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    Our Methodology

    ROKS & KPI Trees: A structured, repeatable approach to creating meaningful KPIs

    The Challenge with Traditional KPIs

    Most organisations struggle with KPIs. They either measure the wrong things, create metrics that are too complex to understand, or develop KPIs that don't align with their strategic objectives. This leads to wasted effort, poor decision-making, and frustrated teams.

    That's why Bernie Smith created the ROKS methodology and KPI Trees - a simple, structured, and repeatable way for "normal humans" to design and implement KPIs that actually drive business results.

    ROKS Methodology

    methodology.roks.introBeforeROKS (Results-Orientated KPI System) is a 7-step process that takes you from strategy clarification through to KPI implementation - a structured, repeatable, and logical way to develop KPIs based on clarity of purpose and context.

    1
    Understand & Align Business Objectives

    Clarify where you're trying to go; uses "Big 6" common organisational results as a starting framework

    2
    Engage Stakeholders

    Involve the people who will use the KPIs to ensure buy-in and practical implementation

    3
    Create a KPI Longlist

    Use visual techniques (especially KPI Trees) to translate strategic objectives into measures

    4
    Shortlist KPIs

    Pragmatic filtering (importance vs. availability matrix) to identify the most critical, feasible measures

    5
    Define KPIs Precisely

    13+ field definition template (name, frequency, measurement intent, units, responsible person, etc.)

    6
    Design Reports/Dashboards

    Apply "Brilliant Dashboards" approach for clear insight transfer and decision-making

    7
    Implement & Review

    Go live and continuously improve your KPI system based on feedback and results

    ROKS Variants

    ROKS Express: Streamlined for small businesses; pre-built KPI Trees for common functions with partial definitions
    ROKS Enterprise: Full methodology for large corporations with complex requirements
    ROKS KPI Black Belt: Certification programme covering advanced topics like measuring intangibles and designing inexploitable targets

    KPI Trees

    What is a KPI Tree?

    A KPI Tree is a visual diagramming method invented by Bernie Smith in 2011 (first published in KPI Checklists, 2013). It expands on driver trees (Toyota Production System P-M Analysis) and Strategy Maps (Kaplan & Norton) to break down vague aspirational goals into meaningful, measurable KPIs through structured decomposition.

    Structure

    • Four levels: Top-level strategic objective → broken down twice into logical chunks ("nodes") → specific measurable KPIs at the bottom
    • Colour-coded for clarity and easy visual comprehension
    • Three types of links: Cause-effect (direct influence), Conflict (red line; highlights need for "check metrics"), and Companion (subset/overlap)
    • Distinguishes leading (predictive) vs. lagging (past performance) indicators
    Simplifies Complexity

    Arranges KPIs in clear hierarchy, making complex relationships easy to understand

    Ensures Alignment

    Gets dominant personalities and diverse stakeholders on the same page

    Adaptability

    Easy to update when strategy changes, keeping KPIs relevant and actionable

    Comprehensive Coverage

    Ensures you don't miss critical measures by systematically decomposing objectives

    How to Build a KPI Tree (7 Steps)
    1

    Define top-level strategic objective

    2

    Break down into 2-3 sub-objectives (first layer)

    3

    Break those down again (second layer)

    4

    Identify specific KPIs at the bottom level

    5

    Draw connections (cause-effect, conflict, companion)

    6

    Label leading vs. lagging indicators

    7

    Review and refine with stakeholders

    Ready to Learn More?

    Explore our free resources, training programmes, and certification courses to master the ROKS methodology and KPI Trees.

    Free KPI Tree GuideKPI Academy CoursesKPI Black Belt Certification