Business Intelligence
From spreadsheet to dashboard: defining KPIs that actually matter
A dashboard is only useful if its indicators are understood, reliable and tied to decisions. A four-step method.
MT INTEGRA CONSULTING®Published on 4 min read
Many Business Intelligence projects start with the tool: a visualisation solution is chosen, then people look for something to display in it. The reverse order works better.
1. Start from decisions
Which decisions do management or team leads need to make each week or month? Reorder stock, follow up with a customer, adjust a price, reinforce a team… Every indicator should inform at least one of those decisions.
2. Write down each indicator’s definition
The same word can mean different calculations: is “revenue” invoiced or collected, before or after tax, with or without credit notes? An indicator dictionary records the formula, source, refresh frequency and owner for each one.
3. Check the quality of source data
A dashboard does not fix incomplete or incorrectly entered data: it only makes the problems more visible. Reconciling the figures shown with existing management reports is an essential step before publishing.
4. Limit and prioritise
A few key indicators at the top, then levels of detail available through filters or navigation: this hierarchy makes a dashboard readable in seconds.
- a summary view for management;
- detailed views by activity or site;
- consistent period filters on every page.