| USEFUL YARDSTICKS |
| Inputs | Performance measures |
| Corporate strategy | 
Number of IT projects in the strategic plan |
| Corporate structure |
Level of empowerment to strategic business unit and functional managers |
| Corporate systems |
Percentage of business processes documented and measured |
| Resources |
Dollars available for IT staff training and development |
| External environment |
Number of potential threats relating to IT from external environment |
| Processes | Performance measures |
| Leadership |
Percentage of senior executives’ time dedicated to IT |
| Creation and execution of appropriate IT strategies |
Availability and planning for IT security features
Planned cost of disruption of IT initiatives
Planned cost of risk related to IT projects |
| Designing and implementation of a proper IT structure |
Percentage of IT expenses related to outsourcing
Number of IT applications not fully integrated into the overall IT system |
| Development and implementation of appropriate IT systems |
Number of IT professionals per employee
Dollars invested in IT skills and knowledge
Percentage of staff with pay-for-performance compensation
Percentage of projects’ evaluations based on ROI metrics |
| Internal outputs | Performance measures |
| Increased productivity |
Percentage increase in production output per employee
Dollar increase in sales based on productivity improvements |
| Time savings |
Reduction in online response time |
| Increased capacity utilization |
Fixed costs per unit of capacity
Percentage of utilization of databases |
| Improved quality |
Dollars saved on prevention and appraisal cost of quality |
| Direct IT cost savings |
Percentage reduction in mandatory IT expenses |
| External outputs | Performance measures |
| Channel optimization |
Dollar value of activities completed through Web sites
Hours of annual Web site downtime |
| Customer acquisition |
Number of new customers gained through IT innovation
Sales from new customers |
| Customer loyalty |
Sales from retained customers vs. new customers |
| Added value |
Average customer profitability |
| Outcomes | Performance measures |
| Long-term financial success |
Percentage change in company stock price attributable to IT initiatives
ROI |
| Short-term financial success |
Cash-flow growth
Percentage of overall cost reduction |
