Monthly Archives: January 2011

Microstrategy Mobile BI App

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Microstrategy Dashboard iPhone App: While surfing the Apple App Store, I noticed this description for the Microstrategy Mobile for iPhone app.

Put business reports, KPIs, documents and Mobile BI Apps in the hands of your employees and customers using the MicroStrategy Mobile for iPhone application. MicroStrategy Mobile lets decision makers run the organization wherever they are. View your business data on the iPhone with multi-touch tables, graphs, charts, visualizations, maps, documents and Mobile BI apps.

MicroStrategy’s award winning business intelligence software is ranked in the Gartner leader’s quadrant. This mobile busines intelligence app is in use at a wide range of organizations across multiple industries and horizontals for their mobile intelligence needs. Connect to any MicroStrategy Mobile Server to access interactive reports, documents and Mobile BI Apps. This app includes multiple demo datasets to let you explore business data in reports, graphs, and interactive dashboards on your iPhone or iPad.

microstrategy Mobile BI App

microstrategy iphone App

Here is a link to a demo and video:

Microstrategy Mobile for iPhone

And here is a press release about their next steps for mobile business intelligence:

MicroStrategy Ramps Up Business Intelligence for iPad and iPhone

Includes info on upcoming functionality including heatmaps and calendars.

In-home Energy Monitoring Dashboards

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On the Dashboard Spy, I posted an article titled “Home Energy Dashboard“.

Since that posting, I’ve come across more coverage of in-home energy dashboards. Here’s a snippet from a Business Week article covering the topic:

energy use dashboards

Interestingly, the U.S. economic stimulus package has given a boom to these energy dashboards. There are around 6 companies working on these in-house energy consumption dashboards.

Here’s the link to the business week slideshow on these energy dashboards:

Monitoring In-home Energy Use

Microsoft Access Dashboard

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A Dashboard Spy reader asked me for a Microsoft Access Dashboard.

I haven’t tried it yet, but I came across a product by OpenGate Software called Dashboard Builder for Microsoft Access.

dashboard builder for microsoft access

Will update you if I learn more about the product.

This from their site:

Visual Insight to Your Access Data

A key challenge every business faces is making use of the valuable transactional data collected every day. For businesses that rely on Microsoft Access to support business operations, putting key metrics at your fingertips can be onerous and require expertise with reports and SQL queries.

Creating informative reports and metrics that you can use to make solid business decisions generally requires numerous complex stored queries or custom VB coding.

Dashboard Builder is a powerful, flexible tool for Micro- soft Access that helps you benefit from the valuable data your business collects every day. Quickly define dashboards and key metrics you want to monitor, then find the answers to critical questions that help drive your operational decisions like:

 What is the average sales price for the current month?
 How many orders you received this month versus last month?
 How many projects are over budget?

FAST DEPLOYMENT, QUICK RESULTS

Dashboard Builder is built for the average Microsoft Access user. If you are just starting out with Access Dashboard Builder provides an easy-to-understand inter- face to define key business metrics without being an expert in query creation. Experienced Access developers will appreciate the easy configuration, as well as the ability to access the full source code to enhance and modify Dashboard Builder as needed.

COMPREHENSIVE FEATURES THAT SAVE YOU TIME

Dashboard Builder offers comprehensive features for Microsoft Access that you normally find only in expensive business intelligence solutions. Instead of spending the time to create compound SQL queries and reports, Dashboard Builder gives you essential business metrics all in one place…so you can focus on what’s really important. And advanced capabilities like the ability to create dashboards for SQL Server and MySQL linked tables means your investment will pay for itself even if you decide to upsize your database platform

Performance Dashboards Book

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Performance Dashboard practitioners know that Wayne W. Eckerson’s book Performance Dashboards: Measuring, Monitoring, and Managing Your Business was one of the first books on performance dashboards.

Well, do you know that it’s been rewritten?

This updated book, which is 75% rewritten, provides a foundation for understanding performance dashboards, business intelligence, and performance management to optimize performance and accelerate results.

  • Includes all-new case studies, industry research, news chapters on “Architecting Performance Dashboards” and “Launching and Managing the Project” and updated information on designing KPIs, designing dashboard displays, integrating dashboards, and types of dashboards.
  • Provides a solid foundation for understanding performance dashboards, business intelligence, and performance management
  • Addresses the next generation of performance dashboards, such as Mashboards and Visual Discovery tools, and including new techniques for designing dashboards and developing key performance indicators
  • Offers guidance on how to incorporate predictive analytics, what-if modeling, collaboration, and advanced visualization techniques

Here’s the link to a great price on Amazon:

And here’s some info from the flap:

Performance dashboards have become the preferred way for busy executives, managers, and staff to monitor key business metrics at a glance and move swiftly through layers of actionable information to get the insight they need to solve problems quickly, efficiently, and effectively.
Written by Wayne Eckerson, a recognized expert and consultant in the field of business intelligence, —Performance Dashboards, Second Edition shows how performance dashboards focus business people on the right things to do and arm them with relevant information to do things right. Eckerson’s tips, techniques, and practical insights provide a strategic road map to help organizations turbocharge performance management initiatives with dashboard technology to optimize performance and accelerate results.

Extensively rewritten and modified to reflect changes and advances in the field, the Second Edition now includes:

All-new case studies that illustrate how to deliver operational, tactical, and strategic performance dashboards

A chapter on architectural issues and options for creating scalable, high-performance performance dashboards

Explanation of the MAD framework (monitor, analyze, and drill to detail) for developing performance dashboards and the Double MAD framework (model, analytics, and deliberation) that defines next-generation capabilities

Expanded section on the best practices for managing performance dashboard projects

New architectural techniques for integrating performance dashboards and cascading performance metrics across tiers of dashboards

Detailed characteristics of operational, tactical, and strategic dashboards, including prominent subtypes in each category

A description of dashboard functionality by type of dashboard, including navigational and analytical techniques to enhance usability and effectiveness

New guidelines for designing effective dashboard displays, including an overview of visualization techniques and how and when they should be used

New insights into key performance indicators (KPIs) and performance targets, as well as practical tips for brainstorming, designing, and maintaining dashboard metrics

In-depth examination of the role of performance dashboards in the BI Maturity Model

Written for IT managers but accessible to business executives, this book will serve as a testimonial to the power of performance dashboards to improve organizational effectiveness as well as a comprehensive source of best practices required to successfully implement dashboards and scorecards. Every executive and manager should have a copy of this bestseller on their bookshelf.

Dashboard Book: Performance Dashboards: Measuring, Monitoring, and Managing Your Business

Forrester Wave Enterprise Business Intelligence Platforms

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Dashboard Spy readers know how I pore over the business intelligence platform reports from the big consulting companies. I can’t resist reading every “bake-off” report that compares the big business intelligence vendors.

A reader asked me about the latest Forrester report on the BI landscape, so I thought I’d share the report.

First off, here’s the link:

The Forrester Wave: Enterprise Business Intelligence Platforms, Q4 2010 – IBM Cognos, SAP BusinessObjects and Oracle Lead, With Information Builders, SAS, Microsoft, MicroStrategy Close Behind.

Here’s a couple of screenshots of the report. This is the cover:

forrester wave enterprise business intelligence platforms

And this is the money shot:

forrester enterprise business intelligence platforms pdf

As you can see, it’s all about IBM Cognos, SAP BusinessObjects, Oracle, Information Builders, SAS, Microsoft and MicroStrategy.

An interesting bit from the Forrester report:

BI CONTINUES TO EVOLVE AS THE LAST FRONTIER OF COMPETITIVE DIFFERENTIATION

Business intelligence continues to be one of the top enterprise software and applications market segments where Forrester sees continually increasing interest and adoption levels (see Figure 1 and see Figure 2). Ever-increasing data volumes, complex enterprise operations, and regulatory reporting requirements continue to drive demand for BI in the middle (risk management) and back (finance, HR, operations) offices. But the major shift is in the increased demand for BI in the front offices (sales, marketing) too, as enterprises that do not squeeze the last ounce of information out of their data stores and applications, and that do not focus on getting strategic, tactical, and operational insight into their customers, products, business processes, and operations, risk falling behind competition. As a result, while the overall software market dropped by 8% in 2009, the BI software market increased by 15%

So, it seems that Business Intelligence is alive and well!

Long live the Dashboard!

Excel School

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Dashboard Spy guest appearance! I’ll be doing an interview with Chandoo as part of his Excel School course. Let me know what dashboard topics you might want me to cover.

Excel School

Check it out at this link: http://budurl.com/exceltutorial

Here’s what Chandoo had to say in his announcement.

Excel School an online Excel & Dashboards training program. It is designed to make you awesome by teaching formulas, charting, formatting, data analysis & dashboards.

If you use Excel everyday and find my site useful & helpful, then this is a perfect program for you.

I have trained more than 700 students in this program so far and many of them have benefited tremendously. I am hoping you too will benefit from Excel School.

If you want to join Excel School, click here. http://budurl.com/exceltutorial

What topics are covered in Excel School?

Excel school topics revolve around these 6 themes,

  • Building better workbooks
  • Making better charts
  • Writing awesome formulas
  • Analyzing data like a pro
  • Using Excel productively
  • Creating world-class dashboards

Please visit Excel school lesson plan page for a detailed lesson plan. Also Download Excel School brochure to see the topics, methodology etc.

Can you tell me more about the Dashboards Module?

With this edition of Excel School, I am adding a new dashboards module. This module teaches you how to design & construct effective dashboards using MS Excel. We will be learning:

  • Dashboard definition
  • Process for making dashboards
  • Making a business dashboard
  • Making a website dashboard
  • Making a KPI dashboard
  • Making a sales dashboard
  • Dashboard Design tips & tricks
  • Bonus interviews with these dashboard experts
  1. Robert Mundigl (clearlyandsimply.com)
  2. Daniel Ferry (excelhero.com)
  3. Ian Huitson (our own guest author, Hui)
  4. Hubert Lee (dashboardspy.com)
  5. Jorge Camoes (excelcharts.com)

The lessons 1,2,3 & 6 are already available for viewing. Remaining lessons will be available to you in Excel School in the next 4 weeks.

With each type of dashboard, you will get a complete, unlocked dashboard workbook so that you can implement these techniques at work.
How much is Excel School & How to join?

Excel School comes in 3 flavors.

Dashboards Option – $197 per student

Includes all Excel lessons + Dashboards lessons, you can download HD videos of lessons for viewing later.

Download Option – $97 per student

Includes only Excel lessons, you can download HD videos of lessons for viewing later

Online Option – $67 per student

Includes only Excel lessons, you can watch lessons online.

Please visit Excel School page to review these 3 options & sign-up.

KPI Mega Library

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Dashboard Spy readers know that I love lists – especially of metrics. Rachad Baroudi has done an amazing amount of legwork in the book KPI Mega Library: 17,000 Key Performance Indicators.

Here’s just a tiny sample of some banking metrics.

KPI Mega Library

Note: I read a review from someone who was disappointed that it was just a bunch of lists without elaboration. While I agree that elaboration would be great, the fact that these 17,000 metrics have been compiled is just incredible.

Click on this to read the description and be sure to use the “look inside the book” function.

IT Portfolio Dashboard Metrics

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Dashboard Topic: Information Technology Project and Portfolio Management Dashboard Metrics.

This excellent list of the types of PPM metrics appears on CIO Dashboards:

infomation technology dashboard metrics

I found one of the comments helpful:

Here is the list of PPM metrics I share with folks. They are a combination of PMI PPM metrics and others I have picked up over the years. I use them as examples and urge Enterprises to choose the ones they understand and are able to map directly to the investment decisions they need to make.

  • Increase of revenue attributable to the Portfolio
  • Development of new markets and expansion of customer base as a result of the portfolio
  • Cost reductions attributable to the portfolio
  • Change in net present value (NPV) of the portfolio
  • Return on investment from the portfolio
  • Internal rate of return (IRR) of the portfolio
  • Degree to which the portfolio and business risks have been reduced by undertaking the portfolio components
  • Availability of resources needed to support the portfolio components, both as planned and in execution.
  • % of investment decisions influenced by PPM Committee
  • % of projects aligned with organizational goals
  • % of projects reviewed during execution by Executive Management
  • % of healthy Projects
  • % of projects delivered ahead of schedule
  • % of actual value versus expected value
  • % of projects that meet or exceed expected value
  •  Executive satisfaction with PPM – survey based

Microstrategy Dashboard Demo

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http://www.enterprise-dashboard.com Business Intelligence Topic: Online Demo of Microstrategy Dashboards

Dashboard team members looking for implementation ideas can try the online interactive Microstrategy Dashboards.

This one is a Purchase Volume Dashboard from the Bank of Montreal. (click on that link to try it):

purchase volume dashboard

It features line charts and has a “toggle” paradigm to shift between views.

Other demos to follow. Stay tuned!

Hubert Lee The Dashboard Spy

Tags: Microstrategy demo, microstrategy dashboard

Deployment Dashboard

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Example Dashboard: User Adoption / Software Deployment Dashboard

This Deployment Dashboard tracks the success of the global deployment of a major software project.

software deployment dashboard

The software deployment dashboard provides the information and control required to manage the successful deployment of enterprise systems. Clear and concise real-time feedback on training effectiveness, user’s intention to adopt and license roll-out is augmented by early warning alarms and insights into deployment obstacles.

The dashboard is divided into 3 main sections: 1) License Uptake 2) System Adoption and 3) Learning and Change. The values for sections are derived from user surveys and system reports.

Training departments can leverage the information provided to ensure increased adoption.