To monitor a business process so that it reaches its key objectives, a company chooses appropriate performance measures. Thus, to build and continually improve an effective business process, a company establishes: key objectives to articulate the performance results the company expects from the business process; outcome measures to determine whether the company has reached the key objectives, and activity measures to monitor the performance of those activities that are instrumental.

This tool focuses on the key objectives for providing external financial information, the outcome measures associated with each objective, and the activity measures that drive each outcome measure.