{"id":644,"date":"2014-09-04T13:04:47","date_gmt":"2014-09-04T17:04:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/business-intelligence\/?p=644"},"modified":"2016-09-29T14:45:22","modified_gmt":"2016-09-29T18:45:22","slug":"this-is-not-the-dashboard-that-i-expected-to-see","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/business-intelligence\/this-is-not-the-dashboard-that-i-expected-to-see\/","title":{"rendered":"This is NOT the Dashboard that I Expected to See!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"This<\/a>In a former life, I provided dashboards to C-levels and there were times when I wondered how much value the digital dashboards were actually adding to the roles of each executive. There were always challenges in getting the right data, but the biggest challenge of all was presenting the data appropriately for each individual. If this task wasn’t performed correctly, you would often hear your boss\u2019 boss utter the words \u201cthis is not the dashboard that I expected to see.\u201d\u00a0 I don\u2019t believe I am the only person to ever experience something like this, especially now as more data is being collected digitally in a world of bigger data.<\/p>\n

+ Check Out a Free\u00a02015 Business Intelligence Tools Buyers Guide<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

The task of turning rows and columns into visually appealing and meaningful dashboards is as important as it is difficult so I thought I would review a Data Informed article that may help shed some light on the topic. The article is called \u201cTo Build a Better Dashboard, Get to Know Your Audience<\/a>,\u201d and it illustrates Gary Neff\u2019s (BI Developer for Olive Media) best practices for designing digital dashboards.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you put too much information in front of the wrong group, they lose interest,\u201d said Gary Neff. \u201cWhat do executives want to see? They don\u2019t want to see the detail of all the numbers. They want to see a high-level graphical view of \u2018Here\u2019s how we\u2019re doing.\u2019 You don\u2019t need as many graphs for an operations staff. You need to see the detailed lists of what makes up those graphs.\u201d<\/p>\n

I think Gary Neff hit\u2019s the nail on the head here. It\u2019s imperative to understand that you can\u2019t just make a one-size-fits-all dashboard and hand it over to executives, directors, and managers. Each dashboard needs to be customized to the needs of each individual. I also agree that the higher up you go on the org chart, the more you should provide a bird’s-eye view of the landscape that you are reporting on.<\/p>\n

Neff said, \u201cWhen I design dashboards for executives, there is a heavy emphasis on graphics \u2013 about a 2:1 ratio of graphics to data. For operation folks, I reverse that ratio and give them a lot more data and reporting.\u201d This a nice formula, but I think it is\u00a0more of a guideline than a rule because I believe that it will vary by\u00a0company, industry, organization structure,\u00a0etc.<\/p>\n

In addition to tailoring graphics and visualization for different audiences, Neff believes that dashboards for executives should be more interactive. Interactivity gives executives the means of looking at different items in the report to see the basis of the report. I agree with Neff because in my experience, I’ve noticed that many executives have data backgrounds and they may get insulted if you dumb it down too much. Executives may also want the ability to see\u00a0where the data is coming from especially if they have questions about the validity and quality of the data.<\/p>\n

In order to deliver on the aforementioned best practices for each group of users, one must take a consultant approach. Sitting down with the end user and discussing their goals and needs is essential. \u201cBest practices for us is to set achievable goals, take feedback and use it to better your product, ask for examples where possible, mockups, if you’ve seen something else you like, show us what it is so we have a starting point, so we can build a prototype,\u201d said Neff.<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> to read the entire article.<\/p>\n

Check out these additional resources:<\/h3>\n

2016 Business Intelligence and Data Analytics Buyer\u2019s Guide<\/a><\/strong>\"BI_Data<\/a><\/div><\/p>\n

BI and Data Analytics Buyer\u2019s Matrix: Comparing 28 Vendors Features<\/a>
\n<\/strong>\"Business<\/a><\/div><\/p>\n

Gartner Magic Quadrant for Enterprise BI and Data Analytics<\/strong><\/a>
\n\"Gartner<\/a><\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a former life, I provided dashboards to C-levels and there were times when I wondered how much value the digital dashboards were actually adding to the roles of each executive. There were always challenges in getting the right data, but the biggest challenge of all was presenting the data appropriately for each individual. If […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":650,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThis is NOT the Dashboard that I Expected to See! | Solutions Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/business-intelligence\/this-is-not-the-dashboard-that-i-expected-to-see\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Doug Atkinson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/business-intelligence\/this-is-not-the-dashboard-that-i-expected-to-see\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/business-intelligence\/this-is-not-the-dashboard-that-i-expected-to-see\/\",\"name\":\"This is NOT the Dashboard that I Expected to See! | Solutions Review\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/business-intelligence\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/business-intelligence\/this-is-not-the-dashboard-that-i-expected-to-see\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/business-intelligence\/this-is-not-the-dashboard-that-i-expected-to-see\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/business-intelligence\/files\/2014\/08\/This-is-NOT-the-Dashboard-that-I-Expected-to-See.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-09-04T17:04:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-09-29T18:45:22+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/business-intelligence\/#\/schema\/person\/5992f02d38e7b28251ad933cd131dcae\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/business-intelligence\/this-is-not-the-dashboard-that-i-expected-to-see\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/business-intelligence\/this-is-not-the-dashboard-that-i-expected-to-see\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/business-intelligence\/this-is-not-the-dashboard-that-i-expected-to-see\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/business-intelligence\/files\/2014\/08\/This-is-NOT-the-Dashboard-that-I-Expected-to-See.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/business-intelligence\/files\/2014\/08\/This-is-NOT-the-Dashboard-that-I-Expected-to-See.jpg\",\"width\":600,\"height\":270,\"caption\":\"This is NOT the Dashboard that I Expected to See!\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/business-intelligence\/this-is-not-the-dashboard-that-i-expected-to-see\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/business-intelligence\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"This is NOT the Dashboard that I Expected to See!\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/business-intelligence\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/business-intelligence\/\",\"name\":\"Solutions Review | Business Intelligence & Analytics\",\"description\":\"Enterprise BI software reviews, buyer\u2019s guides, and expert insights from industry leaders.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/business-intelligence\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/business-intelligence\/#\/schema\/person\/5992f02d38e7b28251ad933cd131dcae\",\"name\":\"Doug Atkinson\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/business-intelligence\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/092cfcbe5c7f2c185c21f152aada2d2f?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/092cfcbe5c7f2c185c21f152aada2d2f?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Doug Atkinson\"},\"description\":\"An entrepreneur and executive with a passion for enterprise technology, Doug founded Solutions Review in 2012. 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