A tool to support decision-making

Cooperative performance dashboard, a tool for decision-makers

What is a performance dashboard ?

Let us go back over the definition of the performance dashboard by using the analogy of a car's dashboard. To drive your car, you need to see the road and to have at your disposal a certain number of indicators to help you apprehend problems to come. The combination of these instruments allows you to remain in control of your vehicle.

Example of the car

Would you be ready to take place in a car for a journey in the mountains with a driver who would not take his eyes off the petrol gauge and the odometer, his only concern being to keep to his gas estimates.
Certainly not!
However, it is in this way that the large majority of dashboards in use in enterprises are thought out.

Let's not forget that we only what we measure!

Why going on using an unsuitable measurement system?

Nowadays, the need regarding decision-making support is becoming crucial. It is a measurement system in accordance with the following pattern that has to be conceived to lead an enterprise in an unsteady environment.

On the above picture, the set point corresponds to the "tactical" targets of the actor on the ground. They are listed from the strategy that has been established.

The limits of the metaphor of the car

To explain the principle of the dashboard, we often use the metaphor of the car. This metaphor is not totally accurate. A car reacts to the slightest touch of the driver. That is not the case of an organization. We could say that the organization has its inertia, but it is better to talk about its own pace. Therein it is closer to a production unit of the process. Not everything is permitted and the effects of actions are not felt instantly.

The risk is there because the error does not appear immediately. And it can be fatal. You can't use the scheme trial/error that is try, see and correct. We must act in all conscience and wait. Stay on the watch to early results that must not be confused with side effects. But feel when the drift is real, because we'll have to act again. This is what is the risk of the decision.

The only element of trust are the indicators. They provided the elements of assessment to trigger a possible action and in return, they measure the response of the system.

Business Intelligence technology is from now on operational to build genuine cooperative performance dashboards. But as for every complex information system project, it is essential to make a point of managing the project carefully and adopting an appropriate approach to the problematic decision-making in companies. This is the theme of this website.

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