Articles

Ten KPIs every quality manager should consider

Performance analytics dashboard
In short: A balanced set of indicators helps quality leaders show performance, spot trends and drive improvement.

What gets measured gets managed — but measuring the wrong things wastes effort. Here are ten indicators worth considering for a quality dashboard.

  1. Customer complaints per unit or per order
  2. Customer satisfaction score or Net Promoter Score
  3. First pass yield — output right first time
  4. Cost of poor quality as a percentage of revenue
  5. On-time delivery
  6. Supplier quality — defect rate or rejected lots
  7. Corrective action closure — on time and effective
  8. Audit findings — trends by process
  9. Process capability (Cp/Cpk) for key characteristics
  10. Training completion and competence coverage

Tips

  • Balance leading and lagging indicators
  • Link each KPI to an objective and an owner
  • Review trends, not just monthly values

Performance measurement is part of the Certified Quality Manager (CQM) body of knowledge.