Appendix C: Sample Performance Measures

This, which is a collection from several sources, is included to stimulate your thinking about appropriate measures. However, remember that the measures you select should fit the process, products, and goals.

A. Accounting Performance Measurements

Percent of late reports                    Percent of errors in reports               
Errors in input to Information Services    Errors reported by outside auditors        
Percent of input errors detected           Number of complaints by users              
Number of hours per week correcting or     Number of complaints about                 
changing documents                         inefficiencies or excessive paper          
Amount of time spent                       Payroll processing time                    
appraising/correcting input errors                                                    
Percent of errors in payroll               Length of time to prepare and send a bill  
Length of time billed and not received     Number of final accounting jobs rerun      
Number of equipment sales miscoded         Amount of intra-Company accounting         
                                           bill-back activity                         
Time spent correcting erroneous inputs     Number of open items                       
Percent of deviations from cash plan       Percent discrepancy in MRB and line        
                                           scrap reports                              
Travel expense accounts processed in       Percent of advances outstanding            
three days                                                                            
Percent data entry errors in accounts      Credit turnaround time                     
payable and general ledger                                                            
Machine billing turnaround time            Percent of shipments requiring more than   
                                           one attempt to invoice                     
Number of untimely supplier invoices       Average number of days from receipt to     
processed                                  processing

B. Clerical Performance Measurements

Misfiles per week                          Paper waste                                
Errors per type page                       Administration errors (not using the       
                                           right procedure)                           
Number of times messages are not           Percent of action items not done on        
delivered                                  schedule                                   
Percent of inputs not received on          Percent of coding errors on time cards     
schedule                                                                              
Period reports not completed on schedule   Percent of phone calls answered within     
                                           two rings                                  
Percent of phone calls dialed correctly    Pages processed error-free per hour        
Clerical personnel/personnel support       Percent of pages retyped                   
Percent of impressions reprinted

C. Product/Development Engineering Performance Measurements

Percent of drafting errors per print       Percent of prints released on schedule     
Percent of errors in cost estimates        Number of times a print is changed         
Number of off-specifications approved      Simulation accuracy                        
Accuracy of advance materials list         How well the product meets customer        
                                           expectations                               
Field performance of product               Percent of error-free designs              
Percent of errors found during design      Percent of repeat problems corrected       
review                                                                                
Time to correct a problem                  Time required to make an engineering       
                                           change                                     
Percent of reports with errors in them     Data recording errors per month            
Percent of evaluations that meet           Percent of special quotations that are     
engineering objectives.                    successful                                 
Percent of test plans that are changed     Number of meetings held per quarter        
(change/test plan)                         where quality and defect prevention were   
                                           the main subject                           
Person-months per released print           Percent of total problems found by         
                                           diagnostics as released                    
Number of problems that were also          Cycle time to correct customer problem     
encountered in previous products                                                      
Number of errors in publications           Number of products that pass independent   
reported from the plan and field           evaluation error-free                      
Number of misused shipments of prototypes  Number of unsuccessful pre-analyses        
Number of off-specifications accepted      Percent of requests for engineering        
                                           action open for more than two weeks        
Number of days late to pre-analysis        Number of restarts of evaluations and      
                                           tests                                      
Effectiveness of regression tests          Number of days for the release cycle       
Percent of corrective action schedules     Percent of bills of material that are      
missed                                     released in error                          
Cost of input errors to the computer       Cost of engineering changes per month      
Spare parts cost after warranty            Customer cost per life of output           
                                           delivered