Harvey Balls
Encyclopedia
Harvey Balls are round ideograms used for visual communication
of qualitative information. They are commonly used in comparison tables to indicate the degree to which a particular item meets a particular criterion.
For example, in a comparison of products, information such as price or weight can be conveyed numerically, and information such as the existence or lack of a feature can be conveyed with a check mark; however, information such as "quality" or "safety" or "taste" is often difficult to summarize in a manner allowing easy comparison---thus, Harvey Balls are used.
In addition to their use in qualitative comparison, Harvey Balls are also commonly used in Project Management
for project tracking; in Lean Manufacturing
for VSM
and Continuous Improvement
tracking; and in BPM
software for visualisation.
Harvey Poppel is generally credited with inventing Harvey Balls in the 1970s while working at Booz Allen Hamilton
as a consultant. This is why Harvey Balls are also sometimes referred to as Booz Balls.
Mr. Poppel's specialty was office worker productivity. He did a great deal of productivity work using clocks that pinged every 6 minutes so office personnel could note what they were doing throughout the day. Although Harvey Poppel is sometimes credited with the invention of voicemail
; this is not the case.
Harvey Balls have nothing to do with Harvey Ball
, the inventor of the smiley face.
The use of SVG to render Harvey Balls allows them to be easily used in web browsers and applications that support the XML vector graphics format. The benefit is that no special font is required and the Harvey Balls can be displayed using an open format. The main drawback is that SVG is not universally supported and the SVG version of Harvey Balls are not as easy to work with in common office applications such as Powerpoint.
2007 introduced the functionality to render Harvey Balls through the Conditional Formatting function.
to render Harvey Balls depends on whether a font with these characters is installed; the Unicode Harvey Balls are more difficult to work with in presentation software such as Powerpoint and are not rendered uniformly.
The Unicode set of related symbols includes:
is well known for using a modified type of Harvey Ball in product ratings and has even incorporated one into their logo.
IBM
uses a modified version in their Lotus Notes
product as recipient icons to show whether the recipient of a piece of mail is the sole recipient, a copied recipient, etc.
Other alternative uses of the Harvey Ball symbols include:
Visual communication
Visual communication as the name suggests is communication through visual aid and is described as the conveyance of ideas and information in forms that can be read or looked upon...
of qualitative information. They are commonly used in comparison tables to indicate the degree to which a particular item meets a particular criterion.
For example, in a comparison of products, information such as price or weight can be conveyed numerically, and information such as the existence or lack of a feature can be conveyed with a check mark; however, information such as "quality" or "safety" or "taste" is often difficult to summarize in a manner allowing easy comparison---thus, Harvey Balls are used.
In addition to their use in qualitative comparison, Harvey Balls are also commonly used in Project Management
Project management
Project management is the discipline of planning, organizing, securing, and managing resources to achieve specific goals. A project is a temporary endeavor with a defined beginning and end , undertaken to meet unique goals and objectives, typically to bring about beneficial change or added value...
for project tracking; in Lean Manufacturing
Lean manufacturing
Lean manufacturing, lean enterprise, or lean production, often simply, "Lean," is a production practice that considers the expenditure of resources for any goal other than the creation of value for the end customer to be wasteful, and thus a target for elimination...
for VSM
Value Stream Mapping
Value stream mapping is a lean manufacturing technique used to analyze and design the flow of materials and information required to bring a product or service to a consumer. At Toyota, where the technique originated, it is known as "material and information flow mapping"...
and Continuous Improvement
Continuous Improvement Process
A continuous improvement process is an ongoing effort to improve products, services, or processes. These efforts can seek "incremental" improvement over time or "breakthrough" improvement all at once...
tracking; and in BPM
Business process modeling
Business Process Modeling in systems engineering is the activity of representing processes of an enterprise, so that the current process may be analyzed and improved. BPM is typically performed by business analysts and managers who are seeking to improve process efficiency and quality...
software for visualisation.
Harvey Poppel is generally credited with inventing Harvey Balls in the 1970s while working at Booz Allen Hamilton
Booz Allen Hamilton
Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. , or more commonly Booz Allen, is an American public consulting firm headquartered in McLean, Fairfax County, Virginia, with 80 other offices throughout the United States. Ralph Shrader is its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. The firm was founded by Edwin Booz in...
as a consultant. This is why Harvey Balls are also sometimes referred to as Booz Balls.
Mr. Poppel's specialty was office worker productivity. He did a great deal of productivity work using clocks that pinged every 6 minutes so office personnel could note what they were doing throughout the day. Although Harvey Poppel is sometimes credited with the invention of voicemail
Voicemail
Voicemail is a computer based system that allows users and subscribers to exchange personal voice messages; to select and deliver voice information; and to process transactions relating to individuals, organizations, products and services, using an ordinary telephone...
; this is not the case.
Harvey Balls have nothing to do with Harvey Ball
Harvey Ball
Harvey Ross Ball was an American commercial artist. He is recognized as the earliest known designer of the smiley, which became an enduring and notable international icon. Ball was born and raised in Worcester, Massachusetts...
, the inventor of the smiley face.
Harvey Balls Font
A common implementation of Harvey Balls is via a Harvey Balls Font. This is typically implemented such that the numbers 0-9 map to a particular Harvey Ball. Incorporating the Harvey Ball into a document then becomes a matter of selecting the number which corresponds to the desired Harvey Ball and setting the font to Harvey Ball. The three primary benefits of this approach are 1) that the Harvey Balls are of uniform appearance; 2) the Harvey Balls can be manipulated like any other font (e.g. color, size, underline) and 3) that Harvey Balls can be made variable in a spreadsheet. The main drawback of this approach is that the font either needs to be embedded in the document or all the viewers of the document must have the font installed.Harvey Balls in SVG
Harvey Balls in Microsoft Excel
Microsoft ExcelMicrosoft Excel
Microsoft Excel is a proprietary commercial spreadsheet application written and distributed by Microsoft for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. It features calculation, graphing tools, pivot tables, and a macro programming language called Visual Basic for Applications...
2007 introduced the functionality to render Harvey Balls through the Conditional Formatting function.
Harvey Balls in Unicode
The use of UnicodeUnicode
Unicode is a computing industry standard for the consistent encoding, representation and handling of text expressed in most of the world's writing systems...
to render Harvey Balls depends on whether a font with these characters is installed; the Unicode Harvey Balls are more difficult to work with in presentation software such as Powerpoint and are not rendered uniformly.
The Unicode set of related symbols includes:
| Symbol | Unicode Codepoint (Hex) | Name |
|---|---|---|
| U+25CB | Large Circle | |
| U+25CF | Black Circle | |
| U+25D0 | Circle with left half black | |
| U+25D1 | Circle with right half black | |
| U+25D2 | Circle with lower half black | |
| U+25D3 | Circle with upper half black | |
| U+25D4 | Circle with upper right quadrant black | |
| U+25D5 | Circle with all but upper left quadrant black | |
Modifications & other uses
Consumer ReportsConsumer Reports
Consumer Reports is an American magazine published monthly by Consumers Union since 1936. It publishes reviews and comparisons of consumer products and services based on reporting and results from its in-house testing laboratory. It also publishes cleaning and general buying guides...
is well known for using a modified type of Harvey Ball in product ratings and has even incorporated one into their logo.
IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
uses a modified version in their Lotus Notes
Lotus Notes
Lotus Notes is the client of a collaborative platform originally created by Lotus Development Corp. in 1989. In 1995 Lotus was acquired by IBM and became known as the Lotus Development division of IBM and is now part of the IBM Software Group...
product as recipient icons to show whether the recipient of a piece of mail is the sole recipient, a copied recipient, etc.
Other alternative uses of the Harvey Ball symbols include:
| Symbol | Uses |
|---|---|
| Astronomy Astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth... : (Full Moon) |
|
| Astronomy Astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth... : (New Moon) |
|
| Astronomy Astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth... : (First Quarter Moon) |
|
| Astronomy Astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth... : (Last Quarter Moon), Electronics: (On/Off Switch, Television Contrast) |
|
| Cartography Cartography Cartography is the study and practice of making maps. Combining science, aesthetics, and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality can be modeled in ways that communicate spatial information effectively.The fundamental problems of traditional cartography are to:*Set the map's... : (Spring or Well), Meteorology Meteorology Meteorology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere. Studies in the field stretch back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not occur until the 18th century. The 19th century saw breakthroughs occur after observing networks developed across several countries... : (Partly overcast) |
|
| Meteorology Meteorology Meteorology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere. Studies in the field stretch back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not occur until the 18th century. The 19th century saw breakthroughs occur after observing networks developed across several countries... : (Almost clear sky or Somewhat overcast) |
|
| Meteorology Meteorology Meteorology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere. Studies in the field stretch back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not occur until the 18th century. The 19th century saw breakthroughs occur after observing networks developed across several countries... : (Broken Clouds) |
|
External links
- http://www.ambor.com - A free limited-use version of the Harvey Balls Font, with instructions and examples
- http://fontstruct.fontshop.com - A free unlimited-use version of Harvey Balls Font