Datasheet

The good news is that dashboarding has been around for such a long time,
there’s a vast knowledge base of prescribed visualization and dashboard
design principles. Many of these principles seem like common sense; even
so, these are concepts that Excel users don’t often find themselves thinking
about. Because this chapter is about getting into the dashboard state of
mind, I break that trend and review a few dashboard design principles that
improve the design aspect of your Excel dashboards.
Many of the concepts in this section come from the work of Stephen Few,
visualization expert and author of several books and articles on dashboard
design principles. As this book is primarily focused on the technical aspects
of building reporting components in Excel, this section offers a high-level
look at dashboard design. If you find that you’re captivated by the subject,
feel free to visit Stephen Few’s Web site at www.perceptualedge.com.
Rule number 1: Keep it simple
Dashboard design expert, Stephen Few, has the mantra, “Simplify, Simplify,
Simplify.” The basic idea is that dashboards cluttered with too many measures
or too much eye candy can dilute the significant information you’re trying to
present. How many times has someone told you that your reports look
“busy”? In essence, this complaint means that too much is going on in the
page or screen, making it hard to see the actual data.
Here are a few actions you can take to ensure simpler and more effective
dashboard designs.
Don’t turn your dashboard into a data repository
Admit it. You include as much information onto a report as possible, primarily
to avoid being asked for additional information. We all do it. But in the dash-
board state of mind, you have to fight the urge to force every piece of data
available onto your dashboards.
Overwhelming users with too much data can cause them to lose sight of
the primary goal of the dashboard and focus on inconsequential data. The
measures used on a dashboard should support the initial purpose of that
dashboard. Avoid the urge to fill white space for the sake of symmetry and
appearances. Don’t include nice-to-know data just because the data is
available. If the data doesn’t support the core purpose of the dashboard,
leave it out.
Avoid the fancy formatting
The key to communicating effectively with your dashboards is to present
your data as simply as possible. There’s no need to wrap it in eye candy to
make it more interesting. It’s okay to have a dashboard with little to no color
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Chapter 1: Getting in the Dashboard State of Mind
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