The four kinds of indicator
Two simple questions, four names — and a name nobody can type in.
Two axes, not a list
Every indicator is defined by two questions. First: does it measure something that happened, or a risk that might? Second: is it one of the few things that decide this quarter, or one of the everyday measurements?
The answers produce the indicator's name. The name is not stored anywhere and there is nowhere to write it — four names stored beside two facts eventually disagree with each other.
The four cells
| Key | Not key | |
|---|---|---|
| Performance | Key performance indicator (KPI) | Performance indicator (PI) |
| Risk | Key risk indicator (KRI) | Risk indicator (RI) |
Only one cell requires an owner
A key performance indicator must name one accountable person. That is the only cell where the rule applies.
The rest are results rather than commitments — forcing an owner onto them only produces names filled in to satisfy a form.
Scope is independent of kind
The scope of a measurement — the whole workspace, one service line, or one engagement — is chosen separately from the kind.
An indicator defined for a service line but given no specific line is measured for each line separately. That is what makes one shared definition usable by firms with quite different structures.
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