Dashboards That Drive Decisions

Learning objectives

• Start with the decision, not the metric
• Apply dashboard design principles
• Avoid common dashboard pitfalls

Decisions first

Before building a chart, ask: what decision does this dashboard support? A dashboard for executives differs from one for warehouse staff. Design around the action each viewer must take.

Design principles

• One primary message per view.
• Rank and highlight, don't decorate.
• Use the right chart for the relationship being shown.
• Explain context - a number without context misleads.

Common pitfalls

• Dashboard clutter that rewards attention, not action.
• Vanity metrics disconnected from outcomes.
• Stale data presented as fresh.

Key takeaways

• Design from the decision backwards.
• Show context so numbers are interpreted correctly.
• A dashboard is only as good as the data pipeline behind it.