PerformancePoint: making data meaningful
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There’s no shortage of data in government organisations, in fact we’re very good at collecting it: the public sector has better access to raw data than anyone else. The challenge is interpreting it in a way which makes policymaking and resource allocation more effective. Paul Curran finds a solution in Microsoft PerformancePoint.
It’s a well-worn theme, but nonetheless true, that all large organisations need the right information in the right place at the right time to make well-founded decisions.
“People need instant, meaningful information to deliver the right services and meet performance targets,” says Daniel Wakefield of Microsoft partner 21C. “That means capturing, storing and analysing data, and then turning it into meaningful information that can be used to make informed decisions.”
Traditionally, this has been easier said than done. Wakefield says that for most public sector bodies, tracking metrics and measuring key performance indicators has involved emailing endless documents from disconnected systems and data repositories across the organisation.
This is a cumbersome and potentially error-prone process that raises concerns around data accuracy and consistency. “What they really need is a holistic solution that can extract data from many disparate sources on an ad-hoc basis for reporting purposes,” he says.
Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server 2007 does the job. “As an integrated performance management application, it enables public decision-makers to monitor, analyse and plan their operations, as well as drive accountability and real insight into the organisational data that affects us all,” says Mr Wakefield.
…And turning it into effective business intelligence
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PerformancePoint allows government departments to do more with the data they already collect routinely. Mr Wakefield argues that by using it, they will be better placed to ensure the consistent measurement of targets and results across their operations.
PerformancePoint’s advanced visualisation capabilities also allows them to spot trends and opportunities, enabling better planning of services. “They can use trend analytics to make predictions or break data down by demographic requirements,” he says. “This is becoming crucial in delivering public services cost-effectively.”
Wakefield says the strength of PerformancePoint is two-fold. Extracting data from multiple sources is one part of the story; presenting it in clear, concise ways that are appropriate to each user is the other.
Because the PerformancePoint infrastructure supports the Office environment on public servants’ desktops, there’s no requirement for them to learn new software. They simply use applications they are already familiar with, like Excel. But it also allows for a more sophisticated presentation of data. For example:
- Top-line metrics can be presented simply - for instance by using “traffic light” reports to highlight essential performance standards
- Graphs can be used for ongoing trend-spotting
- Scorecards can be created to demonstrate performance across comparable departments, individuals or responses to specific challenges
- Dashboards collate related metrics together in whatever way is most helpful for the user - so that all users get just the right amount of data to make useful and informed decisions within their remit, without the statistical overload of endless spreadsheets.
PerformancePoint in the public sector today
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PerformancePoint is already in action in many public sector organisations, for example the NHS (without doubt one of the most data-intensive organisations in the world). Wakefield says it is being used “for board-level performance reporting, using digital dashboards” at Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust. It is also being used in a project at Wandsworth Primary Care Trust to “monitor and analyse a range of business threads, such as immunisation and vaccination uptake in the borough.”
“The great thing about this framework approach to building a performance management environment is that a public sector department can start small on an individual business topic and extend its performance management system, bringing in new data sets and systems as required,” he says.
While cost is always a concern, for most government organisations the real value in using PerformancePoint goes beyond just cost-cutting. Wakefield says: “Government departments are being encouraged to become more metrics-focused. “By leveraging PerformancePoint, they can keep costs down. But more importantly, they can manage their operations to meet the growing needs of citizens. This new integrated data environment provides greater levels of accuracy and ultimately serves citizens better.”
He also flags speed of deployment as a significant strength. PerformancePoint is indeed fast out of the box. It has an application layer to connect Microsoft SQL Server (the standard platform for data integration), SharePoint and Office - all of which operate in “plain vanilla” deployments with minimum customisation.
“PerformancePoint makes the most of software already available to most government organisations; and thanks to the pervasiveness of Microsoft Office in the public sector, managers in government organisations can now share the same real-time viewpoint,” Wakefield concludes.
Paul Curran is a writer, journalist and commentator on business and technology. A regular contributor to IT, business and financial trade publications, he has worked with major international corporations communicating IT strategies for over 25 years..