KPI Reporting and Dashboards for Project Management

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KPIs enable managers to easily get an insight on how well a project has been handled. Although results are usually taken into account, the use of performance indicators considers all aspects of project management, which often makes KPI reporting more comprehensive as opposed to simple data analysis.

At the end of the day, KPIs provide a way for managers to improve how they handle projects and supervise their own team members. Its contribution to any organization makes it an important business strategy. Here’s a look at what KPI is, what a project management dashboard is, and how the automation of the two can improve project management efforts.

What is a KPI?

A KPI, or a key performance indicator, is a set of numerical representation of an organization’s success as a business. It is also used to measure how a business activity in which an organization has participated in has performed.

To allow businesses to evaluate their performance and success, indicators are defined for each area, division, branch, section, or department of a company. These indicators are then used to create a report that would enumerate in detail the quality of work and results that each section or department has produced.

Choosing the right indicators readily determines the level of improvement that an organization has to go through. This means that wherever a company needs to improve on, it has to be of utmost importance to be included as an indicator in a KPI report.

What is a KPI Report?

A KPI report is a detailed piece of information that includes a summarized account of a company’s performance in given areas of its organization. It provides an accurate data to which a company must answer with a feedback that is actionable. It enables business owners and organization leaders to have a comprehensive look at how their company is doing in whichever aspect they require. Because of this, they are able to make informed decisions.

Reports contain KPIs that are monitored by business owners and leaders. Each KPI is defined according to its importance within an organization. As such, there is no specific rule as to how a KPI is chosen. However, a wide range of factors affect how it is defined.

As an example, the size of a team, budget that it needs to effectively operate, company’s structure and industry, and the nature of projects that it would handle, are indicators used for a KPI report for project management. These indicators can also be used for other areas of an organization.

Before the advent of computer technology, KPI reports were done as handwritten reports. Today however, many software and online portals have appeared to make KPI reporting much easier.

What is a KPI Dashboard?

A KPI report can also be called a KPI Dashboard, although the latter is used for digital KPI reports. There is an increasing trend in the use of KPI dashboards today because they are easier to use. Its streamlined appearance allows users to quickly see and monitor each KPI. It is typically a product of stand-alone software, desktop applications, or web-based apps.

KPI Dashboard for Project Management

One of the areas in business where KPI dashboards are applied is in Project Management. It measures the performance of a project management team and the status of the project itself. It’s a unique tool that allows both project managers and team members to be constantly informed about what’s happening with a project they’re handling, whether they are reaching the goals of the project, and how much of the project’s budget have they already spent. Knowing this important information, project managers are able to put more effort or concentrate on aspects that needs more attention or improvement.

What are the KPIs for a Project Management Dashboard?

Typically, a Project Management Dashboard includes KPIs such as individual performance of each team member, planned budget, specific tasks for each member and the time spent for each task, completed activities, and the remaining time before deadline is reached.

 

Advantages of Implementing a KPI Dashboard for Project Management

According to a research by the KPI Institute, improvement is the leading reason why large organizations use KPI reports to gauge their businesses. It also stated that KPIs gives businesses more value compared to companies that don’t use it.

Digital KPI dashboards on the other hand, also have other benefits. It can generate a visual representation of KPI reports, allowing project management leaders to gain access to different projects in one system. It can create new project management trends, identify when it’s negative and immediately correct it. It can also quickly pinpoint used data that are related with the other areas of an organization.

Conclusion

KPI reporting can be effective following a list of considerations that project managers must keep in mind. Target audience, charts to be used, desired results, and relevant information required are some of the typical aspects of a KPI report. However, a well-designed digital KPI dashboard should also have the right visualization and its KPIs actionable.

An organization’s project management department should take advantage of what KPI dashboards can do. It can improve how projects are managed, bring more value to a company, and level-up careers managers, owners, and employees’ careers.

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