Business metrics are essential for every successful performance management system. Performance management effectiveness depends on identifying and integrating appropriate business metrics - customized to the business, strategy, and industry. Effective dashboard or scorecard report can integrate all relevant business performance drivers or KPIs (key performance indicators). Every KPI is driven by set of different performance metrics which are in most cases cross-functional. For example, KPIs such as sales and profit are driven by different marketing metrics, HR metrics, quality metrics, customer service metrics, sales metrics, etc.

The challenge in creating effective dashboard is to leverage data from multiple sources into meaningful metrics which support the overall strategy.