Information Dashboard Design: The Effective Visual Communication of Data pdf

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InformationDashboardDesign
ByStephenFew
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Publisher:O'Reilly
PubDate:January2006
ISBN:0‐596‐10016‐7
Pages:223
 
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Copyright
Copyright©2006StephenFewAllrights reserved.
PrintedinItaly.
PublishedbyO'ReillyMedia,Inc.1005GravensteinHighwayNorthSebastopol,CA95472
O'Reillybooksmaybepurchasedforeducational, business,orsalespromotionaluse.Onlineeditionsare
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department:800‐998‐9938or
Editor ColleenWheeler
ProductionEditor Genevieved'Entremont
ArtDirector MikeKohnke
CoverDesigner StephenFew
InteriorDesigners MikeKohnke,TerriDriscoll
ProductionServices SpecializedComposition,Inc.
PrintHistory
January2006: FirstEdition.

TheO'ReillylogoisaregisteredtrademarkofO'ReillyMedia,Inc.InformationDashboardDesignand
relatedtradedressaretrademarksofO'ReillyMedia,Inc.
Manyofthedesignationsusedbymanufacturersandsellerstodistinguishtheirproductsareclaimedas

trademarks.Wherethosedesignationsappearinthisbook,andO'Reilly
Media,Inc.wasawareofa
trademarkclaim,thedesignationshavebeenprintedincapsorinitial caps.
Whileeveryprecautionhasbeentakeninthepreparationofthisbook,thepublisherandauthorassumeno
responsibilityforerrorsoromissions,orfordamagesresultingfromtheuseoftheinformation
contained
herein.
0‐596‐10016‐7
 
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Tomyparents,BobandJoyceFew,whoseprideinmyjourneyhoweverstrangethatjourneymusthave
sometimesseemedinstilleddeepdownintomybonestheresolvetokeepplacing onefootinfrontofthe
other.
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AbouttheAuthor
StephenFewhasover20yearsofexperienceasanITinnovator,consultant,andeducator.Today,as
PrincipaloftheconsultancyPerceptualEdge,Stephenfocusesondatavisualizationforanalyzingand
communicatingquantitativebusinessinformation.Heisworkingtoraiseconsciousnessandtoprovidea
treatmentplanthataddressestheneeds
ofbusinessinthelanguageofbusiness.Hispreviousbook,Show
MetheNumbers:DesigningTablesandGraphstoEnlighten,isapowerfulfitnessprogramdesignedto
targetthedatapresentationaspectsofthisproblem.
Today,fromhisofficeinBerkeley,California,Stephenprovidesconsultingandtrainingservices,speaks
frequently
atconferences,andteachesintheMBAprogramattheUniversityofCaliforniainBerkeley.
Moreabouthiscurrentworkcanbefoundatwww.perceptualedge.com
.
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Introduction
Fewphenomenacharacterizeourtimemoreuniquelyandpowerfully thantherapidriseandinfluenceof
informationtechnologies.Thesetechnologieshaveunleashedatsunamiofdatathatrollsoverandflattens
usinitswake.Tamingthisbeasthasbecomeaprimarygoaloftheinformationindustry.Onetoolthathas

emergedfromthiseffortinrecentyearsistheinformationdashboard.Thissingle‐screendisplayofthe
mostimportantinformationpeopleneedtodoajob,presentedinawaythatallowsthemtomonitor
what'sgoingoninaninstant,isapowerfulnewmediumofcommunication.Atleast
itcanbe,butonly
whenproperlydesigned.
Mostinformationdashboardsthatareusedinbusinesstodayfallfarshortoftheirpotential. Therootof
theproblemisnottechnologyatleastnotprimarilybutpoorvisualdesign.Toservetheirpurposeandfulfill
theirpotential,dashboardsmustdisplayadensearray
ofinformationinasmallamountofspaceina
mannerthatcommunicatesclearlyandimmediately.Thisrequiresdesignthattapsintoandleveragesthe
powerofvisualperceptiontosenseandprocesslargechunksofinformationrapidly.Thiscanbeachieved
onlywhenthevisualdesignofdashboardsis
centraltothedeve lopmentprocessandisinformedbyasolid
understandingofvisualperceptionwhatworks,whatdoesn't,andwhy.
Notechnologycandothisforyou.Youmustbringthisexpertisetotheprocess .Takeheartthevisualdesign
skillsthatyouneedtodevelopeffectivedashboardscanbelearned,and
helpingyoulearnthemisthesole
purposeofthisbook.
Iftheinformationisimportant,itdeservestobecommunicatedwell.
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Acknowledgments
WithoutadoubtIowethegreatestdebtofgratitudetothemanysoftwarevendorswhohavedoneso
muchtomakethisbooknecessarybyfailingtoaddressorevencontemplatethevisualdesignneedsof
dashboards.Theirkinddisregardforvisualdesignhasgivenmefocus,ignitedmypassion,

andguaranteed
mylivelihoodforyearstocome.
Now,ontothosewhohavecontributedmoredirectlyandpersonallytothiseffort.Asaman,Iwillneverbe
abletocreate,shelter,andnourishanemerginglifewithinthisbo dyofmine.Inrecentyears,however,I
haverecognized
andpursuedtheopportunity tobreathelifeintotheproductsofmyimaginationandpass
themontotheworldintheformofbooks.Writingabookisabitlikebearingachild.Workingwitha
publishertohelpthechildlearntowalkbeforeventuringintotheworld
isalessonintrust.Thefolksat
O'ReillyMediahavetaughtmetoentrusttothembeginningwithunspeakableangst,butproceeding
throughunfalteringstepstowardever‐increasingcomfortthecollegialcareofthisbelovedchild.Manyat
O'Reillyhavecontributedsomuch,buttwoinparticularhavestoodbymy
sidefromthebeginningwith
soothingvoicesofconfidenceandcalm.Myeditor,ColleenWheeler,knewwhentolisteninsilence,when
toteasemeoutofmyopia,andwhentogentlyremindmethatIwasinherconsiderateandconsiderable
care.Myacquisitionseditor,SteveWeiss,soughtmeout
andwooedmethroughmonthsofthoughtful
discussionintotheO'Reillyfold.Hegaveassurancesandhasmadesurethattheywerefulfilled.

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Sommario
Copyright 3
AbouttheAuthor 5
Introduction 6
Acknowledgments 7
Chapter1.ClarifyingtheVision 11
1.1.AllThatGlittersIsNotGold 12
1.2.EvenDashboardsHaveaHistory 14
1.3.DispellingtheConfusion 15
1.3.1.WhatIsaDashboard?

26
1.4.ATimelyOpportunity 28
Chapter2.VariationsinDashboardUsesandData 29
2.1.CategorizingDashboards 30
2.1.1.ClassifyingDashboardsbyRole 31
2.2.TypicalDashboardData 33
2.2.1.TheCommonThreadinDashboardDiversity 33
Chapter3.ThirteenCommonMistakesinDashboard
Design 38
3.1.ExceedingtheBoundariesofaSingleScreen 39
3.1.1.FragmentingDataintoSeparateScreens 40
3.1.2.RequiringScrolling 42
3.2.SupplyingInadequateContextfortheData 43
3.3.DisplayingExcessiveDetailorPrecision 45
3.4.ChoosingaDeficientMeasure 46
3.5.ChoosingInappropriateDisplayMedia 47
3.6.IntroducingMeaningles sVariety 51
3.7.UsingPoorlyDesignedDisplayMedia 52
3.8.EncodingQuantitativeDataInaccurately 56
3.9.ArrangingtheDataPoorly 56
3.10.HighlightingImportantDataIneffectivelyorNotatAll 57
3.11.ClutteringtheDisplaywith
UselessDecoration 58
3.12.MisusingorOverusingColor 61
3.13.DesigninganUnattractiveVisualDisplay 62
Chapter4.TappingintothePowerofVisualPerception 64
4.1.UnderstandingtheLimitsofShort‐TermMemory 65
4.2.VisuallyEncodingDataforRapidPerception 67
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4.2.1.AttributesofColor 69

4.2.2.AttributesofForm 70
4.2.3.AttributesofPosition 71
4.2.4.AttributesofMotion 71
4.2.5.EncodingQuantitati ve Versus CategoricalData 71
4.2.6.LimitstoPerceptualDistinctness 73
4.2.7.UsingVividandSubtleColorsAppropriately 74
4.3.GestaltPrinciples
ofVisualPerception 74
4.3.1.ThePrincipleofProximity 75
4.3.2.ThePrincipleofSimilarity 75
4.3.3.ThePrincipleofEnclosure 76
4.3.4.ThePrincipleofClosure 77
4.3.5.ThePrincipleofContinuity 78
4.3.6.ThePrincipleofConnection 78
4.4.Applyingthe
PrinciplesofVisualPerceptiontoDashboardDesign 79
Chapter5.EloquenceThroughSimplicity 80
5.1.CharacteristicsofaWell‐DesignedDashboard 81
5.1.1.CondensingInformationviaSummarizationandException 82
5.2.KeyGoalsintheVisualDesignProcess 83
5.2.1.ReducetheNon‐DataPixels
86
5.2.2.EnhancetheDataPixels 94
Chapter6.EffectiveDashboardDisplayMedia 101
6.1.SelecttheBestDisplayMedium 102
6.2.AnIdealLibraryofDashboardDisplayMedia 106
6.2.1.Graphs 107
6.2.2.Icons 131
6.2.3.Text 133
6.2.4.Images

133
6.2.5.DrawingObjects 134
6.2.6.Organizers 135
6.3.Summary 137
Chapter7.DesigningDashboardsforUsability 138
7.1.OrganizetheInformati ontoSupportItsMeaningandUse 139
7.1.1.OrganizeGroupsA ccordingtoBusinessFunctions,Entities,andUse 139
7.1.2.Co‐locate
ItemsThatBelongtotheSameGroup 139
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7.1.3.DelineateGroupsUsingtheLeastVisibleMeans 140
7.1.4.SupportMeaningfulComparisons 141
7.1.5.DiscourageMeaninglessComparisons 142
7.2.MaintainConsistencyforQuickandAccurateInterpretation 143
7.3.MaketheViewingExperienceAestheticallyPleasing 143
7.3.1.ChooseColorsAppropriately 144
7.3.2.ChooseHighResolution
forClarity 145
7.3.3.ChoosetheRightText 145
7.4.DesignforUseasaLaunchPad 145
7.5.TestYourDesignforUsability 146
Chapter8.PuttingItAllTogether 147
8.1.SampleSalesDashboard 148
CritiqueofSalesDashboardExample1 151
Critique
ofSalesDashboardExample2 152
CritiqueofSalesDashboardExample3 153
CritiqueofSalesDashboardExample4 154
CritiqueofSalesDashboardExample5 155
CritiqueofSalesDashboardExample6 156

CritiqueofSalesDashboardExample7 157
CritiqueofSales
DashboardExample8 158
8.2.SampleCIODashboard 159
8.3.SampleTelesalesDashboard 161
8.4.SampleMarketingAnalysisDashboard 162
8.5.AFinalWord 164
AppendixA.RecommendedReading 165
Colophon 166
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Chapter1.ClarifyingtheVision
Dashboardsofferauniqueandpowerfulsolutiontoanorganization'sneedforinformation,buttheyusually
fallfarshortoftheirpo tential.Dashboardsmustbeseeninhistoricalcontexttounderstandandappreciate
howandwhythey'vecomeabout,whythey'vebecomesopopular,andwhydespitemanyproblemsthat
underminetheir
valuetodaytheyofferbenfitsworthpursuing.Todate,littleseriousattentionhasbeen
giventotheirvisualdesign.Thisbookstrivestofillthisgap.However,confusionabounds,demandinga
cleardefinitionofdashboardsbeforewecanexplorethevisualdesignprincipl esandpracticesthatmustbe
appliedifthey
aretoliveuptotheiruniquepromise.

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
Problemswithdashboardstoday
Dashboardsinhistoricalcontext
Currentconfusionaboutwhatdashboardsare
Aworkingdefinitionof"dashboard"

Atimelyopportunityfordashboards
Aboveallelse,thisisabookaboutcommunication.Itfocusesexclusivelyonaparticularmediumof
communicationcalledadashboard.Inthefast‐pacedworld
ofinformationtechnology(IT),termsare
constantlychanging.Justwhenyouthinkyou'vewrappedyourmindaroundthelatestinnovation,the
technologylandscapeshiftsbeneathyouandyoumuststruggletoremainupright.Thisiscertainlytrueof
dashboards.
Liveyourlifeonthesurfaceoftheseshiftingsands,andyou'll
nevergetyourbalance.Lookalittledeeper,
however,andyou'lldiscovermorestableground:abedrockofobjectives,principles,andpracticesfor
informationhandlingthatremainsrelativelyconstant .Dashboardsareuniqueinseveralexcitinganduseful
ways,butdespitethehypesurroundingthem,whattheyareandhowthey
workasameansofdelivering
informationarecloselyrelatedtosomelong‐familiarconceptsandtechnologies.It'stimetocutthrough
thehypeandlearnthepracticalskillsthatcanhelpyoutransformdashboardsfromyetanotherfadriding
thewavesofthetechnologybuzzintotheeffectivemeansto
enlightenthattheyreallycanbe.
Today,everybodywantsadashboard.Likemanynewcomerstothetechnologyscene,dashboardsaresexy.
Softwarevendorsworkhardtomaketheirdashboardsshimmywithsexappeal.Theytaunt,"Youdon't 
wanttobetheonlycompanyinyourneighborhoodwithoutone,doyou?"
Theywarn,"Youcannolongerlivewithoutone."Theywhispersweetly,"Stillhaven'tachievedthe
expectedreturnoninvestment(ROI)fromyourexpensivedatawarehouse?Juststickadashboardinfront
ofitandwatchthemoneypourin."Bestillmyheart.
Thosegauges,meters,andtrafficlightsare
sodamnflashy!Youcanimaginethatyou'resittingbehindthe
wheelofaGerman‐engineeredsportscar,feelingthewindwhipthroughyourhairasyouteararound
curvesontheautobahnathighspeeds,allwithoutleavingyourdesk.
Everyonewantsadashboardtoday,butoftenforthe
wrongreasons.Restassured,however,that
somewherebeyondthehypeandsizzlelivesauniqueandeffectivesolutiontofamiliarbusinessproblems

thatarerootedinaveryrealneedforinformation.That'sthedashboardthatdeservestoliveonyour
screen.
1.1.AllThatGlittersIsNotGold
Dashboardscanprovideauniqueandpowerfulmeanstopresentinformation,buttheyrarelyliveupto
theirpotential.Mostdash boardsfailtocommunicateefficientlyandeffectively,notbecauseofinadequate
technology(atleastnotprimarily),butbecauseofpoorlydesignedimplementations.Nomatterhowgreat
thetechnology,adashboard'ssuccess
asamediumofcommunicationisaproductofdesign,aresultofa
displaythatspeaksclearlyandimmediately.Dashboardscantapintothetremendouspowerofvisual
perceptiontocommunicate,butonlyifthosewhoimplementthemunderstandvisualperceptionandapply
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thatunderstandingthroughdesignprinciplesandpracticesthatarealignedwiththewaypeopleseeand
think.Softwarewon'tdothisforyou.It'suptoyou.
Unfortunately,mostvendorsthatprovidedashboardsoftwarehavedonelittletoencouragetheeffective
useofthismedium.Theyfocustheirmarketingeffortson
flashanddazzlethatsubvertthegoalsofclear
communication.Theyfighttowinourinterestbymaximizingsizzle,highlightingflashydisplaymechanisms
thatappealtoourdesiretobeentertained.Onceimplemented,however,thesecutedisplayslosetheir
sparkinamatterofdaysandbecomejustplainannoying.
Aneffectivedashboardistheproductnotofcute
gauges,meters,andtrafficlights(Figure1‐1
),butratherofinformeddesign:moresciencethanart,more
simplicitythandazzle. Itis,aboveallelse,aboutcommunication.

Figure1‐1.Atypicalflashydashboard.Can'tyoujustfeeltheenginerevving?
Thisfailurebysoftwarevendorstofocusonwhatweactuallyneedishardlyuniquetodashboards.Most
softwaresuffersfromthesameshortcomingdespiteallthehypeaboutuser‐friendliness,itisdifficultto
use.Thissadstateissocommon,andhasbeenthecaseforsolong,we'vegrown
accustomedtothepain.
Onthoseoccasionswhenthisuglytruthbreeches thesurfaceofourconsciousness,weusuallyblamethe

problemonourselvesratherthanthesoftware,framingitintermsof"computerilliteracy."Ifwecouldonly
adaptmoretothecomputerandhowitworks,therewouldn't
beaproblemorsowereason.Inhis
insightfulbookentitledTheInmatesAreRunningtheAsylum,masterdesignerAlanCooperwrites:
Thesadthingaboutdancingbearware[Cooper'stermforpoorlydesignedsoftware
thatisdifficulttouse]isthatmostpeoplearequitesatisfiedwiththelumbering
beast.Only
whentheyseesomerealdancingdotheybegintosuspectthatthereisa
worldbeyondursineshuffling.Sofewsoftware‐basedproductshaveexhibitedany
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realdancingabilitythatmostpeoplearehonestlyunawarethatthingscouldbe
betteralotbetter.
1

Cooperarguesthatthisfailureisrootedinanapproachtosoftwaredevelopmentthatsimplydoesn'twork.
Inagenuineattempttopleasetheircustomers,softwareengineersfocusoncheckingalltheitems,oneby
one,offoflistsofrequestedfeatures.Thisapproachmakessensetotechnology‐orientedsoftware
engineers,
butitresultsinlumberingbeasts.Customersareexpertinknowingwhattheyneedto
accomplish,butnotinknowinghowsoftwareoughttobedesignedtosupporttheirneeds.Allowing
customerstodesignsoftwarethroughfeaturerequestsistheworstformofdisasterbycommittee.
Softwarevendorsshouldbring
designvisionandexpertisetothedevelopmentprocess.Theyoughtto
knowthedifferencebetweensuperficialglitzandwhatreallyworks.Butthey'resoexhaustedfromworking
ungodlyhourstryingtosqueeze more featuresintothenextreleasethatthey'releftwithnotimetodothe
researchneededtodiscover
whatactuallyworks,oreventostepbackandobservehowtheirproductsare
reallybeingused(andfailingintheprocess).
Thepartofinformationtechnologythatfocusesonreportingandanalysiscurrentlygoesbythename
businessintelligence(BI).Todate,BIvendorshaveconcentratedondevelopingthe

underlyingtechnologies
thatareusedtogatherdatafromsourcesystems,transformdataintoamoreusableform,storedatain
high‐performancedatabases,accessdataforuse,andpresentdataintheformofreports.Tremendous
progresshasbeenmadeintheseareas,resultinginro busttechnologiesthatcanhandle
hugerepositories
ofdata.However,whilewehavemanagedtowarehouseagreatdealofinformation,wehavemadelittle
progressinusingthatinformationeffectively.Relativelylittleefforthasbeendedicatedtoengaginghuman
intelligence,whichiswha tthisindustry,bydefini tion,issupposedtobeabout.
Aglossary
ontheGartnerGroup'swebsitedefinesbusinessintelligenceas"Aninteractiveprocessfor
exploringandanalyzingstructured,domain‐specificinformation…todiscernbusinesstrendsorpatterns,
therebyderivinginsightsanddrawingconclusions"
( />).Toprogressinthisworthwhileventure,theBI
industrymustshiftitsfo cus nowtoan engaginginteractionwithhumanperceptionandintelligence.Todo
this,vendorsmustbasetheireffortsonafirmunderstandingofhowpeopleperceiveandthink,building
interfaces,visualdisplays,andmethodsofinteractionthat
fitseamlesslywithhumanability.
1.2.EvenDashboardsHaveaHistory
Inmanyrespects,"dashboard"issimplyanewnamefortheExecutiveInformationSystems(EISs)first
developedinthe1980s.Theseimplementationsremainedexclusivelyintheofficesofexecutivesandnever
numberedmorethanafew,soitisunlikelythatyou'veeveractuallyseenone.Isatthroughafew
vendor
demosbackinthe1980sbutneverdidseeanactualsysteminuse.TheusualpurposeofanEISwasto
displayahandfulofkeyfinancialmeasuresthroughasimpleinterfacethat"evenanexecutivecould
understand."Thoughlimitedinscope,thegoalwasvisionaryandworthwhile,
butaheadofitstime.Back
then,beforedatawarehousingandbusinessintelligencehadevolvedthenecessarydata‐handling
methodologiesandgivenshapetothenecessarytechnologies,thevisionsimplywasn'tpractical;itcouldn't
berealizedbecausetherequiredinformationwasincomplete,unreliable,andspreadacrosstoomany
disparatesources.Thus,

inthesamedecadethattheEISarose,italsowentintohibernation,preservingits
visionintheshadowsuntilthetimewasripe…Thatis,untilnow.


1
TheInmatesAreRunningtheAsylum(Indianapolis,IN:SAMSPublishing,1999),59.
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Duringthe1990s,datawarehousing,onlineanalyticalprocessing(OLAP),andeventuallybusiness
intelligenceworkedaspartnerstotamethewildonslaughtoftheinformationage.Theemphasisduring
thoseyearswasoncollecting,correcting,in tegrating,storing,andaccessinginformationinwaysthat
soughttoguaranteeitsaccuracy,timeliness,andusefulness.From
theearlydaysofdatawarehousingon
intotheearlyyearsofthisnewmillennium,theefforthaslargelyfocusedonthetechnologies,andtoa
lesserdegreethemethodologies,neededtomakeinformationavailableanduseful.Thedirectbeneficiaries
sofarhavemostlybeenfolkswhoarehighlyproficient
intheuseofcomputersandable tousethe
availabletoolstonavigatethroughlarge,oftencomplexdatabases.
Whatalsoemergedintheearly1990s,butdidn'tbecomepopularuntillateinthatdecade,wasanew
approachtomanagementthatinvolvedtheidentificationanduseofkeyperformanceindicators
(KPIs),
introducedbyRobertS.KaplanandDavidP.NortonastheBalancedScorecard.Theadvancesindata
warehousinganditstechnologypartnerssetthestageforthisnewinterestinmanagementthroughtheuse
ofmetricsandnotjustfinancialmetricsthatstilldominatesthebusinesslandscapetoday.Business
PerformanceManagement
(BPM),asitisnowcommonlyknown,hasbecomeaninternational
preoccupation.Theinfrastructurebuiltbydatawarehousingandthelike,aswellastheinterestofBPMin
metricsthatcanbemonitoredeasily,togethertilledandfertilizedthesoilinwhichthehiber natingseedsof
EIS‐typedisplays were
onceagainabletogrow.
Whatreallycausedheadstoturninrecognitionofdashboardsasmuchmorethanyoureverydayfledgling

technology,however,wastheEnronscandalin2001.Theaftermathputnewpressureoncorporationsto
demonstratetheirabilitytocloselymonitorwhatwasgoingonintheir
midstandtotherebyassure
shareholdersthattheywereincontrol.Thisincreasedaccountability,combinedwiththeconcurrent
economicdownturn,sentChiefInformationOfficers(CIOs)onamissiontofindanythingthatcouldhelp
managersatalllevelsmoreeasilyandefficientlykeepaneyeonperformance.MostBIvendorsthat
hadn't
alreadystartedofferingadashboardproductsoonbegantodoso,sometimesbycleverlychangingthe
nameofanexistingproduct,sometimesbyquicklypurchasingtherightstoanexistingproductfroma
smallervendor,andsometimesbycobblingtogetherpiecesofproductsthatalreadyexisted.The
marketplacesoon
offeredavastarrayofdashboardsoftwarefromwhichtochoose.
1.3.DispellingtheConfusion
Likemanyproductsthathitthehigh‐techscenewithasplash,dashboardsareveiledinmarketinghype.
VirtuallyeveryvendorintheBIspaceclaimstoselldashboardsoftware,butfewclarifywhatdashboards
actuallyare.I'mremindedoftheearlyyearsofdatawarehousing,wheneagertolearnaboutthis
new
approachtodatamanagementIaskedmyIBMaccountmanagerhowIBMdefinedtheterm.Hisresponse
wasclassicandrefreshinglycandid:"BydatawarehousingweatIBMmeanwhateverthecustomerthinksit
means."Irealizethatthiswasn'tIBM'sofficialdefinition,whichI'msureexistedsomewhereintheir
literature,butitwasmyblue‐suitedfriend'swayofsayingthatasasalesperson,itwasusefultoleavethe
termvagueandflexible.Aslongasaproductorserviceremainsundefinedorlooselydefined,itiseasyto
claimthatyourcompanysellsit.
Thoseraresoftwarevendors
thathavetakenthetimetodefinethetermintheirmarketingliteraturestart
withthespecificfeaturesoftheirproductsasthecoreofthedefinition,ratherthanagenericdescription.
Asaresult,vendordefinitionstendtobeself‐validatinglistsoftechnologiesandfeatures.Forexample,Dr.
GregoryL.Hovis,DirectorofProductDeploymentforSnippetsSoftware,Inc.,asserts:
www.it-ebooks.info
AbletouniversallyconnecttoanyXMLorHTMLdatasource,robustdashboard

productsintelligentlygatheranddisplaydata,providingbusinessintelligence
withoutinterruptingworkflow…Anenterprisedashboardischaracterizedbya
collectionofintelligentagents(orgauges),eachperformingfrequentbidirectional
communicationwithdatasources.Likeavirtualstaff
of24x7analysts,eachagentin
thedashboardintelligentlygathers,processesandpresentsdata,generatingalerts
andrevisingactionsasconditionschange.
1

AnarticleintheJune16,2003editionofComputerworldcitesstatisticsfromastudydonebyAMR
Research,Inc.,whichdeclaresthat"mor ethanhalfofthe135companies…recentlysurveyed are
implementingdashboards."
2

Unfortunately,theauthornevertellsuswhatdashboardsare.Heteasesuswithhints,statingthat
dashboardsandscorecardsareBItoolsthat"havefoundanewhomeinthecubicles,"havingmovedfrom
wheretheyonceresided(exclusivelyinexecutivesuites)underthenameExecutiveInformationSystems.
Hegives
examplesofhowdashboardsarebeingusedandspeaksoftheirbenefits,butleavesittousto
piecetogetherasenseofwhattheyare.TheclosesthecomestoadefinitioniswhenhequotesJohn
HagertyofAMRResearch,Inc.:"Dashboardsandscorecardsareaboutmeasuring."
Whileconducting
anextensiveliteraturereviewin2003insearchofagoodworkingdefinition,Ivisited
DataWarehousingOnline.comandclickedonthelinkto"ExecutiveDashboard"articles.Inresponse,I
receivedthesame18webpagesoflinksthatIfoundwhenIseparatelyclickedonlinksfor"Balanced
Scorecard,""DataQuality
andIntegration,"and"DataMining."Eitherthelinksweren'tworkingproperly,or
thiswebportalforthedatawarehousingindustryatthetimebelievedthatthesetermsallmeantthesame
thing.
3


Ifinallydecidedtobeginthetaskofdevisingaworkingdefinitionofmyownbyexaminingeveryexampleof
adashboardIcouldfindontheWeb,insearchoftheircommoncharacteristics.Youmightfindit
interestingtotakeasimilar journey.Inthenextfewpages,you'll
seescreenshotsofanassortmentof
dashboards,whichweremostlyfoundonthewebsitesofvendorsthatselldashboardsoftware.Takethe
timenowtobrowsethroughtheseexamplesandseeifyoucandiscerncommonthreadsthatmightbe
wovenintoausefuldefinition.


1
GregoryL.Hovis,"StopSearchingforInformationMonitoritwithDashboardTechnology,"DMDirect,February2002.
2
MarkLeon,"DashboardDemocracy,"Computerworld,June16,2003
3
Byincludingtheseexamplesfromthewebsitesofsoftwarevendorsandafewothersources,Idonotmeanto
endorseanyofthesedashboardsorthesoftwareproductsusedtocreatethemasexamplesofgooddesign,noras
extraordinaryexamplesofpoordesign.Tovaryingdegreesthey
allexhibitvisualdesignproblemsthatI'lladdressin
laterchapters.
www.it-ebooks.info

Figure1‐2.ThisdashboardfromBusinessObjectsreliesprimarilyongraphicalmeanstodisplayaseriesofperformance
measures.alongwithalistofalerts,Noticethatthetitleofthisdashboardis"MyKPIs."Keyperformanceindicatorsand
dashboardsappeartobesynonymousinthemindsofmostvendors.
Noticethegaugesaswell.We'llseequiteafewofthem.

www.it-ebooks.info
Figure1‐3.ThisdashboardfromOracleCorporationdisplaysacollectionofsalesmeasuresforanalyzingproductperformanceby
category.Allofthemeasuresaredisplayedgraphically.We'llfindthatthisemphasisongraphicaldisplaymediaisfairly

common.

Figure1‐4.ThisdashboardfromInformaticaCorporationdisplaysmeasuresofrevenuebysaleschannelalongwithalistof
reportsthatcanbeviewedseparately.Thepredominanceofgraphicaldisplaymediathatweobservedontheprevious
dashboardsappearsonthisoneaswell,notablyintheformofmetersdesignedtolooklikespeedometers.Thelistofreports
addsportalfunctionality,enablingthisdashboardtooperateasalaunchpadtocomplementaryinformation.
www.it-ebooks.info

Figure1‐5.ThisdashboardfromPrincipaprovidesanoverviewofacompany'sfinancialperformancecomparedtotargetsforthe
monthofMarch,bothintabularformandasaseriesofgauges.Theinformationcanbetailoredbyselectingdifferentmonths
andamountsofhistory.Onceagain,weseeastrongexpressionofthedashboardmetaphor,thistimeintheformofgraphical
devicesthatweredesignedtolooklikefuelgauges.
www.it-ebooks.info

Figure1‐6.ThisdashboardfromCognos,Inc.displaysatableandfivegraphsoneintheformofaworldmaptocommunicate
salesinformation.Despitetheonetable,there'sacontinuedemphasisongraphicalmedia.Noticealsothatathemeregarding
thevisualnatureandneedforvisualappealofdashboards
isemergingintheseexamples.
www.it-ebooks.info

Figure1‐7.ThisdashboardfromHyperionSolutionsCorporationdisplaysregionalsalesrevenueinthreeforms:onamap,ina
bargraph,andinatable.Datacanbefilteredbymeansofthreesetsofradiobuttonsontheleft.Thesefilteringmechanisms
buildrudimentaryanalyticalfunctionalityintothisdashboard.Visualdecorationreinforcesthethemethatdashboards
intentionallystriveforvisualappeal.
www.it-ebooks.info

Figure1‐8.ThisdashboardfromCordaTechnologies,Inc.featuresflight‐loadingmeasuresforanairlineusingfourpanelsof
graphs.Hereagainweseeanattentiontothevisualappealofthedisplay.Noticealsointheinstructionsatthetopthatan
abilitytointeractwiththegraphshas
beenbuiltintothedashboard,sothatuserscanaccessadditionalinformationinpop‐ups

anddrillintogreaterlevelsofdetail.
www.it-ebooks.info

Figure1‐9.ThisdashboardfromVisualMining,Inc.displaysvariousmeasuresofacity'stransitsystemtogivetheexecutivesin
chargeaquickoverviewofthesystem'scurrentandhistoricalperformance.Useofthecolorsgreen,yellow,andredtoindicate
good,satisfactory,andbadperformance,asyoucanseeonthethreegraphicaldisplaysarrangedhorizontallyacrossthemiddle,
iscommonondashboards.

www.it-ebooks.info
Figure1‐10.ThisdashboardfromInfommersion,Inc.givesexecutivesofahotelchainthemeanstoviewmultiplemeasuresof
performance,onehotelatatime.Itisnotunusualfordashboardstodividethefullsetofdataintoindividualviews,asthisone
doesbyusingthelistboxintheupper‐leftcornertoenableviewerstoselectanindividualhotelbylocation.Thegreatcarethat
weseeinthisexampletorealisticallyreproducethedashboardmetaphor,evendowntothesheenonpolishedmetal,isan
effortthatmanyvendorstakequiteseriously.

Figure1‐11.ThisdashboardfromCelequestCorporationintegratesaseriesofrelatedtablesandgraphsthatallowexecutivesto
viewseveralaspectsofsalessimultaneously.Itexhibitsanefforttocombinearichsetofrelateddataonthescreentoprovidea
comprehensiveoverviewofacompany'ssalesperformance.

www.it-ebooks.info

Figure1‐12.ThisdashboardfromGeneralElectric,calleda"digitalcockpit,"providesatabularsummaryofperformance,
complementedbyacolor‐codedindicatorlightforeachmeasure'sstatus.Ratherthanadashboarddesignedbyasoftware
vendortoexhibititsproduct,thisisanactualworkingdashboardthatwasdesignedbyacompanytoserveitsownbusiness
needs.Inthisexample,noeffortwasmadetoliterallyrepresentthedashboard(orcockpit)metaphor.

www.it-ebooks.info