BSC Designer – Balanced Scorecard Software

The optimization chart shows you the current performance of your indicator.

The optimization chart shows you the current performance of your indicator.  It includes your indicator’s value, and its function line.

• The three points on the chart show you the indicator’s baseline value, its current value, and its target value.  Just look at these three points, and you can see your progress toward your goal.
• The line represents the indicator’s optimization formula—that is, the relationship between the indicator’s value, and its performance.  Our default formulas, Maximize and Minimize, are both linear functions, so this will usually be a straight line.
• The relationship between an indicator’s value and its performance is not always linear.  It might be binary, or it might be more complex.  To create a different optimization formula, just select the indicator, open the Optimization dropdown menu, and choose “Editor.”  The line on the optimization chart will change shape accordingly, to show you how the indicator’s performance will change when you change its value.

• This chart is available in HTML report;
• Learn also: basic ideas about charts in BSC Designer;

admin Features chart, Optimization

The Time Chart shows you how the values of your indicators and categories have changed over time.

The Time Chart shows you how the values of your indicators and categories have changed over time.

• When you select an indicator, its Time Chart shows each change in the value of the indicator, compared to the baseline and target lines.
• When you select a category, the Time Chart shows you how the overall performance of the category has changed over time, compared to the baseline and target values of the indicators in that category.

The colors in the background match the colors of your stop lights.  Go to the Tools menu and choose “Application Options,” and you can decide what colors to use, what values they should represent, and whether they should measure your indicators’ performance, or their progress.

• This chart is available in HTML report;
• Learn also: basic ideas about charts in BSC Designer;
• Learn more Time points in BSC Designer;

admin Features time chart, time diagram

Gauge Chart in BSC Designer

The gauge chart shows you the performance of each indicator:

• The small red arrow represents the indicator’s baseline value.
• The small black arrow represents its target value.
• The large arrow shows its current value.
• And the colored scale matches the colors and thresholds you chose for your stop lights.  Open the Tools menu and choose “Application Options” to choose what colors to use, what values they should represent, and whether they should measure your indicator’s performance, or its progress.

• This chart is available in HTML report;
• Learn also: basic ideas about charts in BSC Designer;

admin Features chart, diagram, gauge

In the Balanced Scorecard process it is important to link the strategic level with action level. Each Indicators from your Balanced Scorecard should be linked to certain action plan or initiatives.

• Target Description and Initiatives. These properties of an indicator allow you to specify your action plan for the indicator.  If your plan is simple enough, you can describe it briefly in the “Target Description” text box.  For a more complex plan, choose “Initiatives,” and you can attach any documents you might need.

How to add initiative to indicator or category

1. Run BSC Designer
2. Select any indicator or category

Step 3. Click "Initiatives" button

Step 4. Add some files with tasks or requirements for this goal; Enter "Target Description" if needed;

Step 5. Small icon will appear next to the indicator indicating that this indicator has some initiatives attached.

You can get the list of all initiatives for all indicators and categories in the project. Select “Project Initiatives” command in File menu.

admin Features attachments, initiatives

This report is exactly the same as HTML report, but it includes information about indicators and categories only for one day specified by user. In this way this type of report gives all necessary information about the state of Balanced Scorecard for a certain day.

• Select “Dashboard report” command in “Reports” menu.

Select certain date and click "Generate" button

admin Features dashboard report

To generate a basic HTML report, you can select “Export to HTML” or “Report for selected item” from the Reports menu.

You can choose the range of dates to include in your report.

You can choose the level of detail for your report: Mini, Standard, or Advanced. The Advanced option includes the most details.

• You can publish your HTML reports straight to the Internet.  You will need to specify your FTP access details so that BSC Designer can automatically upload your report.

• If you chose a Standard or Advanced report, your HTML document will include diagrams.  Select “Report Options” from the Reports menu, and you can choose what kinds of charts to include, and how to arrange them on the page.

• HTML report can be generated using command line interface. Learn more in BSC Designer manual.

HTML Report generated by BSC Designer. Click to enlarge.

admin Features bsc designer, html, report

This report is HTML file that looks like classical Balanced Scorecard, e.g. 4 or more perspectives with top-level indicators inside. The number of high-level categories that is  supported in this report is limited by 8.

• Overview report is generated as HTML file.
• To create “Overview” report select the “Overview report” command in “Reports” menu.

In the center of Overview report is Project name and Project description. These texts can be changed on the “Main” tab in Document Properties dialog (File > Document Properties).

Overview Report

Overview Report in BSC Designer. Click to enlarge.

Additional information

• This report can be generated via command line interface.

Learn more about Overview Report in BSC Designer Manual.

admin Features bsc designer, overview report, report

With BSC Designer user can protect project with password. BSC Designer allows to set:

• Password for reading
• Password for writing

How to set a password

1. Run BSC Designer
2. Select the “Document Properties” command in File menu.
3. Select  the “Password” tab in the Document Properties dialog. Specify passwords for reading and/or writing.

In Document Properties dialog go to the "Password" tab. Change specify reading and/or writing passwords.

• Learn more about other Document Properties in BSC Designer.

admin Features dialog, password, protection

While the process of study is being processed “Fill with random values” function could be helpful. It fills the project with random values including time points and performance values.

The project filled with those values could be a good educational supply element to study how to work with BSC Designer. Browsing functions and features of such powerful software it is much easier to perform this simple function instead of filling the project with some values manually.

In order to perform “Fill with random values” function click on “Tools” button of the top menu and select “Fill with random values” sign. Congratulation! We have just filled our project with values!

“Fill with random values” function

admin Features fill with dandom, random

Typically, your Balanced Scorecard will use data from a variety of sources.  You will input some data manually, retrieve other data from your corporate database, and import more data from tables and spreadsheets.

On the other hand, you might also need to export some of the data on your Balanced Scorecard to use in another application.

BSC Designer includes all the features you need to import and export your data.

Exporting

Exporting the value of an indicator from BSC Designer to another application is simple.  Just right-click on the indicator, and choose “Export Values” to launch the Export Wizard.  The wizard will help you to specify exactly what data to export, and what format to use.

Importing

You will usually want to import some of the data for your Balanced Scorecard from external files, like MS Excel spreadsheets.  Here is the process to use, step by step.

Here is the source project file:

The source data in MS Excel file

For testing purposes you can download this Excel file.

Step 1  – Select a destination

Where do you want to put the data you’re going to import?  Choose an indicator or category on your Balanced Scorecard, right-click on it, and select “Import Values.”

Choose an indicator or category on your Balanced Scorecard, right-click on it, and select “Import Values.”

Step 2 – Select the data source

You can import your data from a MS Excel file, a CSV (Comma-Separate-Value) spreadsheet file, or you can choose “enter source data manually” to copy and paste from your data source.  If you do enter your data manually, 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

What should BSC Designer do with this data?  You can:

• Import new data for the category or indicator you chose as your destination—for instance, its name, weight, and description.

• Create a new indicator, using the imported data.

• Or, import new values for several indicators at once.

Indicator Names

If you choose to import data for several indicators at once, your spreadsheet or other data source should include the name of each indicator and the name of the category in which it belongs.

Import several indicators at once

In this case, you will need to choose between two special options.

• The names of the indicator and its category might be in two separate columns on your spreadsheet.  If so, you need to select the first option: “Names of parent categories for the indicators are specified in separate column.”

• Or, the names of the indicator and its category might be in the same column—for example, in the format, “Category/Indicator.”  In this case, you need to choose the second option.  And you will also need to specify what character separates the category from the indicator—in our example, a slash.

Associating Columns with Indicator Properties

Once you have chosen your destination, the source of your data, and the type of import to perform, there is one final step.  You need to tell BSC Designer how to interpret the columns in the data you are importing.

For instance, column 1 might have the name of the category, column 2 might have the name of the individual indicator, column 3 might have the value of the indicator, and so forth.

• If you chose to import data to create a new indicator, you will see a dropdown menu where you can choose which column includes the Name of the indicator.

• If you chose to import data for several indicators, and the names of the indicators and their categories are in two separate columns, you will see two dropdown menus.  Choose which column includes the Name of the indicator, and which has the name of its Parent category.

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

Importing Dated Values

Finally, you can import data about the value of your indicators on particular dates.

• If your spreadsheet includes values from several different dates, you can select which column has the date for each set of values.  That way, BSC Designer can associate each set of values with the appropriate date.

• If you are importing data about just one date, you can choose that date on the calendar in BSC Designer, and then select the option, “Use current date from calendar.”

• Or, you can import the new data as default values for one or more of your indicators, with no reference to any particular date.

Associating columns with indicators' properties. Click to check details.

BSC Designer software will show you the preview of imported data:

Preview expected results of import

When you will finish import process, you will see imported indicators in the BSC Designer. Click on the dates in the calendar to make sure that right data was imported for right dates:

Results of import in Balanced Scorecard Tree

admin Features calendar, import, values