Balanced Score Card Designer Manual

8/18/2019 Balanced Score Card Designer Manual

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BSC Designer is a software solution for designing and managing the Balanced Scorecard.

• Managing your Key Performance Indicators

• Calculating an Indicator’s Performance and Progress

• Stop Lights and Dynamic Indicators

• Key Performance Indicators and ime Points

• Importing and !"porting Data in BSC Designer

• S#L Indicators

• eamwor$ with BSC Designer

• hree Different %ays to Import Data

• Charts in BSC Designer

• Strategy Maps

• &eports in BSC Designer

It is recogni'ed (y (usiness professionals and Balanced Scorecard consultants as one of themost powerful)and one of the easiest)Balanced Scorecard tools on the mar$et.

BSC Designer comes in four different editions*

• BSC Designer Standard

• BSC Designer Pro +our most powerful and feature,rich -ersion

• BSC Designer Light +our freeware edition

• /nd BSC Designer Online +our we(,(ased solution.

BSC Designer software helps companies to design0 implement0 and use the Balanced

Scorecard to measure and impro-e their (usiness performance. It supports e-ery stage of the

Balanced Scorecard process*

1) Strategic Planning. Designing a Balanced Scorecard (egins with defining your strategic

goals and creating a strategy map. 1ot only can BSC Designer help you to draw your

strategy map2 it can generate your map automatically0 and lin$ your strategy map with your

Key Performance Indicators.

http://www.bscdesigner.com/managing-your-key-performance-indicators.htmhttp://www.bscdesigner.com/how-to-build-performance-formula-with-bsc-designer.htmhttp://www.bscdesigner.com/stop-lights-and-dynamic-indicators.htmhttp://www.bscdesigner.com/key-performance-indicators-and-time-points.htmhttp://www.bscdesigner.com/importing-data-in-balanced-scorecard-from-external-data-source.htmhttp://www.bscdesigner.com/sql-indicators-with-bsc-designer.htmhttp://www.bscdesigner.com/improved-cascading-with-bsc-designer-pro.htmhttp://www.bscdesigner.com/three-different-ways-to-import-data.htmhttp://www.bscdesigner.com/charts-in-bsc-designer.htmhttp://www.bscdesigner.com/strategy-maps-in-bsc-designer.htmhttp://www.bscdesigner.com/reports-in-bsc-designer.htmhttp://www.bscdesigner.com/how-to-build-performance-formula-with-bsc-designer.htmhttp://www.bscdesigner.com/stop-lights-and-dynamic-indicators.htmhttp://www.bscdesigner.com/key-performance-indicators-and-time-points.htmhttp://www.bscdesigner.com/importing-data-in-balanced-scorecard-from-external-data-source.htmhttp://www.bscdesigner.com/sql-indicators-with-bsc-designer.htmhttp://www.bscdesigner.com/improved-cascading-with-bsc-designer-pro.htmhttp://www.bscdesigner.com/three-different-ways-to-import-data.htmhttp://www.bscdesigner.com/charts-in-bsc-designer.htmhttp://www.bscdesigner.com/strategy-maps-in-bsc-designer.htmhttp://www.bscdesigner.com/reports-in-bsc-designer.htmhttp://www.bscdesigner.com/managing-your-key-performance-indicators.htm


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2) Designing your Key Performance Indicators. BSC Designer includes powerful features

to help you create and manage your Key Performance Indicators. It can trac$ the -alue of

your indicators as they change o-er time0 and e-en access your company data(ase to update

these -alues automatically.

) Im!ro"ing your Business Performance. he goal of the Balanced Scorecard is toimpro-e your (usiness performance (y lin$ing top,le-el strategic goals to line,le-el actions.

%ith BSC Designer0 you can assign specific performance goals for each indicator0 and lin$

each indicator to the initiati-es0 tas$s0 and re3uirements that will help you to reach those

goals. 4ou can measure and control your progress toward your goals with -isual cues li$e

stop lights0 dynamic thresholds0 and charts. 4ou can e-en customi'e the performance

formulas for each of the indicators on your scorecard.

#) $eam%or& and Cascades. he $ey to successfully implementing the Balanced Scorecard

is to in-ol-e all of your employees0 from your top managers to your line,le-el employees.

BSC Designer includes all the features you need to com(ine your scorecards into cascades0

delegate indicators to lower,le-el scorecards0 and import the -alues of your low,le-elscorecards (ac$ into your higher,le-el scorecards. /nd to ma$e your colla(oration easier0

BSC Designer also allows you to create reports in 5ML0 MS !"cel0 and MS Powerpoint

formats0 so you can easily share your e"perience with colleagues at e-ery le-el of your

organi'ation.

1ow0 you can try BSC Designer for yourself0 and use all of our features0 a(solutely free0 for

your first 67 days. 8ust go to www.BSCdesigner.com0 and download the free trial.

'anaging your Key Performance Indicators

BSC Designer pro-ides all the features you need to manage the categories and indicators on

your Balanced Scorecard.

Creating Categories and Indicators

o add a new category0 9ust go to your Strategy ree0 select the root le-el of your Balanced

Scorecard0 and clic$ on the :1ew Category; (utton on the tool(ar.

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o add a new category0 9ust go to your Strategy ree0 select the root le-el of your Balanced

Scorecard0 and clic$ on the :1ew Category; (utton on the tool(ar.

o create a new su(,category0 9ust go to your Strategy ree0 open one of the categories onyour Balanced Scorecard0 and clic$ on the :1ew Category; (utton on the tool(ar.

o create an indicator0 open a category on your Strategy ree0 and clic$ the :1ew Indicator;

(utton.

o create an indicator0 open a category on your Strategy ree0 and clic$ the :1ew Indicator;

(utton.

&emem(er*

•

4ou can add categories inside other categories0 or on the root le-el of your BalancedScorecard.

• Indicators can only (e placed inside categories.

Changing Categories and Indicators

It’s easy to mo-e indicators and categories on your scorecard. 8ust use the up and down

arrows on the tool(ar0 or drag and drop.


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It’s easy to mo-e indicators and categories on your scorecard. 8ust use the up and down

arrows on the tool(ar.

4ou can also cut0 copy0 and paste indicators and categories from one place to another in BSC

Designer.

Co!y (s a $et

1eed to copy an indicator or a category to another program0 li$e your word processor< 8ustuse our :Copy as a te"t; feature. he name0 weight0 and performance of your indicator will

all (e added to your clip(oard as one (loc$ of te"t0 which you can paste into any program you

li$e.

1eed to copy an indicator or a category to another program0 li$e your word processor< 8ust

use our :Copy as a te"t; feature.

Other Pro!erties

!ach indicator on a Balanced Scorecard also includes other details. 8ust clic$ on indicator on

your strategy tree0 and you’ll see all of its properties*

• *ame. his is the name of you indicator0 as it will appear on your strategy tree and all

of your reports. Ideally0 you should choose a descripti-e name.


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• +eight. his is the weight of the indicator* its relati-e importance0 compared to other

indicators in the same category.

• Descri!tion. =se this te"t field to e"plain what the indicator means0 and how to

measure it. 4our employees should (e a(le to clearly understand the method or

algorithm to use to find the current -alue of the indicator.

• 'easure ,nits. =se this dropdown menu to choose the units you use when you

measure this indicator.

o 4ou can choose a standard measurement unit from the list.

o 4ou can choose :&is$.; BSC Designer will automatically switch the

optimi'ation method to :Minimi'e; this ris$0 and it will also display the &is$

diagram ne"t to the indicator for this ris$.

o >r0 you can define your own measurement unit. 8ust clic$ on the last option

on the list0 :?new@0; and type in your measurement unit in the dialogue (o".

!ach indicator on a Balanced Scorecard also includes other details. 8ust clic$ on indicator on

your strategy tree0 and you’ll see all of its properties

• $arget Descri!tion and Initiati"es. hese properties allow you to specify your action

plan for the indicator. If your plan is simple enough0 you can descri(e it (riefly in the

:arget Description; te"t (o". Aor a more comple" plan0 choose :Initiati-es0; and

you can attach any documents you might need.

arget Description and Initiati-es. hese properties allow you to specify your action plan for

the indicator.

How to build performance formula with BSC Designer


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BSC Designer calculates the performance of indicator according to its current -alue and the

performance function.

/fter the installation BSC Designer offers two performance functions* ma"imi'ation +when

higher :-alue; means higher performance and minimi'ation +when lower :-alue; mean

higher performance (oth are linear.

• BSC Designer Manual 5ow to change performance formula

%hen designing KPIs (usiness professional might need some sophisticated0 non,linear

functions for the performance. Performance formulas in BSC Designer can (e customi'ed

with Aormula !ditor.

-ormula uilder

o access Aormula Builder*

. &un BSC Designer. Create new indicator or select e"istent one.

. Aind :>ptimi'ation; field at the (ottom and clic$ Performance !ditor (utton*

6. Aormula Builder dialog will appear

Let’s loo$ at e-ery element that could (e used in this (uilder.

/ariales

here are E -aria(les in BSC Designer that can (e used in formulas*

• Min -alue F mn +(uilder synta"2

• Ma" -alue F m +(uilder synta"2

• arget -alue F target +(uilder synta"2

•Baseline -alue F aseline +(uilder synta"2

• Score Galue F "alue +(uilder synta".

BSC Designer Manual Indicator Details

O!erations

Aormula Builder supports Basic mathematical operations* :H;0 :,;0 :;0 :J;.

-unctions

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Clic$ the (utton :Aunction; in the Aormula Builder to ha-e a list of supported mathematical

functions*

• Sin 0a) he sine trigonometry function.

• Cos 0a) he cosine trigonometry function.

• $an 0a) , he tangent trigonometry function.

• Po%er 0a ) !"ponentiation with the (ase of :a; and the e"ponent of :(;.

Aor e"ample* power +0 F 2

• ! 0a) !"ponentiation with the (ase of :e;,num(er and the e"ponent of :a;.

• S3rt 0a) S3uare root. !"ponentiation with the (ase of :a; and the e"ponent of :7.E;.

• Pi the function returns the -alue of pi,num(er.

• 'in 0a ) he function selects the smallest among two num(ers.

• 'a 0a ) he function selects the (iggest among two num(ers.

Aor e"ample* Min +60 E F 62 Ma" +60 E F E2

Customi4ing -ormula

By default the formula field contains linear formula of ma"imi'ation ++Score mn J +m"

mn or minimi'ation ++m" Score J +m" mn. he formula can (e modified and might

contain any com(ination of a-aila(le functions and -aria(les. Some e"amples are listed

(elow*


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Default ma"imi'ation formula* ++-alue, mn J +m" , mn


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+sin+-alueJm".E , mn J +m" , mn


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tan+ ++-alue , s3rt+mn J +m" , mn


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Setting up the special function for the -alues greater than E. Below is the resulted graph for

these conditions.

he performance graph for this function +after score riches E and more the graph (egins to

fluctuate


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&ather than choosing the :summari'e; or :a-erage; grouping type for each indicator one at a

time0 you can assign default grouping types (y measure unit.

>n the Aile menu0 select document Properties0; clic$ on the Measure =nits ta(0 and select a

measure unit. >pen the :Nrouping ype; dropdown menu0 and choose :Summari'e Changed

Galues; +or calculate /-erage Galue;.

1ow0 whene-er you group the -alues of any indicator that uses this measure unit0 those

-alues will (e summari'ed +or a-eraged (y default. >f course0 you can still gi-e an indicator

its own indi-idual grouping type0 which will o-erride this default -alue.

Please note* 4ou cannot change the default grouping type for a default measure unit. 4ou can

change the grouping type for the indi-idual indicators that use a default measure unit. But

you’ll need to use your own0 custom measure unit in order to set a default grouping type.

Stop Lights and Dynamic Indicators

BSC Designer pro-ides a wide range of -isual cues to help you understand the current state

of your Balanced Scorecard.

• Learn more a(out managing stop lights and dynamic threshold in BSC Designer

manual.

he Strategy ree -iew includes stop lights and dynamic indicators to help you understand

how the performance of your indicators has changed.

•Sto! Lights are small colored circles that show the current state of the indicator.ypically0 stop lights will (e green0 yellow0 or red0 depending on whether the

indicator’s -alue is good0 marginal0 or unaccepta(le.

• Dynamic Indicators are arrows which show whether the indicator’s performance has

impro-ed0 remained the same0 or gotten worse since the last time point.

(!!lication O!tions

Stop lights and dynamic indicator arrows are fully ad9usta(le. o access these settings0 9ust

open the ools menu and choose :/pplication >ptions.; 5ere0 you can choose*

• %hich arrows to use0 and which stop light colors to use.

• %hat the threshold -alues should (e)for instance0 at what -alue a green light should

(ecome yellow or red.

• %hich -iew to use for your Strategy ree* the Column $ree /ie%0 or the Sim!le

$ree /ie%. %e recommend the Column ree Giew0 which presents your strategy tree

as a simple ta(le. 4ou can hide any columns you don’t need. 8ust clic$ on the header

at the top of the ta(le0 and chec$ off which columns you’d li$e to display.

Strategy $ree 7e!orts

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If you’d li$e to share your Strategy ree with your colleagues0 9ust open the &eports menu

and choose :ree &eport.; BSC Designer will generate an 5ML document with a graphical

image of your Strategy ree. 1otice that the &eports menu also includes a wide -ariety of

other useful reports0 so you can re-iew0 analy'e0 and share your progress at each step of the

Balanced Scorecard process.

Key Performance Indicators and Time Points

he Balanced Scorecard is not a static document. It changes o-er time* the -alues of the

indicators change0 their weights change0 the total performance of the scorecard changes. BSC

Designer allows you to define time !oints to measure and manage these changes.

!ach indicator on your scorecard has a current -alue. %hen you select an indicator on your

Strategy ree0 its current -alue will (e displayed in the /alue field.

!ach indicator on your scorecard has a current -alue. %hen you select an indicator on your

Strategy ree0 its current -alue will (e displayed in the Galue field.

Indicators and $ime Points

he -alue of an indicator is not fi"ed2 it can and should change o-er time. herefore0 BSC

Designer allows you to define not 9ust one -alue for each indicator0 (ut the -alue of the

indicator on any particular date.

4ou can use the calendar in BSC Designer to trac$ how these -alues change.

• If a date appears on the calendar in (oldface type0 that means that at least one of your

indicators0 somewhere on your scorecard0 has a specific -alue for that particular date.

• If a date appears in normal type0 then none of your indicators ha-e special -alues for

that date.


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If a date appears on the calendar in (oldface type0 that means that at least one of yourindicators0 somewhere on your scorecard0 has a specific -alue for that particular date.

4ou can also clic$ on the calendar to see the -alue of a particular indicator on that date.

act /alue Last Kno%n /alue *o Kno%n /alue

If the indicator you chosehas a specific -alue for the

date you chose0 the Galue

field appears in lue.

If this indicator does not ha-e aspecific -alue for the date you chose0

BSC Designer will show you the last

$nown -alue of the indicator. In this

case0 :Galue; appears in gray.

If you ha-e not definedany date,specific -alues

for this indicator0 :Galue;

will appear in lac& .

Changing an Indicator8s /alue

here are se-eral ways to change the -alue of an indicator on your Balanced Scorecard.

• nter the data manually. 8ust select the indicator0 and enter its new -alue in the

:Galue; field.

• ,se the /alue ditor. >pen the Strategy ree menu and select :!dit Galues; to

access the Galue !ditor . 5ere0 you will see all of the time points you ha-e defined0

and all of the indicator’s settings for each one* its weight0 min and ma" -alues0

(aseline and target -alues0 and its current -alue. 4ou can edit any of these -alues0 or

e-en /dd or Delete new time points at the (ottom.

• Im!ort data from an eternal data source. Aor instance0 BSC Designer supports

Imported Indicators and S#L Indicators.

http://www.bscdesigner.com/kpi_designer_manual/edit-values.htmhttp://www.bscdesigner.com/how-to-manage-data-sources-with-bsc-designer.htmhttp://www.bscdesigner.com/sql-indicators-with-bsc-designer.htmhttp://www.bscdesigner.com/kpi_designer_manual/edit-values.htmhttp://www.bscdesigner.com/how-to-manage-data-sources-with-bsc-designer.htmhttp://www.bscdesigner.com/sql-indicators-with-bsc-designer.htm


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Im!orting data in Balanced Scorecard from eternal data

source

ypically0 your Balanced Scorecard will use data from a -ariety of sources.

• Different +ays to Im!ort Data in BSC Designer

4ou will input some data manually0 retrie-e other data from your corporate data(ase0 and

import more data from ta(les and spreadsheets.

>n the other hand0 you might also need to e"port some of the data on your BalancedScorecard to use in another application.

BSC Designer includes all the features you need to import and e"port your data.

!orting

!"porting the -alue of an indicator from BSC Designer to another application is simple. 8ust

right,clic$ on the indicator0 and choose 9!ort /alues: to launch the !"port %i'ard. he

wi'ard will help you to specify e"actly what data to e"port0 and what format to use.

Im!orting

4ou will usually want to import some of the data for your Balanced Scorecard from e"ternal

files0 li$e MS !"cel spreadsheets. 5ere is the process to use0 step (y step.

5ere is the source pro9ect file*

he source data in MS !"cel file

Aor testing purposes you can download this !"cel file.

http://www.bscdesigner.com/three-different-ways-to-import-data.htmhttp://www.bscdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/import-data-test.xlsxhttp://www.bscdesigner.com/three-different-ways-to-import-data.htmhttp://www.bscdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/import-data-test.xlsx


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Step ! Select a destination

%here do you want to put the data you’re going to import< Choose an indicator or category

on your Balanced Scorecard0 right,clic$ on it0 and select 9Im!ort /alues.:

Choose an indicator or category on your Balanced Scorecard0 right,clic$ on it0 and select

:Import Galues.;

Step " ! Select the data source

4ou can import your data from a MS !"cel file0 a CSG +Comma,Separate,Galue spreadsheet

file0 or you can choose :enter source data manually; to copy and paste from your data

source. If you do enter your data manually0 you can choose some special settings to tell BSC

Designer how to interpret the data.

Select the source file with data

Step 3 – Select the type of import%hat should BSC Designer do with this data< 4ou can*

• Import new data for the category or indicator you chose as yourdestination#for instance$ its name$ weight$ and description%

• Create a new indicator$ using the imported data%

• &r$ import new 'alues for se'eral indicators at once%

Indicator (ames


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If you choose to import data for se-eral indicators at once0 your spreadsheet or other data

source should include the name of each indicator and the name of the category in which it

(elongs.

Import se-eral indicators at once

In this case0 you will need to choose (etween two special options.

• The names of the indicator and its category might be in two separatecolumns on your spreadsheet% If so$ you need to select the )rst option*+(ames of parent categories for the indicators are speci)ed in separatecolumn%,

• &r$ the names of the indicator and its category might be in the samecolumn#for e-ample$ in the format$ +Category.Indicator%, In this case$you need to choose the second option% /nd you will also need to specifywhat character separates the category from the indicator#in our e-ample$a slash%

(ssociating Columns %ith Indicator Pro!erties

>nce you ha-e chosen your destination0 the source of your data0 and the type of import to

perform0 there is one final step. 4ou need to tell BSC Designer how to interpret the columns

in the data you are importing.

Aor instance0 column might ha-e the name of the category0 column might ha-e the name

of the indi-idual indicator0 column 6 might ha-e the -alue of the indicator0 and so forth.

• If you chose to import data to create a new indicator$ you will see adropdown menu where you can choose which column includes the (ameof the indicator%

• If you chose to import data for se'eral indicators$ and the names of theindicators and their categories are in two separate columns$ you will seetwo dropdown menus% Choose which column includes the (ame of theindicator$ and which has the name of its Parent category%


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Columns in source data need to (e associated with properties of indicators.

Im!orting Dated /alues

Ainally0 you can import data a(out the -alue of your indicators on particular dates.

• If your spreadsheet includes 'alues from se'eral di0erent dates$ you canselect which column has the date for each set of 'alues% That way$ BSCDesigner can associate each set of 'alues with the appropriate date%

• If you are importing data about 1ust one date$ you can choose that date onthe calendar in BSC Designer$ and then select the option$ +2se currentdate from calendar%,

• &r$ you can import the new data as default 'alues for one or more of yourindicators$ with no reference to any particular date%

/ssociating columns with indicatorsO properties. Clic$ to chec$ details.

BSC Designer software will show you the pre-iew of imported data*


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Pre-iew e"pected results of import

%hen you will finish import process0 you will see imported indicators in the BSC Designer.

Clic$ on the dates in the calendar to ma$e sure that right data was imported for right dates*

&esults of import in Balanced Scorecard ree

Documents

Balanced Score Card Designer Manual