When creating new processes or designing new ways of working, it’s important to define the criteria by which success will be determined. Success criteria are measurable and quantifiable indicators that can be used to determine if a new process or design has been successful and is performing as expected.
Why do we need them? If you’ve ever worked in a company with a convoluted, bureaucratic workflow, you know how essential it is for every team member to have clearly defined objectives, roles, and responsibilities – not only to make day-to-day operations more efficient but also because those things help identify issues when they arise.
The same principle applies to defining success criteria for new processes or designs. Success criteria are measurable indicators of success that can be applied during pilot tests, beta tests, and full rollout of any new process or design. They provide concrete proof that the organization has achieved its goals and can serve as an actionable checklist in case something goes awry.
Why is Success Criteria Important?
Success criteria are the indicators that identify whether a new process or design is meeting expectations. They can be used to determine the impact and ROI of any change initiative, measure the success of pilot tests, and beta tests, and determine if a full rollout of a new process or design should be implemented company-wide.
Defining success criteria can help you avoid the pitfalls that many companies encounter when trying to implement large-scale changes. It allows you to focus on what’s most important by allowing you to decide what success looks like. It’s the difference between having a process that works and one that meets expectations.
Success criteria can also be used to identify the root cause of any issues that arise during the testing phase. If pilot testers encounter a problem, you can use the success criteria as a checklist to identify the source of the issue so it can be resolved as quickly as possible.
How to Define Success Criteria
Success criteria should be SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely. The most important thing to remember when defining success criteria is to focus on what’s most important.
Specific – Success criteria should be specific and clearly defined so everyone involved in the process knows what they’re supposed to do.
Measurable – Success criteria should be quantifiable so you know when it’s been achieved.
Achievable – Success criteria should be obtainable based on the goals of the initiative. If your process goal is to increase customer satisfaction and one of your success criteria is to decrease complaints, that’s not an attainable goal.
Relevant – Success criteria should be relevant to the goals of the initiative. For example, if you’re trying to reduce the time it takes to onboard new employees, reducing the number of paper cuts on employees’ fingers won’t help achieve that goal.
Timely – Success criteria should be timely so you know when it’s been achieved. If an initiative is a 12-month pilot program, it doesn’t make sense to include the number of new customers acquired during the first month as part of the success criteria.
3 Types of Success Criteria
While all of these criteria are important to consider when defining success, some are more essential than others. You’ll want to focus on the metrics that truly matter when defining success criteria. These are the ones that can be used as actionable indicators to determine if your new process or design is performing as expected.
Customer Satisfaction – Customer satisfaction is a critical measure of success for any business. The more satisfied your customers are, the more likely they are to refer new customers to your company and come back again in the future. There are several ways to measure customer satisfaction, including surveys and Net Promoter Score (NPS).
Internal Processes – Measuring the success of your new process or design should include metrics that are specific to your organization. For example, if your company is in the manufacturing business, you may want to focus on the lead time, change over time, and throughput time – metrics that are specific to your industry.
Business Outcomes – The most important success criteria are the outcomes that are most critical to the success of your business. For example, if your company is in the retail business, the metric most critical to measuring success is the amount of revenue generated. If your company is in the financial services business, you may want to focus on the number of new customers acquired and the revenue generated.
Summing Up
Success criteria are the indicators that identify whether a new process or design has been successful. Success criteria should be SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely.
Success criteria can be used to determine the impact and ROI of any change initiative, measure the success of pilot tests, and beta tests, and determine if a full rollout of a new process or design should be implemented company-wide.
When defining success criteria, you’ll want to focus on metrics that are most important to your business. These are the metrics that can be used as actionable indicators to determine if your new process or design is performing as expected.