Detailed Programme Information
Want to dig into the detail of the KPI Black Belt programme? Here’s everything we could think of that you might want to know. If you still have questions, don’t hesitate to set up a call or send us a message using the links at the bottom of this page.
Five reasons to become a certified KPI Black Belt
Finally – measurement made simple
Tired of scratching your head over KPIs?
Our KPI Black Belt programme strips away the complexity. You’ll learn a tried-and-tested approach that your whole team can follow. No more guesswork, just clear steps that work.
It’s not about fancy software (it’s about knowing what to do)
Everyone’s selling shiny dashboards these days. But here’s the truth: software alone won’t solve your measurement headaches.
We’ll teach you the skills that really matter – like figuring out what to measure and why. Because the best dashboard in the world is useless if you’re tracking the wrong things.
Everything you need in one place
Most professionals tasked with measurement cobble together different methods, hoping something sticks. It’s exhausting and wastes time.
Our programme gives you a complete toolkit that just works. No more mixing and matching different approaches – just one clear path to better KPIs.
Supercharge your career
Let’s be honest – without proper training and certification, it’s hard to stand out as a measurement expert.
Our programme gives you the structure, skills and credentials to become that trusted voice on KPIs. Plus, you’ll learn the same ‘measurement language’ used by a growing number of brands worldwide.
Become the go-to expert
Want to be the person everyone turns to for measurement advice?
Our certification isn’t just a piece of paper – it’s your ticket to becoming recognised as the KPI expert in your field. And because it’s all online, you can learn at your own pace while building real expertise.
Our approach
Self-paced online modules with weekly live tutorials, KPI community membership and expert support
Small group weekly live online tutorials – No more than 12 students in each session
14-week programme
with video catchups available for those with challenging diaries
Who benefits from the
ROKS KPI Black Belt programme?
The ROKS KPI Black Belt programme caters to professionals seeking to deepen their technical and management skills in performance measurement design, implementation, and problem-solving.
Tailored for individuals who:
- Aim to develop and implement robust KPIs efficiently for their organisation or clients, maximising results.
- Aspire to guide clients or colleagues seamlessly through the intricacies of performance measurement techniques.
- Wish to leverage advanced KPI methods, including Index KPIs, control charts, KPIs for Lean Six Sigma programmes, and OKR Trees.
- Seek to showcase their expertise through the prestigious KPI Black Belt certification.
- Typically, participants will be corporate performance management specialists or consultants operating in strategy, performance improvement, management information, business intelligence, data or systems. However, the design of the programme makes it easily accessible to any individual desiring to unlock their status as the go-to expert in KPIs.
Designed for Your Success
Optimised Time Investment: Designed with your schedule in mind, the programme ensures minimal disruption to your billing hours, allowing seamless integration into your professional commitments.
Practical Application: Real-world applicability ensures immediate value, translating your learning into tangible results and making every moment invested worthwhile.
Certification Prestige: Elevate your profile with the esteemed KPI Black Belt certification, establishing yourself as a go-to expert without compromising your ongoing responsibilities.
Benefits of the KPI Black Belt
Skills for all situations
The methods and techniques you will learn are designed to work in any industry or sector. Perfect for internal performance measurement specialists or external consultants.
Ground-breaking methodology
We cover a broad selection of unique, advanced and powerful performance measurement techniques only available through madetomeasurekpis.com and kpi.academy, delivered by method creator, industry leader and course tutor, Bernie Smith.
Practise in a safe environment
The programme gives you the chance to practise your new skills through multiple case studies, supported through regular small group tutorials with an expert coach.
Be first to hear!
Sign up to our free newsletter to hear first about early bird course discounts, plus download our full KPI Black Belt guide and ‘7 Steps to Better Performance Measures’ cheat sheet.
More from our KPI Black Belts …
The programme to unlock your status as the go-to expert on performance management in your organisation
How does certification work?
Achieving Black Belt Status
- Completion of all of the online learning modules
- Completion of all assignments to the required standard
- Passing course module knowledge quizzes (70% or greater, five attempts)
- Attendance of the agreed tutorials (timing will be by mutual agreement and will be as flexible as possible)
Maintaining Certification
Certification and the first year fees are included in the course fees. Maintenance of certification requires a €150 annual subscription (year two onwards) and offering the benefits of:
- listing and verification on the Trusted ROKS KPI Black Belt Professionals page on the Made to Measure KPIs official website, and
- full access to the latest KPI Black Belt tools, templates and training materials (even those created after you qualify).
Certification benefits
Earning your KPI Black Belt certification opens doors to personalised benefits tailored for high-achieving professionals like you:
1. Showcase Your Expertise:
Personalised ROKS KPI Black Belt e-badge and certificate, ideal for enhancing your LinkedIn profile and email signature.
2. Trusted Professional Recognition:
Secure your spot on the prestigious Trusted ROKS KPI Black Belt Professionals page, offering quick verification and elevating your profile in the KPI field of expertise.
3. Elite Community Networking Opportunities:
Gain exclusive access to the KPI Black Belt Guru community, providing the latest releases, advanced tools, and a chance to connect with fellow high-achieving KPI professionals.
Elevate your professional standing, expand your network, and stay at the forefront of KPI expertise with our KPI Black Belt certification.
The tools and methods covered in our programme…
A structured method for finding the right KPIs in any situation
The core of of the programme is the ‘Results Orientated KPI System’. The ROKS method is a flexible and powerful method for selecting the best performance measures for any organisation and is in regular use by many brand names organisations.
As you apply the ROKS method, sometimes you will encounter a particular challenge.
That’s where the rest of the toolkit comes into play. Here are some of the modules you will master in the programme…
Powerful visual KPI and OKR design using KPI Trees
The heart of the ROKS method is the KPI Tree methodology. KPI Trees are powerful, easy to understand and visual. KPI Trees are also a learned skill.
Learn how KPI Tree workshops can build engagement, agreement and highlight hidden KPI risks.
Teams that use this approach derive huge insight from the KPI trees they build.
Harness the power of targets and incentives
Targets and incentives are a critical part of bringing KPIs to life and delivering results. All too often targets and incentives are chosen on an arbitrary basis, using guesswork and ‘gut feel’. Worse still, these poorly designed targets and incentives can lead to totally unintended consequences from gaming.
The ROKET-DS method brings a logical structured approach that can be used in any situation to develop effective targets, key results and incentives.
Index KPIs – Summarising the complex, simply
It’s difficult to read and digest multiple related KPIs. This can paralyse decision-making or lead to reliance on a restricted number of KPIs.
An index KPI rolls multiple related KPIs into a single ‘headline’ KPI, helping the user rapidly identify where they need to focus their attention and dig deeper.
In the Index KPI Design module, we introduce you to a powerful structured approach – the ‘EPIK’ index design system and toolkit, developed by your tutor, Bernie Smith.
Smart Charts – Separating signal from noise
All processes vary naturally. This is called ‘process noise’. How do you know that a chart that increases is really showing improvement and isn’t just showing natural variation? In this module we carefully dissect one shocking example. Using the six most common trending methods we show that the choice of trending tool has a greater impact on the conclusion drawn that the data itself! Control charts, specifically XmR charts, offer a mathematically valid solution to this problem. We cover both the theory of XmR/ImR charts and hands-on physical simulation.
Develop powerful leading indicators using the Holmes method
Many of the most exciting potential KPIs may seem to be hard, or even impossible to measure. Using the three strategies of the Holmes Method, almost anything becomes measurable. Learn the techniques that allowed a pension firm to predict when a customer was intending to leave, how much a Blue Whale eats and how a supermarket figured out if a family shops at rival supermarkets.
Brilliant Dashboard Method – Making dashboards clear and intuitive
In this module, we dig into what makes reports and dashboards clear, simple and informative.
Starting from the first principles of perception, we build a simple, practical set of rules that will allow you to quickly, and objectively, analyse new or existing report designs then identify and fix the issues you identify.
What are the enrolment requirements?
There are no formal enrolment requirements. You are welcome to set up a Zoom discussion to talk through the required commitment and expectation using this link https://calendly.com/bernie-smith/introductory-conversation. Participating in the programme is a major commitment for both parties so a call is a good idea if you have questions or reservations.
What is the delivery approach?
The programme makes full use of a range of online tools to make the experience as full as possible.
- Self-paced e-learning: Weekly online course modules are delivered through our custom e-learning platform, here on kpiblackbelt.com
- Weekly live group tutorial sessions are delivered using Microsoft Teams. You will have the chance to talk through the model solution with your tutor, interact with your coursemates and ask questions.
- Personal Miro assignment board. All your work sits in one location, your personal private Miro board, with helpful templates and documentation provided for each weekly assignment. Personal video feedback for each assignment is dropped straight onto your board each week.
- Rapid help and support when you need it. Get help and support quickly and privately through KPI Community, on our custom private community platform. Need more guidance? One-to-one online calls are available too.
Clear and concise
downloadable course notes
Be first to hear!
Sign up to our free newsletter to hear first about early bird course discounts, plus download our full KPI Black Belt guide and ‘7 Steps to Better Performance Measures’ cheat sheet.
Expertly designed cheat sheets
Exclusive dedicated KPI Black Belt community
Carefully designed weekly assignments
Individual personal video feedback
on every assignment
Group size
Each wave will have a maximum group size of 12, and a minimum of 3.
Money back guarantee
We do our best to give you a full and honest picture of our courses, but if you decide that, after the first tutorial, this is not the programme for you, simply contact us for a full, cheerful and prompt refund.
The only condition on this promise is that you are no more than 20% of the way through the course.
Frequently asked questions…
Here’s a breakdown of typical effort.
- 13 modules over 14 weeks (one catch-up week midway)
- Each weekly module has between 1 and 2 hours of self-paced e-learning
- Assignments typically take 1-2 hours of independent student time
- Live group tutorial 45 mins each Wednesday
Although there is variation between the modules, a typical weekly module will require 4-5 hours of effort (e-learning + assignment) with a 45 minute live tutorial (no preparation required).
Yes, all video modules have English subtitles.
The course material is ‘dripped’ over the 13-week programme, with new material being made available each week. This ensures that students get full value from each session by completing assignments and tutorials alongside the online learning modules.
To take part in the sessions you will need…
- Chrome web browser. Others may work, but Chrome definitely works!
- A computer (either a PC or Mac is fine)
- A decent internet connection (good enough for a stable Zoom/Skype/Teams video call)
- A headset to talk on (avoids feedback and poor sound quality)
- Microsoft Teams (a free download)
- PDF viewing software (free download, for example Adobe’s free Acrobat Reader, Apple’s Preview or Window’s PDF Reader)
For copyright protection the videos can only be viewed through your KPI Academy account. Your initial access is valid for one year, but renews each year with your KPI Black Belt subscription.
If you decide, by the end of the first workshop session, that the course is not for you then you can contact us for a cheerful full refund of your course fees.
Recordings will be available for single missed tutorial sessions, on request. If two or more of the group cannot make a tutorial, we will discuss rescheduling the tutorial or running an extra session.
You can request a full refund at any point up to the end of the first workshop session.
If you want to start developing KPIs for your organisation for a client, then bring along the strategic objectives for that business. This will get you off to a good start and help you make the most of your workshop time. If you don’t have a specific application in mind, or are not able to share this kind of thing, there’s a ‘backup’ case study you can use. The choice is yours. You will be sent detailed guidance when you sign up and we are always happy to discuss this before you join the course.
Other than that, all you need to do is turn up to the session on time and with an open mind.
Each Wednesday at 16:30 UTC. The timing and day may be adjusted where it works better for the group.
We want you to use your training and course materials to succeed. However, there are some reasonable restrictions on use, these are clearly and simply laid out on this page: https://kpiblackbelt.com/acceptable-usage/
When you have graduated, you will receive…
- A personalised electronic graduation certificate
- A personalised electronic badge, for use on LinkedIn, email footers and other online tools
- A profile and contact section on Trusted ROKS KPI Black Belt Professionals
A personalised, physical trophy like this…
Absolutely! Get in touch using book a call for a no-pressure conversation to explore the options.