BPM: Do you find that keeping the metrics on the forefront, and getting people to look at the metrics regularly, is easier with this kind of tool, as opposed to Excel?

Weisert: Oh yeah. There are things that we still track with Excel — mainly because that's dictated by people higher up our chain of command who don't have pbviews software. At times, what you'll typically see in Excel is just a snapshot. Excel only allows for commentary or explanation in pop-up boxes where you have to click on different cells. Without taking additional charting steps, you don't have a plan line that's tied with actuals. As such, it's just a table full of numbers, so it becomes overwhelming. With pbviews, the dashboard allows you to focus in and say, “OK, this is red, that is yellow, let's go in there.”

BPM: What recommendations would you have for another organization that is evaluating whether to invest in performance management software for reviewing variance of actuals to budget?

Weisert: Performance management software allows you to look at different aspects of the corporation and take the initiatives that you need to in order to move forward. The Balanced Scorecard is one way to look at things; another way is through Malcolm Baldrige. Whatever avenue you decide on to track your performance, it's well worth the money to stay on top of how you're conducting your business. The cost is not prohibitive, and dashboard software is very easy to utilize.

As with anything, the biggest challenge to change is the cultural thing and breaking old paradigms. Management and leaders need to understand and want to manage things this way — to manage by metrics. I'm a big believer in that. If you're measuring something and you don't have targets, then how do you know where you're going to go? Managing by metrics allows you to focus your attention instead of wandering off in idle directions. So I think software and tools that make performance reporting and tracking possible are well worth the investment. I'm not trying to be a salesman here, but I utilize it, and once you start utilizing it, it's really easy.

BPM: Did you face any resistance to the idea of management by metrics within your organization?

Weisert: With anything, you're going to run into some resistance. Since our main expertise is systems engineering and people love dealing with numbers, we probably ran into less than a lot of companies in other business areas. When we started having monthly metrics meetings in 2005, we used Microsoft Office to cut and paste our measurement performance information into a format for presentation. When we translated those things into pbviews, it made life a lot easier for us.

Ultimately, making any performance management process function correctly depends on what leadership's priority is. You have to keep the press on and say, “Hey, this is important.” As soon as it gets out of sight, it's out of mind, and then it falls by the wayside and you have to start to regenerate things again. I've found it's better just to keep a consistent approach to keep the metrics in the forefront.