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Partner TechTip: Three Target Areas for Successful KPI Rollout

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More companies, across all industries, are gathering data in huge quantities. They have determined that data is the key to their business and are using it to guide their organizations.

 

What is a Key Performance Indicator? Every task can have a KPI, but which information is measured should be unique to your organization. Sales goals, net income targets, production efficiency, and downtime are just a few of the possible areas ready for a KPI. You need to start with an overall organizational KPI or goal for every other measurable KPI to adhere to.

What Is the Key Data?

There are endless opportunities to collect data from everyday transactions. This data is not limited to accounting or sales data. Even though it is still extremely important to track the financial stability of an organization, the ability to gather other valuable data remains.

 

KPIs and other analytics don't just happen; there has to be a plan in place. A successful plan must include not only IT, but those who are experts in the area of the business around which the KPI is being built. Informational analytics is one of the fastest-growing segments of the business environment, according to a 2012 Gartner report. These data "scientists" are the ones who know what information is needed. They know the measurable target they strive to hit, and they have the knowledge and experience that is required to change data into useable information. The scientists are also the ones who can help IT determine the correct balance of data to include in a KPI.

 

Data loses its value if it is not timely. One powerful tool to address this problem is SEQUEL, which allows users to build reports over the raw data so the results are always current. A tool like SEQUEL can allow a team to select and calculate the data necessary to make an informed and timely decision. SEQUEL allows easy access and modification, so the project does not drag on for weeks or months.

Where Is the Data?

Transactional data can hold a variety of useful information. The data applications can take many forms: accounting, ERP, customer relationship management, system performance, and security. This is the business information that is required for the analysts to use as a measurement against a goal.

 

The data can also reside on different systems. Analysts don't care where the data is located; they just need to access it and transform it into information. As organizations have grown, merged, and purchased other companies, it's not uncommon for a business to have data on several platforms. Often, this data needs to be combined to create an accurate KPI.

 

The tool you select as your business information tool needs to easily access and combine data from different systems. SEQUEL allows your analysts to see data on platforms other than the IBM i. SEQUEL can easily pull data from SQL Server, Oracle, MySQL, or another DB2 database as well as the IBM i. A script can be designed so that, by running this one object, the analyst can select and merge data from different systems in one place. Information can then be displayed as a graph or a gauge on a dashboard, in addition to the actual data. A newly released SEQUEL feature called ScriptView gives the script more functionality when displaying the results to the user.

Who Gets the Data?

Access to the data and delivery of the information is often an afterthought when it comes to a business information tool. SEQUEL uses the highly effective iSeries authority checking to either allow users to run scripts, reports, or views or to block users from those actions. The SEQUEL objects themselves are iSeries objects, so they are subject to the same authority rules as everything else on the IBM i. In addition, there is another layer inside SEQUEL that can be created to control access down to the field level.

 

SEQUEL gives your business the power to access and present data in several useful ways. Dashboards can be created to include graphs and gauges. Data and information can be emailed through SEQUEL and ESEND to users in popular PC formats such as Excel, rtf (Word), PDF, and more. Dashboards and reports can also be displayed with a browser using the SEQUEL Web Interface. All of this gives your scientists the data they need, when they need it, from wherever they are. Visit the SEQUEL Software website to learn more.

Mike Stegeman

Mike Stegeman is Sr. Data Access Consultant for SEQUEL Software, a Help/Systems company. He can be reached at 847-273-1047, or at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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