Business Goals for Service Performance

Measuring the download time for a web page shows only the basic technical performance of the service. The measurement includes the time to process the request, take the appropriate action, and move information to the requestor. However, a business manager needs to consider other issues of business performance as well.

Services are designed to distribute information, enhance Internet brand awareness, sell products, reduce costs, and sustain competitive advantage, among other objectives. Some of these business metrics, such as revenues, are easily measured and quantified. Customer satisfaction or brand awareness is harder to quantify, but these aspects might also be keys to long-term success.

Service performance management must therefore include business factors, even though that is a challenge for most organizations.

A company I have spoken with is instituting business performance metrics as part of the performance improvement process. They are attempting to discover and incorporate business goals into the measurement systems to provide explicit measurements of success in meeting those goals.