In a world of increasing complexity and the growth of AI and related systems for harvesting and interpreting data, it can be hard to meaningfully present all the information that businesses have to hand. Operational dashboards are key tools that have become indispensable as a way of dealing with data complexity. They provide actionable insight, making it clear where improvements can be made.
In this article, we’ll look at what operational dashboards are, what functions they fulfil and what constitutes good practice in dashboard design.
Taking their name from the panel in automobiles that displays various information about how the engine is running, dashboards are a graphic realization of key metrics relating to a particular business is performing.
They can be as visually basic as an Excel spreadsheet or as complex and interactive as you like, with many platforms offering customizability as a key function of their dashboards.
Dashboards can be broadly divided into three kinds – operational, analytic, and strategic. We will be focusing on the former variety here, but it is worth distinguishing operational dashboards from related infomatic tools.
Here’s a summary of the three main types of dashboard:
These dashboards focus on current performance, plotting this against KPIs to give a clear picture of the organization at a point in time. They tend to be used across all levels of the company and provide a useful way for ensuring that everyone’s on the same page (literally and metaphorically).
In contrast, analytical dashboards look at an entity’s performance across time, related to agreed objectives. For example, an investment fund might use such a dashboard to convey the changing value of various stocks over time. These dashboards can be complex and are shared with select teams or individuals.
At the highest levels of an organization, a strategic dashboard can be used to map out the future direction of travel, measured against concrete goals. These dashboards are good for project management and innovation tracking. Access to this high-level information might only be made available to senior management.
These different types of dashboards reflect the differences between Business Analytics (BA) and Business Intelligence. The former takes a data-driven and detailed approach to looking into past trends and projecting them forwards. BI, by contrast, gets granular with relation to how a company is doing at this present moment.
There are several factors that contribute to a well-designed operational dashboard:
Businesses used to rely on spreadsheets for data presentation and analysis. Programs like Excel are sophisticated in terms of the automated numerical data manipulation they can perform.
However, spreadsheets are not particularly easy on the eye, they can easily contain errors which are hard to identify, and they are rarely secure. In addition, it is possible for multiple versions of a spreadsheet to exist, containing conflicting data.
For instance, if Analyst 1 updates Spreadsheet A and then saves it under a different name, then Analyst 2 doesn’t necessarily know that A has been replaced. She may continue to work on the outdated version, without realizing her colleague is working from a different document entirely.
Although there are some basic measures in place in Excel to alert users to such conflicts, mistakes and confusion still occur. Using a secure, one-size-fits-all dashboard that restricts data entry only to specified and security cleared staff has multiple benefits:
The process for creating an operational dashboard is simple – there are really only four stages. However, it is not a “once and done” process, but rather an iterative one. Like the development of any piece of software, you’ll use a system of versioning and regular updates to ensure the dashboard continues to be fit for purpose.
To work towards an effective design, simply answer the questions in this short checklist.
Remember that as an organization changes with time, what worked yesterday may not work today. Fortunately, most dashboard-building apps permit a high degree of customizability and it is relatively straightforward to institute any changes you need.
A major part of the process of building a useful operational dashboard is knowing which KPIs are vital, useful, or merely interesting. You want to prioritize the former and sprinkle in the latter two categories sparingly.
Here are some key onboarding metrics to consider:
These are just an indication of what you might choose to monitor. Much will depend on the nature of your business. It is reasonable to expect SaaS to require different KPIs to a physical product sold in a bricks and mortar operation or in-person service, for instance.
When creating an Operational Dashboard, it is important to think visually. Bar-charts, graphs, pie charts and other interpretive tools are better than basic numerical values. Most dashboard builders come with a plethora of options to create engaging and lively data visualizations.
Don’t overload your dashboard with irrelevant data and make sure it is well laid out and legible. Remember that if you use color-coding this may not work for staff with visual impairments. Position the most important KPIs in pole-position on the dashboard.
There are two variables in any useful metric:
Examples might include:
For more on this topic, see this useful blog article.
DashboardFox can help you create an Operational Dashboard that’s perfectly tailored to your organization’s needs. We’ve been creating business intelligence tools for over 20 years.
What’s more, we’re not just another subscription service. We work on a perpetual subscription model based on a set number of concurrent logins – once we’ve built your dashboard, you’ll have access forever at no additional cost.
If you’d like to know more, check out our services here, or get in touch.
Learn more about financial metrics and metrics of all types in our KPI Directory and if you’re not looking for a self-hosted dashboard software like DashboardFox, check out our cloud dashboard solution, InsightWorthy.
