Data Core · KPI management · Module

The review

The rhythm in which measures are actually read and something is decided — because where the review is presentation, the whole measurement effort is decorative.

The idea

How it works

Measurement becomes management at the review or it does not become management at all. A meeting where numbers are presented, noted and moved past is reporting with an audience.

The most useful structure is exception-based: only measures outside their normal variation are discussed. It shortens the meeting substantially and directs it at what changed.

Working with it

In practice

  1. 01

    Discuss only the exceptions

    Measures inside their normal band need no discussion. This alone halves most review meetings.

  2. 02

    Require a decision or an explicit no action

    Every exception ends with something decided, including deciding that nothing is needed.

  3. 03

    Match the rhythm to the measure

    Measures that move monthly do not need weekly review. Reviewing faster than the measure moves produces reaction to noise.

  4. 04

    Record what was decided

    And check it at the next review. Without that, the same exception is discussed repeatedly.

One level in

The components of the review

A component is something that exists afterwards which did not exist before — a deliverable or a mechanism, not an intention.

  1. The rhythm

    How often each measure is reviewed, matched to how fast it moves.

    Learn
  2. The exceptions

    What was outside its band and therefore discussed.

    Learn
  3. The decisions

    What was decided, by whom, and whether it was checked next time.

    Learn

Discuss only measures outside their normal band. It halves the meeting and directs it at what actually changed.