chapter4: measuring the success of strategic initiatives

1. Chapter 4 Measuring the Success of Strategic Initiatives 

3. 3 Overview Efficiency and effectiveness IT metrics are two ways to measure the success of IT strategic initiatives Efficiency IT metrics – measure the performance of the IT system itself including throughput, speed, availability, etc. Effectiveness IT metrics – measure the impact IT has on business processes and activities including customer satisfaction, conversion rates, sell-through increases, etc. 

4. 4 Benchmarking - Baselining Metrics Benchmarks – baseline values the system seeks to attain Benchmarking – a process of continuously measuring system results, comparing those results to optimal system performance (benchmark values), and identifying steps and procedures to improve system performance 

6. 6 Efficiency IT metrics focus on technology and include: Throughput – amount of information that can travel through a system at any point in time Speed – amount of time to perform a transaction Availability – number of hours a system is available Accuracy – extent to which a system generates correct results Web traffic – includes number of pageviews, number of unique visitors, and time spent on a Web page Response time – time to respond to user interactions 

7. 7 Effectiveness IT metrics focus on an organization’s goals, strategies, & objectives Usability – the ease with which people perform transactions and/or find information Customer satisfaction – such as the percentage of existing customers retained Conversion rates – number of customers an organization “touches” for the first time and convinces to purchase products or services Financial – such as return on investment, cost-benefit analysis, etc. 

8. The interrelationships between efficiency and effectiveness 

9. 9 The interrelationships between efficiency and effectiveness Security is an issue for any organization offering products or services over the Internet It is inefficient for an organization to implement Internet security, since it slows down processing time. However, to be effective it must implement Internet security Secure Internet connections must offer encryption and Secure Sockets Layers (SSL denoted by the lock symbol in the lower right corner of a browser) 

10. 10 Determining IT Efficiency and Effectiveness Customer metrics – assess the management of customer relationships by the organization and include: Market share Customer acquisition Customer satisfaction Customer profitability 

12. 12 Web Traffic Analysis Cookie – a small file deposited on a hard drive by a Web site containing information about customers and their Web activities Click-through – a count of the number of people who visit one site and click on an advertisement that takes them to the site of the advertiser Banner ad – a small ad on one Web site that advertises the products and services of another business, usually another dot-com business Interactivity – visitor interactions with the target ad 

13. 13 Behavioral Metrics Click-stream data tracks the exact pattern of a consumer’s navigation through a Web site Click-stream data can reveal: Number of pageviews Pattern of Web sites visited Length of stay on a Web site Date and time visited Number of customers with shopping carts Number of abandoned shopping carts 

16. 16 How Levi’s Got Its Jeans into Wal-Mart Formulate a strategy for how Levi’s can use efficiency metrics to improve its business Formulate a strategy for how Levi’s can use effectiveness metrics to improve its business 

17. 17 How Do You Value Friendster? Friendster specializes in social networking Friendster received over $13 million in VC capital Google recently offered to buy Friendster for $30 million A venture capital company recently valued Friendster at $53 million Friendster has yet to generate any revenue 

18. 18 Case Questions How could you use efficiency metrics to help place a value on Friendster? How could you use effectiveness metrics to help place a value on Friendster? Explain how a venture capital company can value Friendster at $53 million when the company has yet to generate any revenue Explain why Google would be interested in buying Friendster for $30 million when the company has yet to generate any revenue