Warning Lights: New Dashboard Reports Help Institutions Gauge Their Performance

Dashboard reports--like an automobile's instrument panel--present quick, comprehensible overviews of the institution's status and direction. Instead of speed, RPM and engine temperature, dashboard reports display comparable measures of organizational performance and mission effectiveness. These key performance indicators (KPIs) are presented in consistent formats that enable institutional leaders to readily spot significant changes and trends. Like an automobile dashboard, these reports often display the equivalent of warning lights that flash on only when there is an impending problem or when certain variables stray outside of predetermined limits. In this way, the dashboard can serve as an early warning device alerting the board and senior administration when it might be important to dig deeper for greater insight. This article describes the two basic styles of dashboard reporting, namely, scorecard style and graphic style. It also discusses what to measure in a dashboard report and its benefits. (Contains 3 figures.)