Dashboarding best practices every analyst must master.
Want to build your best dashboard yet? I have consolidated 5 rules that every analyst should grasp to become a master in the field of data visualisation. As a data analyst myself, these are the top dashboarding best practices I have selected for you.
You will learn all about dashboarding tips, including dashboard layout, dashboard design, good dashboard examples, and more.
This article focuses on the 5 key dashboarding best practices.
#1 – Follow the KISS principle
The number one rule when it comes to designing a good dashboard is KISS – Keep It Simple, Stupid. Do not overcomplicate or overthink this.
The primary goal of a dashboarding project is to help stakeholders view numbers in an easy-to-understand way by transforming data into aesthetically pleasing visuals. If you were to design a dashboard that nobody knows how to read or use, what is the point of creating it in the first place? It would save them more time and effort to create simple ones in Excel, compared to figuring out how the dashboard works. Make sense?
How do I create a simple dashboard?
- Try to stick to 1 pager
For a standard data visualisation project, try to stick to a one-pager. Think of it like writing a resume. We will stick to a one-pager so that the employer will get a good gist of our experiences and background with just one glance. Well, the theory of sticking to a one-pager is the same.
- Remove irrelevant KPIs
There is no point in plunking in all your data when they are not useful for the beneficiaries of the dashboard. In order to know which data to include and exclude, you will need to speak to the respective teams to understand their goal of using the dashboard. Take, for example, if their goal is to see the sales and performance of the ecommerce store, you won’t need to put in KPIs like engagement rate or click-through rate.
- Group your KPIs
After selecting your KPIs, it is good practice to categorise your KPIs in a way that makes sense. Without planning, the users of the dashboard will be confused looking at the dashboard because they don’t know what is the link between the data and spend time finding the KPI they want to look at.
- Choose a good visual
The most important thing about the dashboard – visuals. Based on each KPI and the goal of the dashboard, you will need to select a good visual (i.e., charts, graphs) that will be a good representation of the metrics that have been selected. For instance, if you want to compare sales performance monthly, a bar chart is a much better choice compared to a pie chart.
- Round your numbers
When it comes to data, especially sales, it is common that we calculate them up to the decimal place. However, when it comes to the dashboard, it is an entirely different story. You need to make the dashboard as clean as possible so that it is easy for the human mind to understand. Learn to round your numbers to whole numbers or one decimal place.
- Reduce visual noise
Having lots of features in data visualisation tools may tempt you to go wild and try out all the elements. But having too many of them is like ‘too many cooks spoil the broth.’ Hold yourself back!”
Resource for you: 5 Simple Steps to Build The Best Dashboard Your Business Needs
#2 – Consistency is key
Next, stay consistent when it comes to making the dashboard look aesthetically pleasing.
- Design elements
When it comes to design elements, make sure you are consistent in terms of font, font size, colour, bolding, italics, etc. Having too much variety is just too much for the brain.
- Padding
Another thing to take note of is the padding. Make sure that the white spaces on the top, bottom, left, right, and in between visuals are consistent.
- Layout
Consider the layout of your dashboard when it comes to desktop vs. mobile. If your dashboard is available on mobile, you will also need to consider if you want the dashboard to be responsive so that it can adjust automatically to fit different screen sizes and devices.
- Dashboard Management
When it comes to creating an interactive and automated dashboard, it is common practice to designate a person to update and maintain the dashboard in case of any bugs, linking issues, or tracking problems. This helps to keep the dashboard fresh and up to date.
#3 – Prioritisation
Especially when it comes to big data visualization projects, knowing how to prioritize is an important skill that you need to possess.
Big dashboards often have many pages to cater to different user needs and allow us to navigate to different pages so that users can dive deep into the data when needed.
In situations like this, you have to understand the human brain. It is intuitive that we read from top to bottom and left to right. And it is common practice that we always look at data in the big picture first before zooming in.
With this in mind, when it comes to designing the mockup, you will have to arrange the KPIs in a way that follows this user behavior.
#4 – Give your numbers context
When it comes to interpreting numbers, learn how to provide context. What do I mean by that?
You need to help your users understand what the numbers on the dashboard mean.
Instead of just indicating “72,” think about how to represent it better to give it context. For example, if 72 represents the number of products sold in a month, it would be more valuable to indicate “72 (+10%).” This way, users will know that “Oh, we sold 72 products this month, and this is an improvement from the previous month.” 72 alone doesn’t say much, but when comparing month-on-month, adding a simple percentage change makes a significant difference. Isn’t it?
#5 – Clear Labelling
Last but not least, ensure that you have clear labeling on the dashboard.
Every time you finish your dashboard mockup, ask yourself whether you can understand the data without asking questions. If yes, you are doing great. If not, ask yourself what you can do better.
Tips for Labelling a Dashboard
- Legend
For all the KPIs and metrics used in the dashboard, create a separate tab called the “legend,” which provides information about the definition, formula, and source of the data. This provides transparency regarding where the data is from and how it is calculated.
This is super important information for users, especially if they are making comparisons or consolidating data. They will want to ensure they are comparing apples to apples, not apples to oranges. Additionally, if they are consolidating data and forming the customer journey, they will want to ensure that the calculation method is the same.
- Title
Another tip is to give a title to all your charts and metrics. They should be self-explanatory. Using the same example as above, do not just write “72”. Label it as “Product Quantity”. Not only does this provide context, but it also ensures clear labeling.
Of course, you should try to keep them as short as possible to avoid cluttering up the dashboard. For example, instead of “Product Quantity,” you can shorten it to “Pdt Qty”.
- Axis Labels
Another place where you could have clear labeling is the axis labels.
If you are using more than 2 KPIs, it is highly recommended that you include labels for your axes so users do not get confused when reading the charts.”
This post highlights 5 important dashboarding best practices.
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