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Create and publish Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Create and publish Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

A Key Performance Indicator (KPI) is a visual cue that communicates the amount of progress made toward a goal. This article explains how to create KPIs by using Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 KPI lists and how to display KPIs on Web pages.

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Using Office SharePoint Server 2007 KPIs

Key Performance Indicators are valuable for teams, managers, and businesses to evaluate quickly the progress made against measurable goals. By using SharePoint KPIs, you can easily visualize answers to the following questions:

  • What am I ahead or behind on?
  • How far ahead or behind am I?
  • What is the minimum I have completed?

To create and publish KPIs in Office SharePoint Server 2007, you must follow four procedures: create a KPI list, add the KPI to the list, add a Web Part (Web Part: A modular unit of information that consists of a title bar, a frame, and content. Web Parts are the basic building blocks of a Web Part Page.) to a Web page, and link the KPI list to the Web Part.

Before you begin, you may want to choose one of the following KPI types:

KPI types

  • Using data in SharePoint lists   When SharePoint lists contain items that you can count, items that are part of a workflow, or items that contain dates, you can use a KPI to track how long the issues or tasks have been open, how many are open, and what percentage of a task is complete. You can also keep track of totals, such as the amount of time that an issue has been open or the total number of sales in a region.
  • Using data in Microsoft Office Excel workbooks   You can set up a KPI in an Excel workbook and link to the KPI from Office SharePoint Server 2007. As the data in the workbook changes, the KPI is automatically updated. You can choose to have the workbook displayed on the same Web page by using the Excel Web Renderer (EWR).
  • Using data from Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services  Office SharePoint Server 2007 can use KPIs from Analysis Services, a component of Microsoft SQL Server 2005. A systems administrator or database analyst usually sets up these KPIs and registers the data connection with Office SharePoint Server. Then, anyone with the appropriate permissions can access the database and link to the Analysis Services KPIs.
  • Using manually entered information   In situations where there is no formal system set up or you have a one-time project to track, you can use this KPI and enter the criteria manually. This KPI is useful for displaying information that is communicated in e-mail or some other nonstructured system.
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Create a KPI list

To create a KPI, you first create a KPI list to which you add one or more KPIs. You can create KPI lists in the Reports Library of the Reports Center in a team or organization site, so that other people easily can find them. For more information on the Report Center, see Introduction to Business Intelligence features.

  1. In the site where you want to create the KPI list, on the default page of the Report Center, click Site Actions, and then select View All Site Content. Under the All Site Content heading, click Create.
  2. On the Create page, under Custom Lists, click KPI List.
  3. Type a name and an optional description for the KPI list.
  4. Click OK.

You now have a KPI list to which you can add one or more KPI types.

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Add a KPI to the KPI list

  1. On the KPI list toolbar, click the arrow next to New.
  2. Select one of the following KPI types, depending on where the data for the KPI resides.

    3. Select this optionWhen the source data is

    Indicator using data in SharePoint list

    A SharePoint list that contains items from which you want to create an aggregate value, such as a sum, minimum, or maximum. Before you set up the KPI, make sure the SharePoint list already is in the view that you want to use. You must first display the appropriate columns in order for the KPI to work.

    Indicator using data in Excel workbook

    An Excel workbook where the KPI is calculated in the workbook.

    Indicator using data in SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services

    A SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services cube.

    Indicator using manually entered information

    Information that is not in a system and therefore entered manually.

  3. On the New Indicator page, do one of the following, depending on the type of KPI you chose in step 2.

    4. For this KPIDo this

    Indicator using data in SharePoint list

    1. In the Name and Description boxes, type a name and optional description for the indicator.
    2. In the Comments box, type text to help people who are viewing the KPI understand what it represents.
    3. Under SharePoint List and View, in the List URL box, enter the URL of the list or library.

       Notes 

    4. In View, select the view that contains the items you want to use in the KPI.
    5. Under Value Calculation, select one of the following ways to calculate the goal of the KPI:
      • Number of list items   A count of the total number of items in the list.
      • Percentage of list items where   A calculation that compares the value of a content type within a column or up to five columns in the list.
      • Calculation using all list items in the view   A computation of Total, Average, Maximum, or Minimum of a numerical column in the list.

         Note    The Calucaltion using all list items in the view option is only available if your list includes a numerical field.

    Indicator using data in Excel workbook

    1. In the Name and Description boxes, type a name and optional description for the indicator.
    2. In the Comments box, type text to help people who are viewing the KPI understand what it represents.
    3. In the Workbook URL box, enter the location of the workbook.

       Notes 

      • If you don't know the workbook URL, click none to open the Select a Link dialog box, and then navigate to the file.
      • The URL must be relative to the current site.

    4. In Cell Address for Indicator Value, type the workbook number followed by an exclamation point and then the cell address of the location in the worksheet for the KPI. For example, if the indicator is in cell D15 on worksheet 1, type Sheet1!D15. Otherwise, use a named range.

    Indicator using data SQL Server 2005 in Analysis Services

    1. In the Data Connection box, enter the URL where the Microsoft Office data connection (.odc) file is located.

       Note    If you don't know the URL for the .odc file, click Browse to open the Select a Link dialog box, and then navigate to the .odc file.

    2. In the Only display KPIs from display folder box, select the display folder in the Analysis Services database that contains the KPI.
    3. In the KPI List box, select the KPI you want, such as Total Revenue or Average Profit Margin.
    4. Select the Include child indicators check box to display all of the child indicators for the selected KPI.
    5. In the Name and Description boxes, type a name and optional description for the indicator.
    6. In the Comments box, type text to help people who are viewing the KPI understand what it represents.

    Indicator using manually entered information

    • In the Name and Description boxes, type a name and optional description for the indicator.
    • In the Comments box, type text to help people who are viewing the KPI understand what it represents.
    • Type the numerical value of your progress so far.

  4. In the Status Icon section, under Status Icon Rules, in the Better values are list, select higher or lower to indicate which range of numbers will be green.
  5. Type the values for the status indicators in the boxes. For example, to track the minimum percentage complete for a set of tasks, you can set the green indicator at the goal value and the warning value to be one less than the goal value. In that case, if you want to see when the minimum percentage complete drops below 25 percent, you set the green indicator to 25 and the yellow indicator to 24.

    6.  Note    The Status Icon Rules for an Indicator using data in Analysis Services KPI are preset by the database analyst.

After you add all of the KPIs that you want to the KPI list, you can publish them on a Web page by using one of two KPI Web Parts.

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Publish the KPI on a Web page

After you add one or more KPI types to the KPI list, you can display the KPI list on My Site, a team site, or any other SharePoint page. In addition, the KPI list is available for use by anyone in your organization who has permissions to access it. You can use one or all of the KPIs that appear on the list.

To display the KPIs, you edit the Web page where you want to display the KPI list and add a KPI Web Part. To display the entire KPI list, use the KPI List Web Part. To show only one of the KPIs from the list, use the KPI Details Web Part.

Add a Web Part to a page

  1. On the page where you want to add the KPI, click Site Actions, and then select Edit Page.
  2. In the zone in which you want to add the KPI, click Add a Web Part.
  3. In the Add Web Parts dialog box, in the All Web Parts section, under Dashboard, do one of the following.
    • To insert the entire KPI list, select Key Performance Indicators.
    • To choose one KPI from the KPI list, select KPI Details.
  4. Click Add.
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Link the KPI list to the Web Part

  1. In the Web Part, click Open the tool pane.
  2. In the tool pane, under Indicator List, click Button image to navigate to and double-click the KPI list that you created in the previous set of procedures. The list may be in the Report Center of the site.
  3. Select one of the KPIs in the list. (If you selected the KPI List, the entire list is displayed.)
  4. Click OK.
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See Also