IBCS standards

The IBCS standards - International Business Communication Standards - act as a kind of language regulation for reports, dashboards and presentations.

What may sound dry at first can have a decisive impact on whether and how your target audience absorbs your messages: It's about visualizing facts and figures in such a way that they make sense immediately - without guessing games and queries.

The idea behind the IBCS comes from Dr. Rolf Hichert, whose Hichert SUCCESS formula is the basis for the resulting guidelines. The focus: clear rules for colors, diagrams and notations that are understood worldwide and for which the well-known IBCS logo also stands.

We would like to use an example to show you what a big difference the use of IBCS can make in practice: A company regularly struggles with confusing monthly reports.

The reason: each department creates its own tables, uses different colors and different diagrams.

The result: when the reports of the individual departments come together, it is impossible for outsiders to see the connections and nobody can really see through them.

This changed with the introduction of the IBCS standards. Suddenly, revenues, costs and profits always have the same colors. Diagrams are standardized and the order of the information follows a clear structure.

These principles are applied consistently across all reporting, regardless of whether it is a marketing report, the finance report or the purchasing department's reporting. This takes cross-company reporting to a whole new level.

By unifying your company data visualization with a standard such as IBCS, you too can save valuable time in the long term and avoid costly misunderstandings.

By the way: If you are wondering whether IBCS can also be implemented online - yes, IBCS can be integrated wonderfully into digital dashboards.

Facts and figures are often complex. If they are poorly presented, important messages fall by the wayside - a challenge that is not getting any smaller in the digital age.

Many companies today struggle with overloaded reports that are difficult to consume due to a lack of uniform standards for visualization and communication.

This leads to delays in decision-making - or even worse: incorrect interpretations occur, resulting in strategic mistakes in corporate planning.

Do you want to avoid this?

Then the introduction of IBCS standards could be an effective way of making your business communication speak the same language.

These can help you to present content more clearly, avoid misunderstandings and make information quickly accessible to everyone involved.

If you want your business communication to be truly IBCS compliant, you need to harmonize the three pillars of the IBCS standards:

Pillar 1: Conceptual rules
The conceptual rules stipulate that content must follow a common thread from beginning to end, just like a good story. The rules from the SUCCESS concept, in particular SAY and STRUCTURE, form the basis for this. The conceptual rules bring order to chaos and ensure that the viewer can follow the content throughout.

Pillar 2: Perceptual rules
The perceptual rules are dedicated to visual design. What good are ingenious reports if nobody wants to look at them? Compliant IBCS charts are designed to be clear and understandable. They are easy to consume without overtaxing the eye. This is where the EXPRESS, CHECK, CONDENSE and SIMPLIFY points of the SUCCESS formula come into play.

Pillar 3: Semantic rules
The semantic rules follow the specifications of the IBCS notation and ensure that the same language is spoken in business communication. In plain language: If all departments use the same symbol for the same concept, misunderstandings are automatically minimized.

At the end of the day, of course, all these rules have to fit together, which is not always easy. But those who adhere to these basic principles take a big step towards IBCS compliance.

Incidentally, the new ISO/AWI 24896 is also based on this - a standard that defines how data should be optimally visualized to ensure traceability.

Are you thinking about introducing the IBCS standards in your company? We would be happy to explain the opportunities, risks and requirements to you in a free consultation:

The IBCS standards are now being used in more and more companies, from IT start-ups to DAX-listed corporations.

With their clear guidelines, they ensure that data is presented in a way that leaves no one in the dark. It's not just about visually appealing diagrams, but above all about structure, comprehensibility and efficiency. Due to the high level of acceptance in the business world, the IBCS Institute now also offers its own IBCS certifications for specialists and managers.

However, there are also critical voices.

Some companies find the standards too inflexible. This can be perceived as an obstacle, especially in fast-moving industries where decisions have to be made quickly. It is also important to know: Creative approaches usually fall victim to a very strict implementation of the IBCS standards.

It should also be questioned whether the rules of the IBCS Association make sense in every situation, because: Not every company benefits from a rigid approach. In some business areas, a more flexible approach to communication and visualization may actually be the better choice.

• Too rigid application: Sure, the IBCS standards provide a solid foundation, but if you apply them too rigidly, you run the risk of losing sight of the essentials. It's not just a matter of creating IBCS charts and IBCS notations according to the rules, but of designing them flexibly enough to make them really tangible for the respective target group. In practice, this means a little more flexibility and less "rule-compliant" thinking.
  
• Basic requirements are not created: Despite the many advantages, even the IBCS standards do not make your business reporting a sure-fire success. It often takes a while to get used to the new, far-reaching principles. Without a proper understanding of the standards and sound training in the methodology and associated IBCS software solutions, you will not achieve the desired results. What's more, you need to make sure that your visualization software is capable of implementing IBCS standards so that you can implement the requirements of IBCS.
  
• The target group is forgotten: The most beautiful IBCS chart is of little use if it has not been prepared for the right target group. What is easy to understand for management may be unclear and too technical for the operational teams. That's why the implementation should always be tailored to the recipient. Try to present the content in such a way that your target group not only "somehow" understands what you want to say, but ideally grasps your message immediately.

The IBCS standards can definitely make a positive difference in your reporting, especially when it comes to the consistency and comparability of visualizations.

However, it is not always necessary to apply them 100% strictly in every respect. It is much more important to integrate the standards into your projects flexibly and as required. Sometimes it is enough to adopt a few core principles - such as uniform scaling - and then use the leeway that the situation requires.

So the next time you talk about visualizing your business data, IBCS should definitely be on your radar. But also consider how much of it makes sense for your specific task. It shouldn't be about just blindly implementing the standards, but using them specifically where they will bring the most benefit to your business.

If you are not sure how you can use IBCS for your reporting, we will be happy to help you. In a free consultation, we will show you how we have recommended and implemented the IBCS standards in countless customer projects.

Used in a targeted manner, the IBCS standards offer a promising opportunity to significantly improve your business communication, meaning that constant guesswork and numerous queries during your presentation are now a thing of the past.

Instead, you will convince your audience with clear, eloquent and cogent arguments that leave no room for interpretation.

If you want to know how this can work for your company, let's talk. Arrange your free consultation here to take your business communication to a new level.