Why this method exists
Most KPI projects fail in predictable ways. Strategy gets translated badly into measures. Stakeholders don't engage with what's been chosen. Candidate KPIs balloon then collapse under poor selection criteria. Definitions stay vague. Dashboards arrive too late and miss the brief. Implementation dies in IT.
ROKS (Result Oriented KPI System) is a 7-step method developed by Bernie Smith over more than a decade of consulting work, refined across hundreds of organisations and codified in the book KPI Checklists. It addresses each of those failure modes directly.
KPI Tree Studio takes the analytical and design work in steps 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6 and makes it faster, more collaborative, and easier to keep current. The human and organisational work in steps 2 and 7 remains where it belongs – with you and your stakeholders.
About Bernie Smith
Bernie Smith is a KPI consultant and author of KPI Checklists. He developed the ROKS method to address the recurring failure modes he saw in performance measurement projects.
The 7 steps
Step 1 · Clarify Strategy
Before you can choose a KPI, you need clarity on what you're trying to achieve. Step 1 surfaces the strategic objectives that will be measured, ranks them by importance and makes them visible to everyone touching the project. KPI Tree Studio's Designer captures these as the root structure of every tree, so every candidate KPI you longlist sits under something the organisation actually cares about. The output is a clear, written set of strategic objectives that everyone signs off on.
See the KPI Tree Designer →
Step 2 · Engage
The single biggest predictor of KPI project failure is poor stakeholder engagement. Step 2 is about identifying the people whose buy-in matters, mapping their concerns, planning communications and reviewing what reporting already exists. This is human work – conversations, workshops, listening – not software. KPI Tree Studio supports it by giving you shareable artefacts (KPI trees, prototype dashboards) that make those conversations more productive, but the engagement itself is yours to own.
Step 3 · Longlist KPIs
With strategy clear and stakeholders engaged, you generate the longlist – every candidate KPI that might be relevant. The KPI tree structure forces a discipline: each candidate sits under a strategic objective, and the tree exposes the gaps, overlaps and assumptions in your thinking. KPI Tree Studio's Designer is built around this. Workshops can run in real-time on a shared tree, and the output is a comprehensive, structured longlist that's easier to defend than a spreadsheet of suggestions.
See the KPI Tree Designer →
Step 4 · Shortlist KPIs
A longlist of 60 candidate KPIs is not a measurement system. Step 4 is the disciplined work of scoring each candidate against importance and ease of capture, then choosing the small number you'll actually implement. KPI Tree Studio supports this with collaborative shortlisting that lets your team score candidates in real-time. The output is a shortlist of measures that earn their place.
See the KPI Tree Designer →
Step 5 · Define
A KPI without a precise definition is a meeting waiting to happen. Step 5 is the work of writing every measure down: what it is, how it's calculated, what data feeds it, who owns it, what good looks like. KPI Tree Studio's Designer captures these definitions in a living, discoverable library through its KPI Definition Management feature, kept current as definitions evolve.
See the KPI Tree Designer →
Step 6 · Prototype
NEWStep 6 is where most software stops helping. You've got your shortlist and your definitions; now you need to design the dashboard or report that brings them to life. The Prototyping module covers this end-to-end – pick KPIs from your tree, generate a prototype with AI or build manually using IBCS-style templates, share via real-time link for stakeholder feedback, iterate, then hand the agreed design to your BI team or developers. Stop redesigning production dashboards after stakeholders see them.
Step 7 · Go Live
With the prototype agreed, Step 7 is the operational work of building it for real – data integration, BI implementation, user training, change management, the whole thing. This is your IT and operations work, not something software replaces. KPI Tree Studio supports the handoff with clean exports of the prototype design and the underlying KPI definitions, so the build team starts from a clear, agreed brief instead of guessing.
Where the software ends and the human work begins
We deliberately don't try to replace the parts of ROKS that should stay human. Stakeholder engagement is a relationship, not a workflow. Going live in production is an operational discipline that involves your data team, your BI tools, and the people who'll use the dashboards every day.
KPI Tree Studio focuses on doing the analytical and design work brilliantly, so the human work either side has clearer inputs and better outputs. That's the boundary, and we think it's the honest one.
Methods don't deliver results. People do. We just make their job easier.
Bring the method into your tooling
Try KPI Tree Studio free, or read the full method in Bernie's book.
Further reading and resources
- KPI Checklists (Amazon)
- KPI Checklists (Apple Books)
- IBCS – International Business Communication Standards
- About ISO 24896 – in-page explainer below
About ISO 24896
ISO 24896 is an international standard for the presentation of organisational performance indicators. It sets out conventions for how KPIs should be visualised, labelled and contextualised so readers can interpret them quickly and consistently. The Prototyping module applies these conventions as design defaults wherever they support fast, decision-ready output.