Many strategic management approaches have been developed and tested over the years. Nearly all managers have found that the best approaches draw upon relevant, quantitative data gathered from the workplace. This emphasis on measurement and subsequent analysis may be embodied in the concept of key performance indicators or KPI’s.
Key performance indicators refer to carefully selected parameters which are important in describing performance. They are called key because they are usually either very descriptive of or very significant to an individual or group’s performance. Naturally, each organization would have a different set of key performance indicators depending on its field and its particular goals (its mission and vision, in other words).