Visio Integration With MS Products: Graphical “Strategy Maps” for Balanced Scorecard

There is a whole methodology called “Balanced Scorecard” which focuses on providing access to metrics on quality, customer satisfaction, and other key business categories for success. Balanced Scorecard hinges on the axiom that “if you can’t measure it, you can’t fix it.” The strategy map is an important part of communicating and tracking the organization goals. This graphical balanced scorecard strategy map, (built in Visio, natch), is a real-live example of a balanced scorecard that is in use by CalState San Marcos’ Financial and Administrative Services. Microsoft shipped a Balanced Scorecard Framework that makes it easier to build individual point solutions for industries. Microsoft also shipped Microsoft Business Office Scorecard Accelerators that have been certified by the Balanced Scorecard Collaborative.

The Microsoft Business Office Scorecard Accelerator uses Visio in its “Strategy Map Builder” which creates a visual representation of a strategy. From within the Scorecard Development Environment, the strategy map creator uses the Visio 2003 ActiveX control wrapped in a SharePoint Web part to create a strategy map that graphically represents the relationships among scorecard elements. If you're working with a scorecard created in Scorecard Builder, Business Scorecards can generate the strategy map as a Visio diagram in the control from the scorecard automatically. As an alternative, you can build the scorecard within the Visio Strategy Map Builder module, adding elements created in Scorecard Elements or creating new elements directly. The Accelerator also wraps the Visio Viewer as a SharePoint web part to view the graphical representation of the strategy map.

-- Mai-lan

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