Can someone find me a KPI expert on Cristobalite ball-mills???
As a young process improvement consultant I often found myself working with clients who were holding out for a 'industry KPI expert' to help their team identify and measure the right things in their business. They were hoping there was an 'expert on [insert industry here] KPIs' who would 'tell us what we needed to measure'.
One memorable example of this approach came whilst I was working with a mining business. My client was holding out for a performance improvement expert specialising the measurement of all things related to grinding Cristobalite (a rare and useful silicon mineral polymorph). Safe to say, that person probably didn't exist anywhere on the planet.
In fact, most businesses in this situation don't find anyone with the 'right' KPI+process expertise, or if they do, they quickly realised that the 'expert' was simply a person with strong opinions and low self-doubt.
Can someone, anyone, help?
Fed up with relying on mythical experts and unhappy with the idea of scavenging 'other people's KPIs' from the internet, I decided to find a better way. I read, and read, and read. Even though I was highly motivated, the books were slow, so boring and very, very long.
I realised there needed to be a better approach - one that was visual. I couldn't find a method that met my needs (not even close), so I created one. It's a seven-step method, the Results Orientated KPI System - ROKS, built around a powerful performance measures design tool - KPI Trees.
The method walks you through the seven core steps to translate your organisational objectives into meaningful KPIs for your business. KPI Trees are at the heart of the ROKS process, helping you identify all of the KPIs you need to consider. That's what this course is all about.
Bernie
Founder: Made to Measure KPIs and KPI Academy
Who this course is for
The KPI Tree Masterclass course has been carefully designed for people who...
- Want to select, design and implement KPIs for any organisations
- Are tasked with fixing, or improving existing KPIs
- Need to design KPIs for complex, specialist or niche businesses
- Want guidance on the principles of optimal dashboard or report design
- Like a structured, logical approach
If you work with corporations or large enterprises, this approach should be perfect for you.
Course Objectives
Understand the best way to choose and deploy the right KPIs for enterprise organisations.
Give you the tools, templates and skills to select, design and implement KPIs, dashboards and reports for larger and more complex organisations.
Be familiar with the common KPI risks and pitfalls and the best strategies to deal with them
What you get with the KPI Tree Masterclass
High-quality live online KPI Training
This workshop includes 10 hours of high-quality live KPI Training, by best-selling KPI author, speaker and trainer, Bernie Smith. The training is split into 2-hour sections, giving you the chance to absorb the key points from each section, test your news skills and (optionally) identify and share your KPI challenges during the discussion sessions.
Highly interactive
The training is a small-group and highly interactive. As well as having the opportunity to jump in with questions and comments at any point, the training uses interactive polls, quizzes and exercises delivered through your browser, using Mentimeter. This enables many of the powerful classroom exercises of the KPI Tree Masterclass to be delivered in an effective and fun way online.
Course content
- Learning objectives
- Outcomes
- Course practicalities
- Course downloads
- Introductions
- The organisations that use this approach
- A confession
- Where to get help
- Why should we measure things?
- What is a KPI?
- Thought experiment
- Introducing the ROKS Enterprise method
- Our objectives
- Sneak preview - Walk-through of a sample KPI Tree
- Unit objectives
- 'The Cobra Effect' a word of warning on strategy
- Strategy case study
- Identifying your business objectives - exercise
- Woolly words, what they are and why you need to avoid them
- The 'Big 6' objectives
- Custom objectives and case study
- Custom objectives - exercise
- Using the Objectives Template, with case study
- Pre-flight objectives checklists
- Recap
- Unit quiz
- The challenges of engagement
- Key principles
- Identifying stakeholders and stakeholder groups
- Building your communications plan
- Running an engagement workshop
- Basic KPI Tree terminology
- Getting the levels right - interactive exercises
- Basic KPI Tree concepts
- Introducing the 4C method for building KPI Trees
- Traits and how the can help us
- Case studies
- Practical tools and tips for drawing KPI trees
- How to run a KPI Tree workshop
- Live build of a partial KPI Tree
- Introducing the KPI Shortlisting Tool
- How to shorten our list of KPIs
- Sifting method
- Sifting case study
- The Shortlisting questions
- Calibrating and scoring your shortlist
- Scoring case study
- The 'Aspire' list, and why it is so important
- Recap
- Unit quiz
- The problem with words
- The ROKS KPI Canvas
- ROKS KPI Canvas case study and walkthrough
- Fine-tuning your KPIs
- Slicing and dicing: How to break down your KPIs
- How often to measure and review
- Average types, when to use each one
- Count, percentage or ratio: when to use each type
- Target setting
- Target setting gone wrong - case studies
- Reverse brainstorming
- Recap
- Unit quiz
- Why we need to present our KPIs
- Introducing the 'KPI use planner'
- How you will review your KPIs
- When to review your KPIs
- Using your KPI planner - exercise
Designing for understanding
- Making the most of the readers brain
- The 20 second challenge - exercise
- Iconic memory, what it is and why it is so important
- Visual encoding types
- Visual encoding - exercise
- Quantitative vs non-quantitative encoding
- The 'Report Design Cheat Sheet' introduction (including download)
- Recap
- Unit quiz
- Choosing dashboarding tooling
- The 'Brilliant Excel Dashboard Kit' introduction and download
- Using the Dashboard Template Kit
- Introducing the Brilliant Excel Dashboards: Prototype Cheat Sheet - download
- Kit prototype demo
Prototyping
- The five step Dashboard Prototype Method
- Decide
- Prepare
- Assemble
- Refine
- Review and approve
- Introducing the Brilliant Excel Dashboards: Build Cheat Sheet - download
- Prepare
- Assemble
- Refine
- Review and approve
- Test
- Go live
- Kit build demo
- Report production planning
- Recap
- Unit quiz
- Data collection options and checklist
- Starting to use your KPIs
- Successful KPI review meetings checklist
- Forming good KPI habits
Common KPI problems and solutions
- Forgetting to collect or review KPIs
- Talking about the same stuff every review
- Meetings that go off-track
- KPI mistakes
- Toxic 'targets culture'
- Lots of cutting and pasting during production
- Angry culture of opinion and shouting
- Information overload
- Figures bouncing all over the place
- What to do if a measure is not working for you
- Using KPIs to drive improvement
- Getting over 'the hump' and getting going
- Dealing with data collection problems
- Recap
- Unit quiz
Introduction to advanced Index KPI design
Techniques for managing noisy data
Strategies for measuring the 'impossible'
- Next steps
- Staying focussed and motivated
- Keeping in touch
Crystal-clear templates, printable cheat-sheets & course notes
Full list of included materials
KPI Masterclass Course Notes (PDF)
- Detailed custom written notes covering every aspect of the ROKS method and extra material for background reading and reference.
- 92 A4 pages long, full colour
ROKS KPI Canvas spreadsheet tracker template
An Excel tabular form of the ROKS KPI Canvas for convenient definition management of multiple KPIs
ROKS KPI Canvas template
- Printable PDF version
- Excel 'visual' version for populating
- Complete with worked case-study example
ROKS Template Manual
Structured 35 (A4) page set of printable (PDF) templates covering...
- Strategy checklist
- Objectives template
- Memory jogger instructions covering...
- Reverse brainstorming
- Readiness analysis
- Stakeholder segmentation
- Communication planning
- RACI
- Stakeholder matrix
- KPI production role analysis template
- KPI Tree notation
- Measures design draft template
- Shortlisting matrix template (visual grid)
- Definition checklist
- Visual design assessment checklist
- Data source tracker
- Handover tracker
- Problem capture form
- A3 problem template
- Meetings terms of reference template
- Meeting relevancy template
KPI Tree Design Cheatsheet
Visual cheatsheet summarising the 4C methodology for building KPI Trees
Extra Bonus
Complete 'Brilliant Excel Dashboards Kit"
This course includes the full 'Brilliant Excel Dashboard Kit' - normal price £299.
The template kit enables you to create professional-looking dashboard prototypes in minutes. By using the pre-built chart and commentary designs in the Prototyping Guide and Toolkit, you can be confident that the final approved designs will be perfectly compatible with the Excel Template Foundation Pack (included). This pack enables you to build fantastic, easy-to-understand working Excel dashboards at least five times quicker than building a dashboard from scratch.
The finished dashboards don't just look fantastic, they are designed from the ground-up using BlinkReporting method of chart design to give the reader the most rapid possible understanding of the information within the dashboard. The BlinkReporting approach applies cognitive-science-based design approach in an easy-to-use package. (Check out the Brilliant Excel Dashboards Manual for the inside track on this.)
The pack includes...
The Brilliant Excel Dashboard Manual
A non-nonsense 88 page guide the theory and practice of designing and building easy-to-understand dashboards and reports.
Expertly designed Prototyping & Build Templates
- Prototyping Guide and Toolkit (PowerPoint)
- Prototyping A4 Canvas (PowerPoint)
- Prototyping A3 Canvas (PowerPoint)
- Prototyping Letter Canvas (PowerPoint)
- Prototyping Tabloid/Ledger Canvas (PowerPoint)
And...
Six high-quality Excel dashboard template kits (as .XLSX files*)
- Monthly Dashboard Template Foundation pack - UK date format
- Weekly Dashboard Template Foundation pack - UK date format
- Daily Dashboard Template Foundation pack - UK date format
- Monthly Dashboard Template Foundation pack - US date format
- Weekly Dashboard Template Foundation pack - US date format
- Daily Dashboard Template Foundation pack - US date format
*All templates require Microsoft Office 2016 or later
Includes full user guide in workbook.
Visual Report and Dashboard Design Checklist
A simple Excel-based checklist to make sure you have covered the major design considerations on your dashboard and report designs
Brilliant Excel Dashboards 'Build' Cheatsheet
A visual cheat-sheet covering the 'Brilliant Excel Dashboards' Build process using simple steps and easy to read instructions.
Brilliant Excel Dashboards 'Prototype' Cheatsheet
A visual cheat-sheet covering the 'Brilliant Excel Dashboards' Prototype process using simple steps and easy to read instructions.
A lightning start, using the tool you already have: Excel
About your tutor
Bernie is a highly experienced performance measurement consultant, trainer, speaker and best-selling KPI author. Convinced that there are many lifetimes of terrible KPIs that need fixing, his mission is to share sensible, easy to understand methods with as many people as possible to improve the quality of management information being used around the world.
His ideas have shaped the world of performance measurement and can often be seen referenced, reused and rebadged by others in the field!
Bernie Smith
Trainer
Bernie travels the world delivering public and bespoke in-house training on performance measurement. All of his material is highly interactive and practical. He can also deliver hybrid, online, training: a mixture of elearning, live training and coaching. Get in touch for a free conversation to explore if this is something you (or your organisation) might benefit from.
Author
Bernie has written nineteen (and counting) books on KPIs and report design. On any given day his books will usually be in the top three for a 'KPI' search on Amazon. Each book is written to be practical, conversational and no-nonsense. Head over to madetomeasurekpis.com to get more details on his books.
Consultant
Every method, checklist and tip in this online training has been derived from Bernie's 25 years of consulting experience. Nothing beats custom advice when the stakes are high and you are under pressure to deliver. Every consulting role is different, so get in touch for a free initial exploratory conversation.
To take part in the sessions you will need...
- A computer (either a PC or Mac is fine)
- A decent internet connection (good enough for a stable Zoom/Skype/Teams video call)
- A headset to talk on (avoids feedback and poor sound quality)
- Zoom (a free download)
- PDF viewing software (for example Adobe's free Acrobat Reader, Apple's Preview or Window's PDF Reader)
- Chrome web browser. Others may work, but Chrome definitely works!
No, for copyright protection the videos can only be viewed through your KPI Academy account. For this reason we do not set a time limit on account usage - your purchase does not expire (as long as KPI Academy exists). A reassurance, Made to Measure KPIs - the parent site of KPI Academy - has been online for 10 years and counting!).
Absolutely! Get in touch using https://calendly.com/bernie-smith/introductory-conversation to set up a free introductory call to explore the options.
If you decide, by the end of the first workshop session, that the course is not for you then you can contact us for a cheerful full refund of your course fees. All that we ask is that you have not participated in more than 20% of the course.
Recordings will be available for single missed sessions, on request
You can request a full refund at any point up to the end of the first workshop session.
If you want to start developing a KPI Tree for your organisation, then bring along the strategic objectives for your business. This will get you off to a good start and help you make the most of your workshop time. If you don\'t have a specific application in mind, or are not able to share this kind of thing, there\'s a \'backup\' case study you can use. The choice is yours. You will be sent detailed guidance when you sign up and we are always happy to discuss this before you join the course.
Other than that, all you need to do is to turn up to the session on-time with an open mind.
Each session will be recorded. If you are not able to make one or two of the sessions, the relevant recording will be shared with you.