Building an Internal Dashboard Your Team Will Actually Use
·6 min read·Etook
Most management dashboards are forgotten within two weeks — usually because of design, not data.
A management dashboard's purpose isn't showing data — it's helping people decide faster. A dashboard that only looks nice but doesn't answer a specific question gradually stops being used.
Start from the question, not the chart
Before designing any chart, ask what question this dashboard is supposed to answer and what decision it should make easier. If the answer isn't clear, that chart is probably unnecessary.
Principles of a usable dashboard
The most important metric should be visible at first glance, not after scrolling
Every number should be comparable to a target or a previous period
Data updates should be automatic, not dependent on manual entry
A dashboard per role, not one dashboard for everyone
A CEO, a sales manager, and an operations supervisor need different data. One general dashboard showing everything is usually useful to no one.
