Balanced Scorecard Designer

Balanced Scorecard Designer (BSC Designer) is a brand-new Balanced Scorecard design software that helps with building Balanced Scorecards for business performance management purposes.

Some history notes

Few years ago we have designed our first balanced scorecard design software, Strategy2Act. It was (and available for download now) a great software product that allowed to create scorecards. We have obtained a great experience about this software product from our users, but we also found that Strategy2Act software is hard to use and lack some important integration features.

That's why Balanced Scorecard Designer was released, it's a brand-new version of Strategy2Act, actually, it is completely different product, with more design and integration features.

• Right now you can download the trial version of Balanced Scorecard Designer or purchase a full version.

Interface Overview

Click to see enlarged screenshot

Balanced Scorecard Designer has a plain, easy to use interface, which provides user with:

• Possibility to create scorecard, e.g. create categories, goals;
• Balancing function, e.g. lets user specify relative weights;
• Time Points, allows to specify weight, scorecard, mix/max and other values specific for certain date.
• Ability to connect several scorecards into one using data obtained from the web or local network. Or import information using SQL indicators.
• Performance measurement and calculation functions, e.g. calculates the performance within category and total performance;
• Results of work can be exported into easy readable html report with charts.

The results of design can be saved into BSC native format (.bsc file type) or exported to MS Excel for further usage. Export feature is very important as Balanced Scorecard exported to MS Excel can be used to connect the data from company ERP system with performance measurement. Starting version 1.3 exporting is also available with command line interface.

Balanced Scorecard Designer functions in details

When you will run the Balanced Scorecard Designer the default project will be opened. You will be able to start with design process immediately.

Using toolbar buttons, you will be able to add more categories and goals, move items or run balancing function. Also, with tool bar "Report" button you will be able to export results into MS Excel file.

The special toolbar was designed to manage with time points. With time points user can specify different performance and weight values for different dates.

In Balanced Scorecard Designer you will work with strategy tree. The strategy tree includes:

• Root element. It has the same name as your Balanced Scorecard project. If you need to change project name, please, choose "Properties" option in File menu.
• Category elements. These elements are containers for goal elements.
• Goal element, also called metric or performance indicator, is an item with name (for instance "Response Time"), relative weights on 1..10 scale and optimization direction.

You can click on any item (Category or Goal) and you will see the information about this item below. The information includes:

• The name of category or goal;
• The relative weight of category or goal;
• The description of category or goal;

Please, note: you can change the values right now and the changes will be immediately processed and shown at strategy tree. BSC Designer will recalculate the performance values. 

The goal item, also known as metric or indicator has some addition parameters. Goal has:

• Value. It is the current value, the current score or performance level within this metric.
• Measure. Measure value specified the measurement units, can be "Score" or "%" or some custom measure units.
• Min and Max values determine the scale for the metric. If the value is highlighted with bold (for instance, "max") then your target within this metric is to improve the current value and achieve max value.
• Optimization drop-box determined your optimization strategy. If your goal is to make the current value higher then use "Maximize", if your goal is to lower the current value (for instance to lower the number of defects), then use "Minimize" option).
• Target Description is an optional field, you can put here any additional notes that will explain how you are going to measure your indicators, measurement units that you are going to use.

Subcategories in Balanced Scorecard Designer

Balanced Scorecard Designer has much more useful features than Strategy2Act. The significant difference is an ability to create sub-directories.

For instance, in Balanced Scorecard Designer one can create a global category "Custom", with metrics "Response Time", "On-time delivery", "Support Quality", but at the same time the "Support Quality" might be a category itself, e.g. contains more specific metrics, such as "Response script quality", "Response value measure", "Customer satisfaction" measures.

Time Points

The scorecard is not just a static document, it is a set of values that can change in a time. With BSC Designer user can specify different values for indicators for different time points.

For instance, the value "HR Interview Performance" can have value 70% for September and value 75% for October. That is the way how manager can specify data for the past and for the future. This is the way on how to analyze company's performance in the past and in the future, e.g. plan performance changes and set goals.

To work the time point user should follow simple steps:

1. Use calendar on the toolbar and select appropriate date.

2. Change values of indicator (you can change weight, value, min, max values)

3. Click somewhere and the program will remember changes that you have made.

Read more about using Time Points in BSC Designer manual or download a fully-function trial version and try it yourself.

Connecting to external scorecards

With Balanced Scorecard Designer user can not only design his own indicators, but also link to indicators in some external scorecards.

For instance, the manager of HR department can place his scorecard on the web-server. CEO of the company can connect to this scorecard and use its indicators or performance values of whole category or the performance value of the scorecard.

In this way user can link to scorecards located on the web site, file in the network or hard disk.

Learn more about linking scorecards or download trial version of Balanced Scorecard Designer to try this function yourself.

Link balanced scorecard with ERP, CRM or other business systems

Balanced Scorecard Designer starting version 1.8. allows to create SQL indicators. The SQL indicators uses ADO technology to access data from various data sources and databases.

With SQL indicator one could access information located in almost any database or business system, such are ERP, CRM, EMC.

This is a great way how independent developers and our partners could integrate Balanced Scorecard Designer into existent business environment.

Learn more about creating SQL indicators.

Export to Excel

Balanced Scorecard Designer can export the scorecard into Excel file. It is a really useful feature, as Excel file is easy way to share and analyze information. Also, having indicators represented in Excel file it is easy to export or import data from some external data sources and databases.

The data exported into Excel is available for change, so if user will change some performance values the Excel will calculate the new performance values for category and the scorecard.

Exporting to Excel is easy, just select "Export to MS Excel" command in Reports menu. Please, note: the export to Excel is limited only to one time-point, so if you need to export data for some time interval, please, use HTML report.

Right now you can download trial version of Balanced Scorecard Designer to try exporting to Excel and other features.

Export to HTML report

Balanced Scorecard can be exported into Excel file or to advanced HTML report. The Advanced HTML Report includes performance information for various data points covered by the scorecard, also, users will find there data tables with information about values' changes for indicators.

HTML report is a great way to share Balanced Scorecard with others. There are 3 types of HTML reports with different level of details.

The html report can be customized using "Custom values" and "Custom files" tag from document properties dialog.

Try and buy

Right now you can download the evaluation version of Balanced Scorecard Designer. We suggest you to try fully function version of BSC Designer for free for 30 days.

If you will find Balanced Scorecard designer a useful tool, the you can purchase a full version online.