Performance measurement can be defined as a systematic measurement, such as collecting, analyzing and reporting, of outcomes or results used to determine the effectiveness and efficiency of systems or components, or otherwise said, to measure how well the undertaking is reaching the targeted results.

Some most frequently used methodologies are: Balanced Scorecard and Key Performance Indicator. The Balanced Scorecard is typically  used by organizations to manage the implementation of their business strategies, while the KPI is used for selecting critical performance measures. Operational standards, such as EN 15341, identifies 71 performance indicators, whereof 21 are technical indicators.

An indicator is an instrument that helps you measure change over time. In order to measure an increase in global warming, for example, we monitor the change in weather patterns, the number of hurricanes  or decreasing rainfall .
Because it measures change over time, an indicator is a means of detecting progress or lack of progress to intermediate outcomes (intermediate results), and to end outcomes and higher-level objectives.

Indicators can be either quantitative, or qualitative, or a hybrid of the two.
• A quantitative indicator uses counts or percentages.
• A qualitative indicator is generally a rigorous form of assessment.
• A hybrid indicator quantifies qualitative data – like an index.

Qualitative data may be more useful in cases where outcome measurement is difficult to do and where important outcomes are difficult to capture quantitatively. Indices are often useful ways of presenting qualitative data to number-crunchers.

The process is very complex and is structured as inputs, outputs and outcomes.

Inputs

Inputs refer to the key enablers’ contributions to outputs, such as people, technology and other fixed assets. Peoples’ contributions include employee satisfaction & quality of work life, recruitment & retention, employee development, employee ratios. Technology contributions manifest through financial, quality & efficiency, information & data, reliability & availability, and user satisfaction contributions. Other fixed assets include financial, quality, maintenance, efficiency, security safety, and utilization contributions.

Resources such as human resources, employee time, funding are used to conduct activities and provide services to achieve a desired outcome. Activities are individual tasks or the smallest unit of work, such as meetings, teaching, creating something, issuing reports, etc.

Outputs

The outputs are the direct results of activities and processes needed to generate a desired outcome. They include financial, quality, productivity, efficiency, management, and innovation.

Examples of outputs are products and services completed through a specific activity, whether executed internally by the company or externally by an external contractor. Their amount delivered in one reporting period is relevant, such as the number of meetings.

Output information does not reflect the actual results achieved or the consequences of the products and services delivered, but they show the scope or size of what the inputs and activities produce.

Outcomes

An outcome represents a specific result/objective a program is intended to achieve. An outcome is not what the program actually produced itself (the output), but the consequences of those products, services, or assistance.

The end outcomes (objectives) is what the program has been designed to achieve and for which people are willing to be held
responsible.

Intermediate Outcomes (Intermediate Results) is a critical outcome or result that must occur in order to reach the higher-level, end outcome/objective

Outcomes include mission and business critical results measured from a customer perspective. Business results include services delivered, resource management and financial results. Customer results include customer satisfaction, service coverage,timeliness, responsiveness, quality, and accessibility.

Case study

Throughout this process, all outcomes/results should be expressed in statement form, the simpler the better. The actual wording depends on what you are trying to achieve.

Assume that the end outcomes is a freer flow of information and increased accessed to information. The indicators could be: Percent (%) of population that trusts available new sources, % of population receiving news, disaggregated by source –radio, TV,
newspapers,  % of people that say they trust news sources above.

Then, the intermediate outcomes will be: Increase in sources of information, Increase in media outlets, Increased use of IT technologies as well as a change of “Freedom of Information” policy, Increased advocacy for access, Improved dissemination of information. The indicators could be: Number of media outlets, Number of news sources as well as % of meetings (by type)
open to the public, Number of commissions or number of meetings held by specific commissions, Number of information offices.

Source:

https://eca.state.gov/files/bureau/performance_measurement_definitions.pdf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Performance_measurement