Exploring Strategic KPI Alignment through AHP

A case study conducted with LMAC

Case Study Authors

Alistair Crawford, LMAC, Dr Ayse Begüm Kilic-Ararat and Dr Arsham Atashikhoei (University of Bath)

Context

LMAC is a consultancy specialising in digital transformation for the manufacturing sector. They support clients by improving processes, adopting the right technologies, and developing the skills and culture needed to deliver value. Their consulting approach is built around the globally recognised Smart Industry Readiness Index (SIRI) framework, which enables businesses to align leadership teams around Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and drive focused, strategic change. LMAC were interested in testing whether a structured decision-making tool like the AHP metrics tool could complement their methodology and deepen engagement with client organisations, leading to a repeatable and robust approach to identifying a rank order of KPIs.

Objective

LMAC’s existing approach invites clients to rank the KPIs for their digital transformation in order of priority. However, they began questioning whether this method might unintentionally lead to familiar patterns, miss diverse inputs and lead to certain KPIs consistently rising to the top while others received less attention. The goal was to see whether the AHP tool could surface clearer prioritisation, engage diverse perspectives across teams, and ultimately support more aligned, inclusive, and confident client decision-making.

Approach

For this workshop, we applied our AHP-based method to LMAC’s SIRI-aligned KPI set, 14 well-established metrics across speed, quality, flexibility, and productivity. This demonstrated how the tool can flexibly adapt to different strategic frameworks while delivering structured prioritisation.

Following a series of exploratory meetings, we held a workshop with members of the LMAC team. After a short presentation, we invited participants to use the tool directly, comparing pairs of KPIs concerning their importance for business success. We then analysed the data and shared the results in visuals. These results contain the individual importance of the KPIs in terms of weights, and the KPIs are sorted from highest to lowest in the graphs. The final discussion focused on result clarity, user experience, and practical use cases. These included aligning leadership priorities, supporting early discovery phases, and determining where the tool could fit within LMAC’s client offer. 

Insight

The tool revealed the breadth of perspectives within the group, highlighting both agreement and divergence across the 14 KPIs. Participants appreciated how the method brought attention to middle and lower-priority metrics that might otherwise be dismissed but still hold strategic relevance in specific contexts. The fact that the tool worked seamlessly with LMAC’s existing SIRI-based metrics demonstrated its flexibility and adaptability for consultancy settings.

The feedback also provided valuable direction for future improvements. For instance, automation of tools would be essential for real-time client workshops. We are currently working on automating the tool and exploring opportunities to enhance speed and usability.

While the tool’s current format did not fully align with LMAC’s rapid delivery model for live workshops, the team saw clear value in using it during other phases of their consultancy process. In particular, it could be a powerful asset during deeper discovery sessions, for example, when clients are scoping system requirements or prioritising digital transformation pain points. In those contexts, where everything can feel like a “top priority,” the AHP method could help clients make more objective, evidence-based decisions.

By capturing diverse viewpoints in a structured, weighted format, the tool offers a meaningful alternative to traditional voting or ranking methods. This case also demonstrated that our tool can be flexibly adapted to a client’s existing framework, reinforcing its potential as a value-adding component in consultancy work.

Impact

“We appreciated the opportunity to test this tool with our own KPI framework. It clearly has the potential to support wider prioritisation exercises, particularly when gathering input from across departments or stakeholder groups. With further development, especially automation and dashboard integration, it could become a very useful part of our consulting toolkit.”

Alistair Crawford, Managing Director, LMAC

For further information on this case study please contact the P-LD at P-LD@bath.ac.uk

Acknowledgement

This work was supported by the Innovate UK led Made Smarter Innovation Programme: People-Led Digitalisation Engagement and Impact Acceleration [Grant Reference UKRI1436] Centre for People-Led Digitalisation, at the University of Bath, University of Nottingham, and Loughborough University.