Measurement Vocabulary
Value
The things that people value are the things that matter to them. These things can be experiences,
thoughts, feelings, memories, physical objects, relationships, etc. What people value is a reflection
of who they are and how they choose to live. Sometimes the things we value most, or that we invest the
most value in, are the things we most take for granted. It isn’t until we name them or we hear someone
else name them that we fully appreciate how much they matter.
For example “What do you value about your community?” We are using value as a verb, not as
a noun. We are not asking, “What are your values?” but rather “What do you value about X?”
Theme
A theme is a thread that runs through a collection of individual responses about what is valued.
A theme identifies the common elements of different individual responses.
For example, if we asked, “What do you value about your community?” we might get the following responses:
Always seeing people I know
The view of the mountains from the lake
The people in my hiking group
Clear water I can drink from the tap
Friendly neighbors
There would be many possible ways of arranging these into themes. One might be the people who live here.
The purpose of identifying themes is to discover what it is that we value in common.
Goal
A goal is a condition that you wish to
achieve. A goal is not an action. It is not
about doing or making; it is about being.
Achieving a goal requires a change in the
way your organization or your community
looks, feels, and acts.
For example, creating jobs is an activity;
being a community in which everyone who
wants a job has one is a goal. Goals are
usually broadly stated. A well chosen goal
should reflect what you really want, not
what you think someone else, like a funder,
wants to hear.
Indicator
An indicator is something that must be changed, or a condition that must be achieved, in order to claim that progress is being made toward a goal. Since goals are generally quite broad, there are many possible indicators that could suggest progress toward the goal.
A discussion of indicators is a discussion
of values — it reveals how different people
interpret the goal. Indicators are most
powerful when created and agreed upon
within the context of the community or
organization where they have real meaning
to participants.
Measure
A measure provides a way to actually
count or value the status of an
indicator. For example, things may be
measured in terms of “number of,”
“percent of,” “quality of,” “frequency
of,” or “rating of.” To track a measure
over time, you must have a unit which
defines what you are counting -
inches, people, quarts, hours, etc., and
a baseline which defines the value of
the measure at some predetermined
starting point in time.
Assumption
An assumption is a hypothesis about
some aspect of the way the world works
that we believe to be true. Assumptions
can be difficult to recognize because they
are often deeply imbedded in the way we
think about the world. The tendency to treat our assumptions as
unquestionably true allows them to shape our world and become
barriers to innovation and creativity.
For example, it was once assumed that an electrical signal could
not travel more than 100 meters. If Marconi and others had not
challenged that assumption, we wouldn’t have wireless
communications, among many other things.
Action
An action is something you DO in
order to achieve your goal. The action
should be defined broadly enough to
involve people in a variety of different
tasks and provide opportunities for
participants who don’t normally work
together to do so.
Successful actions build energy and
produce spin-offs. They broaden our
perspective and suggest new
relationships and possibilities.
How does the process look, act and feel?
A brief description of a strategic planning process, which is based on Yellow Wood’s trademarked You Get What You Measure® workshop, is described below.
Unlike traditional strategic planning processes, You Get What You Measure®
explores in detail the connections between goals, indicators, measures, and
the assumptions about how or whether specific actions will affect progress
toward the goal(s). The success of this process depends greatly on understanding
the relationship between these concepts.
We would begin by clearly defining the goals of the group. A goal is a
condition that you wish to achieve – it is not an action; it is a state
of being.
Next, we would spend a significant amount of time developing indicators for
the identified goals. An indicator is something that must be changed, or a
condition that must be achieved, in order to claim that progress is being made
toward the goal. Since goals are generally quite broad, there are many possible
indicators that could suggest progress toward one goal. For example, a good
indicator is: More people in Maine are aware of the variety of values and products
that the forest provides.
After developing a list of indicators, we would work through an innovative
process, the indicator analysis, in order to identify the indicators that, if changed,
have the greatest impact on achieving the goal.
This process takes time because each indicator is examined in relation
to every other indicator.
Once the most powerful indicators have been identified (called key leverage indicators),
we would work with the group to develop measures for each of them.
A measure provides a way to actually count or value the status of an indicator.
For example, things may be measured in terms of “number of,” “percent of,” “frequency
of.” To track a measure over time, you must have a unit which defines what you are
counting (i.e. inches, people, etc.) and a baseline which defines the value of the
measure at some predetermined starting point in time.
After measures have been defined, the group is then ready to talk about actions.
Actions are steps you take toward achieving your goals. Most groups pursue a
number of actions simultaneously which may or may not be well-coordinated or
effective. The process of measurement helps communities and organizations tie
their actions more consciously to their goals. Measurement creates an opportunity
and a method for people to reflect upon the progress and results of their actions.
The Power of Measurement
Everyone likes to see progress. Measurement provides tangible evidence of progress
which, in turn, motivates you to keep at it. This is true whether your goal is
physical fitness or fund raising, environmental health or literacy. Measurement
helps you know where you are now, and get to where you want to be.
Choosing what you will measure and how you will measure it is a creative process.
You can use this process to test your assumptions about the way the world works,
to reframe what is important to you, and to create a new focus for your energies.
What you measure is what you get. For example, there are many ways of measuring
employment. You might focus on the number of people in your community who have
employment that meets their needs; or you might simply count the number of jobs
created and lost. If you focus on the number of jobs, you may lose sight of
important considerations: What kind of jobs? Jobs for whom? At what cost to the
community? If you want to shift and broaden your focus, you need to create new
and different measures of progress toward your goals.
You Get What You Measure® fosters learning, discovery, and creativity!
You Get What You Measure® is value driven. The process guides participants
in creating a joint vision and generates energy to achieve it.
You Get What You Measure® directs action toward specific, measurable goals.
You Get What You Measure® encourages participants to identify the information
they need, and find creative ways to get it. You will generate new information,
create new patterns of information flow, and build new relationships.
You Get What You Measure® supports continuous reflection and learning. The
process provides frequent opportunities to check back, consider progress, and
make mid-course adjustments.
You Get What You Measure® encourages you to identify and check your assumptions
about how the world works.
In addition, You Get What You Measure®
Supports inclusiveness and encourages new partnerships
Fosters independent actions to achieve shared goals
Is self-customizing. The process comes alive as participants supply their
own experiences, values, and ideas.
Saves you money and time by incorporating planning and evaluation in one
process.