Time Points

 

Introduction - Functions Overview - Purchase Program

Managing data for certain time points

Starting the version 1.4 of Balanced Scorecard Designer, user can work with time-specific indicators, instead of having fixed performance values for a whole time; user now can define performance values specific for a certain dates. While the name of indicator is the same in any time point, such values as relative weight, min/max values, score are time-depended. So user has more flexible controls over performance.

About the new toolbar

Balanced Scorecard Timepoints Toolbar

The new toolbar panel in Balanced Scorecard Designer interface helps to manage with time points.

  • There are two navigation buttons which allows moving between time points back and forward.
  • The calendar-like button between navigation buttons is needed to access calendar.
  • Two more command on date toolbar allows deleting date specific information and navigating to the current date.

Calendar

If click on "Calendar" button on toolbar, the program will open a special calendar which represents the available time-points.

  • If the specific date is highlighted with bold, then there is some new information about indicator.
  • User can click any date in the calendar and the assign some date-specific information.

Inheritance
The values of performance indicators are actually inherited from the previously specified values performance values.

  • For instance, if on the 1th of December user has specified the weight value for indicator A equal to 3 then the program will automatically suggest this value for all date after 1.12. So, if click on the 5.12 the relative weight value for indicator A will be 3. If needed, it can be changed to new value, for instance, 6. Now, for all dates between 1.12 and 4.12 the weight value for A will be 3, and for all dates after 5.12 will be 6. This is how the principle of inheritance works.

To make work with inheritance easier authors have implemented a special color scheme. If the indicator is highlighted with blue, then it means that some of its details where changed today. If indicator is highlighted with gray, then it means that some of indicators' values were inherited from the dates in past.

Time specific and invariant values

Some values of indicator are time-specific other are not time-specific, they are invariant.

  • Invariant values are indicator's name, description, target description. For instance, if you will ever change the name of indicator then the new name will be used for all time points.
  • Time-specific values can be configured in any way in 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. Also, the report can be created automatically, using command line interface.