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2017 was a great year for us here at SimpleKPI. From day one, we've adhered to the principle of bringing simple and uncluttered KPI Software to everyone, and to challenge the dominance of colossal BI vendors by offering a better, streamlined, and more affordable product. This philosophy has clearly resonated with our users and helped SimpleKPI post successive year on year profitable growth - without ever needing external investment or funding.
But we're not resting on our laurels. For the last few months we've been busy putting together the software vision for 2018.
We've listened constantly to your feedback over the last year, and as part of our commitment to ‘building for our users', we're excited to now bring you the latest feature packed version.
So, what's new in SimpleKPI 2018?
Well, it's brimming with lots of new enhancements for creating, managing and visualizing your Key Performance Indicators even faster and more streamlined than even before:
- New Themes and interface updates
- KPI Dashboards
- Speed Boost
- User and KPI Management
- Fixes and Issues
New themes and interface updates
In October 2017 we already began the process of introducing some elements of the design overhaul. Notably to the administration of KPIs and Users which were rolled out to a limited number of beta testing accounts. After an extensive period of feedback, tweaking and sculpting we rolled them out to the entire user base on the 1st of December.
Following on from that, the entire application has now been upgraded to the new theme. Introducing new layouts for different types of users and improvements to interface elements.
KPI Dashboards
The KPI Dashboard has been completely overhauled. You already told us that you loved the simplicity of the dashboard, but it could be improved. So, we got to work, we retained the functionality, we added requested features like colour toggling, tab or drop-down dashboard selection, more prominent colour schemes for large TVs and monitor displays - and smoothed out some inconsistencies in sharing and sizing.
You can now make even more striking dashboards that are equally as beautiful as they are functional. Whether you are accessing your dashboard on a large TV, office desktop or mobile device we have you covered.
Speed Boost
A mayor focus of the update was speed. SimpleKPI was always fast but how to speed up administration of huge numbers of KPIs or users – particularly on manual data entry or when visualising staggering amounts of data and data points. We cranked up the processing power, made the calls more efficient and distributed more of the workload. Quite simply, it's faster across the entire application.
User and KPI Management
Both User and KPI Management tabs have been re-designed. They now offer a smoother flow of information, enabling you to get those niggly administration tasks done more efficiently.
Fixes and issues
We've been looking at lots of function and visual inconsistencies across the application that are fuelled by the almost limitless number of browsers, operating systems and devices we need to cater for. This is an ongoing process but here are some of the headline fixes:
- RAG Gauges now work in both direction depending on the KPI set direction
- Several charts defaulting to daily visualisation now displaying KPI frequency correctly.
- Inconsistencies in graph resizing axis.
- Slow refresh user profile images in charts and admin areas fixed
- Alignment issues with analytics axis resolved
Were always looking for feedback, it makes the software better for everyone and a cornerstone of our software roadmap. So, we would love to hear your opinions on this update, whether it's something you like or hate, something that you find simple or tedious or is just missing, then just let us know here.
by Stuart Kinsey
Stuart Kinsey writes on Key Performance Indicators, Dashboards, Marketing, and Business Strategy. He is a co-founder of SimpleKPI and has worked in creative and analytical services for over 25 years. He believes embracing KPIs and visualizing performance is essential for any organization to strive and grow.