Turning Data into Knowledge: 7 Key Attributes of Successful Visualization with Dashboards & KPIs

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1 Turning Data into Knowledge: 7 Key Attributes of Successful Visualization with Dashboards & KPIs An Industry White Paper Jason Kasper, Industry Marketing Manager, Aspen Technology, Inc.

2 About AspenTech AspenTech is a leading supplier of software that optimizes process manufacturing for energy, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, engineering and construction, power & utilities, consumer products and other mill products industries that manufacture and produce products from a chemical process. With integrated aspenone solutions, process manufacturers can implement best practices for optimizing their engineering, manufacturing, and supply chain operations. As a result, AspenTech customers are better able to increase capacity, improve margins, reduce costs, and become more energy efficient. To see how the world s leading process manufacturers rely on AspenTech to achieve their operational excellence goals, visit

3 Executive Summary Process industries generate an overwhelming amount of data every second of every day. According to International Data Corp s (IDC) 2011 State of the Universe study, there will be over 1.8 zettabytes of data created or replicated this year and this is expected to double every two years. Organizations that focus on managing their data, its integrity and all of its sources will benefit from a competitive advantage. Transforming data into information enables organizations to spot business and operational trends. Doing this successfully increases operational efficiencies and profits, provides clarity in communication, and fosters collaboration across the enterprise. Today s vast amount of operational data needs to be communicated in a way that can be understood quickly and easily. According to The Economist, Our brains find it much easier to process information if it is presented as an image rather than a word or numbers. Looking through a numerical table takes a lot of mental effort, but information presented visually can be grasped in a few seconds. Enter dashboards and KPIs. Turning data into knowledge, and then making it actionable begins with a successful approach and implementation of dashboards and KPIs. In order for dashboards and KPIs to be valuable, they must visually communicate timely information that can then be used to make crucial decisions. Developing and creating a culture of measurement within an organization is difficult and time-consuming. For companies to gain the full value of their data, senior management and end users must be involved in the entire process from the development to ongoing maintenance of these solutions. There are 7 key attributes organizations must consider when developing dashboards and KPIs. These attributes are the most common success factors we at AspenTech consider when implementing dashboard and KPI solutions for our process industry customers around the globe. 1

4 Key Attribute #1: Timely & Meaningful Information Operational decision-making must be made quickly and efficiently. Conditions in a process manufacturing environment are often changing by the minute, sometimes the second. Having access to data in real-time or near real-time is critical. Organizations create a massive amount of data every second of every day and a data historian allows for the mass storage of relevant data. The best in class historians have methods of transforming data into actionable information. The data historian should be able to receive and transmit data from the shop floor, and data from tangential systems; such as Finance, Supply Chain, Maintenance, and Laboratory Information Systems any system generating data that can be transformed and used to make sound business decisions (Figure 1). Figure 1. A good data historian should connect to all relevant data sources to improve real-time data performance. The information should be timely and meaningful. It should be unambiguous and everyone using the information should interpret it in the same way (Figures 2 & 3). If information is not easily and immediately understood, it is quickly discarded, eliminating the potential for continuous improvement, the ability to avoid a production issue or the opportunity to prevent a safety incident. Figure 2. Young Woman or Old Lady? Everyone should interpret data the same way. Figure 3. Better, a cost KPI, Green is Good, Red is Bad. 2

5 Key Attribute #2: Clear & Concise Information According to IDC, in 2012, the amount of data created and replicated will surpass 1.8 zettabytes (1.8 trillion gigabytes) and is expected to double every two years (Figure 4). Simply having data available is not good enough. Data surrounds us in all aspects of life, creating a cluttered environment of disparate information. Operating plant data used for decision-making is available in many places, sometimes in silos. Using dashboards and KPIs to transform this data into information is the key Figure 4. According to IDC data generation is expected to double every two years. Dashboards enable users to make the right decisions more quickly, providing clear, concise information to the decision maker (Figure 5). Dashboards should only present information that requires attention, and ultimately leads to the improvement or mitigation of an issue. Figure 5: Example dashboard providing clear, concise information the red bar requires action. 3

6 Key Attribute #3: Tailored To the User's Role Employing dashboards and KPIs creates an opportunity for efficiency within organizations. Operational data is needed and used between many departments but often organizations do not have an efficient way to share the data. A lot of time is spent communicating information or worse yet, not communicating at all, resulting in a lost opportunity for productivity gains. In addition to providing a method of standard communication, if implemented correctly, dashboards and KPIs can break down silos between departments, eliminating unnecessary meetings and s, optimizing business processes and increasing productivity. Another attribute of effective dashboards is ensuring the information displayed is appropriate for the user. When designing dashboards, organizations need to understand the user s needs and provide information appropriate to the specific user s decision-making requirements. This is called role-based dashboarding. Figure 6 is appropriate for a plant manager focused solely on the Corpus Christi site for example, whereas the dashboard shown in Figure 7 is appropriate for a corporate executive reviewing data across several plants. Figure 6: Dashboard designed for a Plant Manager. Figure 7: Dashboard designed for executive overseeing operations at multiple sites. 4

7 Key Attribute #4: Information Must Be Trustworthy Data integrity is a daunting task for any organization that is implementing dashboards and KPIs. One must trust the data in order to make confident decisions. A survey by LogLogic of 164 IT managers and directors found that only 14% of the respondents highly trusted the quality of their IT data. A single icon on a dashboard will be constructed of multiple pieces of information (Figure 8). Since dashboards and KPIs pull data from multiple sources, the information displayed could be questionable if there is any doubt as to the quality of its source. A user who doesn t trust the information presented may ignore it, missing an opportunity to make a decision that could improve the organization. Unreliable information may be caused by poor data quality, a faulty transmitter, a lost communication link, or an instrument taken off-line for calibration or maintenance. Users must be notified about these issues and that they are being addressed in order to ensure trust. Low Flow Feed Flow Process 1 Pump 501 Pressure Differential High Flow Seal Leak Specific Energy Exceeds Target Process 2 Process 3 Power Bearing Temperature Flooding High Temperature Process 4 Column 502 Reflux Blowing Process 5 Condenser Dry Up Reboiler Flooding HX 503 Cooling Water Flow Low Flow High Flow Product Flow Low Flow Fouling High Flow Figure 8: Many points of data are required to create each dashboard and KPI. How do you increase the trustworthiness of information? CIOs must ensure their organizations business systems are properly designed and implemented. They can also employ software solutions to help track and maintain data. Business processes and mobile solutions can be designed to eliminate paper-based data entry systems, which are prone to duplicate or incorrect data entry. Most importantly, any business system must be designed to protect sensitive data and prohibit unauthorized access, an evolving challenge in today s world. 5

8 Key Attribute #5: Ability to Drill Down To Additional Information The ability to drill down, through the information that comprises a dashboard, like a KPI, is absolutely necessary to analyze and diagnose problems. Information must be displayed and delivered to the right people in order to increase the speed of decision-making (Figure 9). By shortening the time between deciphering information and making a decision, organizations can gain a competitive advantage. Another way to speed up decision-making is providing alerts to the right people at the point of performance. Mobility solutions play a key role here. Using solutions that enable access to information with devices such as smartphones and tablet PCs, users no longer have to manage their organization through the desktop. The right person can now get the information and take the appropriate action regardless of location which is a great opportunity for efficiency and increased profitability. Figure 9: The ability to drill down through information allows for analysis and diagnosis of problems. Figure 10: Example mobile solution, alert received via , with ability to drill down. 6

9 Key Attribute #6: Visual Appeal As previously discussed, our brains find it much easier to process information displayed as images. It takes too much mental effort to sort through data, but when transformed into organized information presented visually, it can be comprehended within seconds. Organizations are working to address the expectations of Generation Y, also known as the Millennial Generation or Generation Next as they are an increasing percentage of the workforce. This generation expects intuitive, easy-to-use interfaces as they have grown up using websites, gaming systems and smartphones. There are many techniques emerging to help make dashboards and KPIs more appealing and actionable. For numerical data, this can be somewhat easier (Figure 11), with dials, charts, etc. What about visualizing metadata, knowledge bases, or large volumes of unorganized data? A potential alternative technique to monitoring this information and putting it into context is the use of Word Clouds or Word Trees which are emerging as tools to help visualize and understand relationships on large volumes of unstructured data (Figure 12). Using these methods enable users to gain insight on data that may otherwise be cast aside as irrelevant. Figure 11: Example of numerical data, displayed in a visually appealing way. Figure 12: This is a Word Cloud of this whitepaper. 7

10 Key Attribute #7: Responsive to Changing Business Conditions Change is inevitable. Market conditions and business processes in any industry will change over time. Technological improvements, government regulations and management philosophies will dictate the information on which to monitor and report. The last attribute of effective dashboards is remembering they are built for a specific purpose or user and can change easily as business conditions evolve. Because of this, dashboards require regular maintenance and reviews to ensure they are enabling good decision-making. For example, dashboards can be a tool for improving manufacturing performance, but manufacturing processes and business conditions change. Dashboards must evolve along with these changes in order to remain relevant. The best practices for maintaining the value of dashboards and KPIs are with templates, editing tools and master database models. The most successful organizations regularly evaluate the value of what they are monitoring, measuring and reporting. Summary Collecting data is easy, transforming it into useable, actionable information is difficult without understanding the purpose of its use. Data creation is now doubling every two years. Organizations that develop strategies to mine critical data and make sense of it by transforming it into information will benefit from a tremendous competitive advantage in today s fast moving environments. The bottom line is to enhance flexibility; focusing efforts on the key attributes discussed will help supply the right information to the right people at the right time in the best format. Figure 14 illustrates why there is value in taking action earlier. Dashboards help you do just that; through active performance management we compress the decision-making process. Through a best practice process, determining exactly what information is needed and for whom, dashboards and KPIs will shorten the time between the occurrence of an event and the collection, verification and delivery of valuable information, thereby expediting the opportunity to make a critical business decision. This will result in lower operational cost, improved asset management and higher profitability. Value Business Event Net Value Value Gained Active Performance Mgmt. Action Taken Shorter Delay Current Methods Action Time Figure 14: Active Performance Management shortens the delay time which increases the value of the appropriate action. 8

11 References 1. The Economist (February 28, 2010) Data, data everywhere a special report on managing information [Online] 2. International Data Corporation (2011) The 2011 Digital Universe Study: Extracting Value from Chaos [Online] 3. SC Staff (April 12, 2011), SC Magazine A Lack of trust and reliance on IT data shows CIOS do not have an understanding of their IT infrastructure [Online] 4. Resource: Wordle, Create your own Word Cloud [Online] 5. Resource: Many Eyes, Create your own Word Tree [Online] 9

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