This blog post will show you how to set up Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in SAP Sales Cloud / SAP Service Cloud and how to avoid issues which can occur while working with KPIs.
Key Performance Indicators in SAP Sales Cloud / SAP Service Cloud allow to evaluate a certain measure of the company's/ team's performance toward a goal or target. They mainly consist of a key figure from a report which is restricted using specified selections.
The main settings in a KPI are the ones that determine the KPI value and the context report that will be shown with the KPI.
You can also define a target value and a reference value to be shown along with the actual value, and additional contexts.
Let us assume the following simple scenario:
You would like each sales employee to see how many of his opportunities were won in that particular month. This information should be available on the home page, where it is quickly accessible.
Additionally, you may want to define a target value, so that each employee can compare his value to the target.
You can achieve this by doing the following:
We will briefly look at the 1 step, but the assumption is that you are aware of how to create reports, views and selections. The main focus will be on steps 2 and 3.
There are a few standard reports and key figures to explore but for this scenario a custom report based on the Opportunity Header and Item data source will be created:
The key figure group "Opportunity Win/Loss Analysis" was chosen for this custom report since it contains some useful key figures:
When all the steps are done and the report is completed, you will be able to create views and selections. I have created a selection where the close date is restricted to "Current Month". Additionally, the view was adjusted so that only the key figure "Number of Deals (Won)" is shown:
So this key figure shows the number of won deals for the current month (as per the report selection) and for the logged on business user only (as per the fixed value selection of the report).
Note that this is how the KPI current value will be calculated - the system will take the defined report selection, remove all characteristics from the view, and display this value of the key figure .
We can also create a more detailed report view, which can be used as a context report. This context report will be visible under the KPI values:
Once the report is set up, you need to ensure that it is assigned. In this case, it has been assigned to a few work center views but if you are using business role assignments, make sure the report is assigned to business roles, too.
You are now ready to create the KPI.
Here are the exact steps to create a KPI:
1. Go to the work center Business Analytics and the view Design KPIs.
2. Click New.
3. In the first tab, "General", provide a Name, and a Description if you like.
4. Maintain the Current Value. This is the main KPI value that will show where the user is at. The previously set up report, selection and key figure were selected in this case.
5. Scroll down to the "Context Report" section. This is not mandatory, but it gives you the option to display a report view in the KPI which can help provide more details. In this case the report, view and selection were selected which were set up earlier:
6. Now move on to the tab "Values and Thresholds". Here you can define a target value, a reference value and thresholds.
In this use case, a fixed target to compare the actual value to was defined. You can also select a key figure from a report to show the target, which is of course more dynamic.
A reference value has not been used in this use case, but you can make use of this in case you would like a third value to be part of the comparison (fixed value or derived from a key figure in a report).
Thresholds are a good option to color-code the actual KPI value. For example:
100 is the target in our case. The user's values are expected to be lower than that, meaning to reach the target, they have to increase the actual value. Hence the direction of improvement is "Maximize".
If your KPI was based on a value that ideally should be lowered (number of escalated tickets for example), you would select the option "Minimize". The last option is "Keep In Range" where you would like the value to not be lower than value X and not higher than value Y.
Lastly, you have the option to define alert points to complete the Threshold setup. In this example, 100 is the target. Any value under 50 should be considered very low and marked in red. Any value over 90 should be considered good, and shown in green. Values between 50 and 90 will be yellow.
Note how the alert points need to be set up depending on the direction of improvement:
7. Go to the tab "Additional Contexts". This setting is not mandatory, but you can enter another report, view and selection to be displayed with the context report. You will then be able to move between the different context reports when you open the KPI.
Make sure that all context reports are assigned and accessible for users.
8. Save this KPI. The KPI will now be available in the Business Analytics work center, under Design KPIs. You can preview it here to see what it will look like.
Here you see that the value 10 (which is the actual value with the user who is logged on) is shown in red, since it is below the first defined threshold of 50.
In these last steps, we will make sure that this KPI is accessible to users via the home page.
1.Go to the home page and enter the Adapt mode and select the business role that you would like to add this KPI to:
Note that it needs to be the same role(s) that you have chosen in the report assignment (if you are using business roles in report assignments).
2. Click on the + sign and select "Add Existing Card".
3. In the list, under the KPIs tab, you should see your KPI. If you mark it as Available and Visible, users with that business role will see the report straight away. If you mark it as Available (but not Visible), users will not see it on the home page, however they will have the option to make the KPI available by personalizing the home page.
If the key user does not make a KPI 'Available' on the home page, business users will not be able to see it, even if they are assigned to all relevant reports.
If you have created your KPIs and you face any unexpected results, you can check out this blog post here for troubleshooting tips.
In summary, you now know how to set up the report and report view for a KPI, how to create a KPI and make it available for business users.
If you have any feedback or questions, please feel free to leave a comment. Alternatively, you can also check out the community and ask questions here.
What are KPIs?
Key Performance Indicators in SAP Sales Cloud / SAP Service Cloud allow to evaluate a certain measure of the company's/ team's performance toward a goal or target. They mainly consist of a key figure from a report which is restricted using specified selections.
The main settings in a KPI are the ones that determine the KPI value and the context report that will be shown with the KPI.
You can also define a target value and a reference value to be shown along with the actual value, and additional contexts.
Setting up KPIs
Let us assume the following simple scenario:
You would like each sales employee to see how many of his opportunities were won in that particular month. This information should be available on the home page, where it is quickly accessible.
Additionally, you may want to define a target value, so that each employee can compare his value to the target.
You can achieve this by doing the following:
- Find or create a report which contains a key figure that shows the number of won opportunities per each employee.
- Create a KPI based on that report.
- Add the KPI to the home page of the respective users.
We will briefly look at the 1 step, but the assumption is that you are aware of how to create reports, views and selections. The main focus will be on steps 2 and 3.
Report Setup
There are a few standard reports and key figures to explore but for this scenario a custom report based on the Opportunity Header and Item data source will be created:
The key figure group "Opportunity Win/Loss Analysis" was chosen for this custom report since it contains some useful key figures:
When all the steps are done and the report is completed, you will be able to create views and selections. I have created a selection where the close date is restricted to "Current Month". Additionally, the view was adjusted so that only the key figure "Number of Deals (Won)" is shown:
So this key figure shows the number of won deals for the current month (as per the report selection) and for the logged on business user only (as per the fixed value selection of the report).
Note that this is how the KPI current value will be calculated - the system will take the defined report selection, remove all characteristics from the view, and display this value of the key figure .
We can also create a more detailed report view, which can be used as a context report. This context report will be visible under the KPI values:
Once the report is set up, you need to ensure that it is assigned. In this case, it has been assigned to a few work center views but if you are using business role assignments, make sure the report is assigned to business roles, too.
You are now ready to create the KPI.
KPI Setup
Here are the exact steps to create a KPI:
1. Go to the work center Business Analytics and the view Design KPIs.
2. Click New.
3. In the first tab, "General", provide a Name, and a Description if you like.
4. Maintain the Current Value. This is the main KPI value that will show where the user is at. The previously set up report, selection and key figure were selected in this case.
5. Scroll down to the "Context Report" section. This is not mandatory, but it gives you the option to display a report view in the KPI which can help provide more details. In this case the report, view and selection were selected which were set up earlier:
6. Now move on to the tab "Values and Thresholds". Here you can define a target value, a reference value and thresholds.
In this use case, a fixed target to compare the actual value to was defined. You can also select a key figure from a report to show the target, which is of course more dynamic.
A reference value has not been used in this use case, but you can make use of this in case you would like a third value to be part of the comparison (fixed value or derived from a key figure in a report).
Working with Thresholds
Thresholds are a good option to color-code the actual KPI value. For example:
100 is the target in our case. The user's values are expected to be lower than that, meaning to reach the target, they have to increase the actual value. Hence the direction of improvement is "Maximize".
If your KPI was based on a value that ideally should be lowered (number of escalated tickets for example), you would select the option "Minimize". The last option is "Keep In Range" where you would like the value to not be lower than value X and not higher than value Y.
Lastly, you have the option to define alert points to complete the Threshold setup. In this example, 100 is the target. Any value under 50 should be considered very low and marked in red. Any value over 90 should be considered good, and shown in green. Values between 50 and 90 will be yellow.
Note how the alert points need to be set up depending on the direction of improvement:
- Direction of Improvement = Maximize: Value 1 is lowest, value 2 is higher, the target value is highest.
- Direction of Improvement = Minimize: Target is lowest, value 1 is higher, value 2 is highest
- Direction of Improvement = Keep in Range: Values 1 - 4 are increasing. The target value needs to be between value 2 and value 3.
7. Go to the tab "Additional Contexts". This setting is not mandatory, but you can enter another report, view and selection to be displayed with the context report. You will then be able to move between the different context reports when you open the KPI.
Make sure that all context reports are assigned and accessible for users.
8. Save this KPI. The KPI will now be available in the Business Analytics work center, under Design KPIs. You can preview it here to see what it will look like.
Here you see that the value 10 (which is the actual value with the user who is logged on) is shown in red, since it is below the first defined threshold of 50.
Home Page Setup
In these last steps, we will make sure that this KPI is accessible to users via the home page.
1.Go to the home page and enter the Adapt mode and select the business role that you would like to add this KPI to:
Note that it needs to be the same role(s) that you have chosen in the report assignment (if you are using business roles in report assignments).
2. Click on the + sign and select "Add Existing Card".
3. In the list, under the KPIs tab, you should see your KPI. If you mark it as Available and Visible, users with that business role will see the report straight away. If you mark it as Available (but not Visible), users will not see it on the home page, however they will have the option to make the KPI available by personalizing the home page.
If the key user does not make a KPI 'Available' on the home page, business users will not be able to see it, even if they are assigned to all relevant reports.
If you have created your KPIs and you face any unexpected results, you can check out this blog post here for troubleshooting tips.
In summary, you now know how to set up the report and report view for a KPI, how to create a KPI and make it available for business users.
If you have any feedback or questions, please feel free to leave a comment. Alternatively, you can also check out the community and ask questions here.
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