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248 CHAPTER 7 • ImPRovEmEnT sTRATEgy

Figure 7.6 the importance–performance matrix

F
GOOD 1 EXCESS?

2
3 APPROPRIATE B
E
Performance against competitors 5 IMPROVE D
4

6
A
7
8 URGENT
ACTION
9
BAD 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
C
Importance for customers
LOW HIGH

approximate boundary between performance levels that were regarded as ‘good’ or
‘appropriate’ on one hand and those regarded as ‘too good’ or ‘excess’ on the other.
Segregating the matrix in this way results in four zones that imply very different
priorities:

● The ‘appropriate’ zone – This zone is bounded on its lower edge by the ‘lower bound
of acceptability’ – that is, the level of performance below which the company, in the
medium term, would not wish the operation to fall. Moving performance up to, or
above, this boundary is likely to be the first-stage objective for any improvement pro-
gramme. Competitive factors that fall in this area should be considered satisfactory,
at least in the short to medium term. In the long term, however, most organisations
will wish to edge performance towards the upper boundary of the zone.
● The ‘improve’ zone – Any competitive factor that lies below the lower bound of the
‘appropriate’ zone will be a candidate for improvement. Those lying either just below
the bound or in the bottom left-hand corner of the matrix (where performance is
poor but it matters less) are likely to be viewed as non-urgent cases. They certainly
need to improve, but probably not as a first priority.
● The ‘urgent-action’ zone – More critical will be any competitive factor that lies in the
‘urgent-action’ zone. These are aspects of operations performance where achieve-
ment is so far below what it ought to be, given its importance to the customer, that
business is probably being lost directly as a result. Short-term objectives must be,
therefore, to raise the performance of any competitive factors lying in this zone at
least up to the ‘improve’ zone. In the medium term they would need to be improved
beyond the lower bound of the ‘appropriate’ zone.

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