One of the key facets of project management is performance measurement. In fact, "The three prime objectives of project management are to meet specified performance within cost and on schedule" (Meredith & Mantel, 2006, p. 24). The importance of performance measurement cannot be overstated. Other project management values such as rapid project completion are not valuable if performance quality is sacrificed to attain them. In addition, without performance measurement, it is difficult to evaluate the success of a project. By linking measures to the company's strategy and ensuring that they work within the budget and compensation framework, a company can obtain meaningful information that supports its overall health (Thor, 2006, p. 8). Finally, as someone once said, "You cannot manage what you cannot measure," so performance measurement is vital for managing work and workers ("Performance Measurement," n.d., p. 1).
There are a variety of performance measures that can be used to assess performance in a project, but three of the most important are schedule, quality, and customer satisfaction. A project schedule is an excellent performance measure for showing whether the work is being done efficiently. A project that meets its deadlines is one that is being handled effectively, with the work being executed on time. In order to meet the deadlines, the project has to be managed well, and the workflow has to be streamlined; otherwise, scheduling problems would develop. The ability to meet schedule indicates more than just efficient work habits, however; it also demonstrates expert planning. Unforeseen problems and issues invariably crop up during a project, and if they have not been allowed for in the schedule, the project will overrun its time estimates. Therefore, the schedule is an excellent performance measure that reflects efficiency and planning.
The quality of the work is equally, if not more,
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