What is Effectiveness IT Metrics?
Effectiveness IT metrics measures how IT affects specific aspects of the business world, and a part of the business process. The given aspects include conversion rates, customer satisfaction in addition to sell-through increases. In short, Effectiveness measures how well a company, or business is reaching its objectives, and constantly questions as to whether the right actions being taken to meet the given objectives. An example in real life would be how well customers are treated at the Apple store when purchasing a new Ipod or computer. Also, the performance of the Effectiveness IT Metrics is measured in Benchmarks, so progress can be assessed. Apple being ranked number one in customer service, after taking a number of different surveys, would be considered to be a Benchmark. However, surveys are not just done in fourtune 500 companies, they are also performed at companies that don't make as much of a profit but are just as productive, like a value chain. Thousands and thousands of dollars are spent every year by companies, in order to see how well they are doing, not just internally but externally. When it comes to internally, companies ask all of their employees at all levels to take an in depth survey to make sure the company is doing everything in it's power to make sure they are working well as a company. When it comes to externally, the company asks it's consumers if they could do anything better to meet the customers needs. This can also be done with surveys but can also be performed by a number of different ways. Both surveys are used to see how they can do better, much like the traditional practice of the Japanese business model, Kaizen, constantly seeing how well things can be done.
What is Efficiency IT metrics?
Effectiveness IT Metrics is very similar to Efficiency IT Metrics, however, there are several differences that place between the two. For example, Efficiency IT Metrics refers to the technical aspects such as rate of speed, and availability. In example, the rate of speed is used in reference to transactions. So, when I go to Khol's to purchase clothing, the time that it takes me to get into the line, the time that amounts for the cashier to ring up the products that I am purchasing and how long it takes for my credit card to run through. They are so many different elements that can be used and measure in the speed of transactions. It also measure how fast information can travel through out the company, like and intranet, the speed of transactions between venders and it can even measure the amount of time a company is available to assist it’s consumers. An example in real life would refer to the number of page views, traffic, on a website. In terms of traffic, traffic is used to measure how many people how visited a website in a given period of time. In illustration, how many people visit google.com each and everyday. There are thousands upon milions of people that come to the website in order to have their questions answered. The amount of people that come is considered to be traffic. In addition, Benchmarks are also used in this case to measure progress. Another example, the speed of which information travels from anywhere in the company, is a benchmark used to measure progress, called Throughput.
How can Effectiveness IT Metrics evaluate Progress?
One of the most important elements throughout the process of Effectiveness IT Metrics is the ability to evaluate progress. How can a company improve and become better if you don’t know what mistakes that your or your company could be making? Feedback has a tremendous impact on productivity, especially when it comes from your customers.
Information Week, the business value of technology, states in the following paragraph down some of they key elements used to improve problems with some of the following Effectiveness IT Metrics:
1.)Customer Satisfaction: Measured by surveys and retained customers, in addition to possible increased revenues.
2.)Conversion rates :How well customers are reached, like how many emails of spam a possible customer replies to, or how many customers click on an add.
3.)Financial: When revenues exceed operating cost
4.) Missed opportunities: Customer interactions that didn’t happen
5.) Drop-outs: How many customers use a new feature that has just been added
6.)Ultimate test: Could I recommend this to a friend or co-worker and be completely honest?
How can Effectiveness IT Metrics become more productive internally?
Additional elements that are also included in IT Metrics consist of strategy development, organization, and objectives, which are just as important as Benchmarks. For example, companies need to train sales people in order to sell products. Management, in addition to sales people, come together in order to group and plan how they are going to meet the needs of consumers, and by what means they are going to meet consumers, in addition to potential consumers. In addition, the company will need to set objectives, in terms of sales, operating cost and other financial figures. Along with benchmarks, there strategy needs to be clear and easy to input, and some examples are as follows. I feel that the best example for becoming more productive within the walls of a company consists of Kaizen as mentioned previously. In order to do better you need to know what are some of the things that you are doing wrong. In this case, the goals of the company are being put in black and white, trying to asses as to how well an how clear their goals are. All of these elements need to be put into perspective, and broken down and looked at one by one. This is done by completing surveys both internally and externally. However, what might be good for one person might be good for the whole, hence the need to complete surveys in a large grouping of individuals, in order to get an unbiased view. Both Effectiveness IT Metrics and Efficiency IT metrics are all about measuring productivity and how they can do better each and every day. The tools listed below are rules that are used in order to do better time after time.
Long term vs. Short term
Who the company is trying to reach and how
What we are going to use in order to meet our objective
What our projected budgets are
We want to reach each customer individually
We want to meet specific goals pertaining to revenue dollars per customer.
Its "M" watch