Sky Performance Dashboards
Sky has developed a Dashboard Framework to facilitate quick implementation of Performance Dashboards with either IBM Cognos 8 or IBM Cognos Express. The framework consists of pre-built templates and navigation tools that can use multiple data sources including relational and OLAP sources. The Framework has been built to accommodate both operational and performance management needs. This framework extends the capabilities of the Cognos platform and is easy to enhance and maintain.
The pre-built templates can provide the following typical views across subject areas
- Trend Analysis
- Segmentation
- Ranking (top x / Bottom x)
- Scorecarding
- Alerts
- Drill Through
Benefits of our Dashboards
The reason so many organizations implement performance dashboards are a practical one: they offer benefits to everyone in an organization, from executives to managers to workforce. Here are a few of the benefits:
- Communicate strategy
- Refine strategy
- Increase visibility
- Increase coordination
- Increase motivation,
- Provide a consistent view of the business
- Reduce costs and redundancy
- Empower users
- Deliver actionable information
In short, performance dashboards deliver the right information to the right users at the right time to optimize decisions, enhance efficiency and accelerate bottom-line results.
Sky Dashboard Samples
- Sample Sky Performance Dashboard
Sky’s Performance Dashboard Framework is a unique dashboard enabling companies to communicate strategy in a graphical easy to use manner. The framework has pre-built content and templates that will enable building a feature rich dashboard quickly at a low cost. The dashboards are designed to work with either IBM Cognos 8 or IBM Cognos Express products. The next few tabs will highlight some of the navigation and reporting integration functionality.
- Navigation Framework
Tabs allow the dashboard solution to segregate reporting by business subject areas. To navigate from one tab to another, simply click on the dashboard heading link. The dashboard solution will pass a global filter previously selected on another tab into the new tab. For example, if you’ve chosen a global filter of a specific product line, the selected filter will remain on the new tab.
- Dashboard Navigation – Tabs
The Dashboard Navigation Pane is a component of the Sky Rapid Dashboard Framework Accelerator. The navigation will provide the selection of different Analysis types (multiple reports/views), Global Filters (filters that will propagate to other Analysis types on the same or other tabs), Local Filters (filters that are intended for the current tab only), Report Links (filtered or unfiltered links to detail reports) and Business Alerts (alerting the business user of a condition based on a selected measurement). The tool will also simplify future changes or additions to the dashboard.
- Navigation – Analysis Section
Most users want different views of information. The Analysis section of the dashboard allows the user to select different view of information from one centralized area. The views can be separate reports or choosing different measures for the same report view.
- Navigation – Global Filters Section
Global Filters will allow the business user to filters that will propagate to other Analysis types on the same or other tabs. Global Filters will save time in re-selecting a filter multiple times. In some cases Local Filters are added which filter only on the current tab.
- Integrated Scorecard
- Reports Drill – Thru
Most of the analysis in the dashboard is summarized, however, there are situations where detailed information if required. For example, you are analyzing a view showing that your number one customer last year has slipped out of the top 10. A detailed report can identify orders over the past year showing sales trends by product line to try and identify why business has slipped.
- Alerts & Events
Business alerts integrated into the dashboard, is a way to provide management by exception. The business user will see alerts designed for their purpose based on the most important measurements or events. 
- Save Report Views in Excel/PDF
- Help Text
Helped text can be included in the dashboard, either at a high level (communicate strategy) or at a micro level (calculation at the field level).
Sky Dashboard Prototype Tool
An important stage in building effective Dashboards is making sure that user requirements are well represented across the organization and business areas while aligning to corporate goals. Building a prototype with a look and feel of the end result can be used to demonstrate to end users planned functionality and to gather feedback.
The Sky tool will visually emulate all the components and navigation of the dashboard including:
- Tabs – Segregates the subject are within the dashboard
- Analysis Types – Provides the capability for the user to select different views of the data within a tab
- Global & Local Filters – provide the user to select and filter dimensions on the dashboard
- Detailed Report links – provides the capability to get detailed information from the dashboard
- Alerts – provide the user with Management-by-Exception reporting from the dashboard
Using the Sky Prototype Tool and Methodology will facilitate a collaborative effort between line of business and IT and eliminates many unnecessary changes after the dashboard is developed.