Keeping Score: Using the Right Metrics to Drive World Class Performance

If you are looking for a book that explain metrics and how to develop an effective measurement system, then this book is a good example to check out. The author looks into the more recent style of utilizing measurements in an organization and he gives vivid details on how to use and report data. He touches on key subject matters that are part of any organization, which include customer satisfaction, value, customer service, and employee satisfaction. It is a basic book as far as understanding basic principles of measurements and analyzing data. That's what makes the book great. I definitely recommend it as my instructor did since it is a syllabus requirement for my quality assurance class.

This book doesn't look like much, and my expectations were'nt very high. However, I loved it! It is a very practical approach to evaluating and designing your metrics systems. It takes you through what a measurement system looks like, how to see where you need improvement/what level you are on, and how to improve. Very practical, and doesn't get weighed down in details. Easy to implement.

Came on time, as advertised. Great information if looking for a book to provide baseline metric strategy.

excellent

Substantially UnsubstantialKeeping Score is a good high-level review of the importance of metrics in strategy-driven organizations. Brown employs Kaplan & Norton's balanced scorecard methodology to illustrate the relationship between measurement and strategy. He doesn't really deliver much more than you would find in Kaplan & Norton's classic Balanced Scorecard book. I would like to have seen more suggested metrics around the various "themes": financial performance, customer satisfaction, product/service quality, process and operation performance, supplier performance, and employee satisfaction. I know macro- and micro-metrics are organization-specific; however, there are "generic" financial and satisfaction metrics he could offer. The Measurement System Self-Assessment 50 -item survey illustrated in the book is a great resource. It can easily be customized, automated and administered to stakeholders responsible for developing measurement systems. I applaud Brown for consistently reinforcing the formative rather than purely summative evaluation model. That is, any measurement system must contain historical (lagging), current, and forecasting (leading) measures. Those systems that are driven by summative data (i.e., historical) do not serve the real purpose of a measurement system, which is to allow stakeholders to make well-informed and better business decisions. Oftentimes, Brown downplays the complexity of developing and implementing a measurement system. He makes statements such as "Measurement is easy" and "Designing your own new and improved measurement system may not be a much work as you think..." These kinds of statements are worrisome and misleading because developing a robust measurement system aligned with organizational strategy is no simple feat. Nor, should it be. One extremely important area that is only slightly addressed is that of system maintenance and integrating the system into business processes. Once a measurement system has been established clear guidelines should be established as to how the data will be employed and used to make decisions. A truly strategic organization will incorporate the measurement system into the daily operations of the organization.

The author makes a number of important points in this book. There is an emphasis on the few key measures that matter, linked to strategy and stakeholder needs. As to their characteristics, he recommends metrics that provide a view of the past, present and future. While it is relatively easy to develop metrics with a focus on the past or present, developing future oriented metrics is a little more difficult. Unfortunately no generally applicable guideline seems to exist.One very good aspect of "Keeping Score" is the presence of summaries at the end of each of the chapters of part 2, telling you how successful organisations measure performance in the areas of finance, quality, suppliers, customer satisfaction, processes/operations and employee satisfaction. Whether or not you currently have a system in place, you're likely to find more than a few useful ideas here.

This was the first book that I have read on metrics. Not that I'm a complete newb to them, but it is an entry-level view at them. Multiple times this book references Kaplan/Norton's The Balanced Scorecard which I am currently going through right now for more meat and potatoes on the subject.This is a nice quick read for a quick start.

I've read all of Mark Graham Brown's books and been through a couple of his workshops. He always nails the topic and this book is no exception.This book shows you how to pinpoint key measures, evaluate your measurement approach, and redesign inadequate metrics. I find it a very useful guide for my executive coaching and consulting practice.

English is not my first language so I hope I will be understood. It's a five stars book for me, it answered all my questions about performance measures, which ones to focus on, how to choose the proper ones, how to align them with the vision and key success factors of the company. I already knew some of these informations since I'm a quality manager working with the ISO 9001, but the explanations are so clear in here, it feels really good to read it and be introduce to the best performance measurement practices again. It also helps for working on continuous improvement, because measurements, to know where we are and where we want to go, is an essential step to improve processes. Good book I will come back to it from time to time.