The road to ROI is paved with metrics but metrics don’t always resonate with management or the business’s goals and objectives. The metrics often fall short on telling management where they stand with regard to goals versus actuals, what progress has been made, and how the number can help to guide the business. In my opinion, mapping out the KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) and storytelling through data visualization is one of the best ways to compel management to act. The long road toward data visualization starts farther upstream than most people think so I’ve got a few high-level recommendations to get you started!
Acquiring the Data
The most critical step to killer KPI visualization is capturing the metrics for your chosen KPIs. In some case, metrics and formulas are needed to calculate KPIs and it’s important to acquire the necessary data. The best way to start the process of acquiring the data is to use an effective measurement plan.
As part of the measurement plan, you need to consider the configuration of the analytical solution which is capturing the data. Let’s be clear, this is not the first step in the process but still a major part of the process to killer KPI dashboards or data visualization. [Read more…]