The dashboard tree ideas is neat, but I think the bigger idea is the fusion of ToC ideas with the different dashboard levels, i.e goal, then CSFs then NCs. Very cool.
It sounds like there might be a homomorphism, although that might not be exactly the right concept, between the mental model of how the business works and/or a current reality tree. Need to think about this some more.
When I was trying to build dashboards it was obvious when you were mixing metrics at different levels and it doesn't feel right. It’s very much like programming - try to avoid mixing layers where possible.
I’m hoping find even more connections. I think there is a connection between the Goal Tree and the dashboard levels but not the CRT, FRT or any other TOC tools. Mainly because they’re designed to analyze and solve problems
Yeah, that was my takeaway. This dashboard/metric tree approach is to get you the core skeleton of your business in a hierarchical model. It probably doesn’t explain everything there is to know about the business, and there’s plenty of room in the gaps to fill in with problem solving tools. But it’s important to create a boundary between production dashboards and ad-hoc analysis
Love the idea of dashboard tree similar to KPI trees. One thing that would be of great value, in my opinion, which of these reports/dashboards are more important than the other. Even if the tree has like 3 levels, we are talking about 50+ dashboards. For quick decision making , this doesn’t seem conducive. For KPI trees it is much easier to identify the key metrics at L3 (input)driving the L2 metrics (output) more than others. How do you do that in a visual friendly way in a dashboard tree? Thoughts?
Each dashboard in the tree encodes a metrics (KPI) tree inside it. It’s not always explicit but it’s definitely there. Depending on the size of the org you might have different key metrics in the L3. The idea is to drill down into problem areas from the top.
Thanks for the insightful article! The dashboard tree reminds me of the Shareholder Value tree that developed by Deloitte.
I do suspect however that this concept works best for a relatively small and simplistic organization. In a large corporation (where I work) with multiple businesses / countries that run somewhat independently, I find it challenging to implement any form of governance on the growth of dashboards, i.e. each managing director who owns a P&L will have different view on what their CSFs are.
I would very much love to hear if anyone has any dashboard governance experience / success story in a complex matrix corporate environment!
The dashboard tree ideas is neat, but I think the bigger idea is the fusion of ToC ideas with the different dashboard levels, i.e goal, then CSFs then NCs. Very cool.
It sounds like there might be a homomorphism, although that might not be exactly the right concept, between the mental model of how the business works and/or a current reality tree. Need to think about this some more.
When I was trying to build dashboards it was obvious when you were mixing metrics at different levels and it doesn't feel right. It’s very much like programming - try to avoid mixing layers where possible.
I’m hoping find even more connections. I think there is a connection between the Goal Tree and the dashboard levels but not the CRT, FRT or any other TOC tools. Mainly because they’re designed to analyze and solve problems
Yeah, that was my takeaway. This dashboard/metric tree approach is to get you the core skeleton of your business in a hierarchical model. It probably doesn’t explain everything there is to know about the business, and there’s plenty of room in the gaps to fill in with problem solving tools. But it’s important to create a boundary between production dashboards and ad-hoc analysis
Big fan of lean.org’s content on problem solving, in case people reading this want some ideas. Here’s an example: https://www.lean.org/explore-lean/problem-solving/
This is very interesting and unique content, although I don't focus on that part, my fellow team does but this approach is great.
Love the idea of dashboard tree similar to KPI trees. One thing that would be of great value, in my opinion, which of these reports/dashboards are more important than the other. Even if the tree has like 3 levels, we are talking about 50+ dashboards. For quick decision making , this doesn’t seem conducive. For KPI trees it is much easier to identify the key metrics at L3 (input)driving the L2 metrics (output) more than others. How do you do that in a visual friendly way in a dashboard tree? Thoughts?
Each dashboard in the tree encodes a metrics (KPI) tree inside it. It’s not always explicit but it’s definitely there. Depending on the size of the org you might have different key metrics in the L3. The idea is to drill down into problem areas from the top.
Totally agree!
Thanks for the insightful article! The dashboard tree reminds me of the Shareholder Value tree that developed by Deloitte.
I do suspect however that this concept works best for a relatively small and simplistic organization. In a large corporation (where I work) with multiple businesses / countries that run somewhat independently, I find it challenging to implement any form of governance on the growth of dashboards, i.e. each managing director who owns a P&L will have different view on what their CSFs are.
I would very much love to hear if anyone has any dashboard governance experience / success story in a complex matrix corporate environment!
In that case they should all have their own dashboard tree. They can nest within the org. laddering up to the top level objectives.
Yep, that's what I was afraid... That's a LOT of "leadership buy in" to do 🙃 instead of convincing one leader, you have 80+ MDs to get onboard with
You just need to get a few onboard and let human emotions take over 😁