Metrics to Improve Project Delivery

Two PMs presented the same feature. One got killed in committee. One got $2M budget. The only difference: how they counted: Monday: PM #1 presents. "This integration improves workflow efficiency by 40%." "User satisfaction scores increased 25%." "Time-on-task dropped 8 minutes." CFO: "What's that worth?" PM: "It's... hard to quantify." CFO: "Next." Wednesday: PM #2 presents the EXACT same feature. "This integration saves users 8 minutes per workflow. At 500 workflows daily, that's 67 hours. At $75/hour, we save clients $5,000 daily. That's $1.3M annually they're not spending elsewhere. Which means they have $1.3M more to spend with us." CFO: "Continue." Same feature. Same data. Different story. PM #2 learned this after losing 5 straight budget battles. Finally asked the CFO: "What do you need to see?" "I need to know if spending $X returns >$X. Everything else is poetry." So she built a simple translation guide: Time saved = Money saved = Budget to spend with us Efficiency gained = Headcount avoided = Expansion opportunity Satisfaction increased = Churn prevented = Revenue protected Now she tracks both: - What Product measures (usage, satisfaction, efficiency) - What Finance hears (revenue, cost, ROI) Same spreadsheet. Two tabs. One for her. One for them. The CFO pulled her aside last week: "You're the only PM who speaks our language. Your projects always get funded. That's not coincidence." She shared her approach with the PM team. Now they all track both metrics. Product metrics for building. Financial metrics for funding. Turns out everyone already knew the secret: Features don't get funded. Financial outcomes do. The translation takes 5 minutes. The funding follows immediately. Your best feature sitting in backlog? It's probably worth millions. You just haven't done the math.

A record-breaking revenue quarter... followed by tanking margins. We’ve seen this play out in fast-growing agencies... Everyone’s celebrating top-line growth, but internal financials tell a different story: - Scopes ballooned mid-project - Project managers didn’t track margin during delivery - Finance caught the issue weeks too late - Delivery teams focused on “getting it done” rather than “getting it done profitably” - Scope changes weren’t formally addressed with clients Here’s how we’d tackle it across our Barrel Holdings agencies: 1. First, map the breakdown. The problem isn’t just financial, it’s systemic. - No formal process to manage scope changes with clients - No real-time visibility into project margin - No clear margin targets - PMs weren’t trained or expected to manage profitability 2. Reground the team in core principles. - Profit must be designed, not hoped for - Margin goals need to be simple, visible, and shared - Every miss is a lesson - Communication is a performance tool, not a formality 3. Fix the operational gaps. - Tighten scoping with templates, risk buffers, and pre-mortems - Show margin vs. estimate in real time during delivery - Train PMs on margin literacy (make it part of the role) - Report margins monthly (or biweekly) at the leadership level 4. Reinforce with structure, rhythm, and feedback: - Assign PMs as margin owners - Review margins weekly alongside delivery updates - Surface margin metrics in dashboards - Celebrate margin wins not just project completion - Feed learnings into future scoping and pricing 5. Watch for ripple effects: - Stronger scope control might cause client friction; train AMs to frame it as professionalism - Teams may resist at first; confidence comes with repetition - Sales must evolve to take margin into account; no more “close the deal and figure it out later” Success looks like: - 85–90% of projects hitting margin goals within a quarter - PMs discussing margin in every project debrief - Change orders becoming standard practice, not a conflict - Clients staying satisfied even with firmer boundaries This isn’t about adding process for the sake of process but about shifting the culture. Margin becomes a shared, measurable, and learnable responsibility. Some of our agencies have undergone this transformation and others are in the process of going through it. It's never an immediate fix but a series of many tweaks & changes over time. == 🟢 Find this type of approach helpful? Check out AgencyHabits & sign up for our weekly newsletter. We also have an Agency Systems Playbook coming out soon for our subscribers.

Metric$ of SERVICE DELIVERY EXCELLENCE - Professional Services Executive (PSE) ensures financial & operational success - managing key metrics (e.g., utilization, margin, delivery efficiency & more) directly impacts profitability, client sat & overall growth Below explains metrics & how to apply to ProSvcs: 1️⃣ Utilization Metrics - how effectively employees' time is allocated to billable vs non-billable work Billable Utilization: % of employee's available hours spent on revenue-generating (billable) work & calculated as: Billable Utilization % = (Billable Hours / Total Available Hours) x 100 Productive Utilization: both billable & non-billable work (e.g., internal projects or training) PSE monitors utilization rates to ensure optimal resource allocation, identify underutilized employees & adjust workloads to max profitability 2️⃣ Margin Metrics - measure profitability of svcs after accounting for costs: gross, net & project margins Gross Margin: % of revenue after deducting direct costs (e.g., salaries, project expenses) & calculated as: Gross Margin = (Total Services Revenue - Cost of Services) / Total Services Revenue Project Margin: Profitability of a project & calculated as: Project Margin = (Total Project Revenue - Total Project Cost) / Total Project Revenue PSE ensures projects are scoped & priced accurately, monitor margins in real-time & address change 3️⃣ Delivery Efficiency - measures how effectively svcs are delivered w/i budget, on time & to client satisfaction Billable Realization: % of billable hours actually billed to clients & calculated as: Billable Realization = Billed Hrs / Billable Hrs On-Time Delivery: % of projects delivered on/before agreed timeline PSE oversees to ensure efficient delivery, minimize unbilled work & maintain client satisfaction 4️⃣ Revenue Metrics - track financial contribution of PS to the bottomline Services Revenue: Total revenue generated by PS team & calculated all engagements: Fixed Price Revenue = Fixed Fee per Project x Total # of Fixed Price Projects T&M Revenue = # of Hours x Billable Hourly Rate Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR): PS can drive ARR by ensuring successful implementation & adoption of products Product/services Attach Rate (value of services purchased with renewals) & services consumption rate (ratio of svcs purchased to ARR growth) are used to measure impact PSE aligns PS w/ ARR goals, ensuring svcs drive customer retention & growth to maintain profitability 5️⃣ Operational Metrics - focus on efficiency & productivity of PS Utilization Rate: How much employee time is allocated to billable work Forecasted Revenue: Predicts revenue based on sales PSE uses ops metrics to make data-driven decisions about hiring, resource allocation & process improvement 6️⃣ Client Satisfaction & Retention Net Promoter Score & renewal rates are critical for long-term profitability PSE ensures svcs are aligned w/ outcomes - strengthening relationships & brand loyalty #DGCpartners