Decentralized organizations rely on timely and reliable management information to support strategic and operational decision-making. However, information on organizational performance, workforce capacity, project status, and financial developments is often fragmented across multiple branches and systems. This limited transparency complicates effective management steering. The thesis therefore examines how management dashboards can address these challenges by integrating relevant performance indicators into a centralized, decision-oriented reporting solution.

The study was conducted as an exploratory case study within a Swiss engineering consultancy. A structured literature review on performance indicators, dashboard design, and decision-support systems was combined with semi-structured interviews involving stakeholders from top management, IT, data management, and digitalization. The identified requirements were synthesized into a conceptual management dashboard framework tailored to the organizational context.

The study identified three central categories of performance indicators relevant to top management in decentralized organizations, namely capacity and workforce indicators, financial indicators, and strategic performance indicators. Beyond those KPIs, the findings highlight the importance of usability, high data quality, standardized KPI definitions, drill-down functionality, role-based access to information, and integration with existing systems for successful dashboard implementation. Based on these requirements, the thesis developed a conceptual management dashboard framework structured around three integrated perspectives for workforce and capacity management, financial and project controlling, and strategic organizational steering. The concept emphasizes simplicity, forecasting capabilities, drill-down functionality, and system integration to support strategic and operational decision-making. The findings demonstrate that management dashboards should be understood not only as reporting tools but also as integrated decision-support instruments that strengthen transparency, organizational coordination, and management steering in decentralized organizations.