A Critical Success Factor (CSF) is often used in business management to identify a single measurement or a limited list of measurements that are necessary for the organization to achieve in order to meet its mission and strategic goals.
Often Critical Success Factors are goal objectives stated in a text format, such as "Be The Most Reliable Supplier in Our Industry." Once defined, organization can then create a measurement of the CSF - referred to as a Critical Success Criteria. An example of a Critical Success Criteria would be achieving a "On-Time Delivery" Key Performance Indicator (KPI) of 98%.
These Critical Success Criteria should be measured regularly and consolidated into an Excel style spreadsheet or presented in a KPI Dashboard.
