Inputs include labor, materials, equipment and supplies. Inputs can also represent demand factors such as characteristics of target populations. Input measures are useful in showing the total cost of providing a service, the mix of resources used to provide the service, the demand for services, and the amount of resources used for one service in relation to other services. Outputs focus on the level of activity in providing a particular service. Workload measures, which are designed to show how staff time will be allocated to respond to service demand, are most commonly reported.
Outputs are useful in defining what aproject produces.
However, they are limited because they do not indicate whether the project goals have been accomplished, nor do they reveal anything about the quality or efficiency of the service provided. Outcome measures address whether or not the service is meeting its proposed goals. Both intermediate and long-term outcomes can be evaluated. Intermediate outcomes can be useful in assessing early results when the primary goals will not be realized for several years. Information about the ultimate result is not always available or practical to measure.