Measure what matters: choose metrics that help your pilot decide

Choosing the right metrics is the difference between an experiment that informs decisions and one that produces noise. Good metrics tell you if a change is helping customers, improving safety, or making operations more reliable.

Lead vs. lag measures

Lag measures (defects, downtime, cost) show results after the fact. Lead measures (number of inspections completed, time between interventions, % of standard steps followed) help you predict future performance and control day-to-day behavior. For a pilot, pair one lag measure with one or two lead measures that your team can influence directly.

Keep it small and specific

Track 1–3 primary metrics. For each metric, record: the definition (exact calculation), the data source, frequency of collection, and the person responsible. Ambiguity in definitions is a common source of disagreement.

Examples across sectors

• Manufacturing: Primary metric — first-pass yield (%). Lead metric — % of completed pre-start checks.
• Healthcare clinic: Primary metric — patient wait time (minutes). Lead metric — % of appointments started within 5 minutes of scheduled time.
• Service/field team: Primary metric — on-time completion rate (%). Lead metric — % of jobs logged with complete job details before dispatch.

Avoid vanity metrics

Metrics that feel good but don’t change behavior or outcomes (e.g., number of ideas submitted without implementation) waste attention. Prefer measures that connect directly to the pilot’s acceptance criteria.

Use simple control and visualization

Plot metrics over time (daily or weekly) and watch for signals: steady improvement, random fluctuation, or a clear shift. When possible, show raw counts and rates together so small sample sizes are not misinterpreted.

When to involve data teams

Start simple with frontline-collected data. If the pilot will scale and depends on automated feeds (ERP, CMMS, EHR), involve analytics early to ensure the metric is reliable and reproducible.

Next steps

1. Define 1 primary metric and 1 lead metric for your pilot using the Pilot Planner.
2. Agree on data sources and frequency before the pilot begins.
3. Use the Baseline Assessment results to set a realistic target and acceptance criteria.