A well-designed smart dashboard can save a lot of time - and money - and help stakeholders identify the information they need in a format that works for them. Here are my thoughts on dashboard design (this is intended to be presented. If you need further information or need me to talk you through it, please get in touch).

1. DANIEL KENT-SMITH
Dashboards and Telling Stories Through Data

2. Dashboards and telling stories through data - Introduction
The function of a dashboard is to communicate critical
information to your audience in a way they can understand,
delivered when and where they need it
WHY CONSIDER A DASHBOARD?
www.datadrivenstorytelling.co.uk

3. Dashboards and telling stories through data - Introduction
The function of a dashboard is to communicate critical
information to your audience in a way they can understand,
delivered when and where they need it
WHY CONSIDER A DASHBOARD?
WHO is this for? WHAT do they need?
www.datadrivenstorytelling.co.uk

4. Dashboards and telling stories through data - Introduction
WHAT ARE THE KEY BENEFITS OF A DASHBOARD?
Ease
Easier
to view
data
Speed
Makes
analysis
faster
Access
View data
when you
want
www.datadrivenstorytelling.co.uk

5. Dashboards and telling stories through data - Content
1. Target Audience
2. KPIs
3. Design
4. Form
5. Structure
6. Functionality
7. Data

6. 1. Target Audience
“If your target audience isn’t listening, it’s not their fault, it’s yours. ”
Seth Godin

7. 1. Target Audience
ONE SIZE DOES NOT NECESSARILY FIT ALL
• Who is the end consumer?
o Internal or external
o Operational or Decision Maker
• What do they already know?
• What are their information needs?
o Now, what do they really need?
o What’s the heart of the problem?
o Stick to the core
What will they do with
this information?
www.datadrivenstorytelling.co.uk

8. Interpretive Ability Involvement
1. Target Audience
TARGET AUDIENCE SOPHISTICATION
o Do they have time to ‘dig’ into
the numbers
o Do they need the key figures
explained
o Are they comfortable with using
data
o Do they understand KPIs – have
they agreed on the KPIs?
o Do they know where the data
comes from?
o Can we talk to them direct?
InvolvementInterpretive Ability
www.datadrivenstorytelling.co.uk

9. 1. Target Audience
WHAT VALUE WILL THE DASHBOARD BRING?
• Education - Educate people in the organisation about the things that matter
• Elevate team - Set goals and expectations
• Newsworthy - Help executives sleep at night because they know what’s going on
• Promote activity - Encourage specific actions in a timely manner
• Problem finding - Provide alerts when problems occur
• Corporate development - Communicate progress and success
www.datadrivenstorytelling.co.uk

10. 1. Target Audience
BASIC ‘CHECKBOX’ DASHBOARD REQUIREMENTS
1. SCOPE
Broad
Specific
2. BUSINESS ROLE
Strategic
Operational
3. CUSTOM LEVEL
One size fits all
Designed per TA
4. DETAIL
Broad
Specific
5. POV
Prescriptive
Exploratory
6. TIME
Historical Real-time
Snap shot Predictive
www.datadrivenstorytelling.co.uk

11. 2. KPIs
“ If you don’t measure it, you can’t improve it. ”

12. 2. KPIs
THE RIGHT METRICS MATTER (and metrics without goals can be a waste)
ACTIONABLE
COMMON
INTERPRETATION
ACCESSIBLE,
CREDIBLE
SIMPLE TO
CALCULATE
www.datadrivenstorytelling.co.uk

13. 2. KPIs
CHOOSING METRICS THAT MATTER
• Highly Selective – Relevance is key to determining which metrics make
the cut
• Core Objectives – How does inclusion contribute to the objectives
• Data – Is the data available?
www.datadrivenstorytelling.co.uk

14. 3. Design
“ Design is not just what it looks like and feels like.
Design is how it works. ”

15. Simplicity Style Guidance User Centric
3. Design
• Bite size vs. Banquet
• White space & Clutter
• Focus & Flow
• Architecture
DESIGN AND VISUALISATION MATTER MORE THAN MOST REALISE
• Font
• Colour scheme
• Branding
One of the most important benefits of visualisation is that it allows us visual access to huge amounts
of data in a digestible form.
Well designed data graphics are usually the simplest and at the same time, the most powerful.
• Elements for consideration include:
• Thoughtful
• User friendly
• High-impact
• Empowering
Simplicity Style Guidance User Centric
www.datadrivenstorytelling.co.uk

16. 4. Form
“ All human knowledge takes the form of interpretation. ”
Walter Benjamin

17. 4. Form
DASHBOARDS ARE TYPICALLY A SINGLE PAGE,
but can range from emails to huge screens
Email 55” Plasma
www.datadrivenstorytelling.co.uk

18. 4. Form
WHAT WORKS FOR THE T.A.? WHAT INFLUENCES FORM?
Timing Aesthetic Value
Detail Density
Mobility Connectivity
Interactivity Collaboration
www.datadrivenstorytelling.co.uk

19. 4. Form
DASHBOARDS HAVE DIFFERING VALUES
Paper
One-Pager
PowerPoint Excel Email Online App
Text
Message
Plasma
TV
+
-
www.datadrivenstorytelling.co.uk

20. 5. Structure
“ Structure is not just a means to a solution.
It is also a principle and a passion. ”
Marcel Breuer

21. 5. Structure
• Deep understanding of how the system works
THE GREATEST CHALLENGE OF DASHBOARD DESIGN
Sequential Events – Flow
• Sales pipes
• Trackers
Relationships
• Mathematical
• Geographical
• Organisational
Groupings
• Logical
• Categories
• Hierarchy
Sequential Events – Flow Relationships Groupings
www.datadrivenstorytelling.co.uk

22. 6. Functionality
“Design must be functional, and functionality must be translated into visual
aesthetics without any reliance on gimmicks that have to be explained. ”

23. 6. Functionality
THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF DESIGN
Drilling
Move from
summary to
greater detail.
Additional
context and
understanding
Filters ComparisonAlerts Export
Users define the
scope of the
dashboard to suit
their needs
Global or local
focus
Two+ subsets
side-by-side
When a metric
reaches certain
pre-defined
threshold
Pull information
and export to
Excel etc.
Drilling Filters ComparisonAlerts Export
www.datadrivenstorytelling.co.uk

24. 7. Data
“ Data by itself is useless. Data is only useful if you apply it. ”
Todd Park

25. THE RAW MATERIAL OF KNOWLEDGE
7. Data
www.datadrivenstorytelling.co.uk
System
requirements
and
limitations
DATA
Quality and
cleanliness of
data
Data
management
Feed to
summary pages
Frequency
and Updates
Data flow

26. 7. Data
DATA, THE RAW MATERIAL OF KNOWLEDGE
DataInternal External
New Historical
www.datadrivenstorytelling.co.uk

27. 7. Data
IT’S EASY TO LIE WITH DATA, BUT IT’S HARD TO TELL THE TRUTH WITHOUT IT
DESCRIPTIVE
• Simplification
• Understanding
Sampling
• Mathematical
• Geographical
• Organisational
DESCRIPTIVE SAMPLING
www.datadrivenstorytelling.co.uk

28. 8. Initial Questions
“I love the early process of asking questions about a story
and deciding which questions matter most”
Diane Sawyer

29. 1. Why are we doing this?
2. Is there a message or story we are trying to tell?
3. What are the key metrics and why?
4. Do those metrics have definitions?
5. How frequently does this data need updating/the report need sending/refreshing?
6. How confidential is the data? Are there certain limitations?
7. Who will it be shared with?
8. Where will it be stored?
9. Who communicates or changes the report?
8. KEY QUESTIONS
KEY QUESTIONS AT THE INITIAL SCOPING PHASE
www.datadrivenstorytelling.co.uk

30. Thank you for reading
Please contact me if you have any questions
Dan Kent-Smith
dan@datadrivenstorytelling.co.uk
www.datadrivenstorytelling.co.uk
0790 4949 633