Performance Measurement: Issues, Approaches, and Opportunities

Performance measures permeate our lives, whether or not we are aware of them. They can support or frustrate what we are trying to do, help or hinder enterprises going about their business, encourage or distort behaviors, clarify or confuse purpose. We illustrate some of the consequences of poor performance measurement, explore some of the reasons why poor metrics are in use, and describe a systematic way to look for performance measures in a variety of settings. There are real opportunities and challenges awaiting an inquiring and creative data scientist.