How to create KPIs for Unified Reporting

Do you ever struggle to gain a clear, unified view of portfolio and project progress?

As teams work in different tools, data and information is scattered across silos, and you can lack the insights you need to make informed decisions.

When working in the paradigm of xPM, the freedom of work is important, and unified reporting ensures you never lose the overview of initiatives’ progress and impact.

Freedom doesn’t have to mean fragmentation.

Working under the xPM paradigm, you use standardized KPIs for unified reporting. No matter how departments or teams work, whether in agile, waterfall, or hybrid environments, unified reporting means consolidating data from multiple tools into a single, clear view. Not only does this provide a better foundation for decision-making – it also leads to happier employees. By allowing people to work in the tools, they prefer they can work more efficiently. It can even improve data quality: if people like the system, they’re more inclined to use it. Unified reporting tools then collects and rolls up the data for reporting and insights.

How to establish standardized KPIs

Establishing standardized KPIs is a process that should take your organization’s goals and structure into account.

1. Align with strategic goals

Collaborate with leadership to identify core business priorities, such as revenue growth or customer satisfaction, and map your KPIs to these goals.

2. Define clear metrics

Specify what your KPI measures in order to ensure consistent measuring and aligned reporting. How is each KPI measured, which calculations does it require, and what is its relevance? Clarity ensures quality

3. Involve key stakeholders

Your KPIs should work for all levels of the organization to ensure adoption and consistency. Engage your stakeholders in the selection process and be aware of anything you choose not to measure as well.

4. Choose a tool for measurement

It’s important that people can work in their preferred tool while still reporting on their progress. Assessing the existing technology and tools is your foundation for choosing an xPM solution that can collate and roll up data from different systems. Choose a solution that lets you enter data once – but use it in many different contexts.

5. Quality, not quantity

Too many KPIs muddle the picture and make it difficult to create alignment. Focus on what matters and measure that.

6. Follow up with action

KPIs are only useful if they drive actions that make a change. Your metrics should illuminate where adjustments can be made, such as resource allocation or project prioritization

7. Review and refine

Your organization never stands still – so why should your KPIs? Conduct regular reviews and continually align with your stakeholders and your organizational strategy. That’s what gives you the edge.

The Right Kind of Freedom

Transitioning from traditional PPM to adaptive and expansive xPM means more freedom, but the right kind of freedom. If you do it right, you align your organization, eliminate information silos, and set yourself up for better decisions.