Key Performance Indicator Value: Right Inputs Provide Accurate Outputs



Join Balanced Scorecard Group 

Practice-based Balanced Scorecard Trainings

Online KPI Dashboard Sign up with web-based KPI Dashboard:

  • Access your KPIs online;
  • Measure your success;

Navigation: All Balanced Scorecard Articles > Success Stories

A Key Performance Indicator value is an assigned or calculated numerical quantity used in order to utilize a KPI. A KPI, on the other hand is the measure of the critical success factors of an organization. Check additional information about indicator value.

When talking about business strategy and performance, the terms balanced scorecard, key performance indicator and even indicator value are often heard. It is undeniable that there are just so many terms that some people have a hard time understanding which is which and what is for what. To make it at least a little simpler for you, think of a Balanced Scorecard as a framework that measures a business in which there are usually 4-5 basic groups. Each of those groups should have indicators inside, and by indicator, we mean information that provides leading information towards company development. These indicators are the Key Performance Indicators.

Key Performance Indicators should be measurable, actionable and quantifiable. So how will you measure a KPI without an indicator value? You will need figures and mathematical calculations in order to perform a correct measurement and these are all affected by which indicator value will you use and put.

Basically, a Key Performance Indicator value can be measured in two ways. First is, it could be a KPI value which is a mathematical mixture of relevant Performance Indicators (PI) value. Performance Indicators are the supporting grains that give basis for a Key Performance Indicator value calculation.

Scaling units from a variation of numbers is a known method of measuring, not only in business. It is also applicable in terms of measuring an indicator value. For example, in a scale of 0-100, how will you measure customer satisfaction? Usually, these ratings are based from lowest to highest; meaning the lowest number in the scale depicts a very unsatisfactory rating while the highest shows a very excellent one.

Nowadays, KPIs are installed in an on-site based server in order to promote real time evaluation. With the technological advancement, single and multiple usage softwares have been incorporated, even in the business world. Despite this though, an automation does not mean that the organization will no longer have to calculate figures. Technology just made it a little easier for them, as there are additional metadata that provides various information as to how a user will be able to see the displaying of computations by the KPI software.

Note that this is not the only thing that composes a KPI, however. Usually, a basic KPI is consisted of basic information, goal, achieved actual value, status value, trend value and a folder in which the KPI can be viewed. Obviously, the basic information displays what the KPI is all about. More often than not, you will see what they call Multidimensional Expressions (MDX) or calculated members in a KPI. All values (actual, status and trend) are expressed using MDX and usually calculates into a concrete number.

Simply said, Key Performance Indicator value makes up the entire KPI. Why? We said that KPI gauges the business performance through figures and numbers. What will you calculate without actual numbers in the first place? It is important to provide accurate indicator value whenever you will compute measurements, as wrong input will result into wrong output. This will then mislead the entire organization and the Balanced Scorecard, along with the KPI inside it will render useless.

If you are interested in indicator value, check this link to find out more about value gauge. Also, you can check other articles in Success Stories category.



 

10 steps self-education plan for Balanced Scorecard.

Subscribe to BSC Articles newsletter to learn more about how-to articles, BSC development and implementation.

Balanced Scorecard Toolkit 
Balanced Scorecard Toolkit includes step-by-step manuals, documents, presentations, check lists designed to help business professionals with successful development and implementation of Balanced Scorecard. Learn more about
BSC Toolkit.

Free Balanced Scorecard Templates

 

Balanced Scorecard Software - BSC Designer



Copyright © 2000-2010 Scorecard Report. All rights reserved.