Background: Accountability and public interest in the quality of intensive care have increased the need for tools that give care providers insight into their performance and that monitor the effect of changes in the care process. Aim: This paper describes the development of such a tool in the context of the Dutch intensive care quality assurance registry "National Intensive Care Evaluation" (NICE). Methods: Based on usability engineering principles we were able to develop a web-based application, called NICE online, that provides a quick overview of the current status of performance measures as well as an easy entry point to further analyze the characteristics and outcomes of an ICU's own population. Results: The tool provides external benchmarks such as the national average or a group of ICUs with comparable organisation characteristics; these can be used by an ICU as a reference to investigate whether certain process improvements are needed. To internally benchmark an ICU's performance over time and to monitor the effect of changes in the care process, Statistical Process Control techniques can be used. Conclusion: Based on the usability evaluation and the usage patterns we conclude that the users of NICE Online appreciate the newly developed tool. NICE Online is a tool under continuous development. Based on regular feedback from the users we will further improve and extend the functionality of the system. Copyright © 2011, Nederlandse Vereniging voor Intensive Care.