Measuring Information Systems Performance: Experience With the Management By Results System at Security Pacific Bank

In 1982, Security Pacific Automation Company (SPAC), the information systems subsidiary of Security Pacific Bank, undertook a number of changes to improve the data processing services they were providing to the Bank. Central to this effort was the development of the Management By Results (MBR)1 system. Part of MBR was the introduction of a series of measures designed to track the success of the changes SPAC was undertaking. These measures were linked to each of the four major aspects of MBR: strategic planning, service level agreements, commitment planning, and performance appraisal and compensation. Although the introduction of MBR and its accompanying measures were not without problems, they are now well established; and they allow senior management to measure SPAC’s contribution to the Bank at the operational, managerial, and strategic levels.