In the dynamic landscape of modern business, digital transformation is necessary for survival and success. Companies are aware of this, but several issues get in the way. Digital tools adoption rates are one of them. For instance, dashboards should give employees valuable company performance insights. Yet, people often hesitate to use them. A key reason is that staff have unique personalities influencing dashboard preferences.
An author tailors a book to their audience, and a digital transformation expert must do the same. This ensures that critical information reaches the right hands. This article looks into ways that creators of dashboards can optimize their usage by knowing and catering to the audience.
Understanding Your Audience
Analyzing the personalities of those using dashboards is like researching an author’s readers. This goes beyond the basic questions such as, “Who will use this?” “What is their level of data literacy?” or “How will they consume this?” It is about understanding more about their existing viewpoints and preferences. For instance:
- “How do they consume their information now?”
- “Do they think their needs are already met with the existing solution?”
- “Are they likely to be skeptical of any new data they receive?”
The dashboard creator should understand the data consumption habits of their audience. People differ in their styles and preferences. Some want to dig into details, while others prefer a high-level overview. In some cases, people like getting information from a central source, while others want it themselves. Users can be tech-savvy, or others are more comfortable with traditional reports. Dashboards should take into account these differences to increase acceptance rates.
Define the Best Type of Dashboard
As an author selects the genre of their book based on their target audience, a digital transformation expert should choose the appropriate type of dashboard. To make dashboards more effective and valuable, these differences must be considered. There are three main types of dashboards:
- Operational Dashboards: These are best for people who need to make quick decisions based on real-time information. The dashboards should display KPIs in a straightforward, digestible manner.
- Tactical Dashboards: Users may want more detail than operational dashboards but not high-level strategic views. These dashboards can include trends and help department heads track progress.
- Strategic Dashboards: These are for people responsible for the organization’s long-term vision and strategy. They should provide a high-level overview of critical KPIs and trends for an extended period and from various points of view.
Much like authors create content tailored to their readers, creators should adapt their dashboards to cater to diverse information needs. It’s not only about data. It’s about delivering insights that align with each personality’s unique problems and expectations.
Designing Flow
Another critical aspect of dashboards that can make people less willing to use them is a flow they cannot follow. People often have difficulty understanding the flow of information that the creator thinks is intuitive and clear. A well-structured book has a logical flow, much like a well-organized dashboard. The dashboard should tell a story, guiding the reader through the company’s trends and performance. The creators should always ask themselves, “When I look at this from the audience’s eyes, is the information flow as obvious to them as it is to me?”
- Consider the hierarchy of information: In literature, as with a dashboard, the information hierarchy is critical to a reader’s comprehension. Start with high-level summaries, followed by detailed data for those who wish to drill down. Also, put the most vital information in the parts of the dashboard that people will see at first.
- Tell the Outline of a Story: A book’s index resembles the story’s outline. Likewise, a dashboard should provide an overview of the information it shares. Use clear visual cues to narrate the story of the business. Ensure that the key metrics are prominent and supported by relevant visuals.
These steps will help readers understand what the dashboard tells them, making them much more likely to use it.
Simple and Thoughtful Presetation
Authors put careful thought into the visual elements in their books. They consider the kind and size of the font and, if there are visuals, what style and frequency they should have. The presentation of a dashboard should have the same attention to detail. Visual clutter can hinder comprehension. Two ways to reduce it are:
- Thoughtful Presentation: To avoid overwhelming people, maintain a clean and uncluttered design. Use whitespace effectively to create separation and focus. Each element on the dashboard should have a clear purpose and add value to the viewer.
- Focus on Simplicity: A dashboard should be easy to read and understand. Colors and fonts must create a familiar, appealing, and user-friendly environment. Use color with intent to highlight critical information, and select fonts that are easy to read.
A key question that can help the creator check this is, “Is there anything here that isn’t absolutely necessary or is distracting?”
Practical Examples of the Results
Cluster, a company specializing in UX (user experience-focused) design and front-end engineering, prepares dashboards in a similar manner. They describe five best practices for dashboard design in this blog from their webpage: The Complete Guide to Dashboard Design: How to Improve It?
They underscore the significance of effective dashboard design in optimizing its utility for businesses. Even though dashboards are essential tools for strategy implementation, management, and monitoring, their success hinges on user-friendliness. It outlines the advantages of using dashboards, such as centralizing information, democratizing management, accelerating decision-making, seizing real-time opportunities, and allowing customization.
Furthermore, it offers practical tips for improving dashboard design, including establishing clear objectives, choosing the right type of dashboard (operational, tactical, or strategic), filtering and organizing information logically, avoiding visual clutter, understanding the intended users, defining data update frequencies, and creating a user-friendly interface.
These two examples of their work show a clear difference in style and information included. The varying personalities and needs of the dashboard users are clearly taken into consideration.
Tailoring Dashboards for Impactful Insights
To increase dashboard use, the creator must consider the diverse personalities and preferences of those who use them. Crafting dashboards requires the same mindset as writing a book. It requires a deep understanding of the users, logical organization, and careful presentation. By treating these elements with care, digital tools will bring their expected benefit. They will ensure that critical information reaches the right hands in a format that the person can easily and willingly use to gain insight. A dashboard is very much like a good book. It offers a compelling narrative that resonates with the audience while delivering essential information for decision-making. By considering the users’ personalities, they can be an important tool to pave the way for successful digital transformation.
For more on the dashboard creation process, check out:
Preparing analytics like literature – Leaders of Digital Change (leaders-of-digital-change.com)