How to introduce KPIs and scorecards in IT management

Abstract

IT management is based on continuously updated facts and uses scorecards and KPIs. However, the real life in IT organizations is different. On one hand data assets are wasted in traditional reports which are ignored by IT management, on the other hand scorecard introductions fail despite of powerful technologies. This chapter starts with a description of how management and scorecards are linked up against the background of control cycles and the principal agent model. It continues with the discussion of processes to build, use and continually improve scorecards. Finally it shows that the establishment of a scorecard based IT management will be successful only if appropriate processes are implemented, management behaviour is changed towards a culture of measurement and the usage of KPIs is driven by top management representatives.