Dashboards that shimmer 'n' shine

(CAUTION: The word Journey is used throughout this post)

What am I wittering on about today?

Design. There was a time I didnt even consider the design of a dashboard as something separate from the actual build/development. Didnt think about it at all. I got the requirements, heroically fought with the data sources and made a brilliant dashboard (in my opinion). I must be good at it, afterall, I built dashboards for a living. Maybe not a lucrative living but it allowed me to buy lifes little luxuries like bread and shoes.

If design was considered at all it was usually after all the main components had been built.

With hindsight, Id been guilty of focusing on the "grand finale" rather than the whole show. Perhaps you have too!

When did I realise I was doing it wrong?

Well, not really wrong and it wasnt exactlyan epiphany. But the more I was exposedto KPIs and dashboards and how they looked, the more I began to think about thedesign; how a user navigates (or is led) and how subtle feedback can improve theirexperience. Even a good dashboard cancrash and burn if the consumers dont like its behaviour.

Nothing. I'm just a bit more aware of the overall package I, as a developer, can provide when building a product.

The most important thing is communication. Talking to the users to find out about how they perceive thechallenges. Draw up their journey;e.g. when seeking an answer, where do they start, what do they do, whats theirend point? From this you can work outthe flow of your dashboard and any bits of data plumbing required.

Even better - storyboard it. Create a user story that involves the issues they face. They might want to know the attrition rate in a specific department(end point) and need to traverse therugged barren plains of 4 or 5 spreadsheets(starting point) just to get aparameter to pass into another system before exporting a dataset that they thendump into excel for more manipulation before they find their answers (journey).

Once everyone agrees on the initial look you can start towire-frame it with the images/objects you might use in the final dashboard this lets the users see something beginning to take shape based on their input.Its also important since the objects/images you create for this can be used inthe final product. Regular meetings likethis help build up a level of ownership with the users and improve the chancesof your product being successful. Even better, if your doing regular demos with groups, they'll be familiar with how the dashboard looks and feels even before it's officially released. Sneaky eh?

Giving feedback TOthe user. This is a bit more subtle and refersto the visual cues that your dashboard provides. A lot of the concepts for design are basedaround Gestalt principles - The whole is other than the sum of theparts. Kurt Koffka. You can find out more about it here: https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2014/03/design-principles-visual-perception-and-the-principles-of-gestalt/

Its an interesting read and youll definitely start tothink more about design.

Anyway

Things like grouping, size, distance and colour are alltechniques that impart information to the users. Are certain functions/buttons groupedtogether? Do similar dimensions/objectshave the same colour or are the same size?

Use of recognisable icons such as the disk icon (save), house (home) etc. A user knows intuitively what these do without any further knowledge of how they work. I click on the house icon and Ill go back the main home page. I click on the disk icon and itll save my work. Many graphics are universal and can be used to help navigate around a dashboard.

Buttons

When clicking a button does the users see the button being pressed? If so, that's a visual feedback for the user. If not, the user may not be aware that the button has carried out its function and press it again leading to frustration. By simply showing the button as pressed the user knows their action has registered and will wait for the outcome.

Menus

Are menu items grouped accordingly? Does the menu behave the same across allpages? Is it always in the same place(Left or Top).

All of these little features help the users find answersquicker.

To summarise - visualcues give information to the user indirectly and the user behaves accordingly.

So?

So, I went from simply putting together a dashboard wherethe attention was on the end result (showme my data!) through to developing amore rounded solution; showing the data but using design principles for a betteroverall experience. Thinking about thedesign throughout a project has meant Ive created better more rounded dashboards.

So, next time youre carefully throwing together your BI Reports,take a step back and think about how the users interacts with it and how you can help them along the way. Theylllove you for it. Maybe not love. Maybe theyll treat you with mild indifference,but itll be an improvement and youll get a warm glow knowing you didsomething that helps them find bad news faster.