Dynamic Data Visualization to Improve Managerial Decision-Making: The Dynamic Portfolio Matrix Tool (DPMT)

In a rapidly changing environment, it is important for executives to make correct decisions. Many of the widely used management tools are static meaning that the tools do not explicitly account for the time dimension. It is difficult for executives to see and follow changes over time. It is often far more difficult to estimate what kind of mid-term and long-term effects a decision can have. This paper uses the portfolio matrix as a case study for the analysis of decision-making while considering the temporal dimension. The portfolio matrix is a suitable case for this study due to its wide-spread use and diverse application. For each category in the matrix, different initiatives too improve profitability can be taken which supports the profitability of the whole company. Currently however, the tools do not consider the time dimension explicitly. If analysts want to know how the corporate portfolio evolves over time, they need to calculate the portfolio for each displayed instance in time. This makes it difficult to see temporal effects of decisions. This paper describes a software to graph the evolution of a portfolio over time and present this in a dynamic visualization.