Dashboards have proven to be essential when analyzing a company\u2019s KPIs and deducting the actions to pursue. They have to be used appropriately to be truly performant. To use them correctly, the step of creating them cannot be taken lightly – risking to make mistakes that compromise its effectiveness.<\/p>\n
Choice of KPIs, complexity, content\u2026 Here are the 10 mistakes to avoid when creating a dashboard.<\/p>\n
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Before creating a dashboard, it is primordial to choose the appropriate KPIs<\/strong>. It is a current error: which indicators do you need to drive your company\u2019s performance? What data would be more useful to analyze? What is your dashboard\u2019s objective? Dashboards with incorrect KPIs will prevent you from developing properly.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Following the first argument, it is useless to personalize your dashboard while adding all the possible metrics. The most important is to properly target the metrics<\/strong> that are useful and to implement them in a well-structured dashboard. Clustering the dashboard with too many KPIs will make it hard to read. Your work tools need to help you simplify your life.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Each dashboard has a specific goal: are they used to transmit data to your superior? Keep an eye on your operations? Identify issues rapidly?<\/p>\n Make sure to define the type of dashboard<\/strong> you want to create in order to build it in the most effective way possible and to ensure that it corresponds to your objective.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Choosing the wrong presentation is taking the risk to make your dashboard more complicated and less fluid to read.<\/p>\n Show an increase or a decrease with a curve, percentages with a circular diagram, proportions with histograms\u2026 There aren\u2019t specific rules, but some graphs are more adapted<\/strong> than others to visualize your data.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n It doesn\u2019t mean that you should forget about the design. A succession of graphs, statistics, numbers, and comments without any esthetics will make the reading less pleasant – and your co-workers\u2019 focus will certainly take a hit. The disposition is extremely important.<\/strong><\/p>\n Make your interface attractive: use the same font and the same colors of your company\u2019s graphics standards. Do not forget to include titles and commentaries. Not only to enter a detailed analysis of your KPIs but also to lighten your dashboard.<\/p>\n At DigDash, we offer to entirely customize your dashboard. Have a look at the dashboard examples we have on our website.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Graphs are the main way to visualize your data<\/strong>, but they will be more compelling with legends and well-explained comments – your colleagues will try to understand the meaning of the statistic they will be reading. The ideal would be to formulate a question to which the graph answers to. Do not only rely on the numbers.<\/p>\n Adapt your vocabulary to the person to whom the dashboard addresses: it all depends on their knowledge level.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n2. Clustering too much<\/h2>\n
3. Not defining the type of dashboard wanted<\/h2>\n
4. Choosing the wrong data visualization<\/h2>\n
5. Forgetting the design<\/h2>\n
6. Mistitling your graphs<\/h2>\n
7. Not classifying your data<\/h2>\n