How To Design Your Business Intelligence Software Dashboard

Are you new to creating a business intelligence software dashboard? Data discovery and data visualization are one of the most critical elements of your business intelligence work space. The primary way you convey your data story is through dashboards, which is why it is vital to put ample thought into designing your business intelligence dashboards.

What’s the Purpose?

The primary purpose of a well-designed BI dashboard is to provide accurate and fact-based insights that help people in your enterprise make decisions. With data-based actions, you can improve processes and achieve an advantage over your competition.

Best Practices for Designing BI Dashboards

Your top priority should be valuable communication through your BI dashboard. Don't focus too much on the looks and appeal of the dashboard. Instead, focus on the functionality aspect of it so it can convey your data story in compelling ways and enable users to take action. Your goal is to help get to faster, more accurate decision-making based on facts. Your BI dashboard needs to quickly communicate the right information in the best way possible.

Just like any other presentation, you need to ensure that you put the most crucial dataset upfront on the dashboard and not tucked away in a corner. Doing so allows for faster data inspection and understanding. You need to start with the big picture and then allow the user to drill down for in-depth analysis.

Another prominent practice is to deliver your BI dashboard via the Web. If your dashboards aren’t Web-based, their adoption can be limited. Web-based dashboards inspire real-time collaboration around your data. Use a design that is easy on the eyes, and you can always perform usability testing with a focus group before releasing the dashboard to a broader audience.

Choose Software that Enables Customization

When you are in the market to pick BI software, choose one that enables you to customize beyond the ready-made templates. If you are in a large corporation, your needs may differ from department to department. Customization will make it easier to cater to each department in your company.

Provide context

Your data story will be incomplete without a context. For instance, any trend or number or percentage displayed on a dashboard is meaningless without informing the user what the optimal number should be. Providing a context makes the information ten times more useful and actionable. You can use headings, labels, etc. to provide adequate context.

A well-designed BI dashboard can do wonders for your business and enhance productivity as well. Take your time to pick the right BI software for your needs and brainstorm before you design your BI dashboard.