{"id":154,"date":"2021-06-01T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-01T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bloudesigns.com\/blog\/?p=154"},"modified":"2025-03-06T16:01:28","modified_gmt":"2025-03-06T16:01:28","slug":"how-to-design-dashboards-for-data-insights-for-business-decisions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bloudesigns.com\/blog\/index.php\/how-to-design-dashboards-for-data-insights-for-business-decisions\/","title":{"rendered":"How to design dashboards for data insights for business decisions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>You want data insights at a glance, but it\u2019s hard to digest and process a large volume of data, and you\u2019re creating and collecting more data all of the time. You\u2019re suffering from DRIP: you\u2019re&nbsp;<strong>data rich but information poor<\/strong>. To get information, you turn to dashboards, but, if you don\u2019t design them correctly, you can become dashboard rich but information poor, what I\u2019ll call DRIP 2.0.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this post, I\u2019ll talk through 3 steps, with guides, for designing dashboards to generate insights for business decisions while all forms of DRIP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(You can watch the video version of this post, or keep reading below.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"How to design dashboards for data insights for business decisions\" width=\"680\" height=\"383\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/p5VpS6q65f0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Step 1: Define your audience and the scope of your data<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>You can\u2019t be all things to all people, and neither can your dashboard. That\u2019s the primary tenet of avoiding DRIP in dashboard design, and the first step is to get really clear about your audience and the scope of your data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Start with some guiding questions. If you\u2019re designing for others, create a profile of a single audience member that typifies your audience, and answer on their behalf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>What decisions do you&nbsp;<strong>need<\/strong>&nbsp;to make?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Relatedly, what questions do you&nbsp;<strong>need<\/strong>&nbsp;to answer to make those decisions?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Note that I\u2019m stressing need and not want. You might want to know something, and it might be interesting to know something, but, as it relates to your goals, it won\u2019t influence your perceptions and behavior to know this thing. The things you need to know will.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can further refine the scope of the data by answering the following questions in the context of your first two answers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Do you need information about the&nbsp;<strong>entire<\/strong>&nbsp;business?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Similarly, do you need information about a specific&nbsp;<strong>process<\/strong>,&nbsp;<strong>service<\/strong>, or&nbsp;<strong>product<\/strong>?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Finally, how&nbsp;<strong>timely<\/strong>&nbsp;does this information need to be? Does it need to update in real time? Every week? Every month? These questions can be addressed by answering how immediately the audience needs to be able to take action based on this information.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>With these questions answered, it\u2019s time to ask the most important one for this step:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Do you&nbsp;<strong>have<\/strong>&nbsp;this data?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>This isn\u2019t about whether it\u2019s in the perfect form for what you need to do, but whether you\u2019re collecting data on this at all, and sufficiently to do the work that you need the data to do. If not, your DRIP problem might be that you\u2019re collecting the wrong data for your needs. Luckily, there\u2019s no better time to start collecting data, than now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Step 2: Align for strategy and action<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>To keep your dashboard focused towards data insights for business decisions, I recommend using the phrase &#8220;So what? Now what?&#8221; to vet dashboard components.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Your answer to&nbsp;<strong>So What<\/strong>&nbsp;will take the form of, &#8220;This is important because&#8230;,&#8221; and you\u2019ll fill in the blank with an answer about your audience\u2019s strategies, goals, decisions, or questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As a second pass, you\u2019ll address&nbsp;<strong>Now What<\/strong>: What would you do if you knew this information? To capitalize on what is working, what clues will your dashboard provide as to why? If something is not working, your dashboard should provide clues as to how you might revise that activity to make it more effective, or at least where to focus your investigation into why not.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"610\" src=\"https:\/\/bloudesigns.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/align-strategy-so-what-now-what-1-1024x610.png\" alt=\"a smiley face between two thoughts bubbles - on the left is a bubble that reads &quot;So what?&quot; with a caption reading &quot;This is important because...&quot;, one the left is a bubble that reads &quot;Now what?&quot; with a caption that reads &quot;What would you do if you knew?&quot;\" class=\"wp-image-208\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bloudesigns.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/align-strategy-so-what-now-what-1-1024x610.png 1024w, https:\/\/bloudesigns.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/align-strategy-so-what-now-what-1-300x179.png 300w, https:\/\/bloudesigns.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/align-strategy-so-what-now-what-1-768x457.png 768w, https:\/\/bloudesigns.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/align-strategy-so-what-now-what-1.png 1132w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>If you find yourself looking at dashboards, but they\u2019re not helping you take proactive action, you might need to revise for So What, Now What.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Step 3: Visualize and juxtapose for reflection and insight<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>How do you design a dashboard that enables data insight while alleviating DRIP?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Interactivity<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Lumping all of your data together into high-level summaries can inadvertently hide clues. Providing interaction in the form of filters or slicers can help your audience achieve the granularity needed, without requiring multiple dashboards that basically do the same thing. As an example, filters could help you refine by department or service offering.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"401\" src=\"https:\/\/bloudesigns.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/dashboard-design-interactivity-1-1024x401.png\" alt=\"a slicer to the left of a chart it controls, with a finger superimposed to denote that the options of the slicer are selectable and interactive\" class=\"wp-image-211\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bloudesigns.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/dashboard-design-interactivity-1-1024x401.png 1024w, https:\/\/bloudesigns.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/dashboard-design-interactivity-1-300x117.png 300w, https:\/\/bloudesigns.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/dashboard-design-interactivity-1-768x300.png 768w, https:\/\/bloudesigns.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/dashboard-design-interactivity-1.png 1319w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">General Layout<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>What you see first should be the most important thing related to your dashboard\u2019s purpose. A typical layout will place that thing in the upper left hand corner of the screen. For context, you\u2019ll juxtapose this information with related data, feathering your metrics down and diagonally.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"956\" height=\"659\" src=\"https:\/\/bloudesigns.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/dashboard-design-layout-1.png\" alt=\"a monitor display broken into nine segments with the topmost leftmost segment labeled #1 and colored in with the darkest color of a gradient, wiht the gradient as white in the bottommost rightmost corner\" class=\"wp-image-209\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bloudesigns.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/dashboard-design-layout-1.png 956w, https:\/\/bloudesigns.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/dashboard-design-layout-1-300x207.png 300w, https:\/\/bloudesigns.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/dashboard-design-layout-1-768x529.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 956px) 100vw, 956px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Simplify<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>As a rule of thumb, your dashboard should fill a single screen at 100% zoom. Scrolling loses context, and having to remember what else you\u2019ve seen diminishes your ability to process what you\u2019re looking at. Still, don\u2019t squish things just to fit them on a single screen, and use negative space between your dashboard components to keep things easily readable.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"803\" height=\"344\" src=\"https:\/\/bloudesigns.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/dashboard-design-whitespace-1.png\" alt=\"two charts on a fictitious dashboard with the whitespace between them highlighted by a superimposed oval outline\" class=\"wp-image-210\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bloudesigns.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/dashboard-design-whitespace-1.png 803w, https:\/\/bloudesigns.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/dashboard-design-whitespace-1-300x129.png 300w, https:\/\/bloudesigns.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/dashboard-design-whitespace-1-768x329.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 803px) 100vw, 803px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Review for Color and Labeling<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Your dashboard should be aesthetically pleasing, but its purpose is data insight. Keep it informative, but not eye-catching, and be mindful of color blindless, meaning don\u2019t use color as the only means of conveying information. Make sure each chart has a title that lets the audience know what they\u2019re looking at in a meaningful way, relating back to the business decisions and questions. And make sure that all data labels are easily legible.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"594\" src=\"https:\/\/bloudesigns.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/dashboard-design-labeling-1-1024x594.png\" alt=\"a pie chart that has a clear chart title above it and clearly labeled data\" class=\"wp-image-212\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bloudesigns.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/dashboard-design-labeling-1-1024x594.png 1024w, https:\/\/bloudesigns.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/dashboard-design-labeling-1-300x174.png 300w, https:\/\/bloudesigns.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/dashboard-design-labeling-1-768x446.png 768w, https:\/\/bloudesigns.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/dashboard-design-labeling-1.png 1189w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Play Around<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Don\u2019t be afraid to play around, including changing out chart types. It can be time consuming, but it\u2019s worth it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What will you use first?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Did you learn something from this video? Will you be revising your dashboards for action, redesigning the layout, or something else?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let me know by leaving a comment below right now!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Looking for related content?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Sometimes, data, and the dashboards that invoke it, are inappropriately applied to business strategy due to a misunderstanding of the nature of data. A classic example is using social post views to assess the &#8220;success&#8221; of a social campaign. To learn more about where data comes from, check out our post on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/bloudesigns.com\/blog\/index.php\/where-data-comes-from-for-data-driven-decision-making\/\">Where data comes from for data-driven decision making<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;d like more information on how to choose the &#8220;right&#8221; visualization for the job, check out our post on&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/bloudesigns.com\/blog\/index.php\/choosing-the-right-visualization-diversity-equity-inclusion-example\/\">Choosing the right visualization: A DEI example<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8212;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The concept of DRIP is borrowed from the book&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Search-Excellence-Americas-Companies-Essentials-ebook\/dp\/B009YM9VOQ\/\">In Search of Excellence<\/a>&nbsp;by Thomas J. Peters and Robert H. Waterman, Jr.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Want help with your dashboards?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you would like to discuss how to collect or curate data for your dashboard, how to design interactive dashboards for yourself in Microsoft Excel, or would like hands-on help with your dashboard creation, <a href=\"https:\/\/bloudesigns.com\/contact-form.aspx\">reach out and let&#8217;s discuss<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You want data insights at a glance, but it\u2019s hard to digest and process a large volume of data, and you\u2019re creating and collecting more data all of the time. You\u2019re suffering from DRIP: you\u2019re&nbsp;data rich but information poor. To get information, you turn to dashboards, but, if you don\u2019t design them correctly, you can become dashboard rich but information&#46;&#46;&#46;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":208,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[25,23],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bloudesigns.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bloudesigns.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bloudesigns.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bloudesigns.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bloudesigns.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=154"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/bloudesigns.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":427,"href":"https:\/\/bloudesigns.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154\/revisions\/427"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bloudesigns.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/208"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bloudesigns.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=154"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bloudesigns.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=154"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bloudesigns.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=154"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}