Introduction
Swim 3.8 kilometers, cycle 180 kilometers, and then run another 42 kilometers—nonstop, start to finish. Ironman triathletes train almost year round to prepare to push themselves to their mental and physical limits over this distance on race day. The job of these athletes' coaches is to prepare them for successful racing by applying motivation along with sound training principles and techniques suitable to each athlete's specific goals and background.
By adopting a project management approach to coaching, both the athlete and the coach determine specific goals, identify key races/milestones and resource restrictions, such as hours available to train, and then prepare a plan. The athlete then executes the plan as best as possible, making adjustments as necessary.
A simple example of the coaching process involves the coach giving a set of workouts to the athlete based on an original assessment and then monitoring whether or not the end goals are met. In fact, many traditional projects are also organized in just that manner. Deliverables, along with time, resource, and financial targets are set at the beginning, and a plan is made. The project team then begins working to meet these goals, often with feedback and adjustments made on an ad hoc basis.
Project managers and athletes are also adept at recording data relating to their performance. Many athletes even have a log going back to their first days in sport. But without using this information frequently to analyze and make changes, this logging is quite useless except as nostalgia—there is no value added to the current project or racing season.
Adding effective metrics brings an increased degree of maturity to the coaching process by incorporating a feedback loop to make realistic changes to the athletes' training plans as they adapt during the season and to provide information for planning future seasons. Coaches also benefit by having consistent measurement criteria across all athletes in order to evaluate their own coaching effectiveness.
The Coaching Process
Incorporating an effective set of metrics for the athletes begins first not with the athlete, but with development of the coach. A successful coach, like a corporate leader, is guided by a mission and value set. These high level directives reflect the individual coaching style and the elements that the coach feels are most important for guiding the development of their athletes. Just as corporations in similar lines of business may have very different internal cultures gauging success, coaches also have their own process and style which each has determined will bring the best success for their clients.
Once a coach has fully determined his own methodology, the process can continue towards applying training techniques to his athletes. Exhibit A illustrates the seven steps of the coaching process and the flow of development.
Exhibit A. The Coaching Process
1. Determine Mission and Values
At the beginning of the process, Mission and Values are developed. The Mission identifies what type of product or service is being offered, to whom it is being offered, and the unique strengths of the organization. Values outline what principles are important while operating a successful organization. Following are the Mission and Values for this coach.
Mission: To provide results-oriented, personalized coaching to age group triathletes and to promote long-term enthusiasm and participation in endurance sports.
Values: Provide motivation. Be objective. Apply sound principles. Be accessible. Learn constantly.
2. Find Unique Keys to Athlete Success
From the Mission and Values, the coach identifies Keys To Success, which he believes will bring the greatest return for his athletes. All coaches agree that significant endurance work is valuable for training Ironman competitors, but the mixture of hours per week, time spent in each sport, amount of rest taken, and the training structure of the season are very different from coach to coach. For this coach, the following Keys To Success are derived from the overall mission.
Lifestyle: have fun while achieving athletic goals.
Execution: prepare for race day.
Elevation: consistently push personal comfort zones through consistent training.
Rejuvenation: schedule time for the body to rest and rebuild.
Effectiveness: plan efficient use of limited resources.
Measurement: improvement through observing, recording, and analyzing.
Fueling: practice good nutrition.
Long Term: prevent injuries and overload-related illnesses.
3. Develop Effective Metrics
Effective metrics are directly linked to the Keys To Success. The coach should only measure what is necessary for the athlete to succeed and what the coach needs to evaluate his own effectiveness. In the section below entitled “Metrics Development,” the Balanced Scorecard concept is introduced as a system for metrics development and its implementation into a triathlon coaching metrics system is described.
4. Working with Athletes' Goals and History
The coach's first task with the athlete is to capture the athlete's goals for the next season(s) and a full history including athletics, health, lifestyle, and training preferences. The combination of goals and history is analyzed and the athlete is given an Assessment Feedback, which contains observations on the expectations and specificity of goals, the athlete's strengths and weaknesses in each sport, as well as health, nutrition, and motivation observations.
5. Create the Athlete Plans
From the Assessment Feedback, the coach then maps out a plan for the upcoming training season. This Year Plan outlines known race dates, training periods, volume, and intensity for each week in the season. At the beginning of each week, the coach looks at the particular week on the Year Plan and then creates a detailed Week Plan listing specific workouts for the athlete to execute during the next seven days.
6. Plan Execution and Data Recording
Each week, the athlete executes the plan and logs data relating to performance, health, and nutrition. There are usually some discrepancies between the plan and the actual execution. These discrepancies are then examined further to celebrate progress and to expose any potential problems either with the coach's planning or with the athlete's short- or long-term execution capability.
7. Metrics, Analysis, and Feedback
As athletes log data during the season, the coach uses this information to calculate metrics. These metrics are then analyzed and used for planning the next week or period, and, in some cases, to adjust the athlete's season goals. Examples of publishing metrics via a “Cockpit Chart” are included in the section below, “Metrics Reporting and Analysis.”
A Tale of Two Triathletes
To provide a practical example of metrics use within triathlon coaching, we refer to two age-group triathletes, Paul and Dave, throughout this paper. Paul and Dave both have a general goal of racing in an Ironman triathlon during the season but have very different specific targets. Paul is an Ironman veteran wishing to go even faster this year and to qualify for the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii. Dave has a competitive cycling background and has finished a half-Ironman race in the past, but this will be his first attempt at the full Ironman distance. Dave does not have a time goal, only to finish comfortably.
In the following two sections, we will see how these two athletes benefit from the coaching process and how metrics are used to help determine a course of action and how the resulting data is used to apply necessary adjustments to the plan.
Metrics Development
The Balanced Scorecard
The Balanced Scorecard (Kaplan and Norton, 1996) has gained popularity in the corporate world during the last decade as a system for categorizing metrics and linking measures to high-level goals. The premise behind the Balanced Scorecard is that organizations already measure many facets of financial performance for historical reasons and legal obligation, but financial data alone is not enough to accurately portray the overall health of the corporation. The Balanced Scorecard identifies four major categories of measurement contributing to organizational health: Financial, Customer, Internal Process, and Learning/Growth. Financial data is labeled as a lead indicator, since it is the highest priority category; all the other categories are in supporting roles, or are lag indicators to financial data.
The Balanced Scorecard is not unique though. Many companies have adopted similar systems such as the Malcolm Baldridge Quality Award criteria (Baldridge, 2003) for identifying and measuring financial and non-financial performance. The system used is not critical; however, it is paramount that: 1. Categories in addition to financial data are identified that contribute to the long-term success of the organization; and 2. The categories are linked together such that the lagging indicators are supporting the leading indicator.
For coaching, the lead indicator category equivalent to the corporate scorecard's Financial category would be Racing. Racing is the primary reason that the sport exists and races are the milestones in every triathlete's Year Plan. However, like the corporation, this leading category alone is not enough to measure all the coach's Keys To Success. Hence, five categories have been identified for the Triathlete Balanced Scorecard: Racing, Training, Physical Health, Efficiency, and Mental Health. Exhibit B illustrates the support that the Racing category receives from the other categories as well as the support links between the other four categories. The relationship between Training and Physical Health can be exemplified by how the hours spent training affects body weight and composition, soreness, and fatigue, while nutrition has a direct impact on the consistency and quality of the workouts that the athlete can complete.
Exhibit B. Five Categories of the Triathlete Balanced Scorecard with Supporting Links
Metrics Within the Triathlete Balanced Scorecard
Now that the metrics categories have been identified, individual measures within each category must now be chosen. The coach views each category as supporting both the performance driver and the overall objectives in the Keys To Success. One effective method of choosing category measures is to brainstorm all the possible relevant items to measure and then narrow down the number of measures to the most influential, 20 at most.
Why 20? In Keeping Score, Mark Graham Brown writes that an individual can only realistically focus on a maximum of approximately 20 individual measures. More than 20 and the effectiveness of analyzing the numbers is either diluted or the analysis is completely abandoned, resulting in data being logged with no feedback. This latter situation is actually worse than not logging any measures at all, since valuable time is spent collecting data that no one uses.
Exhibit C below lists metrics currently identified for each category as well as a subset of the complete list of objectives, targets, and initiatives for Paul and Dave. Both athletes each use most of the measures, but not all.
Exhibit C. Components of Triathlete Balanced Scorecard Categories with Partial List of Objectives, Targets, and Initiatives
The metrics in Exhibit C do not need to be permanently fixed. As new trends or maturities within the areas are observed or the coach becomes aware of other influences on athlete goals, these metrics can and should be updated. Also note that in general, the same metrics are used for both athletes, but the objectives, targets, and initiatives are very different.
Raw Data versus Metrics
Not all logged data by the athlete correlates 1: 1 with metrics on the Balanced Scorecard. As an example, athletes may log heart rate data, lactate threshold information, power output, or other details related to the intensity of their workouts. The metrics, however, only show in generalizations the effort or type of intensity that was performed. The raw data is always available, but it is not needed for an overview. It is analogous to a car's “engine” light. The driver doesn't need to constantly monitor the status of every sensor in the engine, transmission and exhaust systems—only when the light comes on is in-depth investigation needed.
Metrics Reporting and Analysis
Viewing Metrics—The Cockpit Chart
The Cockpit Chart is a single page showing all relevant metrics for a single category or, if possible, measures from all categories. This condensed chart format provides only the most relevant information driving the individual targets and Keys To Success. Exhibit D shows the Cockpit Chart for Dave during a four-week period.
Raw data logged by the athlete and the coach is always available for viewing but the calculation of metrics for the Cockpit Chart is normally completed only at periodic intervals. Even if the system and technology implemented to gather raw data permits “live” metrics calculation, it is recommended that periodic snapshots or baselines be taken of the chart for future reference.
Analyzing the Chart
While all athletes may report the same measures on the Cockpit Chart, each athlete has different objectives, targets, and initiatives and therefore, analysis of the metrics cannot be applied equally to all. For example, if both Paul and Dave have only average values for nutritional quality, the analysis for Paul would be to focus more on improved food intake, to ensure good recovery from his workouts and to improve body composition to attain an optimal power to weight ratio on race day. Dave, on the other hand, could also benefit from better nutrition practices, but he could still achieve his goals at the current nutrition level, while focusing on improving other measures more critical to success.
The chart for Dave in Exhibit D on the next page shows a four-week training period early in the season, when he is working on basic endurance skills and not racing often. This information, while interesting to observe, still does not have much value unless it is used for planning and adjusting his future training periods. The analysis work should reveal where he is making progress, which areas are lagging, and possibly identify goals that are at risk.
Note that there are some metrics in the Triathlete Balanced Scorecard that are not included in his Cockpit Chart. As an example the Scorecard contains a metric in the Efficiency category that monitors running stride rate. For Dave, measures have been done in the past, have been very consistent and acceptable, and are not likely to change in the future. Therefore, it has been decided to not monitor this particular metric.
Overall, Dave is progressing quite well and is still on track with the goals he has set for the season. He has not missed many workouts, but further investigation of the raw data is needed to see why there were an unusually high percentage of workouts modified. Since this period was in February, it is possible that the weather was an inhibitor to accomplishing planned training hours—something for the coach to be aware of when planning future periods.
Exhibit D. Four Week Cockpit Chart for Dave
Caution in Weighing Metrics
It is important to treat different metrics with different priorities so as to not drive unwanted practices. As an example, Dave's Cockpit Chart shows that he has spent 7% of his total swim training distance performing drill work to improve technique. If this metric becomes the focus as a method to become a better swimmer, one unintended consequence is that he becomes very good at performing drills but does not improve overall as a swimmer. Dave should continue to use this metric to ensure that drill work is being performed, but to focus more on actual swim times as a driver.
Conclusion
Whether constructing skyscrapers, re-designing a supply chain, delivering a software release, or coaching triathletes, a leader can use metrics to provide valuable insight on the progress of individual projects. By using the metrics frequently for feedback, any necessary changes can be made early on in projects, thus improving chances of success.
By deriving measures from explicitly listed Keys To Success, Mission and Values, leaders can be confident that the data used for decision making and project adjustments are in line with the overall strategy of the organization.