![\"Analytics](\"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/business-intelligence\/files\/2022\/09\/Analytics-Dashboard-Best-Practices.jpg\")
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This is part of Solutions Review\u2019s Premium Content Series, a collection of contributed columns written by industry experts in maturing software categories. In this submission, 2nd Watch<\/a> Managing Consultant Rachel Stewart offers key analytics dashboard best practices to consider. Before you start answering questions, you need to know exactly what you\u2019re trying to find out. The starting point of most any dashboarding project should be a whiteboarding session with the end-users; the dashboard becomes a collection of visuals that hold the ability to answer their questions.<\/p>\n For every single visual you create, make sure you\u2019re answering a specific question. Each graph needs to be intentional and purposeful, and it\u2019s very important to have your KPIs clearly defined well before you start building. If you don\u2019t include your stakeholders from the very beginning, you\u2019ll almost certainly have a lot more reworking to do after initial production is complete.<\/p>\n Generating meaningful visualizations<\/a><\/strong><\/span> is nearly impossible without a good data foundation. Unclean data means holes and problems will need to be patched and fixed further down the pipeline. Many BI tools<\/a><\/strong><\/span> have functions that can format\/prepare your data and generate some level of relational modeling for building your visualizations. However, too much modeling and logic in the tool itself will lead to large performance issues, and most BI tools aren\u2019t specifically built with data wrangling in mind. A well-modeled semantic layer in a separate tool that handles all the necessary business logic is often essential for performance and governance.<\/p>\n The semantic layer is the step in preparation where the business logic is performed, joins are defined, and data is formatted from its raw form so it\u2019s understandable and logical for users going forward. For Power BI users, for example, you would likely generate tabular models within SSAS. With a strong semantic layer in place before you even get to the BI tool, there will be little to no data management to be done in the tool itself. This means there is less processing the BI tool needs to handle and a much cleaner governance system.<\/p>\n In many BI tools, you can load in a raw dataset and have a functional dashboard in 10 minutes. However, building a semantic layer forces you to slow down and put some time in upfront for definition, development, and reflection about what the data is and what insights you\u2019re trying to get for your business. This ensures you\u2019re actually answering the right questions.<\/p>\n This is one of the many strengths of Looker, which is built specifically to handle the semantic layer as well as create visualizations<\/a><\/strong><\/span>. It forces you to define the logic in the tool itself before you start creating visuals<\/a><\/strong><\/span>.<\/p>\n It\u2019s often tempting to skip the data prep steps in favor of putting out a finished product quickly but remember: Your dashboard is only as good as the data underneath it.<\/p>\n There are numerous, obvious problems with the dashboard below, but there is one lesson to learn that many developers forget: Embrace white space! White space wants to be your friend. Like in web development, trying to pack too many visuals into the same dashboard is a recipe for disaster. Edward Tufte calls it the \u201cdata to ink ratio\u201d in his book The Visual Display of Quantitative Information<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/span>, one of the first and most impactful resources on data visualization<\/a><\/strong><\/span>.<\/p>\n Basically, just remove anything that isn\u2019t essential or move important but non-pertinent information to a different page of the dashboard\/report.<\/p>\n About to use a tree-map to demonstrate relationships among three variables at once? What about a 3-D, three-axis representation of sales? Most of the time: don\u2019t. Visualizing data isn\u2019t about making something flashy\u200a \u2013 \u200ait\u2019s about creating something simple that someone can gain insight from at a glance. For almost any complex visualization, there is a simpler solution available, like splitting up the graph into multiple, more focused graphs.<\/p>\n In addition to keeping your data clean and your logic well-defined, it\u2019s important to make sure everything is understandable from start to finish and is easy to interpret by the end-users. This starts with simply defining dimensions and measures logically and uniformly, as well as hiding excess and unused columns in the end product. A selection panel with 10 well-named column options is much easier than one with 30, especially if end-users will be doing alterations and exploration themselves.<\/p>\n You may notice a theme with most of these principles for dashboard development: Slow down and plan. It\u2019s tempting to jump right into creating visuals, but never underestimate the value of planning and defining your steps first. Doing that will help ensure your dashboard is clean, consistent, and most important, valuable.<\/p>\n
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So, you\u2019ve been tasked with building an analytics dashboard. It\u2019s tempting to jump into development straight away, but hold on a minute! There are numerous pitfalls that are easy to fall into and can ruin your plans for an attractive, useful dashboard. Here are five important principles for dashboard development to keep in mind every time you open up Power BI<\/a><\/strong><\/span>, Tableau<\/a><\/strong><\/span>, Looker<\/a><\/strong><\/span>, or any other BI tool<\/a><\/strong><\/span>.<\/p>\n\t\t\t![\"Download](\"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/business-intelligence\/files\/2020\/02\/BI_BG_SB_800.gif\")
<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div><\/div>\nKeep it Focused and Defined<\/strong><\/h3>\n
A Good Data Foundation is Key<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Don\u2019t undervalue the semantic layer!<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Please Declutter!<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Think Before Using That Overly Complicated Visual<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Keep your Interface Clean, Understandable, and Consistent<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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