Glossary
Goal band
A goal band replaces a single target with a range: green above one number, red below another, and a middle zone that means watch this. It suits measures where hitting the target exactly is neither possible nor desirable, such as inventory, staffing hours or lead times. The band gets written once and left alone for the quarter.
01
When a range beats a single number
Most Scorecard rows work fine with one target and a yes or no answer. A band earns its extra complexity where both directions are a problem: a warehouse running at ninety-eight percent of capacity is as much of an issue as one at sixty. Keep bands to two or three rows, or the weekly read stops being quick.
A single target on a two-sided measure hides the top end. If the only rule is that utilization must stay above eighty percent, nobody flags the week it hit ninety-seven and the crew worked three Saturdays. Bands put the ceiling on the board, and the ceiling is usually where the burnout and the quality problems start.
Worked example: A regional courier tracked driver hours with a target of at least thirty-eight a week. Nothing on the board said anything about fifty-two, so a quarter of heavy overtime passed without comment until two drivers quit. The row became a band: green between thirty-eight and forty-five, amber to forty-eight, red on either side. Next quarter three weeks tripped the ceiling and got discussed.
Sources: kpi.org/kpi-basics/kpi-development; klipfolio.com/resources/kpi-examples
Target
A target is the number written beside a measure that says what a good week looks like: twelve proposals, ninety-five percent on time, cash collected.
02Variance
Variance is the gap between the target and the actual, written as a number or a percentage: goal twelve, actual nine, variance minus three.
03Utilization rate
Utilization rate is the share of available hours that are billable or productive: forty hours paid, thirty billed, seventy-five percent utilization.
04KPIs: what they are, how many to track, and which matter
A practical guide to key performance indicators for small companies: definitions, leading vs lagging measures, examples by department, and how many to track.
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