How to manage time points with BSC Designer
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
