Datasheet

Use titles and labels effectively
It’s common sense, but many people often fail to label items on dashboards
effectively. If your manager looks at your dashboard and asks you, “What is
this telling me?,” you likely have labeling issues. Here are a few guidelines for
effective labeling in your dashboards and reports:
 Always include a timestamp on your reporting mechanisms. This
minimizes confusion when distributing the same dashboard or report in
monthly or weekly installments.
 Always include some text indicating when the data for the measures
was retrieved. In many cases, timing of the data is a critical piece of
information when analyzing a measure.
 Use descriptive titles for each component in your dashboard. This
allows users to clearly identify what they’re looking at. Be sure to avoid
cryptic titles with lots of acronyms and symbols.
 Although it may seem counterintuitive, it’s generally good practice to
de-emphasize labels by formatting them to hues lighter than the ones
used for your data. Lightly colored labels give your users the informa-
tion they need without distracting them from the information displayed.
Ideal colors to use for labels are colors that are commonly found in
nature: soft grays, browns, blues, and greens.
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Part I: Making the Move to Dashboards
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