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Anything can be measured - it may not be perfect, but you can measure it in an understandable way and use it to drive performance.

One of my first tasks in a new company was to develop a productivity measurement for art. In the past, staff had been pushed to compete a set number of animations, but the animations were of varying lengths and different number of characters in it. Final quality was a subjective. The end product was "unmeasurable".

I started measuring. We tried all sorts of different measurements, giving different weighting to the various tasks that were considered to increase the difficulty of the work. Over time we developed a formula and my boss named the end result 'Mike Units'.

The results still aren't perfect. My staff find some projects stingy with Mike Units, and others are generous, but over time I could start seeing trends. Now my staff know that they must achieve an average of 550 Mike Units/day over a 12 week period. If someone is new to the staff, or is falling behind I can see it, offer them coaching and I can give them feedback.

Don't be afraid to start measuring, even if the results aren't accurate at first. Start, grow and learn; it will be better than not starting at all.

MattJBeckwith's picture
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Hello Mike. I like the name "Mike Units" - sounds better than widgets!

cincibuckeyenut's picture

This is a big chunk of the logic behind Six Sigma. I am reading Six Sigma for Dummies and am finding it not nearly as difficult to understand as I once thought.

By the way, I HIGHLY recommend the For Dummies series on just about any topic. Even if you know the subject matter, you can still almost always learn something and they are always a very entertaining and fun read that is easy to get through.

MattJBeckwith's picture
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Uh oh. Am I hearing the rumblings of a Mark & Mike - Management for Dummies? Sorry, I couldn't resist.

I agree, I like the "Dummies" series. I have worked in customer service for many years and proudly own two copies of Customer Service for Dummies!

aspiringceo's picture

[quote="cincibuckeyenut"]By the way, I HIGHLY recommend the For Dummies series on just about any topic. Even if you know the subject matter, you can still almost always learn something and they are always a very entertaining and fun read that is easy to get through.[/quote]
I agree I love the for dummies series for getting a brief overview on a subject and your right I always manage to find a new "something"

Edmund

PierG's picture

We too have (trying to have) a decent measurement system.

And the problem is finding the right set of metrics that can measure 'something': this is the key and this is, in my opinion, the meaning of 'you can measure almost anything'.

There is seldom a single metric that can be correlated with a given 'something': it's the way you mix measures that help you find something meaningful and correlated what your goal.

That's why, to achieve our goals, we used a GQM (Goal Question Metric) approach (have a look to my blog for some hints).

PierG