Executive Dashboards: an Information Design Approach

November 6, 2003
By Dirk Knemeyer
The executive dashboard is a hot technology roduct! The logical rogeny o" ortal
alications and technology, the executive dashboard is a single inter"ace that
serves as the oint o" entry into the masses o" data and in"ormation #ithin a
comany that might be relevant to a articular executive! $hile it is really %ust
marketing&seak "or a ersonali'ed ortal, the imortance o" an executive dashboard
cannot be overstated( )ndeed, executives o" large comanies need to make
decisions based on o"ten disarate and "ar&"lung data and in"ormation! Data stored in
divergent sources can be uni"ied to rovide insight and key metrics "or areas ranging
"rom marketing automation and bookings to human resources and oerations! *"ter
all, the most di""icult art is o"ten not the decision making itsel" but identi"ying what
data and in"ormation are relevant and having easy access and aroriate
resentation o" it!
Design and the executive dashboard
*s #ith so many #eb&based executive in"ormation systems +,)-., the executive
dashboard is largely seen as a technology solution or static /roduct!/ Not so! $hile
it is necessary "rom the back&end to make all relevant data and in"ormation
accessible and included in the system that "eeds the dashboard & a technology
comonent & the selection o" #hich data and in"ormation to rovide to&level access
to and ho#, not to mention the creation o" an aroriate inter"ace, is a design
solution! )t is also a design solution that, almost by de"inition, must be custom to
each seci"ic comany and the uni0ue resonsibilities o" the executive decision
maker! * /canned/ roduct is simly not aroriate!
)n order to design a success"ul executive dashboard, #e need to see the #orld
through the eyes o" an executive at a ma%or cororation! Their %ob is a comlicated
one! 1onsider that they(
2ltimately reside over many hundreds or thousands o" emloyees and
various business units and rocesses
3egularly track key er"ormance indicators and make ma%or decisions that
have varying degrees o" imact on eole in articular and the #orld in
general
*lmost by de"inition are not able to have dee, intimate, granular kno#ledge
o" all vital data and in"ormation #ithin their shere o" in"luence
4ust make decisions based on a cross&analysis o" data and in"ormation that
the eole reorting to them may not be re0uired or able to do themselves
*re re0uired to move 0uickly and decisively, setting strong leadershi &
articularly imortant in today5s "ast&moving digital #orld
The role o" the executive dashboard is to roactively anticiate and make easily
available the data and in"ormation most imortant to the executive5s thought rocess
and decision making in order to create broad e""iciency and imrove the 0uality o"
the decisions being made!
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The application of information design
)n"ormation Design teaches us that, in order to have the greatest imact and bene"it,
in"ormation must be relevant, clear and memorable! This rovides an excellent
"rame#ork "or aroaching the design roblem o" an executive dashboard!
Relevance
This relates to the in"ormation architecture comonent o" the design! )t is a 0uestion
o" understanding the role and scoe o" the executive, revie#ing the available
organi'ational +and externally available. data and in"ormation "rom that contextual
oint, and making decisions on #hat data and in"ormation are most imortant to
make available, in #hat order, ercentage and %uxtaosition!
)n many #ays, this is the most time consuming & and critical & art o" the rocess! )t
re0uires a dee understanding o" the executive, organi'ation and all available
content to make valid decisions about #hat should or should not be available, and
the degrees and relationshi therein! *"ter all, #hat data and in"ormation are
available determines #hich decisions can sensibly be made and ho#!
Clarity
This relates to the inter"ace comonent o" the design! 6nce #e have bluerints o"
#hat data and in"ormation should be available and roughly #here, it is a 0uestion o"
arranging it to rovide otimal cognitive assimilation and create logical "rame#orks o"
kno#ledge and causality! )t also ertains to the visual resentation o" the data and
in"ormation, making choices about the aesthetic resentation that are contextually
aroriate "or the seci"ic executive, in order to maximi'e clarity!
Memorability
This relates to the imact that data or in"ormation has! There is a hierarchy o" value,
articularly #hen you are dealing #ith content at this level! )t is imortant that the
executive is not only exosed to the correct data and in"ormation, but that it is done
in such a #ay that it easily /sticks/ in digestible chunks that can be communicated
and cross&contextuali'ed into other relevant domains!
1larity and memorability both "all into traditional areas o" visual design! 7uided by
the "rame#ork o" the architecture, it is a delicate and comlicated rocess to ut
together a ortal that is truly clear and memorable! )ndeed, it re0uires not only a
strong kno#ledge o" visual design, but also demands a dee understanding o"
human "actors, as #ell as inter"ace design and general technology issues! This
re0uires a secialist #ith a great deal o" exerience and a strong skill set!
)n total, the design o" an executive dashboard is an excellent examle o" an
)n"ormation Design roblem, and those #ho are in the business o" roviding
executive dashboards #ould be #ell served by learning more about and #orking #ith
)n"ormation Designers!
It all starts at the top
,xecutive dashboards reresent a very interesting design roblem! *"ter all, it really
does start at the to! The scoe and imortance o" #hat large cororate executives
do, relative to other individuals and contexts, is 0uite ronounced! By roviding those
individuals #ith #ell&designed solutions that directly address their most ressing and
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vital needs & such as access to relevant organi'ational data and in"ormation that is
clear and memorable & #e continue to raise our value as a disciline #hile roviding
tools that hoe"ully emo#er good decisions that have a ositive imact on a variety
o" eole and even the #orld!
*uthor & Dirk Knemeyer
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