How to Design a Dashboard for yourself

 Many years ago, I wrote this post to explain durable dashboard design. 

A durable dashboard is not a dashboard that is used by the client for a long time. All dashboards, once developed, are used by client organisations for a long time. 

But they are not used by the people making the decisions. Their Decision Support System inputs start flowing in, as they always have, from outside the system. 

That post tries to address the issue of creating dashboards that remain relevant for the user for a long time. 

This post is for managers trying to create a dashboard for their own use. Obviously, its technology agnostic. You know what tools you use and how you can make it better. The post will only help you ask the right questions and find a way to design something that works for you. 

How to create a dashboard for your personal use 

Step 1: What do I want to know, and why? 

This may sound like a no brainer, but you'll be surprised to know few people actually start with this question. What do you want to know? 

Let's say that you are a talent acquisition professional. There is a mountain of metrics that you need to be tracking. Which ones need to be on your dashboard? The  higher up you go, the more aligned this will be with the organisational metrics. 

Make a list, then discard 

If this is the first time you are doing this exercise for yourself, it makes great sense to create a larger list, then eliminate entries until you arrive at a manageable number. 

Why do you need to know this on a daily basis? 

Let's be clear - there are reports, and there are dashboards. Dashboards are what many of us wake up to. Reports are what we see once a week, month, or quarter. If this isn't something that you need to see on a daily basis and track, then it should not be on your dashboard. 

If you do see something every day, ask yourself WHY you see it. Which decision making does it support? What does it help you control or monitor? Sometimes, we track some metrics just because we like them. It is time to be ruthless with self. 

Once you have a list of the numbers you need on your dashboard (and not before that), please move to the next step. 

Step 2: How do I want to see them? 

This is as important as Step 1. Do not underestimate the importance of visualisation. And, there are few best practices. Understand how YOU want to see these numbers. Today, the tech investment needed to see even some of the better visualisations is not too high. But its important that you should be able to interpret the numbers at a glance using the visualisation. 

Common Mistakes to avoid 

• A 'cool' visualisation: Heat Maps, Dials, are all great. But does your brain absorb them instinctively? Do they tell you all you need to know?  Does traffic light always meet your needs?

 

• An incomplete picture: When we travel from numbers to visuals, the first planned casualty is the detail. So, when you choose a visual, please ask yourself it it tells you all you need to know, and only that which you need to know. Do be ruthless on both fronts. 

• Heavy to load: A slow loading dashboard starts off being cute, moves to being mildly irritating, and ends up being abandoned property. Choose visualisations that are quick and efficient. 

Step 3: In what order do I want to see them? 

This is the last step, and as important as the first two. 

Sit back and imagine your dashboard. Wireframe it - using a tool of your choice (mine is pen and paper) and imagine yourself using it. Since you are the only consumer of this, there is no one to impress. Only you. Which report goes where on the screen WILL impact whether you see it at all, and how well you process the information. 

Once you do all these 3, congratulations, you are all set to develop the personal dashboard. Today, there are multiple DIY dashboarding solutions available, the simplest being MS Excel, which exists on most laptops. 

When is it time to redesign the dashboard? 

When any of the following happens: 

• Role Change 

• Change in organisational priorities

• When a project /program / department you are tracking moves from scaleup/development to stability or vice versa 

Important end note

Even if you have designed this dashboard, do give yourself time to 'break in' and start being productive with the dashboard. A week or two is par for the course. See how you use it, what elements work best for you, whether you want redesign or restructuring. 

Once we start using dashboards for every day working, data based decision making comes naturally. So does the ability to ask the right data questions when faced with a decision.