This item is the setting up of a small set of indicators with which the organisation can track its translation work. The aim is not to collect data but to produce decisions.
Scope
Selecting the indicator set, writing the definitions, recording the baseline and determining the report format fall within this item.
Out of scope
Making the decisions belongs to the organisation. Measurement produces the basis for the decision.
First output: indicator definitions
What each indicator counts, which source it is taken from and at what interval it is calculated is set out in a written document. This document is the sole reference for measurement and is used jointly by both sides.
Second output: the baseline
A first, retrospective measurement is drawn from the existing records and noted together with its date. Later periods are compared with this baseline.
Third output: the spreadsheet
A simple sheet in which the numbers will be entered and calculated is set up and delivered to the organisation. A structure that does not require special software is preferred.
Fourth output: the report template
A separate summary format is prepared for each level: the detail of the findings for the person running the process, a few figures and a trend for senior management.
What inputs are needed
Request records, delivery dates and, if available, records of findings. If these three do not exist, the request flow has to be defined first, and that is a separate item.
The person responsible and the frequency are written down
Who will collect the numbers, to whom they will be passed and at what interval this will be done is determined during set-up and written into the document.
The two sides' definitions are aligned
The records kept on the production side are compared with the definitions on the organisation's side. When they are not aligned, the same indicator produces two different figures and the debate shifts to the indicator itself.
Handover after set-up
The sheet, the definitions document and the report template are delivered to the organisation. Keeping the measurement going is the organisation's job; this item only makes it possible.
Unit of measurement
Set-up is assessed according to the number of indicators and the state of the existing record-keeping arrangement. If record-keeping is already in place, set-up takes little time.
How many indicators are set up
Four or five indicators make a set that can be tracked and interpreted regularly. A structure containing dozens of indicators stops being read within the first few periods and is abandoned.
How the set is selected
The questions to which the organisation is seeking answers at that moment are identified and the set is built around them. Each indicator must have a concrete decision behind it; an indicator with no decision behind it is not included in the set.
The periodic review is separate
A review of the indicator set once a year can be requested separately. Set-up itself is a one-off piece of work.
Takeaway
This item produces four concrete outputs: the definitions document, the baseline, the spreadsheet and the report template. Once the four have been delivered, measurement becomes the organisation's own business; a set-up that is not handed over does not outlast the period in which it was set up.