A KPI only means something
when you know what sits underneath it.
Two teams can report the same number and mean two different things. The definition, not the value, is what makes a KPI usable.
The measurement spine.
Each level answers a different question. Conflating them is the most common measurement error in customer contact.
Activity
- Attempts, cadence, permitted contact windows
Contact
- Right-party contact with the intended customer
Interaction
- What happened in the conversation, under an agreed definition
Process result
- The defined process outcome
Verified business outcome
- The downstream result, attributed and reconciled
- A promise is an intermediate signal. A kept promise is an outcome.
- Activity is a cost until it converts into a result.
KPI glossary.
The working definitions Vee uses. Each one needs its scope stated wherever it is quoted.
| KPI | What it measures | Definition note |
|---|---|---|
| ASR | Answered calls over call attempts | Denominator must be stated |
| AWT | Wait time before answer | Queue and routing scope stated |
| AHT / ACD | Average handle time or call duration | Duration definition must be explicit |
| FCR | Issue resolved on the first call | Issue scope and verification rule stated |
| FCCR | Process closed on first contact | Closure event specified |
| FACR | Conversion after the first permitted attempt | Attempt definition stated |
| RPC | Right-party contact | Verified against the intended customer |
| PTP | Promise to pay | Captured under an agreed definition |
| Kept PTP | Payment against a captured promise | Outcome window stated |
| CSAT / NPS / CES | Satisfaction, loyalty, effort | Question wording and scale stated |
Four things that turn a number into evidence.
Without all four, a result is a claim waiting to be dismantled.
Denominator
What population the number is counted over, and what is excluded.
Comparator
What the result is compared against: a baseline, a control group or a citation.
Attribution
How much of the change the process can fairly claim, and how that was established.
Downstream outcome
Where the real result lives, and how it returns from the client system.
A measurement model is designed, not declared.
The KPI set is agreed before launch, with the process and the controller both able to trace it.
Vee proposes a measurement model for the process: which levels of the spine it will report, which comparator it will use and how change will be tested.
Each change is then measured against the baseline it started from, with the result and the decision recorded together.
Measurement model
- 01Levels reported on the spine
- 02Comparator and baseline
- 03Attribution method
- 04Review cadence
- 05Known limitations
Worked examples.
Each example keeps its process and scope attached.
Availability
99.99%
Service level with 0 s average wait time in the referenced inbound configuration.
Resolution
73.5%
First Call Resolution for defined inbound FAQ support in mobile payments.
Closure
61.9%
First Contact Closure Rate in an insurance soft-collections reference process.
Conversion
43.5%
First Attempt Conversion Rate for completed CSAT surveys in an energy reference process.
Handle time
116.5 s
Average handle time for banking debt-collection cases that obtained a repayment commitment.
Business outcome
+7–13%
Higher on-time payment frequency than the cited human-agent comparator.
A number without scope is a claim.
The discipline of scope is what makes a performance conversation possible at all.
- State the denominator or do not quote the number.
- Name the comparator when claiming improvement.
- Report the level of the spine the evidence actually reached.
Where to go next.
Measurement connects to the processes, the industries and the commercial model.
Results
Economics
Define the number before you chase it.
We will build the measurement model for your process with you.