SC QUALITY GUILDKPI dashboard builder
SCQUALITYGUILD.COM/TOOLS/KPI-DASHBOARD-BUILDER.HTML
List the objectives, then the measures that track them, with a target, a red limit and the recent values. Get a tile for each KPI with its status and sparkline, a trend call, and a line-of-sight map that shows objectives with no measure, measures with no objective, and objectives tracked only by lagging indicators.
ON THE EXAM · CQE VI.A.5, CQE I.B.2, CSSBB II.C.1, CSSBB VIII.D.4, CSQP IV.A.2 · FREE · NOTHING YOU TYPE LEAVES YOUR BROWSER
Q-BotClick for an explanation of this tool.For educational use. This page is a study aid. The method behind it has far more depth and detail than one page and one tool can cover, and what you see here is not everything the method offers or everything this site offers. For full understanding and application, use the governing standards and texts, and seek further education, training or qualified advice. Results depend on the data you enter, so check them before relying on them.
What a dashboard is for
A dashboard shows, on one screen, whether the things that matter are on track, so the people who own them can act. It is not a data dump. A good dashboard has a few measures, each with an owner, a target, a clear status, and enough history to tell a trend from a blip.
KPIs, leading and lagging
A key performance indicator is a measure chosen because it tracks a goal. Lagging indicators report the result after the fact: on-time delivery, complaints, cost of poor quality. They are what the customer and the business feel, but by the time they move it is too late to change that period. Leading indicators move first and can still be influenced: schedule attainment, first-pass yield, training completed. A sound set pairs each lagging result with one or more leading measures that predict it. The tool flags objectives tracked only by lagging measures.
Line of sight and OKRs
Line of sight means anyone can trace a measure up to the objective it serves, and the objective up to the strategy. OKRs (objectives and key results) state an objective in words and one to three measurable key results with dates. A measure linked to no objective may not be worth collecting; an objective with no measure is a wish.
Red, amber, green
Each KPI here has a target and a red limit. For a "higher is better" measure:
- Green: actual ≥ target.
- Amber: between the red limit and the target.
- Red: actual < red limit.
For "lower is better" the comparisons reverse. A value exactly on the red limit is amber. With no red limit, the tool sets one at the target minus (or plus) the default amber band percentage.
Trend
The trend is the least-squares slope through the values. It is called improving or worsening only when the fitted line moves by more than half the amber band across the periods shown; otherwise flat. The most useful flags are the uncomfortable ones: green but worsening, while there is still time, and red for three periods running, which needs a project, not more watching. A trend arrow is a prompt, not a statistical test; to separate a real shift from noise, use a control chart.
Dashboard or balanced scorecard?
A balanced scorecard organizes strategic objectives across four perspectives and maps cause and effect between them. This dashboard is the operating view: the history and trend of each measure, its owner, and its line of sight to an objective. Many organizations use both.
On the exam
CQE VI.A.5 asks you to apply and interpret dashboards and select the right metrics for them, and CQE I.B.2 covers performance measurement in deploying the quality system. CSSBB II.C.1 covers KPIs, OKRs, leading and lagging indicators and line of sight to strategy, and CSSBB VIII.D.4 monitoring leading and lagging indicators after a project. CSQP IV.A.2 covers supplier scorecards and dashboards. Expect to classify a measure as leading or lagging and to judge whether a dashboard supports its objectives.