The second lesson-from-history article examined the Bentley Priory decision-making environment more closely, at the center of an integrated air defense system, and part of an overall sense-and-respond system used by Royal Air Force (RAF) Fighter Command under Air Marshall Hugh Dowding.
The third lesson-from-history article examined the supply chain run by Whitehall and how Lord Beaverbrook introduced the concepts of supply chain agility (modularity, standardization, simplification and integration) to improve the efficiency of the supply chain.
The fourth lesson-from-history article examined in more detail the third area, Bletchley Park, the role of intelligence and, ultimately, knowledge management.
In May 1940, Churchill, faced with an imminent invasion, ran a project that integrated the four areas into a solution. These were all at different levels of development and maturity, and included Bentley Priory, the Whitehall supply chain for fighter production, Bletchley Park and Storey's Gate (see Figure 1). This fifth lesson-from-history article examines in more detail the last area, Storey's Gate, or Churchill's Bunker, and the executive dashboard and decision-making environment, or Map Room.
Figure 1: Churchill's solution consisted of four integrated areas.
In 1940, emerging technology had changed warfare. Agility was the new mode of operation in the military. New technology had mechanized warfare so armies could move rapidly. Armored columns of concentrated strike power covered 40 to 50 miles per day. Aircraft flying multiple sorties could strike four to five times a day. This agility or Blitzkrieg warfare came as a surprise to the Allies with a First World War mind-set that still relied on fortified defenses, immovable trenches, distributed artillery and tanks.
The Battle of Flanders/France was a wake-up call for the British as agility was the new paradigm in modern warfare. An agile war is dependent on making the best decisions quickly based on the best intelligence available. This starts at a strategic level, with the commander at the top passing strategic directives that are cascaded to operational leaders to make decisions and implement in the field.
In May 1940, Churchill visited the newly completed underground facility close to Downing Street, prepared to protect from the expected air raids the PM, the War Cabinet, and the Chief of Staffs for the army, navy, and air force. Churchill recognized the value of a secure, blast proof site, as a new headquarters for the rest of the war and declared, "This is the room from which I will direct the war."
The facility was to become the center of the British war machine and had to provide Churchill a conducive decision-making environment. Work had originally started on Storey's Gate in June 1938 on adapting the storage areas, ten feet below ground. The bombproof facility was designed to sleep and feed 270 people in 150 offices, rooms and dormitories, in a six-acre underground maze with more than a mile of corridors. At first glance it was not a very appealing environment, with rooms so gloomy that sun lamps were brought in to try to boost the vitamin D levels of workers. It became fully operational on August 27, 1939, just before Britain's declaration of war, but it was seen by most planners as no more than a temporary move.
Figure 2: Storey's Gate Innocuous Entrance to Churchill's Bunker
Establishing an Executive Dashboard
In today's world, an executive dashboard based on a business intelligence solution provides a mechanism to monitor business activities and output, and enables rapid decision-making. The creation of an executive dashboard is driven by clear objectives or mission goals, which help, identify the critical success factors. Once these are established, then meaningful real-time indicators can be identified from information that is readily available.
In their simplest form, the processes required for establishing and running a successful executive dashboard include:
- Collect information, establish key performance indicators (KPIs), and set trigger thresholds;
- Display the KPIs through an executive dashboard and trigger alerts;
- Collaborate with decision-makers and experts to discuss alternatives and make decisions, and
- Take actions and mobilize forces.
In May 1940, Churchill's mission goals were very clear in that he needed a snapshot of the war, a macro view of battle situations. This had to be done in real time - an executive dashboard in today's world. The critical success factors for this were related to the use, at a tactical level, of intelligence to preserve critical resources. Operational data that was readily available included production or manufacturing output, stock levels on fuel and ammunition, and resource losses (see Figure 3).
Figure 3: Establishing an Executive Dashboard
In selecting indicators, the most difficult task is to determine the suitability, usefulness and validity of the data. For example, some financial indicators, such as net profit and revenue, reflect the past. This information is not very useful for decision-making. It only proves that something exists, not what is currently happening.
Storey's Gate had to track the changing world and events for rapid complex decision-making and for a real-time view at the highest (strategic) level. This required the creation of the equivalent of a source-to-target data map that defined how the source data, found within the various environments, like manufacturing and supply chain, was extracted, transformed and loaded, and then converted to be used as indicators. In today's world, as you go through this type of process, business rules are identified and documented, for example, how the data is produced, when, and its format.
