A good dashboard inspires and motivates action. These eight tips will help you make yours more useful and motivating.

1. Tips for Designing
Dashboards Your People Will
Actually Use
8

2. 2
8 Tips for Designing Dashboards Your People Will
Actually Use
©Pixentia. All rights reserved.
What's a Good Dashboard?
A dashboard is a collection of data displays
Used to monitor processes or facilitate
understanding.
Enables people to make well-informed decisions.
A good dashboard does it at the
speed of visual perception
Prompts the right questions.
Inspires action.

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8 Tips for Designing Dashboards Your People Will
Actually Use
©Pixentia. All rights reserved.
Our first principle in dashboard design comes from
Marketing
1
What they need to
know
What they need to accomplish
How you can present it in a way they
understand.
Understand the purpose
Know
Your
Customer

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8 Tips for Designing Dashboards Your People Will
Actually Use
©Pixentia. All rights reserved.
2 Involve end-users in the design.
Make each dashboard relevant and
useful to each person that uses it.
Start with conversations:
What data they use to make decisions
What data they use to do their work
1
Prompt comments and questions
Let their needs and the way they work
guide you
Repeat steps 1 and 2 as many times as
necessary.
3
Sit side by side with them when they test your
prototype:
2

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8 Tips for Designing Dashboards Your People Will
Actually Use
©Pixentia. All rights reserved.
3
Review dashboards often
If you have new data, meet with
your people to talk about how they
will use it.
Dashboards that inspire and
motivate create an appetite for
more.
Keep it fresh
Get it to them as fast as possible

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8 Tips for Designing Dashboards Your People Will
Actually Use
©Pixentia. All rights reserved.
4 Control the scope
Make dashboards specific to:
Functional group
Level
Role
Individual
Consider dynamic dashboards
Users select what they want to see
Higher initial cost, easier maintenance
The broader your audience, the less a dashboard will meet their needs

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8 Tips for Designing Dashboards Your People Will
Actually Use
©Pixentia. All rights reserved.
5
Avoid clutter
Limit the number of components
Avoid decoration
Simplify Displays
Too much information will
discourage

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8 Tips for Designing Dashboards Your People Will
Actually Use
©Pixentia. All rights reserved.
6
Choose the type that tells the story
For example, don't use pie charts for comparisons
Use column chart to make differences easy to see.
Choose the right chart

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8 Tips for Designing Dashboards Your People Will
Actually Use
©Pixentia. All rights reserved.
7
Use symbols and colors to prompt questions
Conditional formatting makes it automatic
Set limits in conditional formatting
Highlight What's Important
Make it obvious what needs attention

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8 Tips for Designing Dashboards Your People Will
Actually Use
©Pixentia. All rights reserved.
8 Facilitate the Workflow
Natural workflow
Visual structure
• Help users navigate the content
Observe users
• Adjust for the way they work

11. Pixentia creates innovative technology solutions that enable our
clients to delight their customers, grow revenue, improve the
bottom line, and develop better workforces.
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Actionable dashboards help
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level make better and faster
decisions.
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