Example of key performance indicators used to create a business dashboard, also commonly called 'balance scorecard' after the company who has been one of the first to promote the concept.

A key performance indicator is a high-level performance metric that is used to simplify complex information and point to the general state of a phenomenon. Performance indicators are used to communicate general trends and are often used on a program planning level to show progress toward goals.

Performance indicator is a very general concept used in virtually all industry branches (eg: Construction, software development, hospital, mining...) and all departments (eg: supply chain, logistics, manufacturing, fleet maintenance ...)

See also: Key performance indicator (KPI)