Balanced scorecard design worksheet

Organize the mission, vision and medium- to long-term goals before completing this worksheet. After filling in the four perspectives, check the strategy map's causal chain.

When to use this worksheet and what completion involves Fictional completed example

EvalCompass Worksheet

Balanced scorecard design worksheet

Method: Balanced Scorecard

Organize the mission, vision and medium- to long-term goals before completing this worksheet. After filling in the four perspectives, check the strategy map's causal chain.

Basic information

Enter basic organizational and program details

Completed example for this section (fictional)

This fictional example is for explanation. Adapt it to your own program. Your entries will not change.

Organization and program name: Community library (fictional)
BSC period: October 2026–March 2027
Preparation team: Library director, user representative and delivery staff
Date prepared: September 13, 2026
Mission (one sentence): People can use needed materials even when unable to visit
Vision (one sentence): Provide access to materials suited to users' circumstances

Reason for this entry: Place access opportunities, rather than profit margins, at the top.

Organization and program name

BSC period

Preparation team

Date prepared

Mission (one sentence)

Vision (one sentence)

Writing tips and explanation for this section

About this section

Enter basic organizational and program details

Place access opportunities, rather than profit margins, at the top.

View the method explanation

Writing tips

Follow each field’s heading to record the program name, focus, period, and other details. Leave undecided matters clearly marked as unresolved.

Read the full fictional example

Strategic objectives and indicators across four perspectives

Enter strategic objectives, leading and lagging indicators, targets and main initiatives for each perspective. Adjust their number to strategy and collection burden.

Completed example for this section (fictional)

This fictional example is for explanation. Adapt it to your own program. Your entries will not change.

Scroll horizontally to view the table

Perspective	Strategic objective	Leading indicator	Lagging indicator	Target and deadline	Main initiative
Service users	Receive needed materials	Proportion of requests whose details were confirmed	Proportion of requested materials delivered on time	First comparison in March; agree targets after October measurement	Confirm receipt conditions with user representatives
Finance	Secure funding to sustain deliveries	Monthly review of projected expenses	Delivery costs / completed deliveries	Assess continuation within budget in March	Compare delivery methods
Internal processes	Reduce delays between requests and dispatch	Review unprocessed requests	Days from request to dispatch	Establish baseline in October and check changes in March	Simplify handovers between staff
Learning and growth	Staff can suggest alternative materials	Number of case review sessions	Appropriate suggestions for simulated requests	All staff complete exercises in December	Case training on users' circumstances

Reason for this entry: The four perspectives organize this design example; identify targets that remain undecided.

Scroll horizontally to view the table

Perspective	Strategic objective	Leading indicator	Lagging indicator	Target and deadline	Main initiative

Writing tips and explanation for this section

About this section

Enter strategic objectives, leading and lagging indicators, targets and main initiatives for each perspective. Adjust their number to strategy and collection burden.

The four perspectives organize this design example; identify targets that remain undecided.

View the method explanation

Writing tips

Keep the information in each row aligned. Scroll wide tables horizontally to see every column.

Read the full fictional example

Strategy map (causal chain notes)

Describe in words the causal flow between objectives across four perspectives: “if A improves → B occurs → this leads to C”

Completed example for this section (fictional)

This fictional example is for explanation. Adapt it to your own program. Your entries will not change.

Case training → confirmation of requests → reduced delays → timely arrival of materials → access opportunities. Delivery budgets and times when users can receive materials are assumptions; examine relationships using records and interviews.

Reason for this entry: Record assumptions behind arrows and examine where progress is weak.

Writing tips and explanation for this section

About this section

Describe in words the causal flow between objectives across four perspectives: “if A improves → B occurs → this leads to C”

Record assumptions behind arrows and examine where progress is weak.

View the method explanation

Writing tips

Use the example as a reference and record what you have established about your own program. Distinguish assumptions and unchecked matters from confirmed facts.

Read the full fictional example

Design quality checklist

Check scorecard completeness

Completed example for this section (fictional)

This fictional example is for explanation. Adapt it to your own program. Your entries will not change.

☑ Checked: Clear strategic objectives are set for each of the four perspectives
☐ Not checked: Each objective has measurable indicators and specific targets
☑ Checked: The strategy map's causal chain is logically coherent
☑ Checked: The number of indicators matches strategic needs and resources available for collection and use
☑ Checked: Each initiative has a responsible person and deadline
☑ Checked: Quarterly review meetings are scheduled

Reason for this entry: Targets remain incomplete because they will be determined after initial measurement. Indicator counts and quarterly frequency are choices for this plan, not universal requirements.

Clear strategic objectives are set for each of the four perspectives
Each objective has measurable indicators and specific targets
The strategy map's causal chain is logically coherent
The number of indicators matches strategic needs and resources available for collection and use
Each initiative has a responsible person and deadline
Quarterly review meetings are scheduled

Writing tips and explanation for this section

About this section

Check scorecard completeness

Targets remain incomplete because they will be determined after initial measurement. Indicator counts and quarterly frequency are choices for this plan, not universal requirements.

View the method explanation

Writing tips

Read each item and check those you have confirmed. Do not use the fictional example’s checkbox states as findings about your own program.

Read the full fictional example

Before writing, check when to use the worksheet and what completion involves

Balanced scorecard design worksheet is a worksheet for applying Balanced Scorecard in meetings or individual work. For the overall duration of the method, use “Illustrative estimate (adjust for scale and team): design: 2–4 weeks / embedding operations: 6 months–1 year” as a reference, adjusting for scale and resources. Fill in what you know provisionally and leave unresolved matters as questions to check next.

When this worksheet is useful

When linking medium- and long-term organizational strategy to daily operations through indicators
When managing customer satisfaction, organizational capabilities and other factors that financial indicators alone cannot capture
When visualizing multiple dimensions of progress toward a nonprofit or public organization's mission

Participants and preparation

Executives and strategy departments (design), and all managers (cascading). External BSC consultants are often engaged during design.

Bring the materials used for decisions, existing data, and differing stakeholder views to help complete the worksheet.

Suggested order

1. Basic informationEnter basic organizational and program details
2. Strategic objectives and indicators across four perspectivesEnter strategic objectives, leading and lagging indicators, targets and main initiatives for each perspective. Adjust their number to strategy and collection burden.
3. Strategy map (causal chain notes)Describe in words the causal flow between objectives across four perspectives: “if A improves → B occurs → this leads to C”
4. Design quality checklistCheck scorecard completeness

Signs the worksheet is ready for review

Strategy map
Balanced scorecard (indicators, targets and initiatives across four perspectives)
Periodic scorecard report

Cautions for review

Too many indicators obscure strategic priorities. Focus on important relationships and indicators used for decisions.
Used only by executives and not communicated to frontline staff. Without cascading, strategy remains detached from operations.
Never reviewing the initial design. Annual reviews of strategy and indicator validity are essential.

Read a completed fictional example (your entries will not change)

Fictional example; not actual results

The following is a fictional example for illustration. A small library improves material provision for people who have difficulty visiting.

Basic information

Organization and program name: Community library (fictional)
BSC period: October 2026–March 2027
Preparation team: Library director, user representative and delivery staff
Date prepared: September 13, 2026
Mission (one sentence): People can use needed materials even when unable to visit
Vision (one sentence): Provide access to materials suited to users' circumstances

Reason for this entry: Place access opportunities, rather than profit margins, at the top.

Strategic objectives and indicators across four perspectives

Scroll horizontally to view the table

Perspective	Strategic objective	Leading indicator	Lagging indicator	Target and deadline	Main initiative
Service users	Receive needed materials	Proportion of requests whose details were confirmed	Proportion of requested materials delivered on time	First comparison in March; agree targets after October measurement	Confirm receipt conditions with user representatives
Finance	Secure funding to sustain deliveries	Monthly review of projected expenses	Delivery costs / completed deliveries	Assess continuation within budget in March	Compare delivery methods
Internal processes	Reduce delays between requests and dispatch	Review unprocessed requests	Days from request to dispatch	Establish baseline in October and check changes in March	Simplify handovers between staff
Learning and growth	Staff can suggest alternative materials	Number of case review sessions	Appropriate suggestions for simulated requests	All staff complete exercises in December	Case training on users' circumstances

Reason for this entry: The four perspectives organize this design example; identify targets that remain undecided.

Strategy map (causal chain notes)

Reason for this entry: Record assumptions behind arrows and examine where progress is weak.

Design quality checklist

☑ Checked: Clear strategic objectives are set for each of the four perspectives
☐ Not checked: Each objective has measurable indicators and specific targets
☑ Checked: The strategy map's causal chain is logically coherent
☑ Checked: The number of indicators matches strategic needs and resources available for collection and use
☑ Checked: Each initiative has a responsible person and deadline
☑ Checked: Quarterly review meetings are scheduled

Common errors in judgment

Always place increased revenue at the top, even in nonprofits

How to revise: Adapt perspectives around mission and benefits for participants

Reason: Financial health and organizational purpose are not the same.

Treat strategy as complete once indicators fill all four perspectives

How to revise: Show indicator relationships, actions and assumptions to test

Reason: A collection of unrelated numbers does not support decisions.

Editorial and checking information

Content updated: 2026-10-07Source checked: 2026-09-13 (includes AI cross-checking)No documented human reviewIncludes fictional examplesEditorial policy and scope of checking Cite this page Report a correction

References and checked sections

Conceptual Foundations of the Balanced Scorecard, Working Paper 10-074
Robert S. Kaplan / Harvard Business School · 2010
Section consulted
Balanced Scorecard for Performance Measurement, p. 4; Extending Balanced Scorecard to Non-Profit and Public Sector Enterprises, p. 23
How it relates to the text
Do not apply a corporate structure that places financial results at the top unchanged to nonprofit and public sectors.
Source checked: 2026-09-13 (includes AI cross-checking)

How to cite this page

EvalCompass Editorial Team. “Balanced scorecard design worksheet”. EvalCompass, updated 2026-10-07. https://evalcompass.jun-nakatani.com/en/worksheets/balanced-scorecard/

Add the date you accessed the page. Text created by this site is available under CC BY 4.0. Quotations, external materials, and bundled fonts have their own terms of use. When reusing content, credit the source, link to the license, and indicate any changes.

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Change history

2026-10-07 — Corrected descriptions and procedures identified through content checks (U07). Preserved input field order, counts, labels and section structure.
2026-09-13 — Updated explanations to correspond with sources, and added method-specific fictional worksheet examples, judgment examples and revision history.