Dashboards That Pop: Users
Users should not be an afterthought when building out your dashboards. Thinking about your users while still in the design phase ensures:
- Users actually use your dashboard
- Users find your dashboard helpful and valuable
- Your dashboard solves a problem or meets a specific need
It’s so tempting to try and build a single dashboard that works for ‘everyone’. Avoid this temptation as it rarely works well. Instead of presenting users with a targeted dashboard that meets their needs, they get a cluttered and complicated dashboard that meets some of their needs and requires them to mentally filter out stuff they don’t need. Additionally, if you overstuff your dashboard, users may also start to see performance issues.
User Stories
User stories are a great way to determine what should go into your design and what shouldn't. User stories can also help you stay on track while building out your dashboard.
Who
Audience | User | Role
Build your dashboards toward specific audiences. Your high-level executives who need strategic level metrics should not be sharing a single dashboard with front line supervisors who require granularity.
Targeting specific roles is one way to help identify an audience. Thinking about the level of background knowledge users have is another.
Why
Goal | Objective | Purpose
Now that you have your audience, you can identify a specific problem that audience has. This is the reason behind your dashboard. Solving a problem or assisting your audience in reaching their objectives ensures that your dashboard provides value. If it provides value, your audience will use it.
What
Task | Action | Knowledge
This is what the user needs to reach their objective or solve their problem. Understanding this helps you identify the data and elements your dashboard needs to have.
Now let’s put it all together.
As a < type of user >, I want < some action> so that < some reason >.
- As a leader, I want to see where events are occurring so that I can direct resources to the areas that need them.
- As a team supervisor, I want to know when hazardous weather is approaching my team’s location, so that I can ensure the safety of my team.
- As a mobile worker, I want to prioritize open job tickets so that I can work more efficiently.
This single sentence summarizes who you’re building a dashboard for, why they need the dashboard, and what should be included in the dashboard. As you are building out your dashboard, check back in with your summary sentence. Is your dashboard on track? Are unnecessary elements sneaking in?
Devices
Once you know the who, what, and why of your dashboard, you can focus on the how. How users consume your dashboard will affect your design options.
Large Wall Monitor
Dashboards designed to be displayed on a large wall monitor on a watch floor or battle bridge can be a unique design challenge. You have a lot of real estate to play with which is nice, but you can’t add any interactivity. Users won’t be able to 'drive' the dashboard and click on filters or switch tabs, so everything they need to see must be displayed by default. Use your user stories to determine exactly what information your dashboard should convey.
Desktop Monitor
Dashboards designed for desktop computers are the easiest to design for. You have a nice amount of real estate available and can leverage filters and stacked elements to get more functionality. The danger here is that you start focusing on features over function. Use your user stories to stay on track and avoid scope creep.
Mobile Devices
Mobile devices have a small amount of real estate to work with. Your dashboard should be simple and to the point. Maximize the room available by putting selectors in a slide over side panel and stacking elements. Use your user stories to determine and display only the information needed.