KPI management · Targets and thresholds · Component

The variation band

How much the measure moves when nothing has changed — because most reactions to measures are reactions to noise.

The deliverable

What it is

Every measure varies from period to period without anything having changed. Reacting to that variation produces activity, explanation and occasionally a change that makes things worse.

The band is computed once from historical data and used indefinitely, which makes it one of the cheapest improvements available to a review process.

One level in

What it is made of

Each element is a constituent part of the component. Follow one to see the attributes it carries.

  1. The band

    The range within which movement is not news.

    3 attributes: Upper bound · Lower bound · Derived from

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  2. The signal rule

    What counts as a real change.

    3 attributes: Rule · Consecutive readings · Applied symmetrically

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  3. The false alarms

    How often the organisation reacted to noise.

    3 attributes: Reactions to noise · Time spent · Over

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Count how many past reactions were to movement inside the normal band. The number usually justifies the band by itself.