Metrics have audiences too

[Michael Pollock]

How effective are our orgs? How can we measure that effectiveness?
Who is going to use that information and what are they going to do
with it? As always we need to consider the audience.

I came across this recently in a government paper on the subject of
Knowledge Management.

"The perspectives of the customer, department, organization, and
individual in an enterprise are critical to its success and need to be
incorporated into that success. The implication of this for metrics is
critical - when thinking about metrics, it is important to identify
who is likely to use the performance measurement information.
Potential users include strategic decision makers, special project
decision makers, funding and approval stakeholders, Government
agencies involved in approval or regulation, or customers.

Measures should be in terms that are familiar to the stakeholder. For
this reason, you may find that there are several different metrics
that need to be captured for your initiative. There is no one "right"
set of measures and most initiatives will require a combination of
measurement types and classes to effectively communicate with the key
stakeholders. The measures must reflect the overall mission and
strategy of the organization."