These various users may need different information or they
may need the same information as other users, but need it presented using
different techniques. One of the most common ways to present information to users
is through the use of a scorecard. Scorecards represent summarizations of a large
amount of data, created specifically to provide a quick snapshot of the overall health
of the business or an individual department. Scorecards are usually aimed at business
decision makers, although they can be used at any level of the organization.
A scorecard used in business is similar to the report cards that students take home
to show their parents. Parents are able to look at a single, simple piece of paper that
shows the grade average in each class. Parents do not have to pour through a stack of
individual assignments, checking the grade for each one and calculating the averages
on their own. Instead, in a single glance, a parent can see the scores in all of their
child??™s classes and get an immediate feel for how well their son or daughter is doing.
School report cards also might include additional information, such as the
student??™s ability to get along with others, their attitude in class, and so forth.
Similarly, business scorecards may show the health and trend for that particular
metric, not just its value. This means that a quick glance gives a view of the overall
business health and the ways that the various metrics are trending. These metrics that
are tracked are called Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
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