Very often, many organizations use both the words – ‘scorecards’ and ‘dashboards’ so interchangeably that is it difficult to differentiate between the two. Here’s the difference:
Scorecards
A scorecard is a type of report that measures and compares your performance against your projections and goals. It evaluates the success and failure of your efforts, based on key performance indicators (KPIs).
Dashboards
Dashboards are made up of multiple reports, allowing you to easily compare and contrast different reports or access diverse data sets in one place. Scorecards can be included and viewed on a dashboard with other types of reports as well. Dashboards can be customizable and present different views from the CIO to a staff member in the company. Ideally, you want all the data to be pulled from a single data repository to ensure accuracy within your reports.
Scorecards provide serious value to an organization if done correctly. With scorecards, businesses can evaluate their goals and direction, determine if they are on track, assess trends and patterns and utilize resources in the most efficient way possible.
References:
http://www.bscdesigner.com/dashboard-vs-balanced-scorecard.htm