What are KPIs and Metrics?

 

I use to have this question - Are KPIs and Metrics the same?  Especially when I started to learn and practice the Performance Testing, this question bounced back to me often.

Do you have this question?

The Use of KPIs and Metrics

When business and stakeholders talk about it so much, there should be a value out of it.  What is that value?  Why it is important to identify and capture the KPIs and Metrics?

The KPIs and Metrics are derived from data we collect.  These data are processed to extract and normalize, so that, it is in a state as expected by the consumer for making a decision.

The stakeholders will make decisions and take actions referring to KPIs and Metrics. For example,

• The number of Daily Active User (DAU) is a KPI and also a metric.
• But, a metric cannot be a KPI
• How many of this DAU, closed the transaction within five seconds using a wallet?
• It is a metric; not a KPI.

Another example,

• KPI
• How many users installed the latest version of the mobile app and have signed in?
• If there no active users on latest version that indicates a kind of risk and problems to the business.
• Reopened Tickets in Customer Care
• This indicates there is something going wrong
• Metric
• What is the average time taken to see a streaming screen for users in 4G data network?
• If this is not captured, there is no data for business to establish a relationship with KPI set.
• Average Reopened Tickets in a customer service
• The distribution and time towards lower number
• The distribution and time towards higher number

KPIs and Metrics are not the same while both have quantitative measurement. Both are different.  Identifying and knowing the difference between them in your context is important.

They go hand-in-hand when setting a direction and action.  So that, the business and stakeholders realign to the goals and objectives defined.

KPIs vs Metrics

To conclude this post, investigate your metrics and question why the chosen KPIs.  It will help you to design your Test Models and identify the tests in given context.