Adding KPIs and conditional formatting

KPIs or Key Performance Indicators visualize the status of certain activities. It is now possible to achieve this in Dynamics NAV 2009 enhanced reports using conditional formatting and image controls.

I'm not referring to the same kind of KPIs available in most business intelligence systems, multidimensional databases (or cubes). In those scenarios, KPIs are used to evaluate the success of a certain activity or to measure the achievement of specific goals defined by the management. There are quantitative indicators that can be expressed as a numerical value, directional indicators specifying whether an organization is improving or not, financial indicators used in performance management, and so on. These kinds of indicators require a lot of analysis to define, measure, implement, and evaluate. It is a process or on-going project that can take many weeks or even months to implement.

Cubes or multidimensional databases are based upon the OLAP data...