Dynatrace Goal Led Methodology Explained

With the complexity and frequency of change in the digital age, it is important that every part of the organization is fully aligned to achieve business outcomes. Whether growing revenue, reducing cost, or other aspects of enhancing the business, business goals need to be determined. Business goals give direction and focus, and therefore decisions throughout the organization become easier, actionable, and most of all supported by all aspects of the business.

So why is setting goals so important? Goals are powerful. Setting and aligning goals throughout the organization enables the focused delivery of desirable outcomes.

It is imperative to make sure that all goals are:

• specific
• measurable
• attainable
• realistic
• timely

Goals are also a measure of success; an opportunity to promote achievement to stakeholders, and gain recognition for individuals.

As part of Dynatrace Best Practices, Dynatrace has defined a Goal Led Methodology (GLM) which forms a core component of the Paths to Success. With business goals created and agreed upon at the stakeholder and sponsor level, this acts as the catalyst to culture change, and strategy determination. Thereby establishing the processes and teams to support the strategy and of course utilizing DPM technology to enable success. The methodology enables the mapping and tracking of achievable objectives, tasks, and KPIs for each goal to quantify adoption, and return on investment.

Focused delivery achieves goals.

A detailed plan of action with owned and tracked tasks will maximize the potential for success and reduce the potential for divergence. Plans do, however, need to be agile to ensure you stay on track and adapt to change as required.

“Success is the progressive realization of a worthy goal or ideal.”

—Earl Nightingale, American Author

Remember, there is a need for goals to be measurable, as this allows us to understand the success and impact our achievements are having on the organization. However, how do you quantify a KPI? It will be dependent upon the context of the actual goal. Example KPIs might be the reduction of incidents, increasing the mean time between failures (MTBF), releasing features faster, or helping to increase conversions on your website.

Goals also need to be achievable, therefore, benchmarks and estimates around measures and success need to be regularly reviewed. Action plans should be created to determine how you are going to achieve your objectives. These should be tracked, communicated, and promoted to the wider business.

In summary; at the core of all projects are goals. However, goals without objectives, tasks, and KPIs, are meaningless as you have no way of realizing the goal. Equally, goals and objectives without measurable success metrics will lead to an unknown level of accomplishment. It is, for this reason, all engagements and projects executed by Dynatrace Expert Services use this approach.

Business goals are about what you, as an organization, want to achieve and must be mutually agreed upon. However, what makes a good goal and associated objectives? The answer to this will most likely be different for each organization and project. This is where Dynatrace Expert Services can help. We have experience from thousands of customers, in all markets, of all sizes, in all regions to draw upon.

An example goal created as part of a series of five for a Dynatrace customer is detailed below:

Goal: Create a culture of performance and continuous improvement

To learn more about Dynatrace Expert Services, please follow the below link or speak to your Account Director.

dynatrace.com/services-support/

This blog was co-authored by Alexis and Chris Hammond:

Chris has over 6 years’ experience in the DPM industry as a Program Manager. When he’s not managing customers to success, Chris enjoys outdoor adventures and new box office hits.