Setting Project KPIs That Match Business Goals

Tying Kaizen KPIs to overall KPIs Tying Kaizen KPIs to overall KPIs is essential for ensuring that continuous improvement efforts are not just locally optimized, but strategically aligned. Why It Matters: Kaizen KPIs measure the effectiveness of targeted improvements: cycle time reduction, defect elimination, lead time compression, etc. but without linkage to enterprise level KPIs, they risk becoming siloed wins. When tied correctly, they become proof points that CI is driving business outcomes. How to Tie Them Together: 1. Start with the Enterprise KPI Tree Identify top level metrics: revenue growth, customer satisfaction, margin expansion, inventory turns, etc. Break these down into functional drivers (e.g., Parts On-Time Delivery → Customer Uptime → NPS → Retention). 2. Map Kaizen Outputs to Drivers Example: A Kaizen that reduces Clear to Service cycle time directly impacts Parts OTD, which ladders up to Customer Uptime and ultimately NPS. Use visual cascades or KPI trees to show this connection. 3. Quantify the Impact Build benefit calculators that translate Kaizen wins into financial or operational value. E.g., “Reducing cycle time by 5 hours saves X labor hours, improves Y throughput, and contributes to Z% margin lift.” 4. Embed in Tiered Accountability Ensure Kaizen KPIs are visible in tiered daily management and reviewed alongside business KPIs. This reinforces that CI is not a side activity, it’s a lever for strategic execution. 5. Communicate the Story Use dashboards, Obeya walls and executive scorecards to show how local improvements are fueling enterprise goals. Phrase it like: “This Kaizen validated our hypothesis that reducing rework in PO creation would improve Parts supply, which is now trending toward our goal.”

✅ 𝗕𝗔 𝗖𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗱𝘆 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝟮: 𝗚𝗼𝗮𝗹𝘀, 𝗔𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 & 𝗦𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗠𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀 I am working on my case study for a fictional oil & gas products trading company struggling with indirect tax reporting in their ETRM system.   In my previous post, I shared the problem statement and current state analysis for my business case. Now, I’m diving into the next step: defining goals, strategic alignment, and success measures. When I started this section, I realized it’s not just about listing objectives. There’s a bigger story. How the project aligns with strategy and how success will be measured. 🎯 𝗚𝗼𝗮𝗹𝘀: 1. Automatically extract and consolidate 𝟵𝟬% 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗮𝘅-𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 into centralized reports, reducing manual prep time from 2 days to under 2 hours per month within 3 months. 2. Enforce 𝟭𝟬𝟬% 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗿𝘂𝗹𝗲𝘀 for tax-relevant fields at time of trade or shipment entry, targeting a 50% reduction in rework due to data issues within 3 months. 3. Align 𝟭𝟬𝟬% 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 used in tax logic across trade and logistics modules, with a quarterly governance review process in place within 3 months. 4. Implement a rules engine allowing tax analysts to update 𝟴𝟬% 𝗼𝗳 𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗜𝗧, cutting change turnaround time from 2 weeks to 2 days, within 2 months. 5. Ensure that 𝟭𝟬𝟬% 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗮𝘅 𝗿𝘂𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 are logged with user-level traceability and available for export on demand, within 2 months. 🚀 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗔𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: This project isn’t just operational. It supports key business goals. - 𝗘𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆: Automate manual reporting - 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲: Standardize & track audits - 𝗔𝗴𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆: Let users manage tax rules - 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆: Align master data - 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀: Validate in real time 📊 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗞𝗣𝗜𝘀 / 𝗦𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘀 (𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲): - Prep time reduced from 16 to <2 hours/month - 90%+ reports auto-generated - 50% fewer errors in tax reports - 100% validation of tax-relevant fields - 100% audit traceability - 80% of rule changes completed without IT Defining clear goals, alignment, and metrics gives the project direction, purpose, and accountability. It’s not just about “what we want to do”. It’s about how we know we succeeded. 💡 Next up: I’ll share the proposed solution and future state, showing how these goals come to life. I’m curious. Do you include all 3 (goals, strategic alignment, success measures) in your business cases? #BAPortfolio #BusinessAnalysisCircle #BusinessAnalyst #BusinessAnalysis -- I’m the BA who asks “why,” digs deeper, and aligns business and tech teams to unlock value. ➡️ Follow me for more on problem-solving, reporting, and career journeys in business analysis. ♻️ Repost if you found this helpful.

🚨 𝐏𝐌𝐎 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 — 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐌𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬? Here’s the hard truth: Executives don’t care how many Gantt charts we’ve created or how many meetings we’ve held. What they do care about is: 📈 Value. 🎯 Results. 🤝 Strategic alignment. 𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐏𝐌𝐎 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐲 𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐩𝐮𝐭𝐬. Here are 5 metrics your PMO should be tracking that executives actually care about: 🔹 1. 𝐁𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 – Are the promised business outcomes being delivered after project completion? Track actual benefits vs. forecasted. 🔹 2. 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐀𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 – What percentage of active projects directly support one or more strategic goals? If the PMO isn’t aligned to strategy, it's just busywork. 🔹 3. 𝐏𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐨 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 – Measure value delivered across the full portfolio (e.g., cost savings, revenue growth, efficiency gains), not just project success. 🔹 4. 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 – How quickly are projects delivering usable value? Not just "on time," but how fast are results feltby the business? 🔹 5. 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐔𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤 – Are your best resources working on the most valuable initiatives, or spread too thin across low-priority efforts? 📊 Tracking these shifts the PMO from a project tracking function to a value-driving partner. 👉 Let’s stop managing to timelines and start managing to impact. 🤔 Has your PMO struggled to convey value to executives? What metrics have made a difference in how your PMO demonstrates value? ♻️ Repost if you liked the content of this post! _________________ 🔔 Ring the bell to follow me on LinkedIn for topics on #ProjectManagement, #ProgramManagement, #PMO, #BusinessTransformation, #CareerTips, and #Leadership. #ProjectManager #ProjectManagementProfessional #BusinessValue #StrategicExecution #KPIs #PortfolioManagement #StrategyRealization