How Do You Use IT Metrics to Drive Department Improvements?
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How Do You Use IT Metrics to Drive Department Improvements?
To understand how IT metrics and KPIs can drive departmental improvements, we asked IT professionals this question for their best examples. From tracking business function response times to boosting e-commerce with conversion metrics, here are the top five insights shared by co-founders and consultants.
- Track Business Function Response Times
- Improve Applications with Key Metrics
- Enhance Customer Service with Four KPIs
- Optimize Support Ticket Response Time
- Boost E-Commerce with Conversion Metrics
Track Business Function Response Times
We used observability logging to track transaction-level KPIs like (most time-consuming, highest throughput, etc.). Then we mapped each API to a business function so that we can calculate KPIs like "slowest avg response time" per business function. This helped us assign different teams for different business function metrics. We were able to track, improve, and reward the teams who were able to improve the KPI for the assigned team.
Improve Applications with Key Metrics
We have used application metrics to make our department better. One example is tracking response times. By measuring how quickly our applications respond to user requests, we found areas where things were slow. We then made changes to speed things up, which improved how users experienced our applications.
We also focused on user satisfaction. We checked if users were having problems like slow response times or unreliable data. Fixing these issues helped us create a smoother, more reliable application for our users.
Error rates were another important metric. We looked at errors caused by bugs, faulty hardware, or broken software connections. By identifying and fixing these problems, we kept our applications running smoothly and reduced downtime. It led to better performance and a more positive experience for our users.
Enhance Customer Service with Four KPIs
We've utilized four key KPIs to enhance our customer service and internal team cohesion:
CSAT - Customer Satisfaction
CDS - Critical Deliverable for Service
Audit Gaps - Assurance/Audit on Process
CyberScore - Phishing Test Emails
These metrics have been tracked since 2017, leading to significant improvements in our scores. Our CSAT scores have consistently been at 99% for the past four years. By collecting feedback every six months, we've been able to identify areas for improvement and better serve our customers, allowing us to offer new services tailored to their specific needs.
Critical Deliverable for Service: This KPI focuses on the timely submission and approval of artifacts. We have achieved a 100% score in this area over the last five years.
Audit/Assurance Gaps: We conduct audit checks throughout the project lifecycle and for individual deliverables, ensuring quality and compliance with industry standards.
CyberScore: This KPI helps us safeguard against cyber threats by regularly testing our employees with phishing emails. It’s difficult to quantify the exact savings from this KPI, but it helps ensure our employees remain vigilant against cyber-attacks, which is critical given the constant threat.
By measuring these KPIs, we've been able to set clear targets and communicate them effectively. This transparency and goal-setting have fostered a sense of gamification, aligning everyone towards the same objectives.
Optimize Support Ticket Response Time
Our IT department realized that the time we took to answer support tickets was slow in comparison to what we desired. We decided to pay some attention to it, so we tracked our average response time as a KPI. The goal was to decrease the time by 25% in the next quarter. We looked through the data to find the bottlenecks in our workflow. We then introduced improvements in the way we prioritize, optimizing the use of our resources, and what we got as a result was not only the achievement of our goals but also an increase in the level of customers' happiness. This not only prompted the team—which saw actual improvement in its efforts—but also created a much more efficient and faster support system.
Boost E-Commerce with Conversion Metrics
I often use conversion rates and A/B testing metrics to drive improvements in our e-commerce strategies. For instance, we once noticed a high cart abandonment rate on a client's website. To address this, we conducted a series of A/B tests focusing on the checkout process. One test compared a single-page checkout to a multi-step checkout. The single-page checkout increased the conversion rate by 12%.
By continuously monitoring KPIs like these, we can identify issues and implement changes that directly improve user experience and conversion rates. This iterative process of testing and refining is crucial for achieving optimal performance in e-commerce.
