Page "Balanced scorecard" Paragraph 22

In the late 1990s, the design approach had evolved yet again.

One problem with the " 2nd generation " design approach described above was that the plotting of causal links amongst twenty or so medium-term strategic goals was still a relatively abstract activity.

In practice it ignored the fact that opportunities to intervene, to influence strategic goals are, and need to be anchored in the " now ;" in current and real management activity.

Secondly, the need to " roll forward " and test the impact of these goals necessitated the creation of an additional design instrument ; the Vision or Destination Statement.

This device was a statement of what " strategic success ," or the " strategic end-state " looked like.

It was quickly realized, that if a Destination Statement was created at the beginning of the design process then it was much easier to select strategic Activity and Outcome objectives to respond to it.

Measures and targets could then be selected to track the achievement of these objectives.

Design methods that incorporate a " Destination Statement " or equivalent ( e. g. the Results Based Management method proposed by the UN in 2002 ) represent a tangibly different design approach to those that went before, and have been proposed as representing a " 3rd Generation " design method for Balanced Scorecard.