Key Performance Indicator (KPI)

What is Key Performance Indicator (KPI)?

KPIs represent a set of measures focusing on those aspects of organizational performance that are the most critical for the current and future success of the organization. (Parmenter 2007) Wikipedia also defines and explains it as “Key Performance Indicators (KPI) are financial and non-financial measures or metrics used to help an organization define and evaluate how successful it is, typically in terms of making progress towards its long-term organizational goals. KPIs can be specified by answering the question, "What is really important to different stakeholders?". KPIs may be monitored using Business Intelligence techniques to
assess the present state of the business and to assist in prescribing a course of action. The act of monitoring KPIs in real-time is known as business activity monitoring (BAM).

Source: http://www.mina.edu.my/pdf-program/kpi-1.pdf