A Systems Management Approach for Improvement of Organizational Performance Measurement Systems

Organizations can more readily monitor and reposition their operations in fast-paced, competitive environments when their performance measurement systems provide them with relevant, timely, complete, and accurate information.i¾ i¾ Despite recognition of the need for such systems, much organizational performance measurement guidance consists primarily of descriptive approaches and anecdotes.i¾ i¾ There is a need for a structured approach to documenting and analyzing organization-wide performance measurement systems such as to address the organization, its environment, its measures, and its measurement infrastructure as an integrated whole.i¾ i¾ The purpose of this article is to describe a systems management approach and an associated process that have been developed to support the documentation and analysis of organization-wide performance measurement systems.i¾ i¾ A decision support system, The Organizational Performance Tracking & IMprovement Analysis System (OPTIMAS), was developed to automate use of the process and facilitate the documentation, analysis, evolution, and improvement of organizational performance measurement systems.i¾ i¾ It is described in this article.i¾ i¾ The approach and software emphasize identification of suppliers and customers, exogenous influences on organizational performance, the performance information infrastructure, and organizational components and processes.i¾ i¾ It requires detailed specification of performance measures and their logistical requirements.i¾ i¾ It supports analyses of individual metrics, sets of metrics sets, and the information infrastructure required for successful performance measurement.i¾ i¾ A case study illustrates use of the OPTIMAS process.