KPI System – Comprehensive Analysis Questions

To accomplish this objective, business managers must (1) build (‘engineer’) an optimal system of corporate KPI and (2) maximize its performance by optimizing values of these KPI.

Engineering an optimal KPI system means making sure that it (1) is complete and no KPI are missing; (2) does not have excessive KPI and (3) is well-structured and easy-to-use.

It means that your company must have – at all times – a detailed and easy-to-use description – visual and textual - of its KPI system. A description that must be comprehensive, logical, well-structured, easy-to-use and, of course, matching the reality.

An optimal KPI system for you company must meet a number of other requirements. First, KPI values generated by your information system, must be relevant, accurate and up-to-date. And easily accessible, of course. Second, benchmark values must be adequate and relevant and planned values – exhibit the exactly right degree of ‘stretch’ (realistic, but challenging). Third, your methodology for calculating your KPI values (especially qualitative) must be adequate and scientific.

And, finally, all of your strategic and operational decisions must be stated and evaluated in terms of the corresponding KPI. In other words, their results must be measurable. Always.

Therefore, to perform a comprehensive analysis of your KPI system, you must answer the following questions (using the corresponding AES):

1. How comprehensive is the description of your KPI system?
2. How logical is the description of your KPI system?
3. How well-structured is the description of your KPI system?
4. How comprehensive is the description of your KPI system?
5. How well does the description of your KPI system match the reality?
6. How comprehensive is your KPI list?
7. How many KPI are missing?
8. How many KPI are excessive?
9. How competent is your corporate KPI system manager?
10. How accurate are the KPI values?
11. How adequate is the methodology for KPI valuation & management?
12. How efficient is the business process for KPI system management?
13. How realistic are the planned KPI values?
14. How optimal are KPI benchmarks?
15. How optimal is the 'stretch' in planned KPI values?
16. How often are KPI used for strategic decision-making?
17. How often are KPI used for operational decision-making?

You can download the Aggregate Efficiency Scorecard for your KPI System (in MS Excel format) here: