Performance Metrics Activity

In this activity you will be getting some practice in how to model a complex system, defining performance metrics over it, and thinking about the nature of those metrics. This activity is all about giving you specific examples to think about when we go into abstract analysis.

This activity is for 2-3 people. Please do not work alone, as discussion is key to this activity

  1. Decide at random which system you are going to model. Head over to Random.org and, using the Integer Generator, have it choose one of the following scenarios:
    1. Wegmans Shopping Carts. Model the shopping cart system at your local (Hylan?) Wegmans. Consider each "customer" to be a shopping cart.
    2. Theater bar. Model the concessions bar at a live theater during the intermission.
    3. Career Fair. Model how a small career fair might process potential job candidates.
    4. Clothing Store. Model how a typical clothing store processes customers, including fitting rooms, purchasing, and consultation.
    5. Hardware Store. Model how a typical big-box hardware store processes customers, including consultation, purchasing, cutting lumber, and various other in-store services they offer.
    6. Starbucks. Model how a typical Starbucks operates, one that has a drive-thru, walk-up service, tables and chairs, mobile ordering, purchasing, and of course the various things that go into making their products.
  2. Create a Google Doc folder called "Performance Metrics for X" where X is the name of your system. Share it with your instructor and teammates.
  3. Create a Google Document inside your folder.
  4. Start a drawing program, such as MS Visio. We will be creating basic flow diagrams (of no official type or schema). You will be uploading your diagram(s) to your Google Doc folder
  5. Model your system. You can draw the "floorplan" of your system if that makes sense. You can make a flowchart. Come up with your own way of conceptually mapping the system out in terms of how it processes customers through a complex system of services.
  6. Brainstorm a big list of performance metrics that you could potentially capture in this system. Don't think about how you will collect these metrics, just assume they are easily collected. Shoot for at least 10 metrics here. Feel free to put variable names on your metrics.
  7. Determine units and example measurements of each of your metrics. What are some reasonable measurements of these metrics?
  8. Group your metrics into the following categories:
    • User Experience (UX) metrics - metrics that captures the experience from a user perspective
    • Resource metrics - metrics that measure how your resources are being used
    • Environmental metrics - metrics that you may not have control over, but are part of your system
  9. Look at your groups. Are any groups missing metrics? Think of some more metrics to have some in each of the three groups.
  10. Next, for each metric, come up with the boundaries of the metric. "Unbounded" is allowed here, or perhaps the boundary might be something natural to the situation you're modeling.
  11. Convey how each of the metrics impact each other. This is the hardest part. Try to describe, in as precise and mathematical terms as you can, the relationship between all your metrics. Try to come up with formulas, or rules that would make your model even more useful. What would cause your metrics to go up or down? What do the distributions of the metrics look like? You may need another diagram to explain your thinking, or maybe do it in prose, or bullet points under each metric (up to you).

Submission. Nothing is due for this activity. Sharing with your instructor is just a way to gauge participation and getting feedback