Creating Strategy Map diagrams with Balanced Scorecards
You can create a Strategy Map diagram with balanced scorecards. The Strategy Map diagram includes Business Objectives mapped against Perspectives.
1 Draw perspectives on the diagram using the BSC Perspective symbol from the toolbar.
In the balanced scorecard approach, there are four standard perspectives: Financial, Customer, Internal, and Learning and Growth.
Typically, the Financial perspective is placed at the top of the diagram, with Customer second, Internal third, and Learning and Growth at the bottom.
According to Kaplan & Norton, the graphical ordering of these perspectives can be adjusted slightly if the organization in focus is a nonprofit or a government agency.
Kaplan & Norton suggest that for a nonprofit, the topmost perspective is Customer: the people that are to be served by the organization, and the next perspective is FinancialAccountability. Learning and Growth is always the perspective placed at the bottom of the Strategy Map.
2 Using the BSC Objectives symbol from the toolbar, draw Business Objectives within the swimlanes representing the perspectives. Typically you will have multiple objectives in a single perspective. For example in the Financial perspective, there might be several objectives, including Increase Revenues, Increase Share Price, Increase Same-Store Sales. For the nonprofit organization, the wise expenditure of funds and - efficiency of delivering services make for good candidate Business Objectives - as opposed to earnings per share.
According to Kaplan & Norton, Business Objectives in the Financial and Customer perspectives are considered lagging indicators; Business Objectives in the Internal and Learning and Growth are considered leading indicators.
3 Draw a BSC Linkage line from one Business Objective to another, denoting cause-effect relationships. The idea is to model what Business Objective causes another business objective. When you are finished modeling, the Business Objectives should all link together in a chain, one causing another causing another. Kaplan & Norton assert that, starting with Learning and Growth objectives, there is a causal relationship with internal process (the organization is more efficient and effective at doing things). Better internal processes yield a better value proposition for the customer perspective (measured by customer satisfaction, customer retention, market penetration, branding, and so forth). If you are serving the needs of your customers, then ultimately that will be reflected in your bottom line (which paradoxically is the top line in the diagram).
4 Define the Business Objectives and Perspectives.
5 Define the BSC Linkage lines.
Interaction
You can specify whether the cause-effect relationship is positive or negative.
Degree Strength
You can specify whether the cause-effect relationship is weak, middle (strength), or strong.