Dashboard Design Chaos: It's Inevitable, Choose Wisely
Being an expert in dashboard development is one thing, but understanding this is another story:
- who to develop for
- what type of product needs to be developed
- why is it necessary
- what data to use
- which design process to use
While many dashboard developers can create visually appealing dashboards, only a few truly make them useful and valuable to the business.
In my experience, it's rare for a company to invest enough time in designing and gathering user feedback for dashboard development.
Unfortunately, in many cases, the primary focus is on meeting deadlines rather than on optimizing usability and effectiveness.
Urgency triumphs over purpose.
For managers and top management, it's all about getting the dashboards as quickly as possible, whatever the cost. It's hard to imagine anyone measuring or even keeping an eye on the usefulness of the dashboards in question.
The dashboard has been ordered, the deadline is very tight, the priority is to deliver on time no matter what. So we're asked to remove structured steps from the process.
Dashboards are not fancy gadgets.
They are the data artifact that enables you to move:
- from indecision to decision
- from opinion to information
- from stagnation to exploration
- from abundance to minimalism
- from complication to resolution
- from inefficiency to automation
In essence, they must illuminate the path from complexity to clarity.
The more efficient you want your dashboard to be, the more you should manage the chaos at the start of the project.
The quieter you want your design steps to be, the more chaotic your dashboard will be.
A dashboard designed without meetings, discussions, debates, observation... will end up being a fancy gadget that nobody will use.
Choose your chaos and proactively manage it from day one.
Success is not far away.
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