How to Identify and Define Results
R-pM Community members and R-pM Toolkit users ask questions about identifying and defining business results, such as new product or service developed, products produced, product or service sold, services delivered, capital supported, capital developed, projects completed, etc. Specific questions are answered by email, but we summarize common questions in the series of articles on How to Use R-pM.
Defining business results is new, since results produced by the business have never been identified and managed as a set. First, it is important to designate a capable business analyst to lead business organization capital, so that expertise is developed, and a specialist can guide others. Also, use The R-pM Toolkit, which has layouts, guidelines, and the answers to most questions.
Some businesses simply ask managers to define results they produce. This can provide a first cut, but managers need explanations and guidance. Result teams for the whole business or parts of the business should analyze, brainstorm, and define the results to be produced by the future business, to be explained to and reviewed with management.
Identifying and defining results is difficult at first, but gets easier as understanding and experience is gained. Eventually it becomes the business routine. Remember that you are not identifying and defining results as an exercise; you are defining and organizing your actual business to count results, set goals, create and manage value, and measure business production.
The purpose of Results
Economic output results are one component and the main objective of the business. So to organize and manage the business, we must organize and manage results. Results are used to describe the complete business such that every manager in the business is responsible for one or more specific results, and so that every performance solution defined in the business is utilized to produce one or more specific results. Results are used to manage the business to set goals, to create and manage value, to absorb performance costs, and measure business outputs. Every manager must produce specific results to create value and cover his costs.
Identifying specific Results
Many people look for a rule or definition so that results can be identified by rote. But, results must be identified by knowing their use in the business and how they are to be managed. Results are defined as economic outputs produced from business performance that can have a positive or negative impact or value. Results can be a product produced or production waste produced. Results can be procured from another business to be used as inputs in the enterprise business. Results may be produced or transformed in a chain of results that produce a final result, such as a fulfilled customer order. Each existing business process and information system produces one or more results. Identify these results to manage the chain of results in the process or system.
Results may be held in process waiting further processing such as material, an order, or component. Results may be produced regularly as a continuing part of the business, periodically as needed by the business, or one-time to meet specific business needs.
Results may also be implemented as a performance solution. For example, a business procedure is developed as a result. The procedure is then implemented as a business process solution to produce other results. The procedure document is a business result, even after the completed result is closed. The implemented procedure is a performance solution that is utilized until discontinued or replaced.
Defining and naming a result
Results are used for managing business production. Results may be defined at a high or cumulative level or defined at a low or detailed level, depending on how the business is managed. The enterprise may have one learning course delivered result to which all learning courses are added or may have a result by course developed and course delivered. Results are counted and measured by a result metric. The best way to describe a result is through the way it is counted or the way result goals are set. Learning may be counted by course delivered, course day, or student learning day. Describe and name the result by the meaningful management metric used to count the result, such as: learning course delivered, course day delivered, course student-day delivered. Capture other result metrics against the result such as learning test score average, learning application follow-up percent, etc.
Identifying the level of Result
Some are confused by result levels. There are three levels of results. Key-results at the top level define one high level of results across the complete business. A medium-sized business should be defined by about 20 key results. End-results define the lowest level of results, and are produced directly from performance. Set-results are intermediate results produced by a number of end-results or other set-results, to organize results within a key result. Concentrate on defining key-results and end-results first. Define set-results only as needed for the final result from a result value-quality chain, etc. After key-results are defined at one highest level across the business and end-results are defined at the lowest-level across the business, set results are defined to rationalize the result structure and result management between end-results and key-results. Set-results define management responsibilities for a set of end-results, higher-level results produced by multiple end-results or other set-results, and the results produced by performance solutions utilized for multiple end-results.
Organizing Results
Do not just define and organize results produced by today’s organization. Analyze results to identify, define, and organize those that add value to the business, and discontinue results that do not add value. Define the high-value results that should be produced by the business, but are not being produced. Define key-results and end-results to organize the business according to R-pM guidelines. Results supporting a particular capital category are organized together. Results that must utilize the same human capabilities and other capital are organized together. The result team should have brainstorming sessions led by the business organization analyst to finalize and organize results.
Defining Result relationships
Capture result identifiers and descriptions in a spreadsheet for small work and in a general ledger or information management system as the work moves along. The main result relationship to be defined when organizing the business is the organizational relationship. Organizational relationships may be defined by the result ID coding structure to code set-results within a key-result and results within a set-result, or, if the system allows, by specific result relationship records.
Do not worry about specifically defining and documenting all the other result relationships at first. Document the other relationships between results. as they are known. Once the results are organized, analyze the results further to define other result relationships to formalize result interactions.
Describing Result details
R-pM provides the facility to maintain details on results and to capture detailed result metrics. Detail is maintained as needed for result management. Do not worry about collecting every detail when identifying and defining results. Provide a unique identifier for each result, a result name, a result description that distinguishes the result from other results, and any other descriptors readily available. Identify result metrics as needed to count the result and set goals. Result value and quality determinates are developed and refined after a result chain has been structured. Other descriptors and result metrics can be defined after the business structure is implemented, as they are needed for result management.
Using Results to organize the business
Remember, the business is organized by defining and relating results. Results are not assigned to units in a predetermined organization structure. The organization unit is defined by the organization name and responsible manager entered as attributes of the results they are designated to produce. The result structure organizes the business. Organization unit names may be used for convenience to identify those responsible for a specific set of results. Relationships between organization names are set by the relationships between results produced. The business structure for an organization unit is created by structuring the results with the organization unit attribute and the performance solutions deployed to produce the results. In this way the organization units reorganize with each change to a result assigned.
The R-pM Toolkit is updated with new material to respond to user needs
The information needed to identify and define results is provided in the R-pM Toolkit. You should use the Toolkit first to answer questions. Emails from R-pM Toolkit users are encouraged to let us know difficulties in understanding the Toolkit and needed explanations that could not be found in the Toolkit. Toolkit updates and new Toolkit material is continually developed to expand the range and detail in The R-pM Toolkit, your 21st Century Management Manual.
