The visuals we see in modern dashboards vary greatly. They come in every color and style imaginable, often with additional eye candy designed to entice both the developer and end users. This great variety, while well intentioned, has often led to less-than-ideal results. Unclear focus, misuse of color, transparently flashy, overly complicated are a few thoughts that may come to mind while viewing well-intentioned, but poorly implemented visuals.
As the BI toolset has evolved, a “visual theme” has emerged that is key to providing value: simplify. It really is that…simple! In a time of information overload that we all face, simplification is a key to value that often goes overlooked. Does your dashboard need multiple variations of three-dimensional bar charts when a single scatter plot fits the need? Is the clutter of complicated or multicolored visuals distracting your viewer from the story you were trying to tell? Does your audience enjoy investigating or do they just want the quickest path to an answer? Do you know what your customer values?
If we look a bit deeper, we find the visual is best chosen with a clear understanding of the customer. Leadership teams may prefer visuals that are straight to the point. Data savvy users may enjoy a much more open-ended visual experience, free to browse and ask questions along the way. Introductory users may want a basic set of visuals that include guidance on how to interpret what they are seeing or callouts to highlight the key points of interest. Knowing the audience is the first key to success with visuals. Choosing a simplified, efficient visual is the next key step to unlocking the value.
