Roles of Dashboards
Dashboards can fulfill several roles in support of performance management. Stephen Few (2006) classifies the roles asstrategic, analytical and operational. The strategic role involves monitoring the overall health of an organization while, at the same time, discovering emerging opportunities for growth and development. Dashboards are ideal for strategic purposes, because they can provide aninstant overview of the big picture without burying the user in details.
State rehabilitation agencies can utilize executive dashboards to keep track of key performance indicators. For example, a recent RehabNet survey conducted by the 3rd Summit Reading Group through the Summit on Program Evaluation website ( indicated that Exited with Employment, Average Hourly Wageand Customer Satisfaction are among the most important performance measures for state VR directors and evaluators. These quantitative indicators can be supplemented with qualitative measures such as the type of service complaints received from customers, advocates, and agency staff. The information dashboard can convey at a glance the level of performance on these and other indicators critical to strategic thinking and planning.
Dashboards can also be used for analytical purposes. As in the case of strategic dash-boards, analytical dashboards can display snapshots of static data for given intervals of time, e.g., weekly, monthly, and annually. They can be constructed to house comprehensive information on events and trends. Through interaction with the data, analysts can determine what is transpiring and delve into the underlying causes. Analysis can also involve comparisons of data to gain perspective and amplify its meaning.
In the example above, analysts could use links, menus and other types of interactivity in the dashboard to compare performance on each indicator over periods of time,or toidentify the performance levels of various offices in given geographical regions. Other fruitful comparisons surfaced from the RehabNet survey. When asked to identify the level of importance for factors driving their decisions, nine out of twelve respondents (75%) singled out as ‘Most Important’ the ability “to compare performance across different measurement areas” such as increases in pur-chased services tothe rehabilitation rate. By displaying data in a simple, easy-to-read format, the dashboard can be avaluable aid when analyzing VR performance.
Strategic and analytical dashboards display static data. Operational dashboards, on the other hand, are designed to track activities and events that are constantly changing. They provide real time or near-real time data on situations that demand immediate attention and rapid response. The data in an operational dashboard is more detailed, specific and fluid than that found in strategic and analytical dashboards.
Many performance variables can be monitored by a VR agency for operational purposes. Number and amounts of services authorizations, for example, are critical variables as year-end closing approaches. Some VR agencies maintain lists of customers who are job ready, another variable conducive to an operational dashboard. For states under Order of Selection, dashboards can be instrumental in monitoring the statewide waiting list, budget allocation balances and staffing levels.
The RehabNet survey uncovered other examples of potential and actual dashboard appli-cations, including some that could involve all three roles. For instance, one respondent cited social
security reimbursement claims, monitored quarterly and annually by management,ostensibly for strategic purposes, and monitored daily by the claims staff for operational purposes. This variable could also be subject to detailed analysis by drilling down on a dashboard to uncover and compare claim activity over time, across agency units and against comparable states.
Dashboards can be used to reach external audiences, as well. Some cities and states have established dashboards in the interest of promoting transparency and accountability to the publics they serve. A related purpose is public information and education. The federal government maintains a number of dashboards with these purposes in mind.
TAJ 2/24/11