Derived from, Indicator, Version, DescriptionDerived from, Indicator, Version, Description
If a KPI has been copied from another KPI, this field is active and shows the source of the KPI. It could, for instance, show that 'Turnover2009' was based on 'Turnover2008'. The data of the original KPI are displayed in the Indicator, Version, and Description fields.
If you want to try out different versions of a KPI, you can create multiple versions. This is especially useful if the KPIs have a 'Provisional' status, because the actual values can already be determined at this stage.
If the KPIs were installed using a wizard, this check box will be selected. If it is, the main fields can no longer be changed. The reason for this is that usually not just the KPIs are installed, but also the scripts used to retrieve the actual values. If you were then to change the fields, the calculation of the actual values would yield incorrect results.
This is an informative field that you can fill with information of your choice.
The script selected in this field is used to retrieve the actual KPI values when the Calculate values for indicators process is executed. The actual values are available on the KPI lines (Lines button).
You are recommended to include one script for each KPI. It is generally quicker and more accurate to retrieve actual values using a script than to manually enter the data.
Determination of actual sum, Determination of actual quantity
The actual values on the KPI lines can be retrieved by means of a script, or they can be entered manually. If for one or more KPI lines the value has been entered manually using the Change actual values process, the value will be 'Manual'. If all lines have been calculated using the Calculate values for indicators process, the value will be 'Calculated'.
This field may contain the department responsible for the KPI. For example, if the Sales department is accountable for the turnover, it will contain 'Sales'.
This field may contain the employee who created the KPI.
KPIs can be conveniently organized into groups, such as 'Costs' or 'Turnover'.
KPIs can be related to each other. For example, the 'Production' KPI and the 'Service' KPI together make up the turnover in the KPI called 'Company Turnover'. You can create this link in the Part of indicator field.
For the 'Production' and 'Service' KPIs, select the umbrella KPI 'Company Turnover' in the Part of indicator field.
In order to establish the link, the values of the following fields must be the same for all related KPIs:
Specify the sum or quantity from the KPI lines to be used for the calculation:
Calculation method for sums and quantities
By default, the sums or quantities from the indicator lines are added up and displayed in the 'Value of underlying lines' field on the 'General' tab of the 'Key performance indicators' form. In some cases, however, it would not make sense to add up the fields from the underlying lines. In those cases, it might be more useful to calculate an average, or not to perform a calculation on the values at all.
The calculation method chosen affects the calculation of the 'Standard', 'Actual', and 'Forecast' fields for the underlying lines. If a number of KPIs together make up an umbrella KPI, the calculation method of the underlying KPIs will determine the calculation method for the umbrella KPI. This requires the calculation type in the underlying KPIs to be 'Pass on total of underlying indicator lines to parent'.
If a KPI applies to both quantities and sums, you can choose different calculation methods for each data type.
Example:
A company records the delivery reliability on a monthly basis, and this figure is expressed as a percentage. As summation of the percentages would result in a meaningless value, the average is calculated.
Period |
Standard quantity |
Actual quantity |
Forecast |
Difference |
Complete |
1 |
95.000 |
96.000 |
96.000 |
1.000 |
True |
2 |
95.000 |
95.000 |
95.000 |
0.000 |
True |
3 |
95.000 |
96.000 |
96.000 |
1.000 |
True |
4 |
95.000 |
93.000 |
93.000 |
-2.000 |
True |
5 |
95.000 |
90.000 |
90.000 |
-5.000 |
True |
6 |
95.000 |
96.000 |
96.000 |
1.000 |
True |
7 |
95.000 |
97.000 |
97.000 |
2.000 |
False |
8 |
95.000 |
90.000 |
95.000 |
-5.000 |
False |
9 |
95.000 |
0.000 |
95.000 |
-95.000 |
False |
10 |
95.000 |
0.000 |
95.000 |
-95.000 |
False |
11 |
95.000 |
0.000 |
95.000 |
-95.000 |
False |
12 |
95.000 |
0.000 |
95.000 |
-95.000 |
False |
Calculation method |
Standard |
Actual |
Forecast |
Difference |
Forecast% |
Add up |
1140 |
753 |
1138 |
-2 |
-2,11 |
Average |
95 |
94,2 |
94.833 |
-0,167 |
-0,18 |
None |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
If the period is closed, the forecast value will be equal to the actual value. If the period is not yet closed, either the standard or the actual value will be used: The field will contain the higher of the two values. In period 8, the standard value is the higher value. Adding up the actual quantities would result in a meaningless percentage of 753. The 'Average' calculation method allows you to see the averages for the standard, actual, and forecast values. It also allows you to see how the actual delivery reliability relates to the desired delivery reliability.
When you detect an excessive difference between the actual values and the standard values, you will probably want to know the cause of the difference, so you can address the problem. The cause is not apparent from the values in the KPI lines, however, as they are summations of different results. A pivot table can give you the type of detailed information you need in this case. You can open a pivot table using the Go to menu on the form containing the KPIs or the KPI lines. To do so, follow these steps:
The pivot table analysis will open with the selected preset. This preset must have been created in the relevant KPI, however.