Performance Indicators

Performance Indicators are quantifiable metrics that evaluate the success, efficiency, or impact of strategic responses. They close the feedback loop in the Strategic Response Model, enabling organizations to measure whether responses achieved their intended outcomes.

Schema Version: 2.1
Schema Location: /schemas/extensions/performance-indicator.schema.json
Specification: JSON Schema Draft-07

Overview

What are Performance Indicators?

In the SRM context, performance indicators are specific, measurable criteria that:

• Define what success looks like for a strategic response
• Provide quantifiable targets against baselines
• Enable ongoing monitoring and adjustment
• Support governance reviews and audits

The Measurement Loop

Indicator Types

Outcome Indicators

Measure the ultimate result or impact of the response.

Type	Description	Example
effectiveness	Degree to which objectives are achieved	Compliance rate = 100%
impact	Broader organizational effect	Customer satisfaction +15pts
value	Business value delivered	Revenue increase $2M

Process Indicators

Measure the execution and delivery of the response.

Type	Description	Example
efficiency	Resource utilization	Cost per transaction -20%
timeliness	Schedule adherence	Milestones on-time 90%
quality	Output quality	Defect rate <2%

Leading Indicators

Predict future performance or outcomes.

Type	Description	Example
predictive	Early warning signals	Pipeline coverage 3x
adoption	Uptake and usage	User adoption 75%
readiness	Preparation state	Training completion 100%

Lagging Indicators

Confirm outcomes after the fact.

Type	Description	Example
result	Final outcome achieved	Project delivered
retrospective	Post-implementation review	Benefits realized 85%

Indicator Attributes

Core Attributes

Attribute	Type	Required	Description
indicatorID	string (UUID)	Yes	Unique identifier
name	string	Yes	Human-readable name
description	string	Yes	What the indicator measures
indicatorType	enum	Yes	Category of indicator
linkedResponse	reference	Yes	Strategic response being measured

Measurement Attributes

Attribute	Type	Required	Description
unit	string	Yes	Unit of measurement
targetValue	number/string	Yes	Target to achieve
baselineValue	number/string	No	Starting point for comparison
currentValue	number/string	No	Most recent measurement
direction	enum	No	Desired direction of change
threshold	object	No	Warning/critical thresholds

Timing Attributes

Attribute	Type	Required	Description
measurementFrequency	enum	No	How often measured
targetDate	date	No	When target should be achieved
baselineDate	date	No	When baseline was established
lastMeasuredDate	date	No	Most recent measurement date

Data Attributes

Attribute	Type	Required	Description
dataSource	string	No	Where measurement comes from
calculationMethod	string	No	How the metric is calculated
dataOwner	string	No	Who is responsible for the data

Measurement Frequencies

Frequency	Use Case	Example
real-time	Critical operational metrics	System availability
daily	High-frequency operational	Transaction volumes
weekly	Tactical project metrics	Sprint velocity
monthly	Standard business metrics	Revenue, costs
quarterly	Strategic review metrics	NPS, market share
annually	Long-term strategic	Brand equity

Direction Values

Direction	Meaning	Example
increase	Higher is better	Revenue, satisfaction
decrease	Lower is better	Costs, defects
maintain	Stay within range	Compliance rate
achieve	Binary target	Certification obtained

Threshold Configuration

Thresholds enable automated alerting when metrics move outside acceptable ranges:

{
  "threshold": {
    "warning": {
      "operator": "lessThan",
      "value": 95
    },
    "critical": {
      "operator": "lessThan",
      "value": 90
    }
  }
}

Threshold Operators

Operator	Description
equals	Exactly equals value
notEquals	Does not equal value
greaterThan	Greater than value
lessThan	Less than value
greaterThanOrEqual	Greater than or equal to value
lessThanOrEqual	Less than or equal to value
between	Between two values (inclusive)

JSON Schema Definition

{
  "$schema": "http://json-schema.org/draft-07/schema#",
  "$id": "https://orthogramic.com/schemas/extensions/performance-indicator.schema.json",
  "title": "Performance Indicator",
  "description": "Schema for performance indicators measuring strategic response success",
  "type": "object",
  "required": ["indicatorID", "name", "description", "indicatorType", "linkedResponse", "unit", "targetValue"],
  "properties": {
    "indicatorID": {
      "type": "string",
      "format": "uuid",
      "description": "Unique identifier for the indicator"
    },
    "name": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Human-readable name of the indicator"
    },
    "description": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "What the indicator measures and why"
    },
    "indicatorType": {
      "type": "string",
      "enum": [
        "effectiveness",
        "impact",
        "value",
        "efficiency",
        "timeliness",
        "quality",
        "predictive",
        "adoption",
        "readiness",
        "result",
        "retrospective"
      ],
      "description": "Category of indicator"
    },
    "linkedResponse": {
      "type": "object",
      "properties": {
        "responseID": {
          "type": "string",
          "format": "uuid"
        },
        "responseType": {
          "type": "string",
          "enum": ["initiative", "capability", "policy", "strategy"]
        }
      },
      "required": ["responseID"],
      "description": "Strategic response being measured"
    },
    "unit": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Unit of measurement (%, $, count, days, etc.)"
    },
    "targetValue": {
      "oneOf": [
        {"type": "number"},
        {"type": "string"}
      ],
      "description": "Target value to achieve"
    },
    "baselineValue": {
      "oneOf": [
        {"type": "number"},
        {"type": "string"}
      ],
      "description": "Starting point for comparison"
    },
    "currentValue": {
      "oneOf": [
        {"type": "number"},
        {"type": "string"}
      ],
      "description": "Most recent measurement"
    },
    "direction": {
      "type": "string",
      "enum": ["increase", "decrease", "maintain", "achieve"],
      "description": "Desired direction of change"
    },
    "threshold": {
      "type": "object",
      "properties": {
        "warning": {
          "type": "object",
          "properties": {
            "operator": {
              "type": "string",
              "enum": ["equals", "notEquals", "greaterThan", "lessThan", "greaterThanOrEqual", "lessThanOrEqual", "between"]
            },
            "value": {
              "oneOf": [
                {"type": "number"},
                {"type": "string"},
                {"type": "array", "items": {"type": "number"}, "minItems": 2, "maxItems": 2}
              ]
            }
          }
        },
        "critical": {
          "type": "object",
          "properties": {
            "operator": {"type": "string"},
            "value": {"oneOf": [{"type": "number"}, {"type": "string"}, {"type": "array"}]}
          }
        }
      },
      "description": "Alert thresholds"
    },
    "measurementFrequency": {
      "type": "string",
      "enum": ["real-time", "daily", "weekly", "monthly", "quarterly", "annually"],
      "description": "How often the metric is measured"
    },
    "targetDate": {
      "type": "string",
      "format": "date",
      "description": "When target should be achieved"
    },
    "baselineDate": {
      "type": "string",
      "format": "date",
      "description": "When baseline was established"
    },
    "lastMeasuredDate": {
      "type": "string",
      "format": "date",
      "description": "Most recent measurement date"
    },
    "dataSource": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "System or process providing the data"
    },
    "calculationMethod": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Formula or method for calculating the metric"
    },
    "dataOwner": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Role or person responsible for data accuracy"
    },
    "status": {
      "type": "string",
      "enum": ["on-track", "at-risk", "off-track", "achieved", "not-started"],
      "description": "Current status relative to target"
    },
    "measurementHistory": {
      "type": "array",
      "items": {
        "type": "object",
        "properties": {
          "date": {"type": "string", "format": "date"},
          "value": {"oneOf": [{"type": "number"}, {"type": "string"}]},
          "notes": {"type": "string"}
        }
      },
      "description": "Historical measurements"
    },
    "metadata": {
      "type": "object",
      "additionalProperties": true
    }
  }
}

Examples

Compliance Rate Indicator

{
  "indicatorID": "880e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440001",
  "name": "Privacy Compliance Rate",
  "description": "Percentage of data processing activities compliant with Privacy Act requirements",
  "indicatorType": "effectiveness",
  "linkedResponse": {
    "responseID": "srm-privacy-compliance-2024",
    "responseType": "initiative"
  },
  "unit": "%",
  "targetValue": 100,
  "baselineValue": 72,
  "currentValue": 94,
  "direction": "increase",
  "threshold": {
    "warning": {
      "operator": "lessThan",
      "value": 95
    },
    "critical": {
      "operator": "lessThan",
      "value": 90
    }
  },
  "measurementFrequency": "monthly",
  "targetDate": "2025-06-30",
  "baselineDate": "2024-06-15",
  "lastMeasuredDate": "2024-12-01",
  "dataSource": "Compliance Management System",
  "calculationMethod": "(Compliant activities /Total activities) × 100",
  "dataOwner": "Chief Compliance Officer",
  "status": "at-risk",
  "measurementHistory": [
    {"date": "2024-09-01", "value": 85, "notes": "Initial remediation complete"},
    {"date": "2024-10-01", "value": 89, "notes": "Training program launched"},
    {"date": "2024-11-01", "value": 92, "notes": "Technical controls deployed"},
    {"date": "2024-12-01", "value": 94, "notes": "Process changes implemented"}
  ]
}

Customer Satisfaction Indicator

{
  "indicatorID": "880e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440002",
  "name": "AI Service Customer Satisfaction",
  "description": "Net Promoter Score for customers using AI-powered service channels",
  "indicatorType": "impact",
  "linkedResponse": {
    "responseID": "srm-ai-enablement-2024",
    "responseType": "capability"
  },
  "unit": "NPS points",
  "targetValue": 55,
  "baselineValue": 40,
  "currentValue": 48,
  "direction": "increase",
  "threshold": {
    "warning": {
      "operator": "lessThan",
      "value": 45
    },
    "critical": {
      "operator": "lessThan",
      "value": 35
    }
  },
  "measurementFrequency": "monthly",
  "targetDate": "2025-12-31",
  "baselineDate": "2024-01-01",
  "lastMeasuredDate": "2024-11-30",
  "dataSource": "Customer Feedback Platform",
  "calculationMethod": "% Promoters (9-10) minus % Detractors (0-6)",
  "dataOwner": "Head of Customer Experience",
  "status": "on-track"
}

Cost Efficiency Indicator

{
  "indicatorID": "880e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440003",
  "name": "Cost per Customer Service Interaction",
  "description": "Average cost to resolve a customer service request across all channels",
  "indicatorType": "efficiency",
  "linkedResponse": {
    "responseID": "srm-ai-enablement-2024",
    "responseType": "capability"
  },
  "unit": "AUD",
  "targetValue": 8.50,
  "baselineValue": 12.00,
  "currentValue": 9.25,
  "direction": "decrease",
  "threshold": {
    "warning": {
      "operator": "greaterThan",
      "value": 10.00
    },
    "critical": {
      "operator": "greaterThan",
      "value": 12.00
    }
  },
  "measurementFrequency": "monthly",
  "targetDate": "2025-06-30",
  "dataSource": "Financial Management System + CRM",
  "calculationMethod": "Total CS cost /Total interactions",
  "dataOwner": "Finance Business Partner - CX",
  "status": "on-track"
}

Adoption Indicator

{
  "indicatorID": "880e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440004",
  "name": "AI Channel Adoption Rate",
  "description": "Percentage of eligible customer interactions handled by AI channels",
  "indicatorType": "adoption",
  "linkedResponse": {
    "responseID": "srm-ai-enablement-2024",
    "responseType": "capability"
  },
  "unit": "%",
  "targetValue": 60,
  "baselineValue": 0,
  "currentValue": 42,
  "direction": "increase",
  "measurementFrequency": "weekly",
  "targetDate": "2025-12-31",
  "dataSource": "Channel Analytics Platform",
  "calculationMethod": "AI-handled interactions /Total eligible interactions × 100",
  "dataOwner": "Digital Channels Manager",
  "status": "on-track"
}

Indicator Relationships

Performance indicators can relate to each other:

Usage Guidelines

Selecting Effective Indicators

1. SMART criteria — Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound
2. Balance leading and lagging — Don't wait until the end to measure
3. Limit quantity — 3-5 indicators per response is typically sufficient
4. Ensure measurability — Data source must exist and be reliable
5. Align with response objectives — Indicators must reflect what success means

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Mistake	Problem	Solution
Too many indicators	Dilutes focus, overwhelming	Prioritize 3-5 key metrics
Vanity metrics	Look good but don't matter	Focus on actionable metrics
No baseline	Can't measure improvement	Establish baseline before starting
Unmeasurable targets	"Improve customer experience"	Define specific, quantifiable targets
Wrong frequency	Measure too late to act	Match frequency to response urgency

Indicator Lifecycle

For Data Engineers

Performance indicators often map to data quality metrics and pipeline KPIs. Consider creating automated feeds from your data observability tools to populate SRM performance indicators, enabling real-time tracking of how data quality initiatives are progressing.

Related Documentation

• Strategic Response Model Overview — Full SRM documentation
• Trigger Schema — What initiates responses
• Rationale Schema — Why responses are taken
• Performance Domain — Domain-level performance modeling