key performance indicators
Business progress measures
Key performance indicators are metrics used to evaluate success toward specific objectives.
Usually abbreviated KPI, the term belongs to business and management jargon: We track key performance indicators quarterly.
Organizations select KPIs to measure what matters most—sales targets, customer satisfaction, employee retention.
The phrase often signals a data-driven approach to accountability, though critics see it as corporate buzzword inflation for "what we measure."
Intended end results
- objectivesIntended targets or ends
- targetsIntended aims or marks
- thresholdsEntry boundaries or limits
- milestonesNotable points of progress
quotas · benchmarks · standards · outcomes · results · achievement · attainment · success
Productive without waste
- effectivenessSuccess in producing results
- productivityOutput relative to input
- optimizationMaximizing efficiency or performance
- improvementPositive change in quality
profitability · revenue · growth · ROI · margins · conversion · retention · churn
Standards for assessment
- dashboardVehicle control panel
- analyticsSystematic examination of datasets
- dataFacts for analysis
- trackingMonitoring location over time
reporting · quantification · statistics · parameters · ratios · figures · scorecard · benchmarking
Correct relative positioning
- accountabilityObligation for one's actions
- business intelligenceData analysis for decisions
- decision-makingProcess of choosing actions
- stakeholdersThose with investment in outcome
executive · review · evaluation · assessment · prioritization · roadmap · initiatives · strategic planning
goals
Intended end results
- objectivesIntended targets or ends
- targetsIntended aims or marks
- thresholdsEntry boundaries or limits
milestones · quotas · benchmarks · standards · outcomes · results · achievement · attainment · success · shortfall
efficiency
Productive without waste
- effectivenessSuccess in producing results
- productivityOutput relative to input
- optimizationMaximizing efficiency or performance
improvement · profitability · revenue · growth · ROI · margins · conversion · retention · churn · throughput
metrics
Standards for assessment
tracking · reporting · quantification · statistics · parameters · ratios · figures · scorecard · benchmarking · baseline
alignment
Correct relative positioning
- accountabilityObligation for one's actions
- business intelligenceData analysis for decisions
- decision-makingProcess of choosing actions
stakeholders · executive · review · evaluation · assessment · prioritization · roadmap · initiatives · strategic planning · goal-setting
- workplace policiescode of conduct, ethics, policies, workplace policy, HR policies
- oversightoversight committees, oversight board, review, auditors, supervisor
key performance indicatorsvanity metrics
Measurements that look good, mean little
key performance indicatorsgood intentions
mission statements · hours logged · vision statements · blue-sky thinking · empty promises
keying, keyboard, perform, performs, performed, performing, performer, performers, performance