My dashboard philosophy has changed a bit over the last 20 years. My career in human-computer interactions started with creating GANTT charts for a project management company. I have always been fascinated by the different ways information can be conveyed. While working at Primavera Systems (now owned by Oracle), we played with Organization Breakdown Structures (OBS), Work Break Down Structures (WBS), GANTT Charts with Timeline Zoom, and PERT charts.
I have found that invariably every dashboard needs
- A clear understanding of who is consuming the information on the dashboard
- What is the context of why they need the data?
- Where are they accessing the data?
- How do they want to access their charts? Mobile? Desktop? Tablet?
I like starting with the personas, and user flows and then slowly start building low-fidelity prototypes.
Once you feel good about some of the stronger designs, it is time to put them in front of customers and get their feedback and see If they can understand the presentation of data. Often without context, some of the charts become very difficult to understand. Some of these charts are specific to IT management and my not be clear how they are being used.
Once we identify the charts that work, we assemble them carefully into a dashboard to prevent the overloading of the senses. This calls for judicious use of white space and clear links to help delve deeper into the data.
