BSC Designer – Balanced Scorecard Software

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

Intro

The earlier articles described basic the operations aimed to creating and managing categories and indicators. But more features are to be added and now it is time to show data management within time progress. It is certain that business is a constantly developing structure and its indicators’ values are time changed as well. This article will guide you through the time management process in Balanced Scorecard concept and in the particular software product BSC Designer.

The following features and tools related to time points with BSC Designer will be described:

• What the calendar is and where is it placed;
• How to assign values for indicators for different dates;
• What program shows if there was not value assigned for certain item for certain date, but you have selected this date.

Calendar

While working with the program viewing strategy tree tab in top right corner the calendar could be found. BSC Designer fills up its calendar by taking the information directly from the user’s operation system’s date. That is why the current date is always boxed. There is no clock showed in the program but there are dates, months, years. Month and year could be found and changed on top of calendar’s field, the right vertical line shows weeks from the beginning of the year and all the other field’s space presents days of the week and dates.

The calendar field

In order to select the particular date of the calendar just click on it. If some other month is needed use arrows on top of calendar field until the proper month is selected. If some other year is needed click once on sign the current month and year like “November 2009”. Calendar field will be changed into year-and-month mode and clicking on arrows will allow selecting of the year and left click on month will select it as well. After the proper moth and year is selected click on the date to choose it.

Selecting the certain date: November, 3

Selecting the certain month: August

Selecting year and month: February, 2006

How to assign values for indicators for different dates

In the article “How to manage indicators and performance values with BSC Designer” values’ management was described. But referring to time line every indicator’s value might be changed as well. BSC Designer’s calendar function allows user to input values for the certain date. That function makes it possible for managers and specialists to fill up the project with actual information for every indicator. Also a monitoring process could be easily performed by top management with help of the program’s calendar function. Viewing the certain date a manager could see all the values starting with the whole project’s performance value and finishing with the particular indicator’s value.

In order to assign values for indicators for the certain date at first the date needs to be selected. The process of selecting date was described in previous paragraph. As an example select yesterday date. After the date has chosen click on any indicator and change its value. Certainly the performance of updated indicator will be changed as well as category’s and the whole project’s performance. Now return to the current date by clicking on it in calendar and check out the indicator. As you can see some dynamics appeared. It could be viewed on the graph located right under the calendar field. The graphs and diagrams will be fully described in future how-to articles. Using this simple logic of filling up the project with up-to-date information every indicator could be managed. Congratulations! The project now starts living its own life!

Changing yesterday’s value of KPI

Return to the current date – dynamics appeared

Dynamics also appeared for the whole project (“Balanced Scorecard” in our example)

Updated and not updated signs for certain date

At first indicator’s values for few more dates are to be added. Let’s fill up the project with KPI’s values within 3 days including current date.

KPIs have been changing for 3 days

Those three dates are now showed with enhanced font in calendar field. Let’s try to click on the date before any changing been applied. In current project this could be November, 15. As you can see every indicator has Grey color meaning that it was not changed. But if one of those 3 dates is selected a blue color of indicators as well as little “up” and “down” arrows will mean that some dynamics took its place.

Selecting certain date the item was not updated on

Selecting certain date the item was updated on

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