Technical

Technical metrics refer to the quality of a process in measurable terms. The enterprise customer needs a defined level of outputs, in adequate quality and quantity, to meet its own internal needs and those of its designated users and external customers.

Types of Technical Metrics.
In the digital age, quality of service includes any parameter capable of measurement and analysis. The objectivity and indisputably measurable nature of such parameters are essential, since disputes may arise over interpretation of poorly defined technical metrics.

Time-Based Metrics
Technical metrics thus include matters relating to time that have evolved from hardware metrics, such as:

  • response time;
  • time to complete a task;
  • mean time between failures (“MTBF”);
  • mean time to repair (“MTTR”);
  • uptime (also known as availability);
  • error rates per time segment;
  • outputs per time segment;
  • number of inputs per time segment to achieve a particular output (but this metric is generally applicable only for services delivered under pricing by the hour, such as in staff augmentation contracts).

Strategy for Developing a Suite of Technical Metrics
Technical metrics require care to ensure that the focus of measurement is not diverted to activities that generate no value to the enterprise customer or its customer chain. Excessively high numbers of measurements that measure essentially the same factors do not add value to the enterprise customer and may cost extra because of the additional risk and management responsibilities assumed by the service provider.