Managing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in BSC Designer

Create KPIs, adjust their settings, input KPI data, specify measurement scale, and optimization function.

  • Multilevel KPIs; alignment with goals.
  • Measurement units (quantitative, qualitative, natural-choice, binary).
  • Performance formulas (minimization, maximization, binary, etc.).
  • Calculations for containers/groups of KPIs (average, sum, etc.); leading/lagging indicators; relevant/absolute weights.

For more information about KPIs, check out this article.

Creating a New KPI

Add new KPI button
  1. Select an indicator that will be a container for a new KPI
  2. Use Add button

Manual Data Entry

To enter data manually follow these steps:

  1. Select or create any indicator
  2. If needed change an update interval
  3. Select appropriate date in the calendar
  4. Enter a new numeric value into the Value field

Alternatively, you can select any indicator and click onto the Values Editor button on the toolbar.

Groups of KPIs

Any item in the scorecard can serve as a container for other items. A container can:

  • Aggregate data from the child items for its value and performance, or
  • Be self-standing, e.g., have its own value and performance independently of the value of child items.

The behavior of a container is defined by the "Performance:" link on the "Performance" tab and by the "Value:" link on the "Data" tab.

Goal performance setting in BSC Designer

The following options are available for "Performance":

  • Weighted average (used by default) - The performance of the goal will be calculated as an average of the performance values of the contained KPIs, taking into account their weight.
  • Average, Max, Min, Sum - The performance of the goal will be calculated using one of these methods: average, maximum, minimum, or sum of the performance values of the contained KPIs.
  • Self-standing - The performance of the goal will be calculated independently, using its own value, min, and max, without considering the performance of the contained indicators.

Goal value setting in BSC Designer

The following options are available for "Value":

  • Weighted average - The value of the goal will be calculated as an average of the values of the contained KPIs, taking into account their weight.
  • Average, Max, Min, Sum - The value of the goal will be calculated using one of these methods: average, maximum, minimum, or sum of the values of the contained KPIs.
  • Self-standing - The values of the contained indicators won't be considered; the value of the goal will be entered manually by the user.
  • Performance (used by default) - The performance of the current container will be used as its value.

The Properties of an Indicator

Select any indicator in the list of KPIs. The software will display properties of the indicator below.

General Tab

KPI in BSC Designer

  • Name. The name of the KPI. Try to keep it short and meaningful, don't overload it with details, and put the details into the description field.
  • Icon. Next to the Name field there is KPI's icon. You can change it by clicking on the icon image.
  • Description. The description field is for additional information about the KPI, such as information about the measurement method. Click on the Details button to provide more information using custom KPI fields or by uploading relevant documents.
  • Unit of measure. Use this list to choose one of measurement units that is applicable to the KPI. If there is no measure that fits your needs click the button on the right from the Measure drop list to add a new measure.
  • Owner. The users responsible for this business goal or indicator.

Data Tab

  • Value. The value field displays the current value of the KPI for the date selected in the calendar. The button next to the "Value" field allows to create indicators with custom formulas.
  • Max and Min values determine the minimum and maximum possible range for a value. Whereas baseline and target values show your working interval. Normally a baseline is a starting value and the target is a value that you wish to achieve.
  • Simple input mode. For some indicators the Baseline is always equal to Min value and the Target is always equal to Max value. Check this checkbox and the software will show only the baseline and target fields.

Performance Tab

  • Weight, %. The relative weight indicates the importance of the indicator within its container, while the absolute weight reflects its importance across the entire scorecard. Weight is considered when calculating the performance of the container.
  • Optimization. Decide how to optimize the KPI value - minimize (e.g., employee turnover) or maximize (e.g., profit). For complex dependencies, enter a custom formula by clicking the Edit button next to the Optimization drop-down list.
  • Raw data indicator. Some indicators on the scorecard are just data storages that are not supposed to have a performance or progress. Check this checkbox and BSC Designer won't take this indicator into account when calculating the performance of the scorecard.

View Tab

  • Glyph 1 and Glyph 2. Glyph settings for the indicator on the strategy map.
  • Strategic theme. Select a strategic theme for the item.
  • Display on strategy map. Defines whether this item should be displayed on a strategy map.

Context Tab

  • Indicator type. The type of indicator is defined in the context of its container. Lagging indicators contribute to the calculation of higher level items. Leading indicators are used for local calculations only. Learn more about the difference.
  • History of changes. Detailed change log for the item.
  • Dependencies. The items that affect or are affected by the selected item.

Use Cases for KPIs

Explore common use cases for KPIs in BSC Designer.

Inverse KPIs or Minimization KPIs

  • Example: “Cost per Acquisition” where lower acquisition cost means higher performance.

To implement:

  1. Switch to the Performance tab
  2. Change Optimization to Minimize value linearly
  3. Switch to the Data tab; ensure the “baseline” value is greater than the “target”

Absolute KPIs (Performance-Based)

  • Example: “Mandatory Training Completion” should be 100% only when all employees are trained; otherwise, 0%.

To implement:

  1. Switch to the Performance tab
  2. Change Optimization to Binary Maximize

Note: The value of this KPI can still be tracked gradually from 0% to 100%. Only the performance score is binary.

Binary KPIs (State-Based)

  • Example: “Regular Compliance Audit Passed” with possible states: “yes” or “no”

To implement:

  1. Switch to the General tab
  2. Change Unit of measure to Yes/no
  3. Click the Values Editor button
  4. Adjust Update interval type; change Values inheritance to Use inherited values

Static KPIs

  • Example: “Environmental Emission Limit” set annually as CO2 tons/year by the regulator.

To implement:

  1. Switch to the Data tab; update the current and target states of the indicator
  2. Click the Values Editor button
  3. Change Values inheritance to Use inherited values

Optional: Adjust Update interval type if the indicator should be revalidated in the future.

Weighted Index

  • Example: “Risk Index” with “Major Risk Events” weighted at 80% and “Minor Risk Events” at 20%

To implement, for sub-indicators:

  1. Switch to the Performance tab
  2. Change Weight

For the index indicator:

  1. Switch to the Performance tab
  2. Set performance to Weighted average

Calculated KPI

  • Example: “Return on Investment (ROI)” calculated as: (Net Profit / Investment Cost) × 100

To implement:

  1. For the “ROI” indicator, follow the steps to set up the formula

For indicators in the formula:

  1. Switch to the Performance tab
  2. Check Raw data indicator to stop calculating individual performance

Dual Scale KPI

  • Example: “Employee Satisfaction (%)” with min = 0%, max = 100%, baseline = 60%, target = 80%.

To implement:

  1. Open the Data tab
  2. Disable Simple input mode
  3. Input minimum, maximum, baseline, and target values

Optional: Configure the KPI table to show progress (baseline-to-target) and performance (min-to-max).

More Properties for KPIs

Expand the data model used for KPIs beyond the standard properties:

  • Use initiatives to add project management properties like budget and timeline to KPIs.
  • Use custom fields to define additional properties for KPIs.

Stop-Lights

Stop-lights are cycles of different colors that are displayed next to the performance and progress values. The stop-lights help to quickly identify the state of the indicators. Stop-light colors can be customized for an indicator:

  1. Open a scorecard in BSC Designer
  2. Go to the KPIs tab and select an indicator
  3. Select Stop-lights settings in Tools menu
  4. Enter new values for the stop-lights, check the Enabled checkbox and click OK:

    5. Custom stop-lights in BSC Designer