• Unit 7: Data Analysis Dashboards

    BI uses computers to exploit data, but humans and computers understand data differently. Effective organizations ensure that their data is presented in ways that help their teams interact with it and use it to make decisions. BI dashboards help to make information accessible and useful for many purposes, such as monitoring and evaluation, personnel and activity management, procurement and inventory, pricing, and more. The visualization delivered through dashboards allows large, otherwise overwhelming amounts of data to be easily digestible and understandable. Identifying what the data means allows for more informed and relevant business decisions. Dashboards provide a place for interacting, evaluating, connecting, and visualizing data from multiple sources. While dashboards provide greater visibility with information available, this comes with limitations, including but not limited to attempts to incorporate too much information without understanding constraints, coupled with no predetermined rules for how the metrics should be used. All of this results in clunky, non-usable data.

    Completing this unit should take you approximately 6 hours.
    • Upon successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

      • explain the capabilities and limitations of dashboards for organizing and manipulating data and expressing analytic estimates;
      • compare various dashboard designs to evaluate how effectively they present key performance indicators (KPIs) from sales and customer retention to recruitment to company financials; and
      • describe the uses and differences among strategic, operational, and analytic dashboards.

    • 7.1: Elements of a Dashboard

      For your dashboard to be robust, it should contain several basic elements. Dashboard designs can be characterized into four groups: analytical, strategic, tactical, and operational. Each has strengths based on what they can help users achieve. Analytical dashboards help display large amounts of data to interpret the information; Strategic are generally used for monitoring a company's strategy; Tactical are mainly used for formulating growth strategies based on trends; and Operational help to carry out actions. These core principles are key in designing any dashboard, deciding what type of dashboard is needed based on discussions with the stakeholders, what information they need, and how the dashboard will be used. Choosing the correct metrics relevant to the company's needs minimizes clutter. Ensure your dashboard tells a story; the right data visualizations must be deployed to ensure visual perception. When designing your dashboard, keep these principles in mind.

      • Universal Dashboards Page

        This video provides an example of how to build a particular dashboard. You will see as the speaker selects and adds requirements. You'll also be able to view how the result is visualized and can be interpreted.

      • 7.1.1: Form Over Function?

        What came first, the chicken or the egg? This is a causality dilemma, as is the question of form over function – two sides to one coin. In the context of dashboard design, "form over function" or "form follows function" is usually perceived that designers should first have "descriptive" requirements and then decide the "prescriptive" aesthetics based on functional requirements. At face value, that certainly seems correct. Or does it? What devices and items in your life do you perceive as better functioning because they are aesthetically pleasing to the eye?
        • Form Follows Function Page
          Read this quick definition of the phrase "form follows function". What is your understanding and interpretation of the phrase?

      • 7.1.2: Gauging User Experience

        How do you know whether a person likes your design? Well, you don't. Until you do! However, you can get some clues by measuring and quantifying user experience. For a high-quality gauge to be achieved, qualitative and quantitative should be undertaken and of equal measure as this provides the most insights. Think of areas where surveys work well. Do you participate in user feedback surveys after using a website? Why or why not? Does design play a factor in your decision?
        • Usability Evaluation Basics Book

          Understanding how a person interacts with your site is key for further development. 'Usability' is a combination of factors covered in this short article. When you visit or view a site, what factors are key for your continued use? Think about the dashboards you have seen. Do they seem intuitive to use? Do you like how they function?

    • 7.2: Using a Dashboard

      Monitoring data is an essential function of BI. However, it is not enough to track the data: you must also link it to your business metrics and targets. The "how and why" of using a dashboard is vital. What questions would you ask stakeholders about their use of dashboards?
      • Performance Dashboard Design Book

        A structured development process with adequate stakeholder involvement is required to ensure a dashboard's success. This research assignment has provided mandatory dashboard criteria, categorized as dashboard content, analysis, visual effects, platforms, business culture, and maintenance. There is a discussion regarding "real-time" vs. "static". How would you define each, and how would either affect the design outcome of your dashboard?

      • Business Intelligence Dashboards Page
        The brief article provides a prototype frame of a dashboard, outlines its importance, covers the reasoning behind defining key performance indicators (KPIs), and discusses the business impact of an effective BI system.
      • The UNHCR Dashboard URL

        This is an amalgamation of archived dashboards with population data on country-specific refugee/human rights issues from the UNHCR, which provides a fascinating view of how data can be presented in a digestible way through dashboards and well-thought-out visualizations. UNHCR uses various software and technologies in this archive. Take your time and study some of the visualizations and their sources.

      • 7.2.1: Dashboards for Monitoring

        A monitoring dashboard is a cloud data analytics solution that lets you track your performance metrics and easily visualize your data sets. What metrics do you think are relevant in an operational dashboard? How might they differ from an analytical dashboard?
        • Effective Infrastructure Monitoring Page
          Although this video shows monitoring specifically with Grafana, it is worth viewing to understand the methodology and steps for using this free software, only as an example of what is available. A key strength is its ability to plug into time series databases to visualize data in real time.

      • 7.2.2: Dashboards for Predicting

        By using a dashboard that includes your relevant marketing KPIs and data sources all in one place, you can quickly explain how your strategies affect your bottom line, easily answer questions you might have, and reduce ad hoc querying, as everyone will have access to the same data.
        • Marketing Prediction Example Page
          Watch this video case study showing a live example of how dashboards are built and used for prediction. While the software used is likely not one you will be using, this example provides insights into the elements and requirements to achieve the best simulation.

    • 7.3: Common Designs, Uses, and Limitataions

      Dashboards can be designed, implemented, and deployed for every type of business, department, and company function, from recruitment of employees to sales, product monitoring, customer service live chats, and other areas. How the data is visualized makes a big difference. For example, pie, line, or bar charts in your dashboards can portray the same data but be misconstrued. Depending on what you wish to show, there is a chart type to suit your goal, but selecting the correct one means asking the right questions at the outset of your design process. How might layout and data placement be critical factors in your dashboard? What about color? What other areas may be key in your choices? Remember that you may not be the one developing a dashboard for use in your company, but you may need to work with IT to design a new one or have to customize an off-the-shelf dashboard for optimum use in your work.

      • Open-Source Dashboard Tools Page

        Dashboards can help create meaning by highlighting the most important values of a raw dataset and giving context to the numbers. Now that you have some examples of free dashboards available, check them out and familiarize yourself with one.

      • Refreshing Your Nonprofit Dashboard Page

        This article summarizes how this company has three key insights on dashboard use for non-profit organizations. A good dashboard includes relevant metrics for board members, visually-pleasing formatting, and an informative story of how someone/something benefited from your organization's work. What are your relevant metrics? After reading the previous archive, you may already have a few design ideas. 

      • Dashboard Design Limitations Page

        All software has limitations, and often these will stem from the expense or challenges of implementation, especially when integrating the dashboard with different solutions already deployed in the company. Some others to consider include: when comparing elements on a dashboard, causality can sometimes be misattributed due to a grouping, a common limitation of dashboards. Another is the misalignment of company priorities and metrics loaded into the software, often occurring when the person tasked with this job is unfamiliar with the company strategy and goals. Not knowing what is important causes challenges, so during your requirements phase, be sure to ask lots of questions, as nuance and context matter.

        The greatest limitation of dashboards is the human that develops them. You must know what you plan to do with your dashboard so that it is designed to do that and not some other unnecessary things or not be usable to the people who need to use them. Watch this video and think about all the dashboards you see every day. Are there some that make no sense to you?

    • 7.4 Examining KPIs

      What are KPIs? They are key performance indicators that define a set of values against which to measure various aspects of your business. By examining performance levels, managers can see where problems lie, develop improvement strategies, and develop KPI reports to monitor the overall business and make strategic management decisions. A KPI usually consists of a directive, indicator, time frame, benchmark, and target. KPIs almost always require qualitative analysis to support their interpretation. What are some KPIs you have identified that have not yet been measured?

        • 7.4.1: Determining Appropriate Performance Indicators

          Every organization is different, and so are KPIs. To determine what is appropriate, linking your KPIs to strategy and objectives is paramount to hone your focus and with constant evaluation to ensure they are the most relevant. When choosing your KPI, focus on key metrics but remember to capture and identify those that are both lagging and leading. Which ones are most relevant for your industry?

          • Mobile Business Intelligence Acceptance Model Book
            While BI analysis of mobile users' data holds great potential, user acceptance (such as trust and perception of ease of adoption of the device) and usage behavior are crucial factors to the success of such analysis. Do you think using a mobile device will be detrimental to the veracity of KPIs in tracking?
          • Using Excel to Track KPIs Page

            This video shows how small businesses should leverage Excel (a free tool) to track their KPIs, such as ad performance and conversion rate for ads, emails, Instagram posts, and other marketing channels. Which of the seven methods in this video might work for you?

        • 7.4.2: Selecting a KPI Template

          KPIs are important when tracking sales performance to ensure an effective sales strategy. For example, important KPIs to track include the sales target and quote-to-close ratio.

          • 5 KPIs Every Business Must Consider Page
            What are the types of KPIs covered in this video? Which ones might be relevant to you?
          • Pitfalls of KPIs Page
            There are some common pitfalls when using KPIs. They include having too many, tracking the wrong metrics, and incentivizing the wrong business behaviors.

      • Study Guide: Unit 7

        We recommend reviewing this Study Guide before taking the Unit 7 Assessment.

      • Unit 7 Assessment

        • Unit 7 Assessment Quiz
          Receive a grade

          Take this assessment to see how well you understood this unit.

          • This assessment does not count towards your grade. It is just for practice!
          • You will see the correct answers when you submit your answers. Use this to help you study for the final exam!
          • You can take this assessment as many times as you want, whenever you want.