Both reports mentioned in this post indicated a need for measures. We seem to be heading into blue water without effective measures to ensure we're on course. Who is working on development of measures and will the OPC's play in that formulation?Let me take a crack at this one (with a great assist from CAPT Re, CDR Parker and LCDR Bowes):
There are a number measures and metrics the Coast Guard has to gauge the progress of Modernization. Two of these are performance metrics and organizational metrics. Performance metrics (See an earlier iCommandant post) are the tangible measures which we often hear about the most; pounds of cocaine removed, number of undocumented migrants interdicted, number of lives saved, and so forth. The Coast Guard has used these types of measures, which can be found in the Coast Guard Posture Statement, to communicate to our overseers and the public how well the Coast Guard is providing its service to the people. We will monitor our established performance metrics to ensure that Modernization does not decrease the level of service to the public. We anticipate that service will increase through improved logistic support, unit readiness, and unity of command, but are unable to predict by how much.
However, it seems you are more interested in the organizational measures the Coast Guard uses to gauge the progress of Modernization and who is responsible for these measures. The Office of Enterprise Strategy, Management and Doctrine Oversight (CG-095) has assumed responsibility for managing the implementation of Modernization and is more formally documenting the Modernization business case which will include organizational performance measures. CG-095 has a very detailed plan of action and milestones to monitor our progress. One of the problems has been determining of the more than 1,000 metrics in our measures warehouse, which are the best indicators of Modernization's impact on servicewide performance. For example, one metric FORCECOM may use to measure the effectiveness of training is the percentage of units who meet all qualification standards, but on the other hand, the Deputy Commandant for Mission Support (DCMS) may find that faster aircraft turnover measures the efficiency of the Service Centers. While these are both examples of useful metrics, they do not necessarily reflect on the overall success of Modernization. The problem then is not that there are not enough measures, rather there is no agreed upon set of measures to assess the impact of Modernization. We have recognized this challenge and are working to narrow down the best metrics to monitor a modernized Coast Guard.
The OPCs (Organizational Performance Consultants) are actively involved in the Modernization. Clearly, we have not used their expertise in all areas to the fullest extent. Fortunately, we have recognized this and expect the OPCs will play a more active role in the future.
Just to clarify things, the actual development of measures is a joint effort between the sponsoring Program and the Coast Guard Business Intelligence (CGBI) Team. The CGBI team provides the expertise on how to best calculate the measure based on available authoritative data. If the required data is not available, they have the capability to influence the data collection process. Once the measure is in the repository and linked to a product (Cube, Report, Dashboard or Scorecard), the measures can be used for monitoring or decision making purposes.
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My next post will be about the history of Modernization, where the idea came from, and why the Coast Guard needed such a radical transformation.
Thank you for reading and I hope everyone has a fun and safe 4th of July weekend!
1/C Cassidy
"Cadet Disclaimer: These posts are my attempt to try to make Modernization more relevant and understandable to the junior workforce. These are the thoughts of a simple cadet and should not be taken as those of the Commandant. I still have some time to go before I could do that."
