how to select the right measurement tool and vendors and collect data. This may be the most important of the steps because these three things are key to success. Step seven is like the end result. It explains how to turn data into action, and thus make recommendations. These seven steps are CRUCIAL to having a perfect measurement program. Which step do you find most important in the process?