Balanced Scorecards and Operational Dashboards with Microsoft Excel

by Ron Person

Created in Excel, balanced scorecards enable you to monitor operations and tactics, while operational dashboards is a set of indicators regarding the state of a business metric or process—both features are in high demand for many large organizations. This book serves as the first guide to focus on combining the benefits of balanced scorecards, operational dashboards, performance managements, and data visualization and then implement them in Microsoft Excel.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Reference, Design, Technology, Finance

480 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2008

Reviews

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good overview book if you wanted to know about balanced scorecards but didn't really want to buy a book just on that topic, or go through an expensive consulting arrangement. It tries to provide a practical view of where to start and why balanced scorecard can be useful. The Excel parts also make practical in implementation especially if you don't have a large BI implementation and the team to support it.

It is also a number of good references that will explain more information in detail. So, reading this book, I've learned that there's a lot of other stuff that I don't know. It talks about pivot tables in excel but doesn't explain how to construct them - it sends you to references of entire books on excel pivot table. It does the same for excel charts.

So, all in all, it's a great book if you need to introduce a metrics and performance management program. It is good a putting it all together and it's good a explaining what is possible. There's just a good amount more research and reading needed to do to be able to actually implement something - although the author is likely available for consulting purposes and that likely explains this.

[Leigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Challenged with beginning an Excel-based dashboard, I scoured the web for free resources, including tutorials. Limited with Excel 2003 with my employer, the difficulty was finding tools compatible with both 2003 and 2010 (the upgrade scheduled 10 months later).

Balanced Scorecards and Operational Dashboards provides techniques in both 2003 and 2007 (essentially compatible with 2010), and it also describes limitations in non-compatibility issues.

Looking for the sample files, I found myself contacting the author. Via email, he was very personable and helpful.

One of the few negatives I found, was that book does not touch on how to overcome some Excel limitations by use of programming. Also, there is quite a bit of self-promotion for the authors consulting services, which gets tiring.

Bottom line: The use of this book put me on the right track to wowing my executives. Used as a starting point (and supplemented with various web tutorials), my dashboards have colleagues convinced I am the Excel go-to person in the office.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, I mostly scanned this book because it is so focused operational dashboards ( and I am working on an executive dashboard) and how to create the dashboard using Excel. BUt there are so good recommendations that can be applied to other dashboards that are not operational and not created in Excel. Chapter three and twelve both have some good general dashboard advice.

[Vivian-uyên · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book describing the need for a scorecard. But, the title is misleading. This book doesn't teach you how to build a robust and dynamic scorecard with Excel. The few tips provided in the book are basic.

[Erika · Rating 5 out of 5]

Classic!

[Gen Giggles · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book gives a solid foundation on creating and using Balanced Scorecards. Very useful in theory and a practical sense.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good ideas on setting up reporting tools in Microsoft Excel.