Paradise by the Dashboard Light: Designing Governance Metrics in Turbulent Environments

One of the emerging sweet-spots in business intelligence (BI) and business performance management (BPM) projects is the design of metrics (dashboards) in such a way that they balance the need for "inward focused" operational management with the need for "outward-focused" strategic management. Unfortunately, hitting this sweet spot often proves to be a difficult process, particularly in more turbulent environments. This article aims to understand the forces at work in the design process of these metrics using two starkly contrasting case studies involving the design of dashboards for IT departments, specifically for IT governance which concerns the alignment between business and IT. The first case explores metrics design for an organization with low external and high internal turbulence (a German insurance company), the second contrasting case focuses on a similar metrics design process but now for an organization facing low internal turbulence and high external turbulence (an African national government). Our findings suggest how the source of project turbulence impacts the success of the metrics design process, the bias towards more inward-focused or outward-focused metrics, and the overall outcomes of the project.