## **Learning Outcomes**

This article explains how dashboards deliver performance information using effective visualisation, focusing on the careful selection of KPIs, establishing appropriate thresholds, and configuring alerts. You will learn the features of dashboard reports, best practices for data display, how thresholds and alerts drive prompt management action, and potential risks of poor design. By the end, you should be able to evaluate and apply dashboard principles to support performance management in the ACCA APM exam.

## **ACCA Advanced Performance Management (APM) Syllabus**

For ACCA Advanced Performance Management (APM), you are required to understand how technology influences performance management reporting. This includes the ability to:

- Assess the features and benefits of dashboard reporting for performance management
- Select and prioritise relevant KPIs for dashboard display
- Set appropriate thresholds and targets for KPIs
- Explain and advise on automated alert systems triggered by KPI thresholds
- Identify risks and best practices in dashboard and visualisation design
- Evaluate how dashboards support planning, control, and decision-making

## **Test Your Knowledge**

_Attempt these questions before reading this article. If you find some difficult or cannot remember the answers, remember to look more closely at that area during your revision._

1. What is the main purpose of including thresholds within a KPI dashboard?
   a) To colour-code the dashboard for aesthetic reasons  
   b) To provide early warnings and prompt intervention  
   c) To ensure all KPIs remain static  
   d) To make reporting more complex

2. A dashboard alert is triggered when a KPI falls below its minimum threshold. Which is the most likely intended management response?
   a) Ignore the KPI  
   b) Investigate and take immediate corrective action  
   c) Increase the threshold  
   d) Remove the KPI from the dashboard

3. True or false? Automated dashboard alerts can help reduce information overload by focusing attention on the most urgent issues.

4. Give one example of a potential risk if KPI thresholds and alerts are set poorly in a dashboard.

5. Explain the importance of selecting only a limited number of KPIs for dashboard display.

## **Introduction**

Dashboards are concise, visual summaries of key performance indicators (KPIs) designed to support fast, effective management decisions. Well-designed dashboards give clear, up-to-date information using charts, gauges, colour signals, and alert systems. Selecting the right KPIs, setting meaningful thresholds, and configuring alerts are essential to ensure the dashboard drives action, not confusion. Dashboards are increasingly central for performance management in dynamic organisations, especially with the growing use of real-time data.

> **Key Term: dashboard**
> A visual reporting tool displaying selected KPIs and metrics in a compact, real-time format to support management decisions.
>
> **Key Term: key performance indicator (KPI)**
> A measurable value that reflects critical drivers of organisational success or progress towards targets.
>
> **Key Term: threshold**
> A preset value in a dashboard which, when breached, triggers visual cues or alerts for management action.
>
> **Key Term: alert**
> An automated message or signal generated when a KPI moves beyond a defined threshold, prompting immediate attention.

## **Dashboard Reporting: Principles and Features**

Dashboards summarise performance information using simple, clear visuals such as dials, traffic lights, bar charts, or trend lines. Their design aims to:

- Focus attention on critical areas needing action
- Present a limited, balanced set of KPIs
- Show real-time or very recent data for decision support
- Use visual aids (colours, symbols) to highlight status
- Allow users to drill down for more detailed analysis if needed

### Selecting KPIs for Dashboards

Effective dashboard design begins with KPI selection. Only KPIs directly linked to organisational strategy, critical success factors, or priority objectives should be included. Too many KPIs cause overload, while too few may omit key issues.

> **Exam Warning**
> In APM scenarios, dashboards showing dozens of metrics are likely to obscure rather than clarify performance. Recommend dashboards display a small set of carefully-selected KPIs aligned with strategic objectives, covering both financial and non-financial dimensions.

### Setting KPI Thresholds

Thresholds convert numerical KPI data into actionable information by setting acceptable ranges (e.g. target, warning, danger). Each KPI should have clearly defined thresholds based on targets, benchmarks, or risks.

Typical threshold categories include:

- Green (within target range): performance acceptable—no action required
- Amber (warning): approaching limits—monitor or prepare action
- Red (alert): outside limits—immediate management intervention required

Thresholds may be fixed (e.g. ≥95% on-time delivery) or dynamic (e.g. top quartile relative to peers or previous period). Their calibration should reflect realistic, relevant targets to avoid false alarms or missed problems.

> **Revision Tip**
> When advising on threshold values in the exam, consider both strategic objectives and operational realities. Unrealistic thresholds either ignore problems or trigger unnecessary alerts.

### Alerts and Automated Triggers

Dashboards can be configured to send automated alerts (email, pop-up, or mobile notification) to responsible managers if a KPI breaches its threshold. Notification systems ensure that action is timely and issues are addressed before wider performance is affected.

Alerts can be:

- Real-time (immediate notification as soon as breached)
- Scheduled (daily, weekly summaries)
- User-personalised (to relevant owners of the affected KPI)

> **Key Term: real-time**
> Information or alerts provided instantly as events occur, with minimal delay.

## **Benefits and Risks of Dashboards, Thresholds, and Alerts**

### Benefits

- Fast detection of problems and opportunities
- Clear accountability—alerts direct issues to responsible managers
- Reduction of information overload—focus on what matters now
- Supports proactive rather than reactive management

### Risks and Common Pitfalls

- Poor KPI selection—irrelevant or excessive metrics reduce dashboard value
- Inappropriate thresholds—set too high/low, triggering false positives or missed issues
- Alert fatigue—too many or unnecessary notifications leading to managers ignoring warnings
- Data quality problems—invalid data undermines dashboard credibility

### **Worked Example 1.1**

**A manufacturing company introduces a dashboard to track 'defect rate,' 'unit cost,' and 'on-time delivery.' The target for defect rate is ≤1%. The amber threshold is set at 2%, red at 3%. Last week, the defect rate rose to 2.5%. An alert notifies the quality manager. What should management do, and how does the threshold help?**

> **Answer:**
>
> The alert, triggered as the defect rate breached the amber threshold, prompts the quality manager to review production processes, investigate causes, and take corrective action promptly—ideally before the red zone (≥3%) is reached, which might result in customer dissatisfaction or contract penalties. Thresholds ensure the alert is neither premature nor too late, supporting targeted management response.

### **Worked Example 1.2**

**A service firm has a dashboard showing customer satisfaction (CSAT), average response time, and support ticket volumes. The CSAT threshold for a red alert is \<85%. For two months, CSAT drops to 80%, but the dashboard sends only weekly reports (no active alerts). What risk could arise?**

> **Answer:**
>
> Without immediate alerts, the extended drop could go unnoticed. Customer dissatisfaction may worsen, leading to lost business before corrective action is taken. The case shows the importance of timely alert mechanisms, not just passive reporting, for issues that require swift response.

## **Summary**

Dashboards convert data into visual cues to inform prompt action. Only a small number of well-chosen KPIs should be displayed, with thresholds reflecting meaningful targets. Automated alerts help managers act quickly when needed, but poor design (in either selection, thresholds, or alert rules) can render dashboards ineffective or even counterproductive.

## **Key Point Checklist**

_This article has covered the following key knowledge points:_

- Understand the core purpose and features of dashboard reporting
- Explain why careful KPI selection for dashboards is essential
- Describe how to set relevant and realistic KPI thresholds
- Recommend alert systems that direct attention to performance issues
- Identify risks, such as alert fatigue and information overload, and propose solutions
- Evaluate the effectiveness of a dashboard report in ACCA exam scenarios

## **Key Terms and Concepts**

- dashboard
- key performance indicator (KPI)
- threshold
- alert
- real-time


Dashboards reporting and visualisation - KPI selection thresholds and alerts