Is your organization considering KPI Fire and you are curious about how KPI Fire is similar to or different from PowerBI? This resource is for you.
Power BI
A business intelligence (BI) tool designed to visualize data, generate reports, and offer insights from large sets of structured and unstructured data.
KPI Fire
A Business Improvement Software (BIS) designed specifically for Strategy Execution & Continuous Improvement.
| KPI Fire | PowerBI | |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Purpose | Continuous Improvement & Strategy Execution | Business Intelligence & Data Visualization. |
| Best for: | KPI Fire: Best of Breed solution for Continuous Improvement projects and Strategy Execution. Combines idea funnel, project management, strategy execution, metrics with well established processes for Continuous Improvement (PDCA, DMAIC, KAIZEN, A3) |
Power BI: A business intelligence (BI) tool designed to visualize data, generate reports, and offer insights from large sets of structured and unstructured data. |
| Primary Use Case | Managing Strategic Goals, Metrics, and Projects as part of a Continuous Improvement program. | Analyzing data, generating insights, visualizing trends. |
| Customizable Dashboards | Yes | Yes |
| Comes with Strategy Specific Dynamic Visualization: X-Type Matrix Balanced Scorecard Grid View |
Yes | No |
| Control Charts, Pareto Charts, Bowling Charts | Yes. Prebuilt | Customization Required |
| Project Management: Work Breakdown Structure. -Create Projects, invite task owners, assign task owners to tasks. |
Yes | No |
| A3 Problem Solving Project Charters: A3 Problem Solving. Create customized templates for |
Yes | No |
| Workflow Templates specifically designed for Lean/Six Sigma problem solving (DMAIC, PDCA, Kaizen, A3) | Yes | No |
| Project Charters: A3 Problem Solving. Create customized templates for process improvement projects. | Yes | No |
| Idea Funnel: Allows for collection of Improvement Ideas separate from your Active Projects area. | Yes | No |
| Idea Funnel: Assists in evaluating Ideas for Effort vs Impact. Aligning potential improvement ideas with strategic goals. | Yes | No |
| Custom Huddleboards can display combinations of Key Performance Metrics, Strategic Goals, and Project Information. | Yes | With configuration. |
| Workflow Templates | A3, DMAIC, PDCA, KAIZEN, Standard Work, over 14 workflow templates specifically designed for Continuous Improvement. | No |
| Project Benefits Tracking | Purpose built for tracking Project Benefits. | Via Custom Dashboards + External Data Source |
| Project Benefits Exception Reports | Yes | No |
| Scoreboards | Yes. Default | Yes. Customization required. |
| User Administration: Role based access control & SSO | Yes | Yes |
| Purpose Built for Continuous Improvement | Yes | No. Continuous Improvement dashboards would require specific customization. |
| Administration Required | Simple administration | Requires a large amount of time & dedicated experience to build custom dashboards. |
| Vendor Support | Easy, Direct phone & screenshare support from vendor available. | Through Microsoft or partners. |
| Summary of Strengths & Weaknesses | Excellent for keeping Ideas & Active projects separated. Gives department owner more control over ideas vs active projects. Great for keeping department specific Goals, Metrics, Projects and Huddleboards together.While KPI Fire is defined to be simple to use, it does have fewer customization options than PowerBI. |
Endless options for visual displays. Good tool for data analysts and programmers who are asked to create dashboards for business owners.
While PowerBI is incredibly flexible, it can be overwhelming to learn for basic purposes & can require maintenance. |
FAQ:
Does our organization need to choose between KPI Fire & Power BI?
NO. Both tools can be utilized together. They both have specific strengths.
How can KPI Fire be used with Power BI?
Your organization can start with either Power BI OR KPI Fire. Both tools have very unique value propositions. At some point in your journey you may want to integrate the 2 tools. This blog article will give you some guidance on how. How to Use KPI Fire with Power BI
If our organization has PowerBI, do we still need KPI Fire also?
Yes. Power BI is a very robust data visualization tool. KPI Fire is a system for managing Continuous Improvement. Booth tools can be utilized together for advanced use cases.
Summary:
Both KPI Fire and Power BI are best of breed tools for unique jobs to be done.
