The business indicators you put on your dashboard will change depending on the nature of your activity and the target audience.
Include KPIs that the business user will care about
Does anybody use the dashboard? What function do they serve inside the company? What metrics will be significant to them? How much information do they actually require to be informed?
When we don different hats in our business, such as those for marketing and sales, fulfillment, finance, etc., we frequently ask these questions.
These business categories each have separate KPIs and amount of detail requirements.
The ability of the appropriate business user to function in that capacity will be much improved by providing the most pertinent metrics to them.
And if the firm owner is wearing several hats, all the better to have control over all the various areas. It will assist you in changing roles and provide you with the various viewpoints from each of these business divisions.
Actionable metrics should be included
Metrics that are linked to repetitive tasks and particular strategic objectives are called actionable metrics.
You shouldn't put any effort into metrics that can't be made better if they are part of your dashboard.
A dashboard's mission is to assist in enhancing essential performance relative to predetermined objectives. Additionally, it is crucial to provide measurements that aid in this process.
It is important to measure metrics often
To give the user the most recent information, dashboard metrics should be monitored often. Dashboards' efficiency is in part due to the fact that they give users immediate access to important insights.
Make sure the data is updated in accordance with how frequently you (or another business user) will require the information displayed on your dashboard.
After that, schedule time each week to evaluate them and take the necessary action.
Use clever formatting to make interpretation simpler
When brand-new analysts joined the bank, one of the usual rookie errors we used to see was the creation of business dashboards with rainbow-colored graphics and a variety of graphs, charts, and gauges.
Too much information and unnecessary data, which were guidelines #1 and #2, were somewhat to blame for this. However, this complex approach will frequently make the dashboard challenging to comprehend, even when the data has been reduced to the fundamentals.
Keep your dashboard minimal instead, and use color sparingly. And keep the color coding organized and uniform throughout the whole company.
Give visual signals for context and high-level measurements
Provide high-level data and then supporting metrics that the user may expand on to dive into more depth as needed to make sure your dashboard is actionable.
For instance, a graph or chart with trendiness will provide the viewer a quick overview and allow them to dig deeper to reveal the details of the underlying data and the meaning behind the numbers.
Your dashboard will remain straightforward and be much more usable for the user thanks to this context.
Ensure complete alignment with the business.
Dashboards are crucial for revealing how performance compares to strategic objectives. However, the dashboard won't of much use to the user if they don't know what their individual, divisional, or general corporate goals are.
Make sure everyone is aware of the objectives, as well as how the dashboard may assist keep everyone focused on reaching those objectives, including targets, budgets, predictions, trends, and so forth.