Business Reporting, Visual Analytics, and Business Performance Management

Business Intelligence and Analytics: Systems for Decision Support Chapter 4 Business Reporting, Visual Analytics, and Business Performance Management 1) The WebFOCUS BI platform in the Travel and Transport case study decreased clients' reliance on the IT function when seeking system reports. Answer: TRUE 2) The dashboard for the WebFOCUS BI platform in the Travel and Transport case study required client side software to operate. Answer: FALSE 3) Data is the contextualization of information, that is, information set in context. Answer: FALSE 4) The main difference between service level agreements and key performance indicators is the audience. Answer: TRUE 5) The balanced scorecard is a type of report that is based solely on financial metrics. Answer: FALSE 6) The data storage component of a business reporting system builds the various reports and hosts them for, or disseminates them to users. It also provides notification, annotation, collaboration, and other services. Answer: FALSE 7) In the FEMA case study, the BureauNet software was the primary reason behind the increased speed and relevance of the reports FEMA employees received. Answer: TRUE 8) Google Maps has set new standards for data visualization with its intuitive Web mapping software. Answer: TRUE 9) There are basic chart types and specialized chart types. A Gantt chart is a specialized chart type. Answer: TRUE 10) Visualization differs from traditional charts and graphs in complexity of data sets and use of multiple dimensions and measures. Answer: TRUE 11) When telling a story during a presentation, it is best to avoid describing hurdles that your character must overcome, to avoid souring the mood. Answer: FALSE 12) For best results when deploying visual analytics environments, focus only on power users and management to get the best return on your investment. Answer: FALSE 13) Information density is a key characteristic of performance dashboards. Answer: TRUE 14) In the Dallas Cowboys case study, the focus was on using data analytics to decide which players would play every week. Answer: FALSE 15) One comparison typically made when data is presented in business intelligence systems is a comparison against historical values. Answer: TRUE 16) The best key performance indicators are derived independently from the company's strategic goals to enable developers to "think outside of the box." Answer: FALSE 17) The BPM development cycle is essentially a one-shot process where the requirement is to get it right the first time. Answer: FALSE 18) With key performance indicators, driver KPIs have a significant effect on outcome KPIs, but the reverse is not necessarily true. Answer: TRUE 19) With the balanced scorecard approach, the entire focus is on measuring and managing specific financial goals based on the organization's strategy. Answer: FALSE 20) A Six Sigma deployment can be deemed effective even if the number of defects are not reduced to 3.4 defects per million. Answer: FALSE 21) For those executives who do not have the time to go through lengthy reports, the best alternative is the A) last page of the report. B) raw data that informed the report. C) executive summary. D) charts in the report. Answer: C 22) All of the following are true about external reports between businesses and the government EXCEPT A) they can include tax and compliance reporting. B) they can be filed nationally or internationally. C) they are standardized for the most part to reduce the regulatory burden. D) their primary focus is government. Answer: D 23) Kaplan and Norton developed a report that presents an integrated view of success in the organization called A) metric management reports. B) balanced scorecard-type reports. C) dashboard-type reports. D) visual reports. Answer: B 24) Which component of a reporting system contains steps detailing how recorded transactions are converted into metrics, scorecards, and dashboards? A) data supply B) business logic C) extract, transform and load D) assurance Answer: B 25) Which of the following is LEAST related to data/information visualization? A) information graphics B) scientific visualization C) statistical graphics D) graphic artwork Answer: D 26) The Internet emerged as a new medium for visualization and brought all the following EXCEPT A) worldwide digital distribution of visualization. B) immersive environments for consuming data. C) new forms of computation of business logic. D) new graphics displays through PC displays. Answer: C 27) Which kind of chart is described as an enhanced variant of a scatter plot? A) heat map B) bullet C) pie chart D) bubble chart Answer: D 28) Which type of visualization tool can be very helpful when the intention is to show relative proportions of dollars per department allocated by a university administration? A) heat map B) bullet C) pie chart D) bubble chart Answer: C 29) Which type of visualization tool can be very helpful when a data set contains location data? A) bar chart B) geographic map C) highlight table D) tree map Answer: B 30) Which type of question does visual analytics seeks to answer? A) Why did it happen? B) What happened yesterday? C) What is happening today? D) When did it happen? Answer: A 31) When you tell a story in a presentation, all of the following are true EXCEPT A) a story should make sense and order out of a lot of background noise. B) a well-told story should have no need for subsequent discussion. C) stories and their lessons should be easy to remember. D) the outcome and reasons for it should be clear at the end of your story. Answer: B 32) Benefits of the latest visual analytics tools, such as SAS Visual Analytics, include all of the following EXCEPT A) mobile platforms such as the iPhone are supported by these products. B) it is easier to spot useful patterns and trends in the data. C) they explore massive amounts of data in hours, not days. D) there is less demand on IT departments for reports. Answer: C 33) What is the management feature of a dashboard? A) operational data that identify what actions to take to resolve a problem B) summarized dimensional data to analyze the root cause of problems C) summarized dimensional data to monitor key performance metrics D) graphical, abstracted data to monitor key performance metrics Answer: A 34) What is the fundamental challenge of dashboard design? A) ensuring that users across the organization have access to it B) ensuring that the organization has the appropriate hardware onsite to support it C) ensuring that the organization has access to the latest web browsers D) ensuring that the required information is shown clearly on a single screen Answer: D 35) Contextual metadata for a dashboard includes all the following EXCEPT A) whether any high-value transactions that would skew the overall trends were rejected as a part of the loading process. B) which operating system is running the dashboard server software. C) whether the dashboard is presenting "fresh" or "stale" information. D) when the data warehouse was last refreshed. Answer: B 36) Dashboards can be presented at all the following levels EXCEPT A) the visual dashboard level. B) the static report level. C) the visual cube level. D) the self-service cube level. Answer: C 37) Why is a performance management system superior to a performance measurement system? A) because performance measurement systems are only in their infancy B) because measurement automatically leads to problem solution C) because performance management systems cost more D) because measurement alone has little use without action Answer: D 38) Why is the customer perspective important in the balanced scorecard methodology? A) because dissatisfied customers will eventually hurt the bottom line B) because customers should always be included in any design methodology C) because customers understand best how the firm's internal processes should work D) because companies need customer input into the design of the balanced scorecard Answer: A 39) All of the following statements about balanced scorecards and dashboards are true EXCEPT A) scorecards are less preferred at operational and tactical levels. B) dashboards would be the preferred choice to monitor production quality. C) scorecards are best for real-time tracking of a marketing campaign. D) scorecards are preferred for tracking the achievement of strategic goals. Answer: C 40) What is Six Sigma? A) a letter in the Greek alphabet that statisticians use to measure process variability B) a methodology aimed at reducing the number of defects in a business process C) a methodology aimed at reducing the amount of variability in a business process D) a methodology aimed at measuring the amount of variability in a business process Answer: B 41) A(n) ________ is a communication artifact, concerning business matters, prepared with the specific intention of relaying information in a presentable form. Answer: business report 42) Travel and Transport created an online BI self-service system that allowed ________ to access information directly. Answer: clients 43) There are only a few categories of business report: informal, ________, and short. Answer: formal 44) In the Delta Lloyd Group case study, the ________ is the stage of the reporting process in which consolidated figures are cited, formatted, and described to form the final text of the report. Answer: last mile 45) ________ management reports are used to manage business performance through outcomeoriented metrics in many organizations. Answer: Metric 46) In the Blastrac case study, Tableau analytics software was used to replace massive ________ that were loaded with data from multiple ERP systems. Answer: spreadsheets 47) ________ charts are useful in displaying nominal data or numerical data that splits nicely into different categories so you can quickly see comparative results and trends. Answer: Bar 48) ________ charts or network diagrams show precedence relationships among the project activities/tasks. Answer: PERT 49) ________ are typically used together with other charts and graphs, as opposed to by themselves, and show postal codes, country names, etc. Answer: Maps 50) Typical charts, graphs, and other visual elements used in visualization-based applications usually involve ________ dimensions. Answer: two 51) Visual analytics is widely regarded as the combination of visualization and ________ analytics. Answer: predictive 52) Dashboards present visual displays of important information that are consolidated and arranged on a single ________. Answer: screen 53) With dashboards, the layer of information that uses graphical, abstracted data to keep tabs on key performance metrics is the ________ layer. Answer: monitoring 54) In the Saudi Telecom company case study, information ________ software allowed managers to see trends and correct issues before they became problems. Answer: visualization 55) Performance dashboards enable ________ operations that allow the users to view underlying data sources and obtain more detail. Answer: drill-down/drill-through 56) With a dashboard, information on sources of the data being presented, the quality and currency of underlying data provide contextual ________ for users. Answer: metadata 57) Business performance management comprises a ________ set of processes that link strategy to execution with the goal of optimizing business performance. Answer: closed-loop 58) In the Mace case study, the IBM Cognos software enabled the rapid creation of integrated reports across 60 countries, replacing a large and complex ________. Answer: spreadsheet 59) A strategically aligned metric is also known as a key ________. Answer: performance indicator 60) The ________ perspective of the organization suggested by the balanced scorecard focuses on business processes and how well they are running. Answer: internal business process 61) List and describe the three major categories of business reports. Answer: • Metric management reports. Many organizations manage business performance through outcome-oriented metrics. For external groups, these are service-level agreements (SLAs). For internal management, they are key performance indicators (KPIs). • Dashboard-type reports. This report presents a range of different performance indicators on one page, like a dashboard in a car. Typically, there is a set of predefined reports with static elements and fixed structure, but customization of the dashboard is allowed through widgets, views, and set targets for various metrics. • Balanced scorecard—type reports. This is a method developed by Kaplan and Norton that attempts to present an integrated view of success in an organization. In addition to financial performance, balanced scorecard—type reports also include customer, business process, and learning and growth perspectives. 62) List five types of specialized charts and graphs. Answer: • Histograms • Gantt charts • PERT charts • Geographic maps • Bullets • Heat maps • Highlight tables • Tree maps 63) According to Eckerson (2006), a well-known expert on BI dashboards, what are the three layers of information of a dashboard? Answer: 1. Monitoring. Graphical, abstracted data to monitor key performance metrics. 2. Analysis. Summarized dimensional data to analyze the root cause of problems. 3. Management. Detailed operational data that identify what actions to take to resolve a problem. 64) List five best practices of dashboard design. Answer: • Benchmark key performance indicators with industry standards • Wrap the dashboard metrics with contextual metadata • Validate the dashboard design by a usability specialist • Prioritize and rank alerts/exceptions streamed to the dashboard • Enrich the dashboard with business users' comments • Present information in three different levels • Pick the right visual construct using dashboard design principles • Provide for guided analytics 65) What are the four processes that define a closed-loop BPM cycle? Answer: 1. Strategize: This is the process of identifying and stating the organization's mission, vision, and objectives, and developing plans (at different levels of granularity–strategic, tactical and operational) to achieve these objectives. 2. Plan: When operational managers know and understand the what (i.e., the organizational objectives and goals), they will be able to come up with the how (i.e., detailed operational and financial plans). Operational and financial plans answer two questions: What tactics and initiatives will be pursued to meet the performance targets established by the strategic plan? What are the expected financial results of executing the tactics? 3. Monitor/Analyze: When the operational and financial plans are underway, it is imperative that the performance of the organization be monitored. A comprehensive framework for monitoring performance should address two key issues: what to monitor and how to monitor. 4. Act and Adjust: What do we need to do differently? Whether a company is interested in growing its business or simply improving its operations, virtually all strategies depend on new projects–creating new products, entering new markets, acquiring new customers or businesses, or streamlining some processes. The final part of this loop is taking action and adjusting current actions based on analysis of problems and opportunities. 66) List and describe five distinguishing features of key performance indicators. Answer: • Strategy. KPIs embody a strategic objective. • Targets. KPIs measure performance against specific targets. Targets are defined in strategy, planning, or budgeting sessions and can take different forms (e.g., achievement targets, reduction targets, absolute targets). • Ranges. Targets have performance ranges (e.g., above, on, or below target). • Encodings. Ranges are encoded in software, enabling the visual display of performance (e.g., green, yellow, red). Encodings can be based on percentages or more complex rules. • Time frames. Targets are assigned time frames by which they must be accomplished. A time frame is often divided into smaller intervals to provide performance mileposts. • Benchmarks. Targets are measured against a baseline or benchmark. The previous year's results often serve as a benchmark, but arbitrary numbers or external benchmarks may also be used. 67) What are the three nonfinancial objectives of the balanced scorecard? Answer: 1. Customer. This defines how the organization should appear to its customers if it is to accomplish its vision. 2. Internal business process. This specifies the processes the organization must excel at in order to satisfy its shareholders and customers. 3. Learning and growth. This indicates how an organization can improve its ability to change and improve in order to achieve its vision. 68) Six Sigma rests on a simple performance improvement model known as DMAIC. What are the steps involved? Answer: 1. Define. Define the goals, objectives, and boundaries of the improvement activity. At the top level, the goals are the strategic objectives of the company. At lower levels–department or project levels–the goals are focused on specific operational processes. 2. Measure. Measure the existing system. Establish quantitative measures that will yield statistically valid data. The data can be used to monitor progress toward the goals defined in the previous step. 3. Analyze. Analyze the system to identify ways to eliminate the gap between the current performance of the system or process and the desired goal. 4. Improve. Initiate actions to eliminate the gap by finding ways to do things better, cheaper, or faster. Use project management and other planning tools to implement the new approach. 5. Control. Institutionalize the improved system by modifying compensation and incentive systems, policies, procedures, manufacturing resource planning, budgets, operation instructions, or other management systems. 69) What are the basic ingredients of a good collection of performance measures? Answer: • Measures should focus on key factors. • Measures should be a mix of past, present, and future. • Measures should balance the needs of shareholders, employees, partners, suppliers, and other stakeholders. • Measures should start at the top and flow down to the bottom. • Measures need to have targets that are based on research and reality rather than be arbitrary. 70) In the Expedia case study, what three steps were taken to convert drivers of departmental performance into a scorecard? Answer: • Deciding how to measure satisfaction. This required the group to determine which measures in the 20 databases would be useful for demonstrating a customer's level of satisfaction. This became the basis for the scorecards and KPIs. • Setting the right performance targets. This required the group to determine whether KPI targets had short-term or long-term payoffs. • Putting data into context. The group had to tie the data to ongoing customer satisfaction projects.