Phase One: Discovering

In the Discovering Phase, information is collected and analyzed through the use of different research methods to clarify goals, constraints, pain points, and identify deliverables for the project.

Driving Question: How might Improving refocus their company efforts using the Balanced Scorecard Methodology?

With the Project Brief and the Introductory Meeting with Improving, we were able to get a basic understanding of what our stakeholders wanted to see in our deliverables. We collected meeting notes and created a set of follow-up questions for further clarification.

Top Quotes and Insights

“How do we tie a story behind the numbers?” - David Belcher
How can we find those Visual Smells within our balanced scorecard?

A set of Project Management Tools were used to outline the scope of the project.
- The Project Charter helped to outline the project objective, scope, constraints, and responsibilities. I presented the charter to our project partners to receive their confirmation on the direction of our project.
- A Stakeholder Communication Plan was set between the team leads and the project partners to ensure consistent communication throughout all phases of the project.
- The RACI Document was used to outline the roles and responsibilities of everyone involved in this project.
- A Code of Conduct was created within my team to align our goals with the scope of our project.

Research Methods Used

Bull's Eye Diagram: To begin our research, we used Bull's Eye Diagram to outline the level of priority for each research method. This helped us determine the order in which we would perform our research for the project’s Discovering Phase.

Background Research: We did Background Research into the way Improving uses its BSC to see if we could identify any pain points at a first glance. Our findings are presented below:
- Our Primary Gap pertained to a lack of data visualization for leading indicators which could affect the way the company predicts its future performance.
- We used the Thematic Networks and Content Analysis to categorize the sections within Improving’s Balanced Score Card into Four Global Themes; Culture, Services, Operations, and Finance, and were able to analyze their relationships.
- The Elito Method is divided into five sections designed to create a logic line or a design argument.

Observation: Their quantitative data and visuals were presented poorly in Excel and had inconsistencies in data input due to human input errors.

Judgment: Reducing clutter within each section of the BSC would allow for a seamless and sustainable model for tracking success at Improving, as well as create a space that is resistant to human error.

Value: Developing a new data visualization model will add value to the C-Suite within Improving as understanding the data will be much more efficient.

Concept: Develop sketches and concepts of a new dashboard

Key Metaphor: Trust Changes Everything. - Improving

Formulated a Question Bank for Interview Questions:
- Based on our basic understanding of the Balanced Scorecard through our initial background research, my team and I were able to compile a list of Interview Questions regarding 4 Topics of Interest.
- From this list, we were able to condense our questions into a Semi-Structured Interview Guide specifically crafted for our Interviewees. Each of them was given an Elevator Pitch and provided consent prior to their interview.

Interviews: I observed and hosted 4 Interviews with the upper-level management of Improving. Below are the top quotes and insights from each Interview:
- David O’Hara - President of Improving
  - “...Looking at the BSC, Insights would be like Tribal Knowledge.”
  - They don’t have a way of teaching new representatives and acquisitions about their BSC and corporate-level initiatives.
- Kevin Baker - VP of Consulting
  - “There are times where I get confused and don't remember what the different axes are on some of those charts because we are trying to put too much on some of those charts.”
  - When determining what metrics to use in the dashboard, they chose visuals that are able to “compare apples to apples as best as possible.”
  - When asked how they visualize relationships between metrics in the BSC, he said that information lives in the heads of the long terms executives.
- Tim Rayburn - VP of Consulting
  - “Less strategic initiative graphs make sense to no one.”
  - Mentioned how he is able to identify insights due to his 25 years of experience.
- Mark Kovacevich - Managing Director
  - “Data Visualization is not very good for logos and anchors.”
  - “Net headcount is not presented in a clean easy read.”
  - "Data collection and input is a is a real pain point."
  - "We have very good financial systems, but those Financial systems do not integrate into the BSC so we are introducing the opportunity for human error."
  - "We don’t have a really good way of scoring the entire section in an automated format."
  - Preferred that data visualization tools remained within Microsoft 365.

Rapid and Quantitative Analysis: To reflect back on the interviews, we performed a Rapid Analysis over each interview to find common patterns and keywords used in the responses each interviewee provided.
- A written summary of the interview with David O’Hara
- Insight and How Might We Statements that
  - Top Insight Statements
    - There is a lack of leading indicators that are apparent in the Balanced Scorecard.
    - Human Input errors are prevalent within the Balanced Scorecard.
    - Data graphs do not effectively communicate the hard data in each section.
  - Top HMW Statements
    - How Might We prompt insights by identifying and leveraging leading indicators within the Balanced Scorecard?
    - How Might We identify preventative trends to notify C-Suite representatives that there has been a mis-input of data?
    - How Might We select the best visualization tools to represent the hard data in the Balanced Scorecard?
- And a Quantitative Analysis to quantify our findings.

Question Bank

Semi-Structured Guide

An overview of our Quantitative Analysis Spreadsheet

Pain Points Identified

Through the use of various research methods in the company and the Balanced Scorecard, I was able to identify three pain points:

Poor Data Visualization: Executives and Directors at Improving express the need for better data visualization tools for the contents of their Balanced Scorecard.

Lack of Leading Indicators: The data presented within the Balanced Scorecard did not accurately provide trends in data or leading indicators.

High Learning Curve for New Employees: The data within the BSC requires senior-level experience which makes it difficult for new parties and acquisitions to actively understand and participate.

Mid-Point Project Update

In order to validate our findings and our direction for the project, we designed and delivered our Mid-Point Meeting to the executives at Improving. They were able to see our vision for the direction our team was taking and were really excited to see what was next.

Some of the executives even mentioned how they had previously worked on a project that tried to solve the same pain points we identified but that we had gotten further ahead than they did.