In previous post I talked about the importance of KPI and 3 online repositories. On the other side, if you work in IT, there is a book that you can't miss:

Measuring ITIL – Measuring, reporting and modeling the IT service management metrics that matter most to senior executives. by Randy Steinberg.

It is an excellent, short and very practical book based on ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) concepts and policies:

You will find detailed Critical Success Factors and KPIs organized into the following areas:

• Incident Management

• Problem Management

• Change Management

• Release Management

• Configuration Management

• Service Desk

• Service Level Management

• Availability Management

• Capacity Management

• IT Continuity Management

• IT Financial Management

• IT Workforce Management

For each area Randy identifies:

• Operational Metrics

• Key Performance Indicators (with formulas)

• Why KPI matter

• Critical Success Factors

If you are an IT manager, or manage any IT department, you shall read this book!