Executive dashboard
Userlevel 7
+23
Hi, We are building an executive dashboard for our management to show our main KPIs across all parts of business, and I would like to ask if anyone could share their best practices. Were there any discoveries that some things work better than others, data representation, rolling metrics, trends, etc? We try to have it as simple as possible, but somehow i am afraid it can get complicated for viewers.
Here are my favorite things I've learned from working with a team who I think does this really well...
1. Start big then go into details.
Our overall scorecard fits on one sheet, with all relevant Business KPIs represented. 1 Page makes it easy for executives to see the key numbers right away. But the pages underneath allow you to go into more detail.
So while customer satisfaction rolls up into 1 number on the top sheet, we have a detailed appendix that lists the satisfaciton scores for each customer group at every relevant touchpoint. That way if they have questions, they can dig into the data more. It clearly defines and visualizes how we roll up all those numbers to 1 number.
2. Learn some basic data visualization tactics.
Just cause something looks pretty doesn't mean it conveys your point well. There is a lot of debate around the use and misuse of pie charts. It helps to make sure you understand how visulizations are intepreted by users before you agree to use them.
https://medium.com/@clmentviguier/the-hate-of-pie-charts-harms-good-data-visualization-cc7cfed243b6
3. Get feedback.
Obviously ask people what they think. But if that is the only quesiton you ask this question then you're not going to get very far.
*Align on KPIs before any visulizations are even made. Make sure everything agrees to a blueprint of what even matters before you try to display it. Arguments about what matters are better solved before there are real numbers distracting people. Bonus points: If this is a live dashboard your building, it gives your tech team their business requirements right up front with no ambiguity.
*Notate areas where the team creating the dashboard disagree, or take time to reach consensus. Ask readers to weigh in on those choices.
* Ask for pointed feedback. What do you think of this chart? What does this table tell you? Does this appropriately indicate growth? Can you clearly see how we're progressing twords our goal?
1. Start big then go into details.
Our overall scorecard fits on one sheet, with all relevant Business KPIs represented. 1 Page makes it easy for executives to see the key numbers right away. But the pages underneath allow you to go into more detail.
So while customer satisfaction rolls up into 1 number on the top sheet, we have a detailed appendix that lists the satisfaciton scores for each customer group at every relevant touchpoint. That way if they have questions, they can dig into the data more. It clearly defines and visualizes how we roll up all those numbers to 1 number.
2. Learn some basic data visualization tactics.
Just cause something looks pretty doesn't mean it conveys your point well. There is a lot of debate around the use and misuse of pie charts. It helps to make sure you understand how visulizations are intepreted by users before you agree to use them.
https://medium.com/@clmentviguier/the-hate-of-pie-charts-harms-good-data-visualization-cc7cfed243b6
3. Get feedback.
Obviously ask people what they think. But if that is the only quesiton you ask this question then you're not going to get very far.
*Align on KPIs before any visulizations are even made. Make sure everything agrees to a blueprint of what even matters before you try to display it. Arguments about what matters are better solved before there are real numbers distracting people. Bonus points: If this is a live dashboard your building, it gives your tech team their business requirements right up front with no ambiguity.
*Notate areas where the team creating the dashboard disagree, or take time to reach consensus. Ask readers to weigh in on those choices.
* Ask for pointed feedback. What do you think of this chart? What does this table tell you? Does this appropriately indicate growth? Can you clearly see how we're progressing twords our goal?
Userlevel 7
+23
@Kate, wow, these re actually best practices for any dashboard! Thanks a lot for sharing!
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