Creating Objectives

You can create one or more objectives. Objectives that you create should be strategically relevant and measurable using KPIs.

See "What Are Objectives?" for additional information about objectives.

To create an objective:

Edit the scorecard for which you want to create an objective. See "Opening or Editing Scorecards" for additional information.
In the "Strategy pane":
- If the objective that you want to create can be independently achieved, then select the root objective.
- If the objective that you want to create is required to meet a higher-level objective, then select the higher-level objective.
Click the Create Objective toolbar button or right-click and select Create Objective.

The "Scorecard editor: Objective Details tab" is displayed. Figure 12-9 shows an example of an objective displayed on the Objective Details tab.

Figure 12-9 The Scorecard Editor: Objective Details Tab
Highlight the default objective name in the top left corner and enter a new name for the objective.
In the Description field, enter a description of the objective.
Specify the analytic information (including the KPIs to be used to measure the progress and performance of the objective) by completing the "Analytics pane". See "Completing the Analytics Pane for Objectives or Initiatives" for additional information.
Specify the collaboration information by completing the "Collaboration pane" as follows:
1. (optional) Add comments by clicking the Add Comment button to display the "Add Comment dialog". See "About Comments" for additional information.
2. Specify the business owner that users can contact by clicking the Set User button to display the "Select Business Owner dialog". (By default, the business owner is the creator of the scorecard.)
3. (optional) Add related documents by clicking the New Row button to display the "New Related Document dialog". Also see "Related Documents area" for additional information.
Add related items by completing the "Related Items pane" as follows:
1. Add one or more objectives that impact or support (that is, help achieve or hinder progress on) this objective. To do so, drag the objective from the Strategy pane and drop it in the Causes table.
  
  The "Causal Linkage dialog" is displayed, where you specify how closely the objectives are related and whether changes to the values in this causal objective have a direct or inverse impact on this objective.
  
  For example, for an Increased Client References objective, you might drag and drop the following objectives that could cause (or help or hinder) it: Decreased Client Response Time and Increase Customer Issue Resolutions.
2. Add one or more initiatives (that is, the tasks that are required to meet the objective). To add an initiative, drag it from the "Initiatives pane" and drop it in the Initiatives Driving This Objective table.
  
  The"Initiative Linkage dialog", where you specify how closely the initiative and the objective are related and whether changes to the values in this initiative have a direct or inverse impact on this objective.
3. Add one or more objectives that this objective impacts or supports. To do so, drag the objective from the Strategy pane and drop it in the Effects table.
  
  The "Causal Linkage dialog" is displayed, where you specify how closely the objectives are related and whether changes to the values in this causal objective have a direct or inverse impact on this objective.
Click Save.

Completing the Analytics Pane for Objectives or Initiatives

When you create an objective or initiative, you must specify the analytics for the objective or initiative by completing the "Analytics pane".

To complete the Analytics pane:

In the Perspective box, select the perspective with which the objective or initiative is to be aligned.
In the Assessment Formula box, select the rule to be used to assess the overall performance of the initiative or objective. For example, select Worst case to specify that the status of the worst performing child KPI or objective is to be used.
(for an objective only) In the Indicator Type box, indicate whether the performance of the objective drives other objectives, or is affected by the performance of other objectives or other data or processes (for example, leading or lagging).
(for an initiative only) In the Priority box, select the priority that indicates the importance and urgency of an initiative.
(for an initiative only) Specify the start date, due date, and completion date.
In the Actions area, add any action links that you want to provide to users to let them take actions that are relevant for the status of the objective or initiative. See "Adding Actions to Initiatives and Objectives in Scorecards" for additional information. Also see "What Are Actions?" for additional information.

In the Objectives & KPIs or Initiatives & KPIs watchlist, add the KPIs to be used to measure the progress and performance of the objective or initiative. (See "Watchlists" for additional information on watchlists.)

Note:

If no KPIs have been defined, or you want to define another KPI to meet your needs, then you can create the KPI from within the Scorecard editor. See "Creating KPIs" for additional information.

Tip:

You can modify the columns that are displayed in the Objectives & KPIs or Initiatives & KPIs watchlist. To do so, select View, then Show More Columns to display the "Show More Columns dialog", where you can add or remove columns.

To add a KPI:

Click Save. You must save the new objective or initiative before you can add a KPI.

Click Objects in the Objectives & KPIs or Initiatives & KPIs watchlist and then select Add KPI. The "Select a KPI dialog" is displayed.

Note:

You can drag the KPI from the "Catalog pane for Scorecard" or from the "Scorecard Documents pane" (if the KPI has been saved to the current scorecard folder) and drop it in the watchlist. If you choose this method, the "Add KPI dialog" is displayed.

Choose a KPI and click OK. The "Add KPI dialog" is displayed.
If the KPI is dimensioned, then for each dimension, specify a value, select Use Variable and specify the variable, or select Use Point-of-View to use the value selected in the point of view area. See "About the Point of View Area" for additional information on the point of view area.
In the Label field, enter the name to be displayed for the KPI in the "Strategy pane".
Click OK.

Note:

A KPI that you have added to the Strategy pane or Initiatives pane obtains many of its properties from the base KPI as it was originally defined in the KPI editor. You can override some of the base KPI's properties to customize them for use within Scorecard. The KPI properties that you can override are the label, description, business owner, and dimension pinnings. You also can assign a perspective and an indicator type. See "Working with KPI Details" for additional information on overriding KPI properties.