Dashboard design: starting with an information architecture
Creating a dashboard is an exciting and multifaceted process. It requires not only technical expertise but also creativity and a keen understanding of business processes and user needs. A successful dashboard emerges from the interplay of data access, analysis, and visualization, providing valuable insights and enhancing decision-making within an organization.
However, there are two common pitfalls we often encounter. First, the focus can sometimes be too heavily on technical development, neglecting the visual aspect of the dashboard. Second, hasty or enthusiastic decisions can lead to a proliferation of dashboards without a clear purpose. These pitfalls can result in inconsistent and unused dashboards, which is a real shame!
How to avoid these pitfalls?
It starts with making the right choices. Before diving into technical development, we need to ask ourselves: What information is truly valuable to the user? What insights are needed to make effective decisions? And how does the user arrive at these insights?
This is where information architecture comes into play. A well-designed information architecture ensures that the right insights are delivered to the right place. It helps organize information so that it is findable, understandable, and relevant. Whether you’re familiar with the concept or it’s new to you, by the end of this blog, you’ll understand what information architecture is, why it’s important, and how to incorporate it into your development process.
What is information architecture?
In this blog, we focus on the front-end information architecture of a dashboard (not the data platform). This architecture determines how you navigate through the dashboard and what insights are available on different pages. It’s an overarching conceptual drawing of your dashboard’s structure. While it doesn’t specify the visualizations on each page, it does indicate the function of each page and where users can find specific information.
Building a dashboard is like building a house
The term ‘architecture’ says it all: information architecture functions like a blueprint when building a house. This design is created at the beginning of a project and serves as a guide throughout the process. It will likely undergo some adjustments before it fully meets the needs, and it can change during the process. Despite these changes, the architecture ensures that everyone involved knows the project’s direction.
Step 1: From a false start to a good beginning
Before you start designing the information architecture for a dashboard, it’s essential to have clear conditions. There are three crucial aspects we need to understand:
Objectives:
What goals should the dashboard and various reports achieve?
Engage with stakeholders to gather as many goals, needs, and wishes as possible.
Keep track of which goals belong to which stakeholder.
Select priorities and achievable goals.
Target Audience:
Determine who will ultimately use the dashboard.
Identify specific user groups and their needs.
User Needs:
What does the user need to perform their work effectively and achieve the set goals?
How can we support the user in this?
In short, start with clear goals, a defined target audience, and a deep understanding of user needs.
Step 2: The art of choosing
It’s intuitive to organize a dashboard based on the subject. However, one dashboard on the same subject can serve different functions for different users. Sometimes, it’s even necessary to create different dashboards for the same subject.
Now comes the step that is often perceived as overwhelming: How do you make choices for the dashboard layout? We use the inventory of goals, target audience, and needs from step 1 to make design decisions.
Determine the Decision-Making Level: Strategic, Tactical, or Operational?
Strategic: Focuses on long-term goals that define the company’s direction, usually set at the executive level. A strategic dashboard shows long-term progress, typically in the form of KPIs against targets.
Tactical: Involves the steps and actions taken to achieve strategic objectives. A tactical dashboard helps determine which actions or measures need to be taken to achieve goals.
Operational: Concerns the efficient execution of tasks. An operational dashboard helps automate and prioritize tasks.
Choose the Dashboard Functionality:
Based on the user group and decision-making level, you can choose a functionality. The dashboard can entirely answer this functionality, but individual pages or even parts of a page can also have different functionalities.
Types of dashboards
Landing:
Navigation and Overview: A landing page dashboard serves as a starting point for users. It provides an overview of available information and pages, helping users navigate to specific analyses or reports.
Reporting:
Storytelling with Data: The main goal of a reporting dashboard is to present data in an understandable and visually appealing way. This helps users understand and communicate trends, performance, and key insights.
Monitoring:
Real-Time Alerts: Monitoring dashboards alert users to critical situations or risks, such as deviations from normal performance or impending issues. Users are immediately informed where they need to intervene.
Analyzing:
Exploring and Discovering: These dashboards focus on analyzing and discovering patterns and trends. They offer various filters and drill-down options, allowing users to explore and delve deeper into the data.
Acting:
Executing Tasks: These dashboards indicate where attention is needed and what steps users should take first.
Step 3: back to the drawing table
Now that you have a clear understanding of the goals, the decision-making levels of the users, and the desired functionalities, it’s time to piece everything together into a structured whole: the information architecture.
Trust in the creative and iterative process as you sketch. As you continue drawing and developing, you’ll discover more about what is possible, what makes sense, and which choices are optimal. Don’t forget to gather feedback throughout the process.
By embracing this approach, you’ll create a dashboard that not only meets technical requirements but also truly serves its users, providing them with the insights they need to make informed decisions. Happy designing!
Feel free to reach out if you need further assistance or have any questions. I’m here to help!