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KPI models

The KPI model is the part of the monitor model that contains the KPI contexts, which in turn contain key performance indicators (KPIs) and their associated triggers and events. KPI contexts can process inbound events, evaluate recurring wait-time triggers (for example, for checking whether a KPI has gone out of range), and send outbound events (for example, a notification that the KPI is out of range).

Key performance indicators (KPIs) are quantifiable measurements of the improvement or deterioration in the performance of an activity critical to the success of a business. They enable you to measure essential activities of your business so that you can see how these activities influence business results. For example, in a call center, the timely answering of customer calls is a key business activity. A KPI could be Average time for response to a customer call for the last 30 days. This KPI could have a target of less than one minute.

KPIs are usually aggregations of values across many instances, where the aggregation function can be average, maximum, minimum, sum, count (number of occurrences), or standard deviation. KPIs can also be based on expressions; for example, a Profit KPI could be a Revenue KPI minus an Expenses KPI.

A KPI can have a target, which is the exact value that the KPI should achieve. It can also have ranges, each of which is a span of possible values. Ranges can be specified either as a percentage of the target value or as an actual value. For each range, you specify the start value and the end value.

When to use modeled KPIs vs dashboard KPIs

You can define KPIs either in the Monitor Model editor or on the WebSphere® Business Monitor dashboards. If you model the KPIs in the Monitor Model editor, there are some restrictions on the changes you can make in the dashboards.

You create KPIs in the model for any of the following reasons:
  • KPIs created in the model (modeled KPIs) represent the intent of the organization that authored the model. These KPIs can come from WebSphere Business Modeler and can, therefore, carry the intent of the business owner. The KPIs that are created in the dashboards, although they can be used for the same purpose, can also be defined as needed for personal or temporary what-if analysis.
  • Modeled KPIs are portable, making it simpler to deploy models with KPIs across environments.
  • Modeled KPIs reduce the amount of configuration that is required after deploying a monitor model.
  • The Monitor Model editor provides access to a KPI library of typically used KPIs, categorized according to the type of process to which they apply. Selecting a KPI from the library creates a KPI with that name in the monitor model. The KPI library is based on APQC's Process Classification Framework (PCF). APQC is a member-based nonprofit organization that provides benchmarking and best practices for approximately 500 organizations worldwide in all industries. PCF organizes operating and management processes into twelve enterprise-level categories and more than 1,500 processes and associated activities. PCF provides organizations with a shared language for communicating with each other.
KPIs that you model in the Monitor Model editor can be personalized in the dashboards but have the following restrictions:
  • The number of ranges and the IDs of those ranges cannot be changed because the trigger conditions of triggers in the model might refer to them. However, the ranges are still configurable at run time. The target and range values are treated as initial values so that they can be changed to reflect changes in business conditions.
  • A target cannot be set to null at run time, again because the trigger conditions of triggers in the model might refer to it.



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