Measuring IS Performance

Carnegie Mellon University ©2006 - 2009 Robert T. Monroe 70-451 Management Information Systems

Measuring IS Performance

70-451 Management Information Systems

Robert Monroe

October 13, 2009


Quiz

1. Two types of metrics identified in today’s reading assignment are eff_______ and eff_______ .

2. One measure of the performance of the cmuq-mis wiki is _________________.

3. The Balanced ________ is a measurement and management system described in today’s reading


Goals For Today


A Question…

How do you measure petrol (gasoline)?


Next Question…

How do you measure IS Performance?


Key Concepts


Applying The Concepts

Do these metrics measure efficiency or effectiveness?– The number of queries per minute that a database system can

perform– Daily total number and percentage of abandoned shopping carts at a

retail web site– Number and percentage of customer deliveries made on time each

day, week, and month– Peak system memory used each hour– Number of web pages that an average customer visit requires before

they check out with a purchase at our website– Average number of days required to add a new feature to an

information system

• Classify the metrics you came up with for the cmuq-mis wiki as efficiency or effectiveness metrics


Key Concepts: Benchmarking

Benchmarks are standard, baseline values for a metric that are used to compare currently observed values with expected values

Benchmarking is the process of continuously measuring system results, comparing those results to optimal system performance,(benchmark values), and identifying steps and procedures to improve system performance

Boundary values define the range of acceptable performance for a specifc metric.

Source: [HBP09] page 37.


Some Business Wisdom

“That which gets measured, gets done”


Some Business Wisdom

“That which gets measured, gets done”

So:

Make sure you are measuring those things that are critical for the success of your business

Choose what you decide to measure carefully


Three Important Types of System (Efficiency) Metrics

• Performance

• Capacity

• Load


Maintain

Metrics For Assessing IS SDLC Performance

• What metrics are most important to measure at each stage of the SDLC?

• How would you go about measuring them? • Setting benchmarks, baselines, and boundary values for

them?• Are these efficiency metrics, effectiveness metrics, or a

combination of both kinds?

Impl.Test Develop Design AnalyzePlan


Organizational Effectiveness IS Metrics

• It is generally much more challenging to effectively measure organizational effectiveness than system performance– … but also very, very important

• Some techniques:– Project financial measurements: ROI, IRR, break-even, etc.

– SDLC performance

– IS-project specific effectiveness metrics• Examples from text: web-site metrics, CRM metrics, SCM metrics

– KPI’s and business intelligence (coming soon)

• What examples did youcome up with for the cmuq-mis wiki?


Discussion Question:

• Does “That which gets measured gets done” apply to both efficiency and effectiveness metrics? – Is it more likely to apply to one kind than to the other?

• What is the cost / downside of rigorous use of metrics in an IS organization? – Corollary: why doesn’t everybody use metrics heavily to run

their organizations more effectively?


Discussion Questions:

• How do you know if your organization has picked the right set of metrics to use in evaluating the IS organization’s performance?

• Is it possible to become too reliant on metrics?

• How many metrics is the right number to keep close track off? Does this vary significantly across systems, projects, and organizations?


Wrap-up: Goals For Today


Midterm Course Evaluations

• Please take a few minutes now to provide feedback on how you feel the course is going

• Your input is:– Important – I review your feedback carefully to try to

improve the course

– Anonymous and confidential

– Likely to improve the course

Documents

Measuring IS Performance