Attachment P–Tools for Assessing Performance

 

Some of the many tools available to gauge your improvement progress include:

The Business Case.
You can use the PPMS to build a strong, sound business case to support proposals for changes or requests for resources.  The PPMS can illuminate links between strategies, measures, and expected outcomes at different levels in the organization and across different operational components.  This provides a framework for explaining how and why a proposed change will benefit the organization and the expected effect on linked components.  For example, an OA or the Department in a "ONE DOT" approach, can use the PPMS to support budget requests by demonstrating how funding would improve Department-wide efficiency and benefit program mission accomplishment.

Public Policy and Compliance

PPMS information can be used to evaluate the level of compliance with law, regulation and public policy initiatives. DOT uses the PPMS to achieve this purpose.  When PPMS measures are properly aligned with your objectives, review efforts should be focused where they will have the most benefit.  Reviews should analyze the cause of concern and identify appropriate remedies (e.g., recommending changes in operational practices, clarifying existing or developing new policies, or eliminating or revising policies that create problems or activities that are non value-added).  The PPMS also provides a framework for reporting to the agency head, Congress, or other higher-level offices.

Self-Diagnosis
You can use the results for "self-diagnosis."  PPMS data together with other reports and statistics can help you anticipate and resolve issues before they become problems, or at least minimize the effect of problems by early action. Information from other reports and statistics may also indicate the need to adjust PPMS strategies and measures.

Cross-functional Problem Solving

By illuminating the links between strategies, measures, and expected outcomes at different levels, and across different operational components, the PPMS can encourage cross-functional problem solving. For example, you may identify a policy that impedes your ability to accomplish a certain objective. You could raise the issue with the cognizant office, using the PPMS to demonstrate the cause-and-effect relationship, and work together with the appropriate management to produce a solution.  Another example is within an acquisition office--you may work with finance to establish an electronic system for receiving and processing invoices that benefits the performance of both organizations.

Gap Management
Gaps between your strategic objectives/goals and actual achievement can be detected by using performance results. The root causes of these gaps can be analyzed and corrective action developed and implemented.  Whenever there is a gap between current results and your objectives, it is an opportunity for process improvement.  This may require reengineering and/or redesigning of your process. Analyzing how a process flows is especially useful when PPMS results indicate performance gaps in the areas of timeliness, costs, or efficiency.  Understanding which key processes need the most attention, and then aggressively addressing the differences between current performance and the desired end state, is a hallmark of successful organizations.

Risk Management
The PPMS can be used as a risk management tool where it creates an infrastructure within which key managers are held accountable for results.  This is done by shifting the emphasis to a risk-based approach that diagnoses systemic problems, evaluates effectiveness, and links performance to consequences in order to strike a proper balance between risk and return. In other words, risk management (and the PPMS) is strategic more than reactive.

OA and Department-wide Improvements

Establishing organizational improvement structures and procedures may help implement performance improvements, and to make a genuine commitment to performance management.  After the PPMS results have been analyzed, you may wish to consider forming teams for the areas you have targeted for improvement (e.g., "Timeliness," as addressed in the customer survey).  The team should consist of major stakeholders to ensure that all participants in the acquisition process become involved in (and reach consensus on) system improvements.  Depending on the performance issue, the team might consist of acquisition employees alone, acquisition employees and customers (cross-functional), or acquisition employees and managers.

Benchmarking

Benchmarking, or comparing your performance against another, will provide an indication of how you are performing. It also serves as one input for developing target goals. However, as noted by the International Benchmarking Clearinghouse, the strength of benchmarking is not in identifying best performance, but in learning best practices. That is, it is important to identify study, analyze, and adapt the successful practices that led to the performance. Understanding these successful practices helps you make better informed decisions about where and how to change your organization. Also, by sharing what you have learned with others, enhances the opportunity for further Department-wide improvement.

Tips for Benchmarking: Benchmarking can be performed with many groups including procurement offices: within your operating administration (OA), outside your OA (i.e., other OAs), within other Departments, or within different industry groups. DOT will be periodically benchmarking with other Departments on a Department-wide basis. To make valid comparisons, you need to consider how the others being benchmarked are similar and different. Common factors to consider include: