In the first article of the series I introduced the performance dashboards, what they are and why they are needed. In another article I wrote about measures, metrics and KPIs. In this article here I will go over some attributes that are important to consider when designing a dashboard: the content, the format and the ownership.
As said in the introductory article, some topics included here are based on material presented in a book that is often referenced to for good dashboard practices, “Information Dashboard Design: Displaying data for at-a-glance monitoring” by Stephen Few. There is also an integration with personal experience.
Three key attributes
1. The right content
A great deal has been written about the difference between “lagging” and “leading” measures (see, for example, this link or the 4DX approach for interesting insights).
It is important to get the operational dashboards focused onto few, key “leading” KPIs. These “lead” measures are meant to be predictive (= measure something that is related directly to the project or operation’s goal, and look at the future) and influenceable (= can be acted upon by the team). They are key enablers for a much efficient and successful operations. As we move up the beneficiaries & higher management level, with tactical and strategic dashboards, “lagging” KPIs may become more important as management will start to assess level of achievements of the goals. They are also key in the communicated operational information to the direct beneficiaries of the project, project sponsors and the community.
2. The right format
Here is where the high digitalisation can be our foe! Stephen Few well explains and demonstrates the issue in his book. Planning software, ERP systems or data analysis applications and platforms come with all ranges of fancy features that are meant to make dashboards more impactful. It is easy to add a new graph, a new gauge, a new table, a new slicer, a new level, a new indicator, all so easily…. but this can be very detrimental!
Be mindful about choice of colour, size of the dashboard elements and typography. There are best practices for the graphics that you can follow, but consider the target audience and the message you want to deliver.
There are various well established and appropriate approaches to show, for example, status (good vs not good), size (small vs big change), trend (downwards vs upwards), comparison (present vs historical). As useful resources, see for example this LinkedIn course which is very instructive, with a guide through some simple, but impactful, dashboards created with the universally accessible Excel. There is also this interesting link showing various examples for dashboards oriented, for example, towards presentation of data in sales, marketing, financials, personal performances. Would these examples pass the scrutiny of Stephen Few?? His book shows a series of flawed dashboards, but also takes the reader deep into the science of dashboard correct design fundamentals.
An example of ‘project-level’ dashboard
Below it is a simple example that I created for a project. This could work well, at least in Western cultures as we read from left to right, top to bottom. [Note that in Stephen Few’s stricter terms this example may not be classified as a dashboard, but be rather a report. However, for me, it works as a dashboard and it helps me in illustrating a functional layout].
There are six areas on the page and the elements are placed following the order from 1 to 6, from the high level to the more granular and operational level:
- In the area 1 there are the high level of project summarisation elements (for example, key KPIs, key dates, budget);
- In area 2 and 3 I placed additional information and supporting graphics (a snapshot of the financials, for example);
- In area 4 there is a short and sharp supporting narrative, and
- with area 5 and 6 left for the more operational aspects of the project (in the example above, summaries are shown for tasks due in a 2-month window around the status date and late tasks).
The same criteria and structure can be applied to tactical or strategic dashboards, but considering, potentially, a greater degree of consolidation and conciseness.
3. The right ownership
Who owns the dashboards? Who is the keeper? Not all organisations will have dedicated project planners, a portfolio support or project management assistance. But all organisations will need dashboards, and these will need to be prepared regularly and in the right format. A clear ownership is key to ensure consistency and regularity.
It is important that a clear responsibility is assigned to a role or a function that has:
- access to the projects’ information, metrics and KPIs;
- good computer & analytical skills;
- skills in communication and negotiation and
- the right attitude.
It is probably important that this person is detached from the projects’ dynamics or the day-to-day operations to ensure an unbiased presentation of the KPIs. With an right empowerment and support from management, this role could be potentially played by a support/admin function.
Above I listed briefly some fundamental principles about the performance dashboards, based on Few’s book and my experience. I hope that this overview was of interest. For those more involved in the process of dashboards conceptualisation and design for other functions or third parties, you can check the next article on the subject. As always, please get in touch for comments and feedback.
Marco Bottacini, Senior Portfolio Manager, GALVmed
The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinion of GALVmed.
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