User manual

BSC Designer
Balanced Scorecard Software Version 6.2

Table of Contents
BSC Designer - Introduction ....................................................................................................................................................... 1 BSC Designer Manual ...................................................................................................................................................................... 2 Product overview ................................................................................................................................................................................ 2 Building scorecards ............................................................................................................................................................................ 4 Adding categories and indicators .............................................................................................................................................. 4 Changing indicator details .......................................................................................................................................................... 5 Indicator and category formula .................................................................................................................................................. 8 Ignoring indicators ........................................................................................................................................................................ 9 Balancing trees ........................................................................................................................................................................... 10 Custom measure units .............................................................................................................................................................. 11 Building custom formulas ........................................................................................................................................................ 13 Indicator update interval ........................................................................................................................................................... 15 Key Risk Indicators .................................................................................................................................................................... 16 Strategy ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 17 Strategy maps ............................................................................................................................................................................. 17 Strategy map with KPI .............................................................................................................................................................. 21 Print strategy map ..................................................................................................................................................................... 25 Mission and vision ..................................................................................................................................................................... 26 Business Goals ........................................................................................................................................................................... 27 External values ................................................................................................................................................................................. 28 Project check in/out ................................................................................................................................................................... 28 Linking to external scorecards ................................................................................................................................................ 29 SQL-powered indicators ........................................................................................................................................................... 31 Link KPI to certain Excel cell ................................................................................................................................................... 33 Import Values .............................................................................................................................................................................. 34 Export Values .............................................................................................................................................................................. 37 Edit Values ................................................................................................................................................................................... 38 Scorecard reports ............................................................................................................................................................................ 39 Excel reports ............................................................................................................................................................................... 40 HTML reports .............................................................................................................................................................................. 41 HTML overview reports ............................................................................................................................................................. 43 Dashboard reports ..................................................................................................................................................................... 44 PowerPoint reports .................................................................................................................................................................... 45 Progress and Performance ......................................................................................................................................................... 46 Time points ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 48 Stoplights ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 50 Diagrams and charts ...................................................................................................................................................................... 51 Grouping data by time periods .................................................................................................................................................. 54 Indicator Analysis ............................................................................................................................................................................. 56 Initiatives and Attachments ......................................................................................................................................................... 59 Project properties ............................................................................................................................................................................ 60 Command line ................................................................................................................................................................................... 61 Technical support .............................................................................................................................................................................. 63 Common questions ......................................................................................................................................................................... 64 AKS technical support ................................................................................................................................................................... 65

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BSC Designer - Introduction

Introduction to BSC Designer

Introduction - Functions Overview - Purchase Program - Download latest version BSC Designer BSC Designer is software that simplifies the process of creating and managing Balanced Scorecards or KPI groups. With BSC Designer, you can create a set of key performance indicators, define relationships between groups and indicators, and specify the importance of indicators. BSC Designer provides a flexible way to calculate performance values depending on indicator settings, such as min/max values, target values, and measures. Performance formulas can be customized to customer needs. The resulting Scorecard can be exported into an MS Excel file or HTML for further processing. Another powerful feature of BSC Designer is support for strategy maps. This is a great way to visualize indicators and relationships between them, providing a graphical representation of indicators and their values. There are many types of strategy maps available, including cyclical, table, and classical. With BSC Designer, users can link together several scorecards located on a local disk, network or website. This is a great way to cooperate with other units in your company by sharing performance history and current values as well as performance targets. Another possibility for integrating BSC Designer with business systems consists of SQL Indicators, which help to read data from almost any database, giving access to data in ERP or CRM systems. BSC Designer provides the functionality necessary for working on a high operational level. Managers and employees can use attachments to share their ideas, tasks and reports. Attachments are a great way to collaborate on improving company performance. The BSC Designer allows using date-specific indicators. User can specify the weight, scorecard, and min and max values for certain dates. To show information about performance at various time points, there is an HTML report function which gives an overview with data tables and charts. The HTML reports can be customized. Other minor features include the ability to generate Excel reports for a given date and specify user-defined units of measure. Additionally, diagrams and charts and stoplights make it easy to visualize performance data. With BSC Designer you can create a set of Key Performance Indicators and group them into categories. Each category and each indicator has a relative weight which speaks to the importance of this indicator. You can define your own relative weights or use the balancing function so that BSC Designer calculates the values itself. The indicator also has current, min and max values. Depending on the optimization strategy, these values are involved in the calculation of the performance within metric categories and the total performance of the Balanced Scorecard. Once the scorecard is designed, it can be exported into MS Excel for further usage and integration with business systems, such as CRM or ERP. A better option is saving the designed scorecard and sharing it with co-workers both as a .BSC file (the native BSC Designer filetype) and an MS Excel file. In addition, it can be exported as an advanced HTML report, overview HTML report, dashboard report, or PowerPoint presentation. BSC Designer is very simple to use, and you can find a functions overview here. Note: BSC Designer is also available in an SaaS version - BSC Designer Online.

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Product overview

Overview of BSC Designer functions

Introduction - Functions Overview - Purchase Program Overview General Toolbar

The toolbar provides you with several main functions: New, Open, Save buttons for a Balanced Scorecard project; Use the Initiatives button to attach an initiative document to the indicator or category; Use the Update button to update data from SQL indicators; Cut, Copy, Paste category or indicator; items can also be copied as text, as in the Edit menu; Undo or redo operations. Categories and Indicators Toolbar

Buttons to create and delete categories; Commands to create and delete indicators related to categories; Commands to create imported or SQL indicators; Move category/indicator up or down buttons. A special button Report Toolbar activates "Update info" panel, that allows to enter update interval for indicators.

The reports toolbar includes the command "Go to the current date"; Navigate through time points with the calendar; Delete time points; Open charts window; A HTML report button helps to generate HTML reports with data tables and charts; An Excel Report button for generating reports in MS Excel; in addition, a report can be generated using the command line interface; Generate a dashboard report. Strategy Tree

The Strategy Tree represents categories and indicators within categories. Each category has a weight and performance values.
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Product overview

Each indicator has a current value (before "->"), target (after "->") and relative weight value. Example: The Metric "Response Time (50->100, weight = 6)." This means that the metric "Response Time" has a relative weight of 6 out of 10 and a current value of 50 (if you click on it you will see the measure, %), and the target value is 100. Common information For a category or indicator, you can have the common information changed. The common information includes:

The name of the category or indicator; The description or category. Indicator information The edit fields represented below will appear only if you are dealing with an indicator (and not a category).

You will be able to specify the current value of the indicator ("Value" field), the measure units (% or Score), and the Min and Max values. You can set your performance increase strategy: If you need to maximize the current value to the max value, for instance, if you measure the efficiency of support in terms of the "first-call resolution rate," then use the maximize optimization. In this case, the "Max" label will be highlighted in bold. If you need to minimize the current value to the min value, for instance, if you measure the performance of manufacturing in terms of "items with defects," then use the minimize optimization. In this case, the "Min" label will be highlighted in bold. Optionally, you can put down the description of your measurement method, units, and targets in the "target description" field. More about indicator details.

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Adding categories and indicators

Adding Categories and Indicators to a Balanced Scorecard

Introduction - Functions Overview - Purchase Program Use Balanced Scorecard Wizard to add new indicators Find "Balanced Scorecard Wizard" command in "File" menu. The Wizard will help you to design the Balanced Scorecard step-by-step. First, you will be asked to specify your current business objective, then you will need to enter possible solutions that can help to achieve the business objective. Finally, for each business solution you will need to specify possible measures. As a result BSC Designer will generate the Balanced Scorecard according to your business goals. Some basic knowledge of Balanced Scorecard concept will be necessary to design good Balanced Scorecard. E-Trainings on Balanced Scorecard help business professionals to learn more about this concept. Adding Categories A category in BSC Designer is a container for indicators or a sub-category: Each category can contain an indicator; Each category can contain a sub-category. To add a category, you should follow three simple steps: 1. You should select the root or item of a strategy tree. 2. Then you should click the button in the toolbar to add a category: 3. The new category will appear in a strategy tree, and you will need to give a description of the category in the text box below. Adding an Indicator Adding an indicator is as simple as adding a category. The only difference is that you should first select the parent category. 1. 2. 3. 4. First select any category in the strategy tree. Click the button in the toolbar to add an indicator . Specify below the Name and Description of the indicator. Change the indicator details if necessary.

Once all indicators and categories have been created, you can balance the tree. Both - indicators and categories support custom formulas.

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Changing indicator details

Changing Indicator Details in a Balanced Scorecard

Introduction - Functions Overview - Purchase Program Changing Indicator Details Select any indicator in the Strategy Tree; should click on any indicator icon or text, for instance, this icon: . In the bottom right corner, a panel will appear with indicator details:

General options

Name. Specify here the name of the indicator. Description. Specify here the description of indicator. Note: If the description field is empty, but indicator is attached to some business goals, then this business goal will be shown in the description field (if you don't need this you can update settings at File > Document Properties > Business Goals tab). Target Description. Here you can specify any information about target value of indicator. Initiatives. You can attach document with any initiatives related to this indicator.

Fields and values The value field is the current value for this certain indicator. If you measure business costs in US$ and the current cost is $10,000 per month, then you should put 10000 in the value field. But first make sure you have specified the necessary min and max values. The value can be also a result of using formula. The measure field allows specifying pre-defined measure units, such as %% and "Score". "Score" is for any unit of measure, whether it be dollars, feet, number of people or something else. To include a better description of your measure units, you have the Target Description field. The Weight value determines the relevant weight of the indicator. Learn more about weights in BSC Designer online. The Baseline and Target values determine the current (Baseline) and planned (Target) value of indicators. The value of Progress is calculated according to Baseline and Target. The Min and Max values determine the possible minimum and maximum values. These values are taken into account when the program calculates the total performance within the category. For instance, if the max value is 200 and the min value is 0 and you current value is 50, then the total performance will be 25%. If you change the min value to 50, then your current performance will be 0%. Important note: project's performance is calculated according to min and max values; project's progress is calculated according to baseline and target values; Learn more about the difference between performance and progress.
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Changing indicator details

The optimization drop-down menu determines how to calculate the total performance. It has two options: maximize RP and minimize RP (where RP is for Real Performance and MP is current performance). Please see the examples below for more information. Use button to access custom formulas dialog. Optimization drop-down menu BSC Designer uses a linear function to calculate the performance of the indicator. Once the performance of the indicator has been calculated, the BSC Designer will calculate the average performance values for the category and the tree. Using the "Optimization" drop-down menu in the details for an indicator, you can change the way BSC Designer treats the current values in the process of total performance calculation. This is a sample part of a strategy tree:

We have left only the indicator "Test Indicator"; its weight is 1 but it does not matter in this case. Let's click on the indicator and check its settings:

The current value is 22%, while the minimal possible value is 15% and the maximal possible value is 80%. Thus, the total calculated performance is 10.77%. This means that you will need to increase your current value from 22% to 80% and your current progress is 10.77%. What if you needed to increase the current value from 22% to, say, 30%? Let's try with BSC Designer:

and BSC Designer displays the other value for category performance:

The new value is 46.67, because we have changed the maximum value and the current value now stays closer to the target maximum value. What if we need not to maximize, but to minimize the current value? For instance, if we are talking about the number of items with defects, then we would like to lower this value. Let's change our test indicator a little. 1. 2. 3. 4. First, we change the measure units to "Score" and write a comment in the Target Description. Assume that the current defect rate is 5%. On some days it is 8%, but let's use an even higher value, setting the maximum value to 10%. What will be the minimal value? Is it 0%? Actually, no, as it is impossible to make it 0% now, so the real minimal value is 2%. 5. Now we should change the optimization strategy from "Maximize RP" to "Minimize RP," telling BSC Designer that we want to minimize the total performance. Here are the resulting indicator details settings:
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Changing indicator details

As you can see, the "Min" value is highlighted in bold, telling you the the current optimization strategy for minimization. The total performance value for the category is 62.5%. If we make the current value lower and set it to 4 units, then the total performance will be 75%. Relevant articles Change optimization method Change indicator formula

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Indicator and category formula

Formulas for indicators and categories

Introduction - Functions Overview - Purchase Program Formulas for indicators and categories Indicator formulas Formula button for indicators is located between Value and Measure settings in the bottom. Choose any indicator and press formula button to access formula dialogue box. It is possible to create any formulas using basic mathematic operations, for example sum or subtraction. Use [ ] to frame indicators names used in formulas, for instance [Sales growth] or [Revenue per employee]. Make sure [] is not used in name of indicators since the software will view them as part of formulas. Use signs of mathematic operations, just like +, -, *, / etc. To create complex formulas, use brackets ( ), for example ([Sales growth] + [Revenue per employee]) / 2 which means that sum of these two indicators is divided by 2.

To avoid manual typing of indicators names, use Add indicator to formula button and choose any indicator from the list of KPIs in the scorecard. Test formula button is used to make sure there are no mistakes in formula syntax. Review the formula in case of mistakes. Category formulas Choose any category and find Category formula options under the category name box in the bottom. The following options are available for category formula:

Weighted average average value of indicators in the category with their weight taken into account Average average value of indicators in the category with no regard to their weights Max category value = indicator with a maximum value Min category value = indicator with a minimum value Sum sum of the values of all indicators in the category

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Ignoring indicators

Ignoring and enabling indicators in BSC Designer

Introduction - Functions Overview - Purchase Program Ignoring and enabling indicators in BSC Designer In the latest version of BSC Designer user can ignore temporary enable and disable indicators, thus, excluding their values from calculation of category performance. To disable/enable indicator: 1. 2. 3. Select necessary date in the calendar Rick-click any indicator and select Ignored in formulas to disable/enable it. To enable indicator for all dates right-click on it and select Enable item for all dates command.

The inheritance principle works here, which means that if you disable the indicator from 12.09 it will be disabled until Enable item for all dates feature is applied or indicator is enabled for other date in the future. Learn more about ignoring indicators online.

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Balancing trees

Balancing a Tree in a Balanced Scorecard

Introduction - Functions Overview - Purchase Program Balancing Tree The idea behind tree balancing is the balancing of indicator and category weights. The weight allows specifying the relative importance of the indicator or category. For instance, if indicator A has a weight of 3 and indicator B has a weight of 7, then we know that B is two times more important than A. Another rule is that the sum of all weights on the same level and within the same category must be 10. Of course, it might be 100 or 10000 or 5, but it has been found that to get the best results in representing the relative importance of the items, it is better to specify weights on a 0-10 scale. Changing weights If you click on any category or indicator, you will see the setting panel below. You can change the weight from 1 to 10.

What if you have tree indicators - A (weight 2), B (weight 5) and C (weight 7) - within the same category? The sum of the weights is more than 10. If the sum of the weights is more than 10 (or if it is less than 10), you should change the weights to comply with the weight sum rule. You have two options to do this: You can change the weights manually; You can select the Balance Tree command in the Strategy Tree menu. In fact, you have a third option: you can leave the weights as-is, but in this case, the total performance value might be more than 100%.

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Custom measure units

Units of Measure in Balanced Scorecard

Introduction - Functions Overview - Purchase Program Add customer units of measure In the latest version of BSC Designer it is now possible to define custom measure unit. To select one of the custom measures, select any indicator and then click on "Measure" drop-down list:

To access custom measures or to add new custom measures, go to File > Properties and click on the "Measure units" tab. "Risk" is a special measure unit. Learn more about Risks Measures in BSC Designer. Custom Units Dialog Use the "Measure Units" tab to manage customer units of measure:

The key features of the "Measure units" dialog are: The ability to create and name new units of measure in any way you like, for instance, $/m2; The ability to import and export the list of units of measure. Once a unit of measure has been created, it will be accessible in the "Measure" drop-down list for all indicators. Create new measure units 1. Specify the name for new measure units.

For instance: m2 stands for "square meters". 2. Grouping type You can select here groping type that will be default for items with this measure unit. On this step you can click "OK" in the dialog to save measure unit. You can start using new measure unit now as a integer value. If you want more specific measure units, continue to the step 3.
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Custom measure units

3. Custom text values. On this step you can teach program to use some text values instead of integer values as sometimes text values are more convenient. For instance: if your goal is to rate the area of some real estate you can use integers like 30 m2, 35 m2, 100 m2, but for your particular task it might be more important to classify all real estates into 3-4 groups like: < 30 m2 ... minimal score 30 m2 ... 50 m2 ... normal score >50 m2 ... excellent score Use "+" button under "Custom text values" section to add these custom measure units:

now click "OK" and use new measure units in your scorecard project:

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Building custom formulas

Custom performance formulas in BSC Designer

Introduction - Functions Overview - Purchase Program What is a performance formula?

Custom performance formulas are available only in the PRO version

Access custom formulas dialog Select indicator, use Design custom formulas The performance value of the indicator in BSC Designer is calculated according to several values: Current value Measurement interval (max and min values) By default, the measurement function in BSC Designer is a linear function: button in indicator's properties to access custom formulas dialog.

In the PRO version, it is possible to use mathematical expressions to modify the function and make it nonlinear (below is the the performance chart for formula =(sin(Score/mx*2.5) - mn) / (mx - mn) ):

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Building custom formulas

or even binary performance functions:

Building a custom formula You can use the following variables in the formula: mn - min value of the measure interval mx - max value of the measure interval score - current score for the indicator To access the available functions, click the "Function" button. Use the "Formula" button to access other performance functions for the project. Additional information Learn more about customizing performance formulas online.

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Indicator update interval

Indicator's update information

Introduction - Functions Overview - Purchase Program Starting with Version 4.6 of BSC Designer it is possible control the indicator's update information. For each indicator it is possible to specify the required update period. If the indicator wasn't updated on time, a special icon will appear next to indicator. Access "Update Info" Panel Select "View" > "Toolbars" > Panel "Update Info" or, Click on the Update Panel icon on the toolbar to switch the panel off/on. Panel "Update Info"

Select any indicator. The "Update Info" panel will show the required update period for the indicator and the date of the last update. Users can change the required update period. The "last updated" date changes when the user specifies a new value for the indicator. Note: Panel "Update Info" is available for indicators only. Indicator Was Not Updated When indicator was not updated on time an icon appears next to indicator's name in the Indicators Tree.

Update Time Analysis The analysis of the indicators' update time is available in BSC Designer. Learn more about supported analysis types.

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Key Risk Indicators

Risk Indicators and Risk Reports

Introduction - Functions Overview - Purchase Program Risk Indicators A risk indicator is a special type of indicator that focuses on risk. Any indicator can be converted into a Risk indicator. To convert an indicator into a Risk indicator, you should change the measure units to Risk. Risk Indicators have special properties: Probability Impact

A special "Risk" chart is available for risk indicators. Risk reports Use the "Key Risk Indicators Report" command in the Report menu to generate a report that will contain risk indicators only. Other risk products On the BSC Designer website you will find the KRI Toolkit and Risk Assessment Guide.

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Strategy maps

Strategy Maps in BSC Designer

Introduction - Functions Overview - Purchase Program What are strategy maps?

Strategy maps are available only in the PRO version

With BSC Designer, it is possible to automatically create nice-looking maps which will visually represent indicators from your scorecard.

Use a Strategy Map to visualize indicators from the balanced scorecard; Add your own objects to the map to make it more reader-friendly; Export the strategy map using the Export command in BSC Designer or the command line interface; Use "Export" command in Strategy Map menu to export the strategy map as a picture; Use "Print" command in Strategy Map menu to print the strategy map; There is a strategy map report available in "Reports" menu; Adding custom objects Use the Strategy Map panel to manage objects: There are three type of objects in the strategy map: Linked objects are linked to indicators from the scorecard and represent the information from the indicator. You can still change the color and other settings of the linked objects, but the object is hard-linked to the indicator. If the indicator is deleted from the KPI set, then it will be deleted from the map as well.

An example of a linked object indicator: Free objects are user-creatable objects for nice-looking strategy maps.

Example of free objects: Object styles Both free and linked objects can be modified to have a better visual style. Objects have the properties DrawShadow and UseGradient:
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Strategy maps

Objects can change shape and can be rotated:

Links. There are three types of links available in the program. Links between linked objects are created automatically, but you also can create more links on your own. There are additional types of links available in BSC Designer. Use the DashStyle property to change the type of the link. Note: if you need a link with a text, use a separate text object. Objects color scheme There are two ways to work with color scheme of objects: The color scheme of the objects that are generated automatically with "Placement Wizard" is defined on the "Color scheme" tab in the "Placement wizard". The color scheme of objects that user creates manually are defined in a specify template file. To access this template file select "Edit strategy map template" command in Tools menu. Position of the objects There are two ways to position objects in the strategy map: Using the Placement Wizard. The wizard will suggest several different ways to arrange objects and links in the map, but it will not take into account the position of the objects that you might have changed before by hand, changing the position of all objects. Use the Placement Wizard option in the Strategy Map menu to access the wizard.

Manually. After using the placement wizard, you might need to re-arrange objects slightly. You can move objects just like in any other program, and change object size and color All placement options Classical Strategy Map:

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Strategy maps

Cascading Strategy Map:

Table Strategy Map:

Cyclical Strategy Map:

Strategic Strategy Map:

Snowflake Strategy Map:

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Strategy maps

Tree Strategy Map:

Horizontal Tree Strategy Map:

Map with KPIs More placement types are available in BSC Designer.

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Strategy map with KPI

Link KPI value to certain cell in Excel file

Introduction - Functions Overview - Purchase Program Starting with version 6.1, BSC Designer allows link KPIs with specific location on the strategy map. It is useful if KPI is responsible for certain geographical area. Loading map Select "Strategy Map" > "Placement Wizard" -> "Map with KPIs". BSC Designer will suggest you several options. Select picture file of the new map. In this case you can select any picture (.png, .jpg and other formats) and use it as a background of the map. Disadvantage of this approach is that you will need manually select certain areas on the map and mark then by adding name of the certain location. Import mapped location from file. In this case you can import mapped locations from any other BSC Designer project. This option is useful if you have a map of the certain region with marks designed in BSC Designer and you want to re-use it. Select ready-to-use map template. Together with BSC Designer we distribute some free to use maps with marked locations. You can use this maps as a starting point for your project.

Create empty map. Will do nothing, so later you will need to click "Mapped Background" button to select new background for the map. Marking locations 1. Load any map following of the methods specified above. You will see something like this:

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Strategy map with KPI

2. Select area of the Spain. When you will release mouse button "Create MapMark from selection" menu option will appear. Click on this menu option. In the dialog "Enter area name" enter "Spain". 3. Now your map is marked and looks like:

Auto detecting area on the map 1. Open any map where countries or regions have only borders without any lines or marks inside:

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Strategy map with KPI

2. Select "Auto-detect map mark" button

3. Click in the center of area.

4. BSC Designer will highlight selected region and suggest to enter name for this region:

Note: if user needs to merge two separate regions use "Merge map marks" button. to create custom region user can apply "New polygon map mark" button. Associating KPIs with map locations 1. 2. 3. 4. Go to the "Tree" tab Select any indicator Right-click on indicator and select "Link item to the map" In the dialog select necessary region, in this example it is Spain. Click "OK".

Important note: in the same way you can link any category with certain map mark. Automatic placement of KPIs linked to map of the map Now KPI "New Indicator" is linked to "Spain" map mark. If you will switch to the "Strategy Map" tab the
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Strategy map with KPI

program will automatically suggest you to update your strategy map or you can do this manually. Follow this steps to update your strategic map. 1. Select "Placement Wizard" in "Strategy Map" menu. 2. Make sure "Map with KPIs" option is selected. 3. Click "Execute". Now your map will have KPI on in in the certain area. The size of KPI on the map depends on size of the area and number of KPIs. If area is small or there is a high number of KPIs their format will be automatically updated to the smaller one.

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Print strategy map

Print strategy map

Introduction - Functions Overview - Purchase Program Starting with version 6.2, BSC Designer includes better functionality for printing strategic maps. Why it is important Printing strategy map might be a challenging task as normally strategy map is large and cannot be printed on single page. BSC Designer has a number of features that will make it easier to print the map. Print toolbar

When you switch to Strategy Map tab you will see Print toolbar. There you have 3 options:

Select printable area - use it to select area on the map that should be printed. Sometimes user don't need to print all the map, it is possible to select certain part of the map to limit printing only to this part. Show page size - this option will display page borders. User can move items on the map to fit them to the page. Print map button will start printing dialog.
Print dialog Print dialog will provide more options for printing. Page margins Page orientation (portrait, landscape) Toggle gray scale mode Strategy map zoom - will enable resizing map to fit print area Find optimal parameters button will automatically select paper orientation to better fit strategy map

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Mission and vision

Define mission and vision

Introduction - Functions Overview - Purchase Program Mission and vision toolbar The "Mission and vision" toolbar in BSC Designer can be used to display a short mission/vision statement. If you don't see the toolbar, make sure it is visible. The "Mission" option under View > Toolbars should be checked. Change mission/vision statements To change the mission or vision statement, click on the mission text in the mission toolbar or click the "..." button next to the mission text. The "Mission and vision" dialog will appear:

The text from the "Mission description" text field will appear on the "Mission" toolbar. You can also link external mission and vision files. If you specify a link to a mission file and click on the "Mission" toolbar, the mission file will be opened.

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Business Goals

Business Goals in BSC Designer

Introduction - Functions Overview - Purchase Program Business Goals in BSC Designer Starting with version 4.5 it is possible to add and manage business goals in BSC Designer. Users can create a certain business goal and then specify several business solutions that will help to achieve this goal. One or more Key Performance Indicators from the balanced scorecard can be attached to each business solution. Access "Business Goals" To access the business goals functions click on the "Business goals" tab located on the button of the BSC Designer window . New buttons will appear on the toolbar that allow you to: Add a new business goal Add a new business solution Manage items (move, rename, delete) Note: If you double click on the indicator in the "Business Goals" you will be switched to the appropriate indicator on the KPIs tree. Balanced Scorecard Wizard The Balanced Scorecard Wizard will help to create business goals and business solutions as well as link them to the indicators. To access this function use the Balanced Scorecard Wizard command on the File menu.

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Project check in/out

Project check-in and check-out

Introduction - Functions Overview - Purchase Program Check-in/check-out of BSC projects BSC Designer can check out a project to a remote FTP server and later check in the project to make modifications in the future. Use the "Check in project" command in the File menu to access a project on a remote FTP server. Use the "Check out project" command in the File menu to save a local project to an FTP server. FTP Profiles Sometimes it is necessary to save projects to different FTP servers. In the "File" menu there is an "Edit FTP profiles" command, which will help to set up profiles for different FTP servers. Access projects on FTP Storing projects on FTP is necessary when you want to build a Balanced Scorecard cascade by linking several scorecards together. Using an Imported Indicator, BSC Designer users can access projects stored on FTP automatically.

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Linking to external scorecards

Cascading Scorecards - linking scorecards together

Introduction - Functions Overview - Purchase Program What are External Scorecards?

Import and export from and to BSC files is supported in the PRO version only Check the latest version of online guide for using Imported Indicators
With BSC Designer, one can work with external .bsc files created with BSC Designer. The following features are supported: The external scorecard file can be stored locally or on a local network; The external scorecard file can be placed on a web or FTP server; You can run scripts before importing from a local scorecard. When selecting the external .bsc file, the program reads the available indicators and groups, so that the user can then link the particular indicator or group into his own scorecard. Linking is not static; BSC Designer tries to read values from the external file every time the user opens his scorecard. A user cannot change the imported values in his scorecard, he can only change the weight of imported values. When linking to an external scorecard, time points are also supported. As BSC Designer can run external programs before importing, this external program can modify the scorecard in any way and fill in the imported scorecard with necessary data. How to link your scorecard to an external scorecard? Follow these simple steps: 1. Select the group that will be the parent for the imported indicator 2. Select the "Import Indicator" option from the Edit menu 3. If you wish to link to the local file, select the "From file" tab;if you wish to link to a file located on a server, select HTTP. If you are connecting to a file located online, you might need the help of your system administrator. Don't forget to add BSC Designer to the list of approved applications in your firewall. Right now you can try connecting to an external scorecard on our server, at the URL http://www.strategy2act.com/support/sample_scorecard.bsc. 4. Then you should click the "Select" button and select the name of the indicator to be imported. 5. Once you click OK, you will see the name of the new indicator in the Balanced Scorecard tree, and you can change its local name and weight.

Integration by independent developers

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Linking to external scorecards

Independent developers can create applications which will help to integrate scorecards with any business solution. The designed software could create an application that analyzes passed parameters and, depending on users' requirements, create a .bsc file with data to import. Check the list of possible parameters in the hint text of the Parameters text box: %indicator_name% - this is the name of the indicator in the "parent" scorecard, which initiates importing %project_name% - this is the .bsc project name %imported_indicator_name% - this is the original name of the indicator in the "child" scorecard, i.e., the scorecard which is the source of the imported data. The following scheme shows how BSC Designer can be integrated with other applications: 1. A software developer can create a program which reads passed parameters (such as the "name of an indicator") and as a result creates a simple .bsc file (the .bsc file is in XML format, which is accessible to third-party developers). 2. The user in BSC Designer selects "Run script before import" and specifies the application and the necessary parameters, for instance "script.exe %indicator_name%" As a result, the program will run the script before reading data, and the script will create the necessary information to read and pass it to the user's scorecard. Sometime it is a good idea to develop a script and use the described scheme, but it is also possible to import data using SQL indicators. Why is linking to an external Balanced Scorecard important? It is a very simple way to link several scorecards in one main scorecard. For instance, your financial director might be in charge of developing financial indicators, your HR manager might be responsible for HR-related matters, etc. You as a CEO can put together several scorecards by getting indicators and their values from different sources. This idea is also called "cascading scorecards." Additionally, using an external script or SQL indicators one can integrate a balanced scorecard with almost any business system, such as ERP or CRM. Learn more about Imported Indicators.

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SQL-powered indicators

SQL Imported Indicators in Balanced Scorecard

Introduction - Functions Overview - Purchase Program Import values from SQL queries

SQL indicators are available only in the PRO version Online step-by-step guide on how to create SQL indicators
BSC Designer can be easily integrated with almost any business system, such as CRM, ERP, etc. In this manner, customers can access data from their business systems and use these data as values for the scorecard. Starting with version 1.8, Balanced Scorecard Designer has used ADO technology to link to external data sources. For the end user, this means the ability to import indicator values as inputted in MS Excel or other popular programs. Your first imported SQL indicator

Note:
Creating SQL requests might require additional knowledge, so if you encounter difficulties, please consult with IT professionals experienced in SQL/ADO technologies. We have put together an example of how to use the scorecard in \Balanced Scorecard Designer\Samples\SQL Scorecard, check readme-sql.txt in that folder before opening the samples. Here are steps you can follow to create your first scorecard using external data as values: 1. Launch BSC Designer. Create category. Select the category; you can now create an indicator, imported indicator or SQL indicator. 2. Select "New SQL Indicator" in the Edit menu. 3. The first required step is to specify a data source. Please note: the number of available data sources depends on the ADO drivers installed on your system. 4. Click the "Build" button. 5. As an example, you can select ODBC Drivers and click "Next." 6. On the next tab, you will see "1. Data source." Use the radio button there to select "Use connection string." Please note: this dialog is a Windows dialog, not ours, so it may be different in other versions. Click the button to the right of this radio box (in Windows XP it is "Build"). 7. In the new dialog, go to the "Computer's data source" tab. Select there "Databases of MS Access." Double-click on it. Then click the "Database" button and select an MS Access file (*.mdb); you will find some in the BSC Designer installation. Click OK, and then OK again. Now you will need to create an SQL query. A simple query might be: SELECT Table1.Value FROM `sample_db1`.Table1 Table1 In this case, the indicator will use the returned value. If there are some time points in the balanced scorecard, then you might use the current date selected in the program as a parameter for your query: SELECT Table1.Value FROM `sample_db1`.Table1 Table1 WHERE (table1.Date=:Date) Parameters in request To view a full list of supported parameters, move your mouse over the SQL text box and check the hint text. :FileName - will pass the file name of the current .bsc project;
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SQL-powered indicators

:Date - will pass the current selected date in BSC Designer; :ItemName - will pass the name of SQL indicator for making an SQL query; :Max - passes the MAX value of an indicator; :Min - passes the MIN value of an indicator. Additional settings Use "Document Properties" command in "File" menu to access "SQL" tab. You will find there additional settings that specify how the BSC Designer will access data using SQL indicators. Learn more about SQL Indicators online.

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Link KPI to certain Excel cell

Link KPI value to certain cell in Excel file

Introduction - Functions Overview - Purchase Program Starting with version 6.1, BSC Designer allows you to link KPI value to the certain cell value in Excel file. 1. Go to the "Tree" tab in BSC Designer and select KPI that you want to link. 2. 3. 4. 5. Click function button next to "Value" field: Select "Import value from Excel" option Select Excel file to import from Select below the way you want BSC Designer to use to understand where the cell is located

There are several options suggested: "Named range". The most reliable one, but in your Excel file you need to select certain cell and mark it as a named range (check MS Excel manual for details) "Fixed address". In this case you will be able to select certain spreadsheet and then select certain cell. The problem with this method is that if you will add any column or line that will change the position of source cell, the imported data will be incorrect "Near cell with indicator name". If the name of your indicator is "New indicator 1" and in Excel file there is a cell "New indicator 1" and another cell next to it with necessary value, you can use text "New indicator 1" as a reference to find necessary value "Near cell with custom descriptor". The same idea as for "near cell with indicator name", but here you can specify any custom text, not just indicator name Important notes about importing value from Excel in this way: The value is imported in the currently selected Time point. If you have selected in the Calendar current date the value will be imported for the current date; Each time you select "Tool" > "Update imported indicator" the latest value will be imported from Excel. If new time point is selected the new value will be imported into the new time point.

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Import Values

Import and Export values

Introduction - Functions Overview - Purchase Program In most cases you will need to import data into your Balanced Scorecard from an external file, such as an MS Excel spreadsheet. Here are instructions for how to import values into a Balanced Scorecard project. Check the latest version of this step-by-step guide online. Here is the source project file:

For testing purposes you can download this Excel file. Step 1 select the recipient for data import Select an indicator or category, right-click on it and select the Import Values command in the contextual menu:

Step 2 select the data source Then select the source for your data, which could be an CSV file, MS Excel file or data that you will enter manually (copy and paste from your data source). If you enter data manually, you will be able to specify some custom delimiters for telling the program how to parse these data.

Step 3 select the type of import If during the first step you selected a category as a recipient for data, then you will be able to: Import data for this category (e.g., name, weight, description) Create a new indicator in this category and import data to this indicator Import values for several indicators If during the first step you selected an indicator, then you will be able to: Use the first option Import data for indicator
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Import Values

Create a new indicator, if you choose the Import data for new indicator/category option Import values for several indicators Importing values The most advanced option is importing values for several indicators:

Import several indicators at once If you are importing several indicators, the program will need to know where to search for indicator names and parent categories. The name of a parent category and indicator might be in separate columns. In this case, select the first option. Another possibility is that the name of indicator and its category are in the same column, for instance in the format Category\Indicator. In this case you need to select the second option and specify the delimiter in the field below. Associating columns in source data with indicators properties For the next step you will need to tell BSC Designer the meaning of columns in the data that you are importing. For instance, you need to tell it that column 1 should be associated with the name of the parent category of the indicator, column 2 should be associated with the name of the indicator, column 3 should be associated with the value of the indicator, and so on. It is important to specify which column contains the information about the indicators name and its parent category.

Additionally, you can tell BSC Designer that some of the columns in your data contain information about dates. Then BSC Designer will import the values of your indicators into a time point corresponding to the date column in your source data file. If you are importing indicators for just one time point, you can select the Use current date from calendar option.

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Import Values

BSC Designer will show you a preview of the imported data:

When you finish the import process, you will see the imported indicators in BSC Designer. Click on the dates in the calendar to make sure that the right data were imported for the right dates:

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Export Values

Import and Export values

Introduction - Functions Overview - Purchase Program With BSC Designer you can export indicator values, including current values, weights, min and max, baseline and target values. Step 1. Run Export Select any indicator or category. Right-click on the indicator or category and select "Export values". Follow the "Export" wizard. You will be asked if you wish to export the whole document or only the selected item. Step 2. Select level of detail BSC Designer supports different detail levels for export:

"Changed fields from indicators" - only changed fields will be exported. For instance, if the "Min" field was changed, but the "Max" field was not changed, then BSC Designer will export only the value of the "Min" field. "All fields from changed indicators" - if one of the fields for the indicator was changed, then the values of all other fields for this indicator will be exported as well. "Default values and all fields..." - with this option BSC Designer will export all possible values, including default and inherited values. Step 3. Select columns to export For this step select the columns to be exported. Step 4. Preview Verify that the displayed data are what you need. Step 5. Destination file name Enter the name of the file where the data should be saved. You can use the .csv extension so that you can open the data in MS Excel.

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Edit Values

Edit values
Introduction - Functions Overview - Purchase Program One way to edit an indicator's values for certain time points is to select time points one by one and change the value in the value field. Sometimes it is necessary to check and change multiple values at once. Use the "Edit values" command in the "Strategy Tree" menu to access the Values Editor.

Default values are displayed on top; each indicator uses default values unless specific values are assigned. In the "Values by date" table, users can see and change values for each time point.

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Scorecard reports

BSC Designer Reports

Introduction - Functions Overview - Purchase Program BSC Designer Report There are several type of reports available in BSC Designer, each with its own features and limitations. HTML Reports; HTML Report for selected items generates an HTML Report, but only for the selected category; HTML Overview Report; generates a 1-page report that includes the root element and main categories; Key Risk Indicators Report; Dashboard Report (HTML); Excel Report; PowerPoint Report; Tree report. The Tree Report contains the visual representation of project's KPIs. A strategy map report includes a strategy map. Please note: You can create all reports via the command line interface; HTML reports can be customized by selecting "Report options."

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Excel reports

Exporting a Balanced Scorecard to Excel

Introduction - Functions Overview - Purchase Program Export a Scorecard to MS Excel The Balanced Scorecard can be exported to an MS Excel file, with formulas that allow the editing of data in a spreadsheet. There are two ways to create a Balanced Scorecard Excel file: Launch BSC Designer and select "Export to MS Excel" in the Reports menu. Using the command line interface. Limitations and features of Excel export Only one (selected in BSC Designer) time point is represented in the Excel file. Subcategories are supported.

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HTML reports

Generate HTML Reports with BSC Designer

Introduction - Functions Overview - Purchase Program Create HTML Reports With BSC Designer, users can generate HTML reports containing data tables and image charts. One of the possible ways to generate HTML reports is to click the "HTML Report" button on the toolbar (the first one).

It is also possible to select the Report option in the File menu. Report Options With Report Options, the user can specify the period the report will cover and the level of detail in the report.

By clicking the "Settings" button, the user can access report settings:

For an HTML report, is it possible to specify the placement type of charts, i.e., square or column placement. It is also possible to select which charts will be displayed.

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HTML reports

HTML Report The resulting report will contain data tables together with charts:

The graphical chart will show performance trends from the starting to ending date:

Report customization The report can be customized with text or file values. For this purpose, use the "Custom values" or "Custom files" tabs in the project properties dialog. Supported reports in standard and professional versions Feature HTML reports Export to Excel Export to PowerPoint Selected Report Overview Report Standard Version X X X Professional Version X X X X X Online version X

More about the different versions of BSC Designer.

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HTML overview reports

Balanced Scorecard Overview Report

Introduction - Functions Overview - Purchase Program Overview Report

This type of report is available only in the PRO version

The typical Balanced Scorecard overview report is a combination of the Balanced Scorecard root and its main categories and indicators. There are two ways to create a Balanced Scorecard overview report: Launch BSC Designer and select "Overview Report" in the Reports menu. Use -overview as a parameter in the command line interface. Limitations For an Overview Report, BSC Designer will use only the main indicators and groups, in other words, the top level groups and top-level indicators in these groups. Time points are not supported for this task. Only top-level categories and indicators are supported. Overview Report Samples You can find some samples of overview reports online on our website: HR Scorecard Overview Report Gas and Oil Overview Report Logistics Overview Report

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Dashboard reports

Generate a Balanced Scorecard Dashboard Report

Introduction - Functions Overview - Purchase Program Create Dashboard Report With BSC Designer, a user can create a "Dashboard" report. It is an HTML-based report, but there are differences between a dashboard report and an HTML report. The dashboard report contains diamond-type charts, which represent balanced scorecard performance in a visual way. As a result, the dashboard report can be generated only for a certain time point. To generate a dashboard report, select the "Dashboard" option from the Reports menu. The report can be generated for all of the balanced scorecard or only for a certain branch.

Report customization The report can be customized with text or file values. For this purpose, use the "Custom values" or "Custom files" tabs in the project properties dialog. Like an HTML report, the dashboard report uses HTML templates, so this is another way to modify the way the dashboard report looks.

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PowerPoint reports

Balanced Scorecard Export to a PowerPoint presentation

Introduction - Functions Overview - Purchase Program Export Balanced Scorecard to PowerPoint presentation A Balanced Scorecard project can be exported into a PowerPoint presentation. This is one way to prepare the framework for a future presentation. How to export There are two ways to do so: 1. Launch BSC Designer and select "Export to MS PowerPoint" in the Reports menu. 2. Use -powerpoint as a parameter when using the command line interface. Limitations of PowerPoint export When exporting a balanced scorecard into PowerPoint, only data for the main indicators will be exported, that is, indicator name and description. Time points are not supported.

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Progress and Performance

The difference between Performance and Progress

Introduction - Functions Overview - Purchase Program The difference between Performance and Progress The latest version of BSC Designer introduced a number of useful features. Following requests from our users we added the value Progress. What is the difference between Progress and Performance?

In the Balanced Scorecard project we have two columns: Performance and Progress. What is the difference? The indicator Turnover Rate has performance equal to 16% and progress of just 3.33%.

The indicator "Turnover Rate" has performance equal to 16% and progress of just 3.33%. Now we will check the current settings for the indicator to understand the difference:

The baseline is 15 and the target value is 45. The current value is 16 that's why the progress is just 3% Current value is 15 The min value is 0, the max value is 100 The baseline is 15, target is equal to 45 The difference between Performance and Progress Performance shows how the indicator is performing. Performance doesnt incorporate the historical values of indicators, it calculates the value using only the min value, max value and current value. That is why the performance is 16% In contrast to performance, Progress focuses on the baseline and target interval, e.g., progress shows us how well our project is performing according to the starting point that we assigned and the end point that
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Progress and Performance

is our target. In this case the baseline is 15 and the current value is just 16, so weve improved the current value only by 1 point, which is 3% on the interval [baseline; target].

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Time points

Time Points in Balanced Scorecard

Introduction - Functions Overview - Purchase Program Managing data for certain time points Starting with version 1.4 of BSC Designer, users can work with time-specific indicators, instead of having fixed performance values for an entire period; users now can define performance values specific to certain dates. While the name of an indicator is the same at any time point, such values as relative weight, min/max values, and score are time-dependent. Thus, users have more flexible control over performance. About the new toolbar

The new toolbar panel in the BSC Designer interface helps to manage time points. There are two navigation buttons which allow moving forwards and backwards between time points. The calendar-like button between the navigation buttons is for accessing the calendar. Two more commands on the date toolbar allow deleting date-specific information and navigating to the current date. Calendar If the "Calendar" button in the toolbar is clicked, the program will open a special calendar which represents the available time points. If the specific date is highlighted in bold, then there is new information for the indicator. The user can click any date in the calendar and assign date-specific information. Inheritance The values of performance indicators are actually inherited from the previously specified value performance values. For instance, if on December 1 the user has specified a weight value for indicator A equal to 3, then the program will automatically suggest this value for all dates after 12/1. If 12/5 is clicked on, the relative weight value for indicator A will be 3. If needed, this can be changed to new value, for instance, 6. Now for all dates between 12/1 and 12/4, the weight value for A will be 3, and for all dates after 12/5, 6. This is how the principle of inheritance works. To make working with inheritance easier, the developers have implemented a special color scheme. If the indicator is highlighted with blue, then it means that some of its details were changed today. If the indicator is highlighted with gray, then it means that some of the indicator values have been inherited from past dates. Time-specific and static values Some values of indicator are time-specific, while others are not time-specific and are static. Static values are an indicator's name, description, and target description. For instance, if you change the name of the indicator, then the new name will be used for all time points. Time-specific values can be configured in any way at any time point. Time-specific values are Weight, Value, Min, Max, and Optimization Method. Reports BSC Designer can create an Excel report for any selected date. Additionally, this report can be created automatically using the command line interface. Relevant articles
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Time points

How to create a Balanced Scorecard with annual objectives and intermediate checkpoint for every month.

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Stoplights

Stoplights in Balanced Scorecard

Introduction - Functions Overview - Purchase Program Stoplights and Dynamics thresholds Starting with version 2.0, there are "stoplights" and "Dynamics thresholds" in BSC Designer. A stoplight is a red, yellow or green mark that appears near the indicator when indicator performance has a certain value; Dynamics thresholds are arrows that indicate the performance trend, they appear near the indicator when indicator performance has increased or decreased ;

Adjust "Dynamics thresholds" Dynamics thresholds indicate the performance trend. The users can specify the performance values are corresponding thresholds icon. For details, see Tools > Options > Tree tab.

Adjust stoplights Stoplights can be adjusted, for example, the user can specify the performance values and corresponding stoplight color. For details, see Tools > > Options > Tree tab.

Some or all stoplights can be turned off:

Please note that stoplights are available in dashboard reports.

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Diagrams and charts

Balanced Scorecard Diagrams and Charts

Introduction - Functions Overview - Purchase Program Diagrams and Charts in BSC Designer There are several types of charts in the BSC Designer. To access these charts, click on any of indicators, the relevant Chart will appear on the right side. To access a detailed diagram, double-click on the diagram. If you need to insert a diagram into your presentation, use the "Copy image" button for this purpose. Select "Dashboard" tab on the bottom to switch to the dashboard view where all supported charts are displayed in a one place. Optimization chart Displays the function used as the optimization method. This function can be customized.

Weight chart The weight chart shows the absolute weights of indicators.

Gauge chart This type of chart shows the min-max scale and current value on this scale.

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Diagrams and charts

Pie A pie chart represents the performance of each indicator within a category if the category is selected. If the root is selected, the chart will display the performance of each category.

Diamond chart A diamond-type chart is built if the user selects a category which contains three or more sub-items.

BSC Designer can build a report using this type of diagram; this report is called a Dashboard Report. Time chart diagram
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Diagrams and charts

A time chart diagram represents changes in performance for the indicator according to the time points specified in the project.

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Grouping data by time periods

Grouping data by time periods in BSC Designer

Introduction - Functions Overview - Purchase Program BSC Designer includes easy-to-use charts and reports, so you can see how the values of your indicators change over time. But if you define a new value for each indicator every day, your data tables can grow very quickly. After a month, these tables can be hugeand that means, your charts and reports can become confusing. The solution is to group your data, and display meaningful summaries. Just like you group your indicators into categories to review their overall performance, you can group an indicators daily values into weekly and monthly values, to easily track the indicators progress. Grouping Data by Time Period Starting with version 4.0, BSC Designer allows you to group the values of an indicator according to the time period of your choice.

To group the data on a chart, open the Group By dropdown list in the small chart section.

To group the data in a report, use the Group By dropdown list in the report generation dialogue. When you display your report, it will identify the kind of grouping you used. Once you open the Group By dropdown list for your chart or report, you can choose to group your data by day, or by week, and so forth, or you can choose Customize and define your own grouping period. You can also customize your grouping period from the File menu. Just click on Document Properties, and choose the Grouping tab. Grouping Types: Summary and Average Values By default, the value for a group of data is the average of the individual values. For instance, if you update an indicators value every day, and then group your data by week, the indicators weekly value will be the average of its daily values that week. Sometimes, you may prefer to summarize those daily values, rather than calculating their average. For instance, if an indicator tracks your daily sales, your sales for the week are the total of those daily sales,
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Grouping data by time periods

not their average. For each indicator, you can choose whether to summarize or average its value over time.

Just click on the indicator, right-click on Value, open the Grouping Type submenu, and select Summarize Changed Values or Calculate Average Value.

Default Grouping Types Rather than choosing the summarize or average grouping type for each indicator one at a time, you can assign default grouping types by measure unit. On the File menu, select document Properties, click on the Measure Units tab, and select a measure unit. Open the Grouping Type dropdown menu, and choose Summarize Changed Values (or calculate Average Value).

Now, whenever you group the values of any indicator that uses this measure unit, those values will be summarized (or averaged) by default. Of course, you can still give an indicator its own individual grouping type, which will override this default value. Please note: You cannot change the default grouping type for a default measure unit. You can change the grouping type for the individual indicators that use a default measure unit. But youll need to use your own, custom measure unit in order to set a default grouping type. Additional information Learn more about grouping data online.

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Indicator Analysis

Analysis and Forecasting in BSC Designer

Introduction - Functions Overview - Purchase Program BSC Designer doesnt just record the values of your indicators; it can help you to evaluate them. Use our new analysis tools to: Quickly identify your best- (and worst-) performing indicators. Easily see which indicators are most important to your whole scorecard, and to your whole business. Predict an indicators future value, based on its past performance. And set up automatic alerts to let you know when the indicators value reaches a particular range. Accessing the Analysis Features To access our analysis tools, just open your scorecard project in BSC Designer, and click on the "Analysis" tab at the bottom of the screen. This tab includes three important sections: Analysis Type allows you to choose what kind of analysis to perform. Well look at each of these options later. The Indicator List shows each of your indicators, and the results of your analysis. You can doubleclick on an indicator here to see the same indicator in the Tree view. And in the Time Internal section, you can choose the time period on which to base your analysis. For instance, you might analyze an indicators performance over the past week, or the past month. Performance Analysis Click on Performance in the Analysis Type section to see the performance of your indicators, compared to their maximum and minimum values. By default, the Indicator List sorts your indicators by performance, with your best-performing indicators first, and your worst-performing indicators last. To reverse the sort order, just click on the heading for the Performance column. Progress Analysis The Progress analysis type is similar, but here each indicator is evaluated on a scale from its baseline value to its target value. For more details about the difference between performance and progress, please see our video tutorial, "Calculating an Indicators Performance and Progress. Again, the indicator list is sorted with your best-progressing indicators first. Click on the Progress column heading to reverse the sort order. "Absolute Weight" Analysis Choose Absolute Weight in the Analysis Type section to see all the indicators on your scorecard, sorted according to their absolute weightthat is, their importance to the overall value of your whole balanced scorecard. This type of analysis can be very helpful in helping you to prioritize the most important parts of your business. Forecast Analysis The Forecast analysis type allows you to predict the future behavior of your indicators, based on linear forecasting. There are two options: You can choose a "Target Date, and BSC Designer will predict what value an indicator will have on
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Indicator Analysis

that date. Or, you can choose a "Target Value, and BSC Designer will predict when the indicator will reach that target.

For instance, Indicator 1 had a value of 10 on 1 November, 2010, and a value of 20 on 15 November, 2010. For the target date of 25 November, 2010, BSC Designer predicts a Forecast Value... of 23.406. And BSC Designer predicts that this indicator will reach its Target Value of 30... on the Forecast Date of 4 December, 2010. Creating Alerts The Analysis Type section also includes an Alerts option. Here, you can set up alerts to notify you if a particular indicator ever reaches a particular value, or if it reaches that value at a particular point in time.

Lets say that I want to be notified if Indicator 1 reaches a value between 20 and 30... on a date between 1 November 2010 and 30 November 2010. (I could also click the "All Time box, to be notified if this indicator ever reaches that value.) The current value of Indicator 1 is inside that range, and its November 2010... so an alert icon appears next to my indicator. This blue exclamation point makes sure I notice that the indicator has reached the value I chose, so I can take appropriate action. "Update time" analysis This type of analysis allows to find indicators that was not updated on time. On the "Time interval" panel below it is possible to specify the starting point of analysis. By default it is today.

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Indicator Analysis

The result of the analysis is the list of indicators: By default indicators are sorted by the time period left to update this indicator; Negative value in the "Update in..." column means that indicator should have been updated some days ago. For instance -1 day means that indicator should have been updated yesterday, but was not updated on time. "!" icons appears next to indicators that were not updated on time The "Last Updated" column contains the date of the last time point for this indicator. If the value is "N/A", then no time points were created for this indicator.

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Initiatives and Attachments

Attach documents to indicators - Balanced Scorecard on the operational level

Introduction - Functions Overview - Purchase Program Operational level Once the balanced scorecard is designed, it is important to provide the manager and employees with the opportunity to share their ideas, tasks, and the results of their work. Attach documents It is possible to click on any indicator or category in balanced scorecard and click "Initiatives" button You can: Attach a Local document Attach a Web link Define target description

Please note that if you attach documents BSC Designer will not store the document inside the project file, rather it will save a link to the file on your hard disk or on the server. If the file is physically moved, then it will not be accessible from BSC Designer. Check all initiatives To check all initiatives, use the "Project attachments" option in the File menu.

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Project properties

Balanced Scorecard Properties

Introduction - Functions Overview - Purchase Program Balanced Scorecard Project Properties To access Balanced Scorecard Project Properties, use the Properties command in the File menu. The Main tab contains information about the balanced scorecard: Scorecard author; Scorecard name; Scorecard description. The Measure Units tab contains information about the units of measure used in the scorecard: Measure units can be added or deleted; Measure units can be imported from another .bsc project. Customizing reports There are two ways to customize reports: Using custom values, if it is needed to insert text in the report; Using custom files, if it is necessary to add some files to the report. The custom values tab allows specifying custom values which will be used in the HTML report. To create a new custom value, follow these steps: 1. Modify the template file to your needs. Typically you need to modify the "Common.html" file located in the \Templates folder. 2. In the template file, use something of the format %custom_value% 3. Go to the "Custom values" tab and click the Add button. 4. In the Template field, input the name of the "custom_value" (without quotation marks). 5. In the Value field, input the value for the custom template. 6. Click the Apply button. Check the online manual on customizing reports. Custom files use the same idea as Custom values (see above), but custom files are designed specifically for files, for instance, a customer logo. When an HTML report is generated, the custom file will be copied to the report folder. Check the online manual on customizing reports. SQL tab The SQL tab contains settings that are used when BSC Designer access the external data with SQL indicators. Password tab Use text fields on the Password tab to assign password for reading and writing. Check online manual: How set the password to Balanced Scorecard project.

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Command line

Command Line to Create Balanced Scorecards in Excel

Introduction - Functions Overview - Purchase Program Using command line interface with Balanced Scorecard Designer A command line interface is available in BSC Designer. Using the command line interface, you can generate Excel reports in silent mode. This is very useful when you need to integrate BSC Designer with another business application. The interface for the command line is: [Filename] [-export FileName] [-overwrite] For example, if you need to export the file "Scorecard1.bsc" into Excel file "Report.xls," you should use the following parameters when launching BSC Designer from a third-party tool: "Scorecard1.bsc" -export "Report.xls" -overwrite When using long paths to the files, be sure to use quotation marks, as in "C:\program files\BSC Designer\..." Time points in reports Starting with version 1.4, Balanced Scorecard Designer supports time points. If you are using time points and need to get a report for a certain date, use the "-date" parameter + date as it is according to your current computer settings, for instance: "Scorecard1.bsc" -export "Report.xls" -overwrite -date 01.24.2007 Please note: the date must be according to your current computer settings (it might be DD.MM.YYYY or MM.DD.YYYY, depending on your configuration) HTML report via command line It is possible to generate HTML reports through the command line interface. For that function you should specify the starting and ending date for the report and add the -html option in the command line Example: bsc_designer.exe some_project.bsc -date1 20.12.2007 -date2 02.01.2008 -html -export report.html -overwrite Other reports: the -overview option in a report will enable generation of overview reports, for example: bsc_designer.exe some_project.bsc -html -export report.html -overwrite -overview the -powerpoint option will generate a report in PowerPoint presentation (.ppt) format, for example: bsc_designer.exe some_project.bsc -powerpoint -export report.ppt -overwrite Exporting strategy maps Starting with version 3.0, Strategy Maps are supported in BSC Designer. The strategy map can be exported using BSC Designer's interface or the command line:

Command line syntax :

bsc_designer.exe BSCFileName -export PictureFileName -StrategyMap [-StrategyMapPlacement <SnowFlake|HTree|Tree|Classical|Cascading|Table|Cyclical|Strategic>] [-StrategyMapLevel <MaxLevel>] See more information about StrategyMapPlacement appearance. bsc_designer.exe BSCFileName -export REPORTFILE -allmaps

Sample: export of an existing map.

bsc_designer.exe some_project.bsc -export "C:\resulted_file.jpg" -StrategyMap
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Command line

Sample: export of a map as a snowflake.

bsc_designer.exe some_project.bsc -export "C:\resulted_file.jpg" -StrategyMap StrategyMapPlacement SnowFlake -StrategyMapLevel 1

Sample: create a report that includes all supported strategy maps

bsc_designer.exe some_project.bsc -export C:\report.html -allmaps

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Technical support

Support
Introduction - Functions Overview AKS-Labs operates a 24-hour Customer Service Center. It acts as a single point of entry for all implementation and product-related queries. Our goal is to ensure that your service requests are prioritized and resolved in an efficient and timely manner. Read more about AKS Support.

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Common questions

Common product questions

Introduction - Functions Overview Download BSC Designer How to download BSC Designer Please visit http://www.bscdesigner.com/download and download the latest version of BSC Designer. How to update BSC Designer Use "Update to latest version" command in the Help menu. How to uninstall BSC Designer Select "BSC Designer" in the Start -> Programs submenu and select uninstall. How to backup BSC Designer settings All information about BSC Designer settings is in the Windows registry. The registry key is: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\AKS-Labs\BSC Designer. If you want to make a backup of your system, including BSC Designers settings, please use your favorite registry backup utility. Ordering/registration issues How to register BSC Designer Please go to the BSC Designer ordering page: http://www.bscdesigner.com/ordering and check available licenses and pricing options. How to enter registration codes You should copy and paste the registration code into the registration box in BSC Designer. 1. Launch BSC Designer and go to the Help menu. 2. Select Enter registration code. 3. Copy and paste the registration code and click OK. How to recover registration codes Please use the key code recovery form.

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AKS technical support

Support
Introduction - Functions Overview AKS Support AKS-Labs operates a 24-hour Customer Service Center. It acts as a single point of entry for all implementation and product-related queries. Our goal is to ensure that your service requests are prioritized and resolved in an efficient and timely manner. AKS welcomes you as a valued member of our customer base. The mission of of our Customer Support Service Our mission is to provide you with first-class customer service through an experienced, dedicated team that operates in an innovative and delivery-focused culture of customer service. Since solving problems involves the exchange of technical details, the best way to contact AKS Customer Service is by using the web support form: http://www.bscdesigner.com/support Before contacting AKS Support Before contacting AKS Support, it might be useful to visit the products web site and browse it for necessary information. Your questions might already be answered in the FAQ section. When contacting AKS, please make sure you include the following information in your support request: Version of the software used. To look this up, launch BSC Designer and select the About command in the Help menu. The product version information is located there; The OS and configuration of the computer you are using. The OS is the operating system, such as Windows XP or 2000; Screenshot of the text or error message. Request response When you contact AKS Support, we will provide a solution to the problem and/or information about our estimated progress towards fixing the problem. It usually takes from 1 to 3 business days to suggest the definitive solution.

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