Management tools

Performance measurement tools need not be used just to manage contractors. For example, a division of the U.S. Army Reserve Command deployed Cognos Inc.'s Cognos Metrics Manager to monitor its workforce.

Reserve officers needed a way to manage troop training and readiness. Once they determine what it means to be ready, managers can set the metrics and receive alerts. For example, if the troops need to be able to deploy 70 percent of their resources within 72 hours, a manager would need to know when available resources dipped below 60 percent. In that case, the tool would alert managers with a red score indicating an at-risk area, said Terence Atkinson, director of public-sector solutions at Cognos.