Results Measures vs. Process Measures

At this point, we should make an important distinction between Results Measures and Process Measures.

Results Measures:

• are measures of the overall process performance, they relate solely to some characteristic of the process output
  
  
• will indicate whether the process has achieved the required standards
  
  
• will not tell you how to improve the process

Process Measures:

• are measures which relate to some characteristic of the process itself
  
  
• are indirectly related to the overall process performance
  
  
• will indicate where improvement is required in the process

The specifications approach relies on results measures, and thus it only ever tells you how well or how badly you have done. Shifting the focus to the process allows some insight into and analysis of the reasons the process is performing as it is.