What is a KPI? KPI Definition + Examples

Adriana Girdler

Everything you need to know about KPIs in business Wondering, “What is a KPI?” A KPI is a simple acronym that’s good to know about …

Everything you need to know about KPIs in business

Wondering, “What is a KPI?” A KPI is a simple acronym that’s good to know about no matter what type of business you do or what kinds of projects you’re a part of.

What is a KPI?

KPI is an acronym for Key Performance Indicators. Key Performance Indicators are not goals, but rather a measurement of how you achieve that goal.

Some examples of business KPIs might include things like:

  • Net sales vs. forecast
  • Inventory turnover rate
  • How many emails were opened in a program you sent out
  • How many clients you acquired last month

Essentially, it’s the key things you want to measure to understand your success.

When it comes to projects, some examples of KPIs include things like:

  • Your schedule. Are you on track when it comes to your milestones?
  • How many milestones did you achieve vs. not achieve?

Tip for Setting KPIs: Make it Simple

A KPI should be simple, straightforward, and easy to measure. You’ll also want to make it realistic. Having unrealistic KPIs will not be helpful to determining your success, staying motivated, and staying on track with your goals.

More Tips on KPIs

When it comes to KPIs, there are a few more things you should know to make sure you completely understand KPIs and use them successfully.

I’ve created a short YouTube video that goes more in depth on some tips you need to keep in mind. Head over to YouTube with me and we’ll keep chatting about this there!


I really hope that you found this helpful – and if you did, it would mean so much to me if you would share it on your social media.

Every manager has to take on projects, so a great place to start as a new manager is learning some project management skills. If you’re a new manager, do consider taking my SLAY Project Management online course where I show you step-by-step how to successfully manage a project, plus you get access to every template you will need, along with detailed video instructions on how to fill them out.

 -Adriana

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Adriana Girdler is a project manager, productivity specialist, entrepreneur, professional speaker, facilitator, visioning wizard, and author. As President of CornerStone Dynamics, Adriana is one of Canada’s prominent business productivity and project management specialists—helping both individuals and businesses do what they do, only better. She is a certified master black belt lean six sigma with over 20 years’ experience improving how companies work.

She also holds both PMP (project management professional) and CET (certified engineering technologist) designations. She’s a Tedx speaker, as well as a HuffPost and Thrive Global contributor. She has been interviewed on Global, CBC, CTV, CHCH, 680News Radio, Newstalk 1010, Sirius XM and published in the Globe and Mail and numerous industry magazines. WANT ADRIANA'S FREE ONLINE TRAINING? In 45 min, learn Adriana's 5 project management secrets she use on EVERY project. Sign up for the Free Webinar here: THE FAB FIVE FUNDAMENTALS OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT

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