A dashboard is a visual display of the most important information needed to achieve one or more objectives that has been consolidated on a single computer screen so it can be monitored at a glance.

Dashboards often provide at-a-glance views of key performance indicators relevant to a particular objective or business process. 

A dashboard’s objective is to provide users with actionable information that can be digested at a glance and is in a format that is both intuitive and insightful.

Dashboards

  • Monitoring tool
  • Summarize data
  • Visual display of most important information on a single page
  • Provide actionable info that can be view at a glance
  • Customize-able
  • Flexible
  • Link to other app
  • Design to communicate
  • Focus on most important metrics
  • Accurate
  • Easy to use

Dashboard Allow…

  • Update high level of awareness
  • Identify and focus on particular issue that need attention
  • If action is required, access additional info that is needed to determine an appropriate response
  • Respond

Dashboard Types

  1. Strategic – high level, overview, decision making by exec
  2. Analytical – analysis focus, data over time, what/why it happened and what should be implemented to improve performance
  3. Operational – monitors business processes and frequently changing performance metrics, real-time monitor, drill through to find issue

Good Dashboard

  • provide useful and actionable items
  • is simple
  • effective use of visualization to interpret data
  • provide the right level of information
  • provide data in the right format
  • accessible
  • integrate with other process
  • single source of truth
  • interactive, drill down

Key Features

  • Provide useful and actionable data that supports the business
  • Is simple
  • Communicate easily and effectively
  • Provide essential information without being accompanied by distracting information or graphics
  • Make effective use of visualization to present data
  • Provide information that enables users to quickly turn insight into action
  • allow user to add new data
  • data connective
  • drill-down, detail info
  • filtering
  • sorting
  • pivoting
  • calculation
  • charting
  • user friendly interface
  • accessible multiple methods

Prerequisites

  • dashboard objective, how the dashboard will be used
  • determine expected value
  • identify users whose needs are to be met

Selection and Implementation

  • cost – licensing, support, training
  • cost/benefit analysis
  • ROI
  • which business problem needs to be solved
  • who will use the dashboard
  • what are the existing performance gap
  • what is your objective, goal
  • current data type, data source

Additional Info

Last modified: June 26, 2019

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