KPIs & Dashboards
Key Performance Indicators, Dashboards [SharePoint]
KPI is a visual aid to help communicate the progress achieved towards an already specified goal. These are of relevant importance to managers and teams which work in the business sector since by the means of KPI one can evaluate the amount of progress made towards achieving a goal.
KPI Styles
In order to make use of KPIs, one needs to decide from where the data is going to be achieved:
· From SharePoint lists: used to keep track of totals (ex total number of sales or how long it has taken a person to finish up a project phase). It is also used to count items that are found in a workflow or contains dates and/or to calculate the completion percentage of a task.
· From SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services: a system administrator or database analyst sets up these KPIs and then registers the data connection with SP service.
· From manually entered information: this is usually used to track projects.
· From Excel workbooks (Office): used to set up KPIs in Office Excel and linking them to the KPI from SharePoint Server. When data in the Excel sheet changes, the KPI is updated automatically.
Creating a KPI list
Ideally KPI lists are stored in the Reports Library, found in the Reports Center.
· Go to the site where you want to put the KPI list and click Site Actions and View All Site Content.
· Choose Create
· Find KPI List in the Custom Lists section
· Choose a name for the list.
· You may add a description about the KPI List you are going to create
· Click OK.
Add KPIs to the KPI List by clicking on new and choosing the right type according to where your data is.
Using the KPI Web Parts
Once you have finished adding KPIs to the list, it is available to all users in your company who has permission to access it. KPIs can be displayed in several locations such as other pages within the same portal (ex in the home page) and My Sites. To do so follow these steps:
- Choose the page where you want to display this KPI
- On the top right corner, click on Site Actions and then Edit Page
- After choosing the zone you want the KPI to appear in, click Add a Web Part
- From the dialog box, go to the All Web Parts section and Dashboard, then choose one of these:
o Key Performance Indicators in order to display the whole KPI list
o KPI Details to choose a KPI from the list.
- When finished, click Add.
- In order to be able to display the KPI list, click on Open the tool pane
- Then click on the orange icon near Indicator List. Choose the KPI list (usually found in Report Center)
- After choosing the list/ item, according to the choice in the Web Parts dialog box, click OK.
Show only Problems or Show All Indicators
Once the Key Performance Indicators web part has been done and published, the users who are able to view it have two options when viewing it.
There is the Show all Indicators View and the Show only Problems View:
Show all Indicators will output all the indicators available, while Show Only problems will display those indicators who have their status as Warning or Problem. This is quite important when the KPI list is long and one needs to know where things are going wrong.
What are Dashboards?
Dashboards are management tools which show ‘vital signs’ such as measuring efficiency, see negative/positive outputs out of departments (ex: sales, purchasing) and see the difference between actual values and targets/goals. These by the means of dashboards, are all outputted in one place to save employees time. Dashboards are updated automatically if anything is changed (from lists, excel workbooks etc).
Note: Make sure to place the Dashboard in an area where it cannot be missed or ignored by the employees who have permission to view it.
Creating a Dashboard
1. Go to the Report Center and create a new Report Library.
2. Click on the newly created Report Library.
3. Once loaded, click on the current View (which is Current Reports) and switch it to Dashboard.
4. Upload the Excel Workbooks or anything that you want to make use when you create the Dashboard.
5. Click on New and create a new Dashboard.
6. Fill in the details about your new dashboard and click OK to create it.
Filling up the Dashboard
1. Once created, one can use several web parts. This is done by going on Edit Mode. (Site Actions > Edit Page)
2. Use web parts which have to do with your KPI… Suggested web parts are:
· Excel Web Access
· Key Performance Indicators
· KPI Details
3. Enjoy creating a nice page to be viewed by those who have the permission!
Reference to the following was done: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepointserver/HA100800271033.aspx