In today’s competitive business landscape, organizations need to have a clear understanding of their performance and strategic goals. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) play a crucial role in measuring and evaluating the success of these goals. In this article, we will explore how to create a Balanced Scorecard report using the Power KPI Matrix in SQL Server.

Understanding KPIs and Balanced Scorecard

KPIs are quantifiable measurements that help organizations assess their performance in specific areas. They provide valuable insights into how well a company is achieving its objectives and meeting its targets. However, traditional KPIs often focus solely on financial metrics, which may not provide a comprehensive view of organizational performance.

The Balanced Scorecard (BSC) is a strategic management performance metric that offers a more holistic view of a business’s standing. It complements financial measures with non-financial measures, allowing managers to evaluate performance from four critical perspectives:

• Finance: How do we look to the shareholders? This perspective includes traditional financial measures such as profitability, revenue growth, and return on investment.
• Customer: How do customers see us? This perspective analyzes organizational performance from a customer’s point of view, including measures such as customer satisfaction, retention, and acquisition.
• Internal: What must we excel at? This perspective assesses what a company must do internally to meet customer and stakeholder expectations. It includes measures of process efficiency, productivity, and cycle time.
• Learning & Growth: Can we continue to improve and create value? This perspective emphasizes the organization’s ability to learn, innovate, and develop its people and capabilities. It includes measures of employee retention, training and development, and organizational culture.

Creating a Data Model in SQL Server

To create a Balanced Scorecard report, we first need to create a data model in SQL Server. We will represent the yearly performance of a business entity in specific areas such as dividends, net profit, customer engagement feedback score, active customer base, employee engagement feedback score, labor efficiency, and losses due to equipment failure.

Here is an example of how to create individual tables for each KPI metric:

CREATE TABLE dividends (
  date Date,
  actual_value int,
  target int
);

CREATE TABLE net_profit (
  date Date,
  actual_value int,
  target int 
);

-- Create tables for other KPI metrics

INSERT INTO dividends VALUES ('2022-01-31', 40, 55);
-- Insert data into other KPI tables

Once we have created and populated the individual KPI tables, we can create a table that compiles all the KPIs. This table will include columns for the KPI type, threshold status, BSC category, and more.

CREATE TABLE KPI_definitions (
  KPI_id int,
  KPI_type text,
  threshold text,
  category_id int,
  BSC_category text
);

INSERT INTO KPI_definitions VALUES ('1', 'dividends', 'Above Is Good', 1, 'Finance');
-- Insert data into other KPI_definitions table

Creating a Visualization in Power BI

Now that we have our data model in SQL Server, we can import it into Power BI and create a Balanced Scorecard report using the Power KPI Matrix visual.

1. In Power BI Desktop, click “Get Data” in the “Home” ribbon and select the “SQL Server” option.
2. Enter the relevant server and database credentials and click “OK”.
3. Select all the tables in the “Navigator” window and click “Transform Data”.
4. In the “Power Query Editor”, add a new column to each KPI table that mentions the KPI name for each observation.
5. Append all the KPI tables into one table.
6. Ensure the relationships in the data model are correct.
7. In the main interface, click the “Model view” tab and create a new column representing the KPI index.
8. Select the Power KPI Matrix visual from the “Visualizations” tab.
9. Configure the visual by adding the necessary fields and formatting options.
10. Customize the visual’s appearance and general formatting as desired.

With these steps, we can create a powerful and interactive Balanced Scorecard report using the Power KPI Matrix visual in Power BI. This report allows us to analyze the performance of our organization from multiple perspectives and make data-driven decisions to drive improvement.

Conclusion

KPIs and Balanced Scorecards are essential tools for measuring and evaluating organizational performance. By leveraging the capabilities of SQL Server and Power BI, we can create comprehensive and visually appealing reports that provide valuable insights into our business’s standing. The Power KPI Matrix visual in Power BI allows us to consolidate and analyze multiple KPIs in a single tabular form, making it easier to track and monitor our performance across different perspectives.

By following the steps outlined in this article, you can create your own Balanced Scorecard report and gain a deeper understanding of your organization’s performance.

Article Last Updated: 2023-08-02