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InformationDashboardDesign
ByStephenFew
...............................................
Publisher:O'Reilly
PubDate:January2006
ISBN:0596100167
Pages:223

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Copyright
Copyright2006StephenFewAllrightsreserved.
PrintedinItaly.
PublishedbyO'ReillyMedia,Inc.1005GravensteinHighwayNorthSebastopol,CA95472
O'Reillybooksmaybepurchasedforeducational,business,orsalespromotionaluse.Onlineeditionsare
alsoavailableformosttitles(safari.oreilly.com).Formoreinformation,contactourcorporate/institutional
salesdepartment:8009989938orcorporate@oreilly.com.
Editor

ColleenWheeler

ProductionEditor

Genevieved'Entremont

ArtDirector

MikeKohnke

CoverDesigner

StephenFew

InteriorDesigners

MikeKohnke,TerriDriscoll

ProductionServices

SpecializedComposition,Inc.

PrintHistory

January2006:

FirstEdition.

TheO'ReillylogoisaregisteredtrademarkofO'ReillyMedia,Inc.InformationDashboardDesignand
relatedtradedressaretrademarksofO'ReillyMedia,Inc.
Manyofthedesignationsusedbymanufacturersandsellerstodistinguishtheirproductsareclaimedas
trademarks.Wherethosedesignationsappearinthisbook,andO'ReillyMedia,Inc.wasawareofa
trademarkclaim,thedesignationshavebeenprintedincapsorinitialcaps.
Whileeveryprecautionhasbeentakeninthepreparationofthisbook,thepublisherandauthorassumeno
responsibilityforerrorsoromissions,orfordamagesresultingfromtheuseoftheinformationcontained
herein.
0596100167

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Tomyparents,BobandJoyceFew,whoseprideinmyjourneyhoweverstrangethatjourneymusthave
sometimesseemedinstilleddeepdownintomybonestheresolvetokeepplacingonefootinfrontofthe
other.

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AbouttheAuthor
StephenFewhasover20yearsofexperienceasanITinnovator,consultant,andeducator.Today,as
PrincipaloftheconsultancyPerceptualEdge,Stephenfocusesondatavisualizationforanalyzingand
communicatingquantitativebusinessinformation.Heisworkingtoraiseconsciousnessandtoprovidea
treatmentplanthataddressestheneedsofbusinessinthelanguageofbusiness.Hispreviousbook,Show
MetheNumbers:DesigningTablesandGraphstoEnlighten,isapowerfulfitnessprogramdesignedto
targetthedatapresentationaspectsofthisproblem.
Today,fromhisofficeinBerkeley,California,Stephenprovidesconsultingandtrainingservices,speaks
frequentlyatconferences,andteachesintheMBAprogramattheUniversityofCaliforniainBerkeley.
Moreabouthiscurrentworkcanbefoundatwww.perceptualedge.com.

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Introduction
Fewphenomenacharacterizeourtimemoreuniquelyandpowerfullythantherapidriseandinfluenceof
informationtechnologies.Thesetechnologieshaveunleashedatsunamiofdatathatrollsoverandflattens
usinitswake.Tamingthisbeasthasbecomeaprimarygoaloftheinformationindustry.Onetoolthathas
emergedfromthiseffortinrecentyearsistheinformationdashboard.Thissinglescreendisplayofthe
mostimportantinformationpeopleneedtodoajob,presentedinawaythatallowsthemtomonitor
what'sgoingoninaninstant,isapowerfulnewmediumofcommunication.Atleastitcanbe,butonly
whenproperlydesigned.
Mostinformationdashboardsthatareusedinbusinesstodayfallfarshortoftheirpotential.Therootof
theproblemisnottechnologyatleastnotprimarilybutpoorvisualdesign.Toservetheirpurposeandfulfill
theirpotential,dashboardsmustdisplayadensearrayofinformationinasmallamountofspaceina
mannerthatcommunicatesclearlyandimmediately.Thisrequiresdesignthattapsintoandleveragesthe
powerofvisualperceptiontosenseandprocesslargechunksofinformationrapidly.Thiscanbeachieved
onlywhenthevisualdesignofdashboardsiscentraltothedevelopmentprocessandisinformedbyasolid
understandingofvisualperceptionwhatworks,whatdoesn't,andwhy.
Notechnologycandothisforyou.Youmustbringthisexpertisetotheprocess.Takeheartthevisualdesign
skillsthatyouneedtodevelopeffectivedashboardscanbelearned,andhelpingyoulearnthemisthesole
purposeofthisbook.
Iftheinformationisimportant,itdeservestobecommunicatedwell.

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Acknowledgments
WithoutadoubtIowethegreatestdebtofgratitudetothemanysoftwarevendorswhohavedoneso
muchtomakethisbooknecessarybyfailingtoaddressorevencontemplatethevisualdesignneedsof
dashboards.Theirkinddisregardforvisualdesignhasgivenmefocus,ignitedmypassion,andguaranteed
mylivelihoodforyearstocome.
Now,ontothosewhohavecontributedmoredirectlyandpersonallytothiseffort.Asaman,Iwillneverbe
abletocreate,shelter,andnourishanemerginglifewithinthisbodyofmine.Inrecentyears,however,I
haverecognizedandpursuedtheopportunitytobreathelifeintotheproductsofmyimaginationandpass
themontotheworldintheformofbooks.Writingabookisabitlikebearingachild.Workingwitha
publishertohelpthechildlearntowalkbeforeventuringintotheworldisalessonintrust.Thefolksat
O'ReillyMediahavetaughtmetoentrusttothembeginningwithunspeakableangst,butproceeding
throughunfalteringstepstowardeverincreasingcomfortthecollegialcareofthisbelovedchild.Manyat
O'Reillyhavecontributedsomuch,buttwoinparticularhavestoodbymysidefromthebeginningwith
soothingvoicesofconfidenceandcalm.Myeditor,ColleenWheeler,knewwhentolisteninsilence,when
toteasemeoutofmyopia,andwhentogentlyremindmethatIwasinherconsiderateandconsiderable
care.Myacquisitionseditor,SteveWeiss,soughtmeoutandwooedmethroughmonthsofthoughtful
discussionintotheO'Reillyfold.Hegaveassurancesandhasmadesurethattheywerefulfilled.

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Sommario
Copyright.......................................................................................................................................................3
AbouttheAuthor...........................................................................................................................................5
Introduction...................................................................................................................................................6
Acknowledgments.........................................................................................................................................7
Chapter1.ClarifyingtheVision.......................................................................................................................11
1.1.AllThatGlittersIsNotGold..................................................................................................................12
1.2.EvenDashboardsHaveaHistory..........................................................................................................14
1.3.DispellingtheConfusion.......................................................................................................................15
1.3.1.WhatIsaDashboard?........................................................................................................................26
1.4.ATimelyOpportunity...........................................................................................................................28
Chapter2.VariationsinDashboardUsesandData........................................................................................29
2.1.CategorizingDashboards......................................................................................................................30
2.1.1.ClassifyingDashboardsbyRole.....................................................................................................31
2.2.TypicalDashboardData........................................................................................................................33
2.2.1.TheCommonThreadinDashboardDiversity................................................................................33
Chapter3.ThirteenCommonMistakesinDashboardDesign........................................................................38
3.1.ExceedingtheBoundariesofaSingleScreen.......................................................................................39
3.1.1.FragmentingDataintoSeparateScreens......................................................................................40
3.1.2.RequiringScrolling.........................................................................................................................42
3.2.SupplyingInadequateContextfortheData.........................................................................................43
3.3.DisplayingExcessiveDetailorPrecision...............................................................................................45
3.4.ChoosingaDeficientMeasure..............................................................................................................46
3.5.ChoosingInappropriateDisplayMedia................................................................................................47
3.6.IntroducingMeaninglessVariety..........................................................................................................51
3.7.UsingPoorlyDesignedDisplayMedia..................................................................................................52
3.8.EncodingQuantitativeDataInaccurately.............................................................................................56
3.9.ArrangingtheDataPoorly....................................................................................................................56
3.10.HighlightingImportantDataIneffectivelyorNotatAll.....................................................................57
3.11.ClutteringtheDisplaywithUselessDecoration.................................................................................58
3.12.MisusingorOverusingColor..............................................................................................................61
3.13.DesigninganUnattractiveVisualDisplay...........................................................................................62
Chapter4.TappingintothePowerofVisualPerception................................................................................64
4.1.UnderstandingtheLimitsofShortTermMemory...............................................................................65
4.2.VisuallyEncodingDataforRapidPerception.......................................................................................67

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4.2.1.AttributesofColor.........................................................................................................................69
4.2.2.AttributesofForm.........................................................................................................................70
4.2.3.AttributesofPosition....................................................................................................................71
4.2.4.AttributesofMotion......................................................................................................................71
4.2.5.EncodingQuantitativeVersusCategoricalData............................................................................71
4.2.6.LimitstoPerceptualDistinctness..................................................................................................73
4.2.7.UsingVividandSubtleColorsAppropriately.................................................................................74
4.3.GestaltPrinciplesofVisualPerception.................................................................................................74
4.3.1.ThePrincipleofProximity.............................................................................................................75
4.3.2.ThePrincipleofSimilarity..............................................................................................................75
4.3.3.ThePrincipleofEnclosure.............................................................................................................76
4.3.4.ThePrincipleofClosure.................................................................................................................77
4.3.5.ThePrincipleofContinuity............................................................................................................78
4.3.6.ThePrincipleofConnection..........................................................................................................78
4.4.ApplyingthePrinciplesofVisualPerceptiontoDashboardDesign.....................................................79
Chapter5.EloquenceThroughSimplicity.......................................................................................................80
5.1.CharacteristicsofaWellDesignedDashboard....................................................................................81
5.1.1.CondensingInformationviaSummarizationandException.........................................................82
5.2.KeyGoalsintheVisualDesignProcess................................................................................................83
5.2.1.ReducetheNonDataPixels..........................................................................................................86
5.2.2.EnhancetheDataPixels................................................................................................................94
Chapter6.EffectiveDashboardDisplayMedia.............................................................................................101
6.1.SelecttheBestDisplayMedium.........................................................................................................102
6.2.AnIdealLibraryofDashboardDisplayMedia....................................................................................106
6.2.1.Graphs.........................................................................................................................................107
6.2.2.Icons.............................................................................................................................................131
6.2.3.Text..............................................................................................................................................133
6.2.4.Images.........................................................................................................................................133
6.2.5.DrawingObjects..........................................................................................................................134
6.2.6.Organizers....................................................................................................................................135
6.3.Summary.............................................................................................................................................137
Chapter7.DesigningDashboardsforUsability.............................................................................................138
7.1.OrganizetheInformationtoSupportItsMeaningandUse...............................................................139
7.1.1.OrganizeGroupsAccordingtoBusinessFunctions,Entities,andUse........................................139
7.1.2.ColocateItemsThatBelongtotheSameGroup........................................................................139

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7.1.3.DelineateGroupsUsingtheLeastVisibleMeans........................................................................140
7.1.4.SupportMeaningfulComparisons...............................................................................................141
7.1.5.DiscourageMeaninglessComparisons........................................................................................142
7.2.MaintainConsistencyforQuickandAccurateInterpretation...........................................................143
7.3.MaketheViewingExperienceAestheticallyPleasing........................................................................143
7.3.1.ChooseColorsAppropriately.......................................................................................................144
7.3.2.ChooseHighResolutionforClarity..............................................................................................145
7.3.3.ChoosetheRightText..................................................................................................................145
7.4.DesignforUseasaLaunchPad..........................................................................................................145
7.5.TestYourDesignforUsability.............................................................................................................146
Chapter8.PuttingItAllTogether..................................................................................................................147
8.1.SampleSalesDashboard.....................................................................................................................148
CritiqueofSalesDashboardExample1.................................................................................................151
CritiqueofSalesDashboardExample2.................................................................................................152
CritiqueofSalesDashboardExample3.................................................................................................153
CritiqueofSalesDashboardExample4.................................................................................................154
CritiqueofSalesDashboardExample5.................................................................................................155
CritiqueofSalesDashboardExample6.................................................................................................156
CritiqueofSalesDashboardExample7.................................................................................................157
CritiqueofSalesDashboardExample8.................................................................................................158
8.2.SampleCIODashboard.......................................................................................................................159
8.3.SampleTelesalesDashboard..............................................................................................................161
8.4.SampleMarketingAnalysisDashboard..............................................................................................162
8.5.AFinalWord.......................................................................................................................................164
AppendixA.RecommendedReading............................................................................................................165
Colophon.......................................................................................................................................................166

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Chapter1.ClarifyingtheVision
Dashboardsofferauniqueandpowerfulsolutiontoanorganization'sneedforinformation,buttheyusually
fallfarshortoftheirpotential.Dashboardsmustbeseeninhistoricalcontexttounderstandandappreciate
howandwhythey'vecomeabout,whythey'vebecomesopopular,andwhydespitemanyproblemsthat
underminetheirvaluetodaytheyofferbenfitsworthpursuing.Todate,littleseriousattentionhasbeen
giventotheirvisualdesign.Thisbookstrivestofillthisgap.However,confusionabounds,demandinga
cleardefinitionofdashboardsbeforewecanexplorethevisualdesignprinciplesandpracticesthatmustbe
appliediftheyaretoliveuptotheiruniquepromise.

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Problemswithdashboardstoday
Dashboardsinhistoricalcontext
Currentconfusionaboutwhatdashboardsare
Aworkingdefinitionof"dashboard"
Atimelyopportunityfordashboards
Aboveallelse,thisisabookaboutcommunication.Itfocusesexclusivelyonaparticularmediumof
communicationcalledadashboard.Inthefastpacedworldofinformationtechnology(IT),termsare
constantlychanging.Justwhenyouthinkyou'vewrappedyourmindaroundthelatestinnovation,the
technologylandscapeshiftsbeneathyouandyoumuststruggletoremainupright.Thisiscertainlytrueof
dashboards.
Liveyourlifeonthesurfaceoftheseshiftingsands,andyou'llnevergetyourbalance.Lookalittledeeper,
however,andyou'lldiscovermorestableground:abedrockofobjectives,principles,andpracticesfor
informationhandlingthatremainsrelativelyconstant.Dashboardsareuniqueinseveralexcitinganduseful
ways,butdespitethehypesurroundingthem,whattheyareandhowtheyworkasameansofdelivering
informationarecloselyrelatedtosomelongfamiliarconceptsandtechnologies.It'stimetocutthrough
thehypeandlearnthepracticalskillsthatcanhelpyoutransformdashboardsfromyetanotherfadriding
thewavesofthetechnologybuzzintotheeffectivemeanstoenlightenthattheyreallycanbe.
Today,everybodywantsadashboard.Likemanynewcomerstothetechnologyscene,dashboardsaresexy.
Softwarevendorsworkhardtomaketheirdashboardsshimmywithsexappeal.Theytaunt,"Youdon't
wanttobetheonlycompanyinyourneighborhoodwithoutone,doyou?"
Theywarn,"Youcannolongerlivewithoutone."Theywhispersweetly,"Stillhaven'tachievedthe
expectedreturnoninvestment(ROI)fromyourexpensivedatawarehouse?Juststickadashboardinfront
ofitandwatchthemoneypourin."Bestillmyheart.
Thosegauges,meters,andtrafficlightsaresodamnflashy!Youcanimaginethatyou'resittingbehindthe
wheelofaGermanengineeredsportscar,feelingthewindwhipthroughyourhairasyouteararound
curvesontheautobahnathighspeeds,allwithoutleavingyourdesk.
Everyonewantsadashboardtoday,butoftenforthewrongreasons.Restassured,however,that
somewherebeyondthehypeandsizzlelivesauniqueandeffectivesolutiontofamiliarbusinessproblems
thatarerootedinaveryrealneedforinformation.That'sthedashboardthatdeservestoliveonyour
screen.

1.1.AllThatGlittersIsNotGold
Dashboardscanprovideauniqueandpowerfulmeanstopresentinformation,buttheyrarelyliveupto
theirpotential.Mostdashboardsfailtocommunicateefficientlyandeffectively,notbecauseofinadequate
technology(atleastnotprimarily),butbecauseofpoorlydesignedimplementations.Nomatterhowgreat
thetechnology,adashboard'ssuccessasamediumofcommunicationisaproductofdesign,aresultofa
displaythatspeaksclearlyandimmediately.Dashboardscantapintothetremendouspowerofvisual
perceptiontocommunicate,butonlyifthosewhoimplementthemunderstandvisualperceptionandapply

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thatunderstandingthroughdesignprinciplesandpracticesthatarealignedwiththewaypeopleseeand
think.Softwarewon'tdothisforyou.It'suptoyou.
Unfortunately,mostvendorsthatprovidedashboardsoftwarehavedonelittletoencouragetheeffective
useofthismedium.Theyfocustheirmarketingeffortsonflashanddazzlethatsubvertthegoalsofclear
communication.Theyfighttowinourinterestbymaximizingsizzle,highlightingflashydisplaymechanisms
thatappealtoourdesiretobeentertained.Onceimplemented,however,thesecutedisplayslosetheir
sparkinamatterofdaysandbecomejustplainannoying.Aneffectivedashboardistheproductnotofcute
gauges,meters,andtrafficlights(Figure11),butratherofinformeddesign:moresciencethanart,more
simplicitythandazzle.Itis,aboveallelse,aboutcommunication.

Figure11.Atypicalflashydashboard.Can'tyoujustfeeltheenginerevving?

Thisfailurebysoftwarevendorstofocusonwhatweactuallyneedishardlyuniquetodashboards.Most
softwaresuffersfromthesameshortcomingdespiteallthehypeaboutuserfriendliness,itisdifficultto
use.Thissadstateissocommon,andhasbeenthecaseforsolong,we'vegrownaccustomedtothepain.
Onthoseoccasionswhenthisuglytruthbreechesthesurfaceofourconsciousness,weusuallyblamethe
problemonourselvesratherthanthesoftware,framingitintermsof"computerilliteracy."Ifwecouldonly
adaptmoretothecomputerandhowitworks,therewouldn'tbeaproblemorsowereason.Inhis
insightfulbookentitledTheInmatesAreRunningtheAsylum,masterdesignerAlanCooperwrites:
Thesadthingaboutdancingbearware[Cooper'stermforpoorlydesignedsoftware
thatisdifficulttouse]isthatmostpeoplearequitesatisfiedwiththelumbering
beast.Onlywhentheyseesomerealdancingdotheybegintosuspectthatthereisa
worldbeyondursineshuffling.Sofewsoftwarebasedproductshaveexhibitedany

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realdancingabilitythatmostpeoplearehonestlyunawarethatthingscouldbe
betteralotbetter.1
Cooperarguesthatthisfailureisrootedinanapproachtosoftwaredevelopmentthatsimplydoesn'twork.
Inagenuineattempttopleasetheircustomers,softwareengineersfocusoncheckingalltheitems,oneby
one,offoflistsofrequestedfeatures.Thisapproachmakessensetotechnologyorientedsoftware
engineers,butitresultsinlumberingbeasts.Customersareexpertinknowingwhattheyneedto
accomplish,butnotinknowinghowsoftwareoughttobedesignedtosupporttheirneeds.Allowing
customerstodesignsoftwarethroughfeaturerequestsistheworstformofdisasterbycommittee.
Softwarevendorsshouldbringdesignvisionandexpertisetothedevelopmentprocess.Theyoughtto
knowthedifferencebetweensuperficialglitzandwhatreallyworks.Butthey'resoexhaustedfromworking
ungodlyhourstryingtosqueezemorefeaturesintothenextreleasethatthey'releftwithnotimetodothe
researchneededtodiscoverwhatactuallyworks,oreventostepbackandobservehowtheirproductsare
reallybeingused(andfailingintheprocess).
Thepartofinformationtechnologythatfocusesonreportingandanalysiscurrentlygoesbythename
businessintelligence(BI).Todate,BIvendorshaveconcentratedondevelopingtheunderlyingtechnologies
thatareusedtogatherdatafromsourcesystems,transformdataintoamoreusableform,storedatain
highperformancedatabases,accessdataforuse,andpresentdataintheformofreports.Tremendous
progresshasbeenmadeintheseareas,resultinginrobusttechnologiesthatcanhandlehugerepositories
ofdata.However,whilewehavemanagedtowarehouseagreatdealofinformation,wehavemadelittle
progressinusingthatinformationeffectively.Relativelylittleefforthasbeendedicatedtoengaginghuman
intelligence,whichiswhatthisindustry,bydefinition,issupposedtobeabout.
AglossaryontheGartnerGroup'swebsitedefinesbusinessintelligenceas"Aninteractiveprocessfor
exploringandanalyzingstructured,domainspecificinformationtodiscernbusinesstrendsorpatterns,
therebyderivinginsightsanddrawingconclusions"
(http://www.gartner.com/6_help/glossary/GlossaryB.jsp).Toprogressinthisworthwhileventure,theBI
industrymustshiftitsfocusnowtoanengaginginteractionwithhumanperceptionandintelligence.Todo
this,vendorsmustbasetheireffortsonafirmunderstandingofhowpeopleperceiveandthink,building
interfaces,visualdisplays,andmethodsofinteractionthatfitseamlesslywithhumanability.

1.2.EvenDashboardsHaveaHistory
Inmanyrespects,"dashboard"issimplyanewnamefortheExecutiveInformationSystems(EISs)first
developedinthe1980s.Theseimplementationsremainedexclusivelyintheofficesofexecutivesandnever
numberedmorethanafew,soitisunlikelythatyou'veeveractuallyseenone.Isatthroughafewvendor
demosbackinthe1980sbutneverdidseeanactualsysteminuse.TheusualpurposeofanEISwasto
displayahandfulofkeyfinancialmeasuresthroughasimpleinterfacethat"evenanexecutivecould
understand."Thoughlimitedinscope,thegoalwasvisionaryandworthwhile,butaheadofitstime.Back
then,beforedatawarehousingandbusinessintelligencehadevolvedthenecessarydatahandling
methodologiesandgivenshapetothenecessarytechnologies,thevisionsimplywasn'tpractical;itcouldn't
berealizedbecausetherequiredinformationwasincomplete,unreliable,andspreadacrosstoomany
disparatesources.Thus,inthesamedecadethattheEISarose,italsowentintohibernation,preservingits
visionintheshadowsuntilthetimewasripeThatis,untilnow.

TheInmatesAreRunningtheAsylum(Indianapolis,IN:SAMSPublishing,1999),59.

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Duringthe1990s,datawarehousing,onlineanalyticalprocessing(OLAP),andeventuallybusiness
intelligenceworkedaspartnerstotamethewildonslaughtoftheinformationage.Theemphasisduring
thoseyearswasoncollecting,correcting,integrating,storing,andaccessinginformationinwaysthat
soughttoguaranteeitsaccuracy,timeliness,andusefulness.Fromtheearlydaysofdatawarehousingon
intotheearlyyearsofthisnewmillennium,theefforthaslargelyfocusedonthetechnologies,andtoa
lesserdegreethemethodologies,neededtomakeinformationavailableanduseful.Thedirectbeneficiaries
sofarhavemostlybeenfolkswhoarehighlyproficientintheuseofcomputersandabletousethe
availabletoolstonavigatethroughlarge,oftencomplexdatabases.
Whatalsoemergedintheearly1990s,butdidn'tbecomepopularuntillateinthatdecade,wasanew
approachtomanagementthatinvolvedtheidentificationanduseofkeyperformanceindicators(KPIs),
introducedbyRobertS.KaplanandDavidP.NortonastheBalancedScorecard.Theadvancesindata
warehousinganditstechnologypartnerssetthestageforthisnewinterestinmanagementthroughtheuse
ofmetricsandnotjustfinancialmetricsthatstilldominatesthebusinesslandscapetoday.Business
PerformanceManagement(BPM),asitisnowcommonlyknown,hasbecomeaninternational
preoccupation.Theinfrastructurebuiltbydatawarehousingandthelike,aswellastheinterestofBPMin
metricsthatcanbemonitoredeasily,togethertilledandfertilizedthesoilinwhichthehibernatingseedsof
EIStypedisplayswereonceagainabletogrow.
Whatreallycausedheadstoturninrecognitionofdashboardsasmuchmorethanyoureverydayfledgling
technology,however,wastheEnronscandalin2001.Theaftermathputnewpressureoncorporationsto
demonstratetheirabilitytocloselymonitorwhatwasgoingonintheirmidstandtotherebyassure
shareholdersthattheywereincontrol.Thisincreasedaccountability,combinedwiththeconcurrent
economicdownturn,sentChiefInformationOfficers(CIOs)onamissiontofindanythingthatcouldhelp
managersatalllevelsmoreeasilyandefficientlykeepaneyeonperformance.MostBIvendorsthathadn't
alreadystartedofferingadashboardproductsoonbegantodoso,sometimesbycleverlychangingthe
nameofanexistingproduct,sometimesbyquicklypurchasingtherightstoanexistingproductfroma
smallervendor,andsometimesbycobblingtogetherpiecesofproductsthatalreadyexisted.The
marketplacesoonofferedavastarrayofdashboardsoftwarefromwhichtochoose.

1.3.DispellingtheConfusion
Likemanyproductsthathitthehightechscenewithasplash,dashboardsareveiledinmarketinghype.
VirtuallyeveryvendorintheBIspaceclaimstoselldashboardsoftware,butfewclarifywhatdashboards
actuallyare.I'mremindedoftheearlyyearsofdatawarehousing,wheneagertolearnaboutthisnew
approachtodatamanagementIaskedmyIBMaccountmanagerhowIBMdefinedtheterm.Hisresponse
wasclassicandrefreshinglycandid:"BydatawarehousingweatIBMmeanwhateverthecustomerthinksit
means."Irealizethatthiswasn'tIBM'sofficialdefinition,whichI'msureexistedsomewhereintheir
literature,butitwasmybluesuitedfriend'swayofsayingthatasasalesperson,itwasusefultoleavethe
termvagueandflexible.Aslongasaproductorserviceremainsundefinedorlooselydefined,itiseasyto
claimthatyourcompanysellsit.
Thoseraresoftwarevendorsthathavetakenthetimetodefinethetermintheirmarketingliteraturestart
withthespecificfeaturesoftheirproductsasthecoreofthedefinition,ratherthanagenericdescription.
Asaresult,vendordefinitionstendtobeselfvalidatinglistsoftechnologiesandfeatures.Forexample,Dr.
GregoryL.Hovis,DirectorofProductDeploymentforSnippetsSoftware,Inc.,asserts:

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AbletouniversallyconnecttoanyXMLorHTMLdatasource,robustdashboard
productsintelligentlygatheranddisplaydata,providingbusinessintelligence
withoutinterruptingworkflowAnenterprisedashboardischaracterizedbya
collectionofintelligentagents(orgauges),eachperformingfrequentbidirectional
communicationwithdatasources.Likeavirtualstaffof24x7analysts,eachagentin
thedashboardintelligentlygathers,processesandpresentsdata,generatingalerts
andrevisingactionsasconditionschange.1
AnarticleintheJune16,2003editionofComputerworldcitesstatisticsfromastudydonebyAMR
Research,Inc.,whichdeclaresthat"morethanhalfofthe135companiesrecentlysurveyedare
implementingdashboards."2
Unfortunately,theauthornevertellsuswhatdashboardsare.Heteasesuswithhints,statingthat
dashboardsandscorecardsareBItoolsthat"havefoundanewhomeinthecubicles,"havingmovedfrom
wheretheyonceresided(exclusivelyinexecutivesuites)underthenameExecutiveInformationSystems.
Hegivesexamplesofhowdashboardsarebeingusedandspeaksoftheirbenefits,butleavesittousto
piecetogetherasenseofwhattheyare.TheclosesthecomestoadefinitioniswhenhequotesJohn
HagertyofAMRResearch,Inc.:"Dashboardsandscorecardsareaboutmeasuring."
Whileconductinganextensiveliteraturereviewin2003insearchofagoodworkingdefinition,Ivisited
DataWarehousingOnline.comandclickedonthelinkto"ExecutiveDashboard"articles.Inresponse,I
receivedthesame18webpagesoflinksthatIfoundwhenIseparatelyclickedonlinksfor"Balanced
Scorecard,""DataQualityandIntegration,"and"DataMining."Eitherthelinksweren'tworkingproperly,or
thiswebportalforthedatawarehousingindustryatthetimebelievedthatthesetermsallmeantthesame
thing.3
Ifinallydecidedtobeginthetaskofdevisingaworkingdefinitionofmyownbyexaminingeveryexampleof
adashboardIcouldfindontheWeb,insearchoftheircommoncharacteristics.Youmightfindit
interestingtotakeasimilarjourney.Inthenextfewpages,you'llseescreenshotsofanassortmentof
dashboards,whichweremostlyfoundonthewebsitesofvendorsthatselldashboardsoftware.Takethe
timenowtobrowsethroughtheseexamplesandseeifyoucandiscerncommonthreadsthatmightbe
wovenintoausefuldefinition.

GregoryL.Hovis,"StopSearchingforInformationMonitoritwithDashboardTechnology,"DMDirect,February2002.
MarkLeon,"DashboardDemocracy,"Computerworld,June16,2003
3
Byincludingtheseexamplesfromthewebsitesofsoftwarevendorsandafewothersources,Idonotmeanto
endorseanyofthesedashboardsorthesoftwareproductsusedtocreatethemasexamplesofgooddesign,noras
extraordinaryexamplesofpoordesign.TovaryingdegreestheyallexhibitvisualdesignproblemsthatI'lladdressin
laterchapters.
2

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Figure12.ThisdashboardfromBusinessObjectsreliesprimarilyongraphicalmeanstodisplayaseriesofperformance
measures.alongwithalistofalerts,Noticethatthetitleofthisdashboardis"MyKPIs."Keyperformanceindicatorsand
dashboardsappeartobesynonymousinthemindsofmostvendors.Noticethegaugesaswell.We'llseequiteafewofthem.

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Figure13.ThisdashboardfromOracleCorporationdisplaysacollectionofsalesmeasuresforanalyzingproductperformanceby
category.Allofthemeasuresaredisplayedgraphically.We'llfindthatthisemphasisongraphicaldisplaymediaisfairly
common.

Figure14.ThisdashboardfromInformaticaCorporationdisplaysmeasuresofrevenuebysaleschannelalongwithalistof
reportsthatcanbeviewedseparately.Thepredominanceofgraphicaldisplaymediathatweobservedontheprevious
dashboardsappearsonthisoneaswell,notablyintheformofmetersdesignedtolooklikespeedometers.Thelistofreports
addsportalfunctionality,enablingthisdashboardtooperateasalaunchpadtocomplementaryinformation.

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Figure15.ThisdashboardfromPrincipaprovidesanoverviewofacompany'sfinancialperformancecomparedtotargetsforthe
monthofMarch,bothintabularformandasaseriesofgauges.Theinformationcanbetailoredbyselectingdifferentmonths
andamountsofhistory.Onceagain,weseeastrongexpressionofthedashboardmetaphor,thistimeintheformofgraphical
devicesthatweredesignedtolooklikefuelgauges.

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Figure16.ThisdashboardfromCognos,Inc.displaysatableandfivegraphsoneintheformofaworldmaptocommunicate
salesinformation.Despitetheonetable,there'sacontinuedemphasisongraphicalmedia.Noticealsothatathemeregarding
thevisualnatureandneedforvisualappealofdashboardsisemergingintheseexamples.

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Figure17.ThisdashboardfromHyperionSolutionsCorporationdisplaysregionalsalesrevenueinthreeforms:onamap,ina
bargraph,andinatable.Datacanbefilteredbymeansofthreesetsofradiobuttonsontheleft.Thesefilteringmechanisms
buildrudimentaryanalyticalfunctionalityintothisdashboard.Visualdecorationreinforcesthethemethatdashboards
intentionallystriveforvisualappeal.

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Figure18.ThisdashboardfromCordaTechnologies,Inc.featuresflightloadingmeasuresforanairlineusingfourpanelsof
graphs.Hereagainweseeanattentiontothevisualappealofthedisplay.Noticealsointheinstructionsatthetopthatan
abilitytointeractwiththegraphshasbeenbuiltintothedashboard,sothatuserscanaccessadditionalinformationinpopups
anddrillintogreaterlevelsofdetail.

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Figure19.ThisdashboardfromVisualMining,Inc.displaysvariousmeasuresofacity'stransitsystemtogivetheexecutivesin
chargeaquickoverviewofthesystem'scurrentandhistoricalperformance.Useofthecolorsgreen,yellow,andredtoindicate
good,satisfactory,andbadperformance,asyoucanseeonthethreegraphicaldisplaysarrangedhorizontallyacrossthemiddle,
iscommonondashboards.

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Figure110.ThisdashboardfromInfommersion,Inc.givesexecutivesofahotelchainthemeanstoviewmultiplemeasuresof
performance,onehotelatatime.Itisnotunusualfordashboardstodividethefullsetofdataintoindividualviews,asthisone
doesbyusingthelistboxintheupperleftcornertoenableviewerstoselectanindividualhotelbylocation.Thegreatcarethat
weseeinthisexampletorealisticallyreproducethedashboardmetaphor,evendowntothesheenonpolishedmetal,isan
effortthatmanyvendorstakequiteseriously.

Figure111.ThisdashboardfromCelequestCorporationintegratesaseriesofrelatedtablesandgraphsthatallowexecutivesto
viewseveralaspectsofsalessimultaneously.Itexhibitsanefforttocombinearichsetofrelateddataonthescreentoprovidea
comprehensiveoverviewofacompany'ssalesperformance.

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Figure112.ThisdashboardfromGeneralElectric,calleda"digitalcockpit,"providesatabularsummaryofperformance,
complementedbyacolorcodedindicatorlightforeachmeasure'sstatus.Ratherthanadashboarddesignedbyasoftware
vendortoexhibititsproduct,thisisanactualworkingdashboardthatwasdesignedbyacompanytoserveitsownbusiness
needs.Inthisexample,noeffortwasmadetoliterallyrepresentthedashboard(orcockpit)metaphor.

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Figure113.ThisdashboardisusedbytheTreasuryBoardofCanadatomonitortheperformanceofaproject.Hereagainwe
haveadashboardthatwasdesignedbyanorganizationforitsownuse.Thistime,thedashboardmetaphormakesatoken
appearanceintheformofgauges.Thetrafficlightcolorsgreen,yellow,andredherewiththeadditionofblueforthe
exceptionallygoodstatusof"aheadofschedule"arealsoused.Unlikesomeoftheexamplesthatwe'veseenthatdisplayed
relativelylittleinformation,thisonemakestheattempttoprovidethecomprehensiveoverviewthatwouldbeneededto
effectivelymonitorprogressandperformance.

1.3.1.WhatIsaDashboard?
Asyouhavenodoubtdeterminedbyexaminingtheseexamples,there'safairdegreeofdiversityinthe
productsthatgobythename"dashboard."Oneofthefewcharacteristicsthatmostvendorsseemtoagree
onisthatforsomethingtobecalledadashboarditmustincludegraphicaldisplaymechanismssuchas
trafficlightsandavarietyofgaugesandmeters,manysimilartothefuelgaugesandspeedometersfound
inautomobiles.ThisclearlyassociatesBIdashboardswiththefamiliarversionsfoundincars,thereby
leveragingausefulmetaphorbutthemetaphoralonedoesn'tprovideanadequatedefinition.Aboutthe
onlyotherthreadthatiscommontothesedashboardexamplesisthattheyusuallyattempttoprovidean
overviewofsomethingthat'scurrentlygoingoninthebusiness.
Afteragreatdealofresearchandthought,Icomposedadefinitionofmyownthatcapturestheessenceof
whatIbelieveadashboardis(clearlybiasedtowardthecharacteristicsofthismediumthatIfindmost
usefulandunique).Toserveuswell,thisdefinitionmustclearlydifferentiatedashboardsfromotherforms
ofdatapresentation,anditmustemphasizethosecharacteristicsthateffectivelysupportthegoalof
communication.Here'smydefinition,whichoriginallyappearedinIntelligentEnterprisemagazine:
Adashboardisavisualdisplayofthemostimportantinformationneededtoachieve
oneormoreobjectives;consolidatedandarrangedonasinglescreensothe
informationcanbemonitoredataglance.1
Justasthedashboardofacarprovidescriticalinformationneededtooperatethevehicleataglance,aBI
dashboardservesasimilarpurpose,whetheryou'reusingittomakestrategicdecisionsforahuge
corporation,runthedailyoperationsofateam,orperformtasksthatinvolvenoonebutyourself.The
meansisasinglescreendisplay,andthepurposeistoefficientlymonitortheinformationneededto
achieveone'sobjectives.
Visualdisplayofthemostinformationneededtoachieveoneormoreobjectives
whichfitsentirelyonasinglecomputerscreensoitcanbemonitoredataglance
Let'sgooverthesalientpoints:
Dashboardsarevisualdisplays.Theinformationonadashboardispresentedvisually,usuallyasa
combinationoftextandgraphics,butwithanemphasisongraphics.Dashboardsarehighlygraphical,not
becauseitiscute,butbecausegraphicalpresentation,handledexpertly,canoftencommunicatewith
greaterefficiencyandrichermeaningthantextalone.Howcanyoubestpresenttheinformationsothat
humaneyescantakeitinquicklyandhumanbrainscaneasilyextractthecorrectandmostimportant
meaningsfromit?Todesigndashboardseffectively,youmustunderstandsomethingaboutvisual
perceptionwhatworks,whatdoesn't,andwhy.

Dashboardsdisplaytheinformationneededtoachievespecificobjectives.Toachieveevena
singleobjectiveoftenrequiresaccesstoacollectionofinformationthatisnototherwiserelated,

StephenFew,"DashboardConfusion,"IntelligentEnterprise,March20,2004.

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oftencomingfromdiversesourcesrelatedtovariousbusinessfunctions.Itisn'taspecifictypeof
information,butinformationofwhatevertypethatisneededtodoajob.Itisn'tjustinformation
thatisneededbyexecutivesorevenbymanagers;itcanbeinformationthatisneededbyanyone
whohasobjectivestomeet.TherequiredinformationcanbeandoftenisasetofKPIs,butnot
necessarily,forothertypesofinformationmightalsobeneededtodoone'sjob.
Adashboardfitsonasinglecomputerscreen.Theinformationmustfitonasinglescreen,entirely
availablewithintheviewer'seyespansoitcanallbeseenatonce,ataglance.Ifyoumustscroll
aroundtoseealltheinformation,ithastransgressedtheboundariesofadashboard.Ifyoumust
shiftfromscreentoscreentoseeitall,you'vemadeuseofmultipledashboards.Theobjectisto
havethemostimportantinformationreadilyandeffortlesslyavailablesoyoucanquicklyabsorb
whatyouneedtoknow.
Musttheinformationbedisplayedinawebbrowser?Thatmightbethebestmediumformost
dashboardstoday,butitisn'ttheonlyacceptablemedium,anditmightnotbethebestmedium10
yearsfromnow.Musttheinformationbeconstantlyrefreshedinrealtime?Onlyiftheobjectives
thatitservesrequirerealtimeinformation.Ifyouaremonitoringairtrafficusingadashboard,you
mustimmediatelybeinformedwhensomethingiswrong.Ontheotherhand,ifyouaremaking
strategicdecisionsabouthowtoboostsales,asnapshotofinformationasoflastnight,orperhaps
eventheendoflastmonth,shouldworkfine.
Dashboardsareusedtomonitorinformationataglance.Despitethefactthatinformationabout
almostanythingcanbeappropriatelydisplayedinadashboard,thereisatleastonecharacteristic
thatdescribesalmostalltheinformationfoundindashboards:itisabbreviatedintheformof
summariesorexceptions.Thisisbecauseyoucannotmonitorataglanceallthedetailsneededto
achieveyourobjectives.Adashboardmustbeabletoquicklypointoutthatsomethingdeserves
yourattentionandmightrequireaction.Itneedn'tprovideallthedetailsnecessarytotakeaction,
butifitdoesn't,itoughttomakeitaseasyandseamlessaspossibletogettothatinformation.
Gettingtheremightinvolveshiftingtoadifferentdisplaybeyondthedashboard,usingnavigational
methodssuchasdrillingdown.Thedashboarddoesitsprimaryjobifittellsyouwithnomorethan
aglancethatyoushouldact.Itservesyousuperblyifitdirectlyopensthedoortoanyadditional
informationthatyouneedtotakethataction.

That'stheessenceofthedashboard.Nowlet'saddtothisdefinitionacouplemoresupportingattributes
thathelpdashboardsdotheirjobeffectively:

Dashboardshavesmall,concise,clear,andintuitivedisplaymechanisms.Displaymechanismsthat
clearlystatetheirmessagewithouttakingupmuchspacearerequired,sothattheentirecollection
ofinformationwillfitintothelimitedrealestateofasinglescreen.Ifsomethingthatlookslikea
fuelgauge,trafficsignal,orthermometerfitsthisrequirementbestforaparticularpieceof
information,that'swhatyoushoulduse,butifsomethingelseworksbetter,youshouldusethat
instead.Insistingonsexydisplayssimilartothosefoundinacarwhenothermechanismswould
workbetteriscounterproductive.
Dashboardsarecustomized.Theinformationonadashboardmustbetailoredspecificallytothe
requirementsofagivenperson,group,orfunction;otherwise,itwon'tserveitspurpose.

Adashboardisatypeofdisplay,aformofpresentation,notaspecifictypeofinformationortechnology.
Keepthisdistinctionclear,andyouwillbefreedtofocusonwhatreallymatters:designingdashboardsto
communicate.

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1.4.ATimelyOpportunity
Severalcircumstanceshaverecentlycombinedtocreateatimelyopportunityfordashboardstoaddvalue
totheworkplace,includingtechnologiessuchashighresolutiongraphics,emphasisonperformance
managementandmetrics,andagrowingrecognitionofvisualperceptionasapowerfulchannelfor
informationacquisitionandcomprehension.Dashboardsofferauniquesolutiontotheproblemof
informationoverloadnotacompletesolutionbyanymeans,butonethathelpsalot.AsDr.Hoviswrotein
thatsamearticleinDMDirect:
Therealvalueofdashboardproductsliesintheirabilitytoreplacehuntandpeck
datagatheringtechniqueswithatireless,adaptable,informationflowmechanism.
Dashboardstransformdatarepositoriesintoconsumableinformation.1
Dashboardsaren'tallthatdifferentfromsomeoftheothermeansofpresentinginformation,butwhen
properlydesignedthesinglescreendisplayofintegratedandfinelytuneddatacandeliverinsightinan
especiallypowerfulway.
Dashboardsandvisualizationarecognitivetoolsthatimproveyour"spanofcontrol"
overalotofbusinessdata.Thesetoolshelppeoplevisuallyidentifytrends,patterns
andanomalies,reasonaboutwhattheyseeandhelpguidethemtowardeffective
decisions.Assuch,thesetoolsneedtoleveragepeople'svisualcapabilities.Withthe
prevalenceofscorecards,dashboardsandothervisualizationtoolsnowwidely
availableforbusinessuserstoreviewtheirdata,theissueofvisualinformation
designismoreimportantthanever.2
ThefinalsentimentthatBrathandPetersexpressedinthisexcerptfromtheirarticleunderscoresthe
purposeofthisbook.Asdatavisualizationbecomesincreasinglycommonasameansofbusiness
communication,itisimperativethatexpertiseindatavisualizationbeacquired.Thisexpertisemustbe
groundedinanunderstandingofvisualperception,andofhowthisunderstandingcanbeeffectively
appliedtothevisualdisplayofdatawhatworks,whatdoesn't,andwhy.Theseskillsarerarelyfoundinthe
businessworld,notbecausetheyaredifficulttolearn,butbecausetheneedtolearnthemisseldom
recognized.Thisistrueingeneral,andespeciallywithregardtodashboards.Thechallengeofpresentinga
largeassortmentofdataonasinglescreeninawaythatproducesimmediateinsightisbynomeanstrivial.
Buckleup;you'reinforafunride.

1
2

GregoryL.Hovis,"StopSearchingforInformationMonitoritwithDashboardTechnology,"DMDirect,February2002
RichardBrathandMichaelPeters,"DashboardDesign:WhyDesignisImportant,"DMDirect,October2004

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Chapter2.VariationsinDashboardUsesandData
Dashboardscanbeusedtomonitormanytypesofdataandtosupportalmostanysetofobjectivesbusiness
deemsimportant.Therearemanywaystocategorizedashboardsintovarioustypes.Thewaythatrelates
mostdirectlytoadashboard'svisualdesigninvolvestheroleitplays,whetherstrategic,analytical,or
operational.Thedesigncharacteristicsofthedashboardcanbetailoredtoeffectivelysupporttheneedsof
eachoftheseroles.Whilecertaindifferencessuchasthesewillaffectdesign,therearealsomany
commonalitiesthatspanalldashboardsandinviteastandardsetofdesignpractices.

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Categorizingdashboards
Commonthreadsindashboarddata
Nonquantitativedashboarddata
Dashboardsareusedtosupportabroadspectrumofinformationneeds,spanningtheentirerangeof
businesseffortsthatmightbenefitfromanimmediateoverviewofwhat'sgoingon.Dashboardscanbe
tailoredtospecificpurposes,andasingleindividualmightbenefitfrommultipledashboards,each
supportingadifferentaspectofthatperson'swork.Thevariousdataandpurposesthatdashboardscanbe
usedtosupportareworthdistinguishing,fortheysometimesdemanddifferencesinvisualdesignand
functionality.

2.1.CategorizingDashboards
Dashboardscanbecategorizedinseveralways.Nomatterhowlimitedandflawedtheeffort,doingsois
usefulbecauseithelpsustoexaminethebenefitsandmanyusesofthemedium.I'moneofthosepeople
whoenjoystheprocessofclassifyingthings,breakingthemupintogroups.It'sanintellectualexercisethat
forcesmetodigbeneaththesurface.Idon't,however,assignundueworthtoanyonewayofcategorizing
something,andIcertainlydon'teverwanttogiveintothearroganceofclaimingthatmineistheonlyway.
Taxonomiesascientifictermforsystemsofclassificationarealwaysbasedononeormorevariables(thatis,
categoriesconsistingofmultiplepotentialvalues).Forinstance,basedonthevariable"platform,"a
dashboardtaxonomycouldconsistofthosethatruninclient/servermodeandthosethatruninweb
browsers.Thefollowingtablelistsseveralvariablesthatcanbeusedtostructuredashboardtaxonomies,
alongwithpotentialvaluesforeach.Thislistcertainlyisn'tcomprehensive;thesearesimplymyattempts
toexpressthevarietyandexplorethepotentialofthedashboardmedium.
Table21.
Variable

Values

Role

Strategic
Analytical
Operational

Typeofdata

Quantitative
Nonquantitative

Datadomain

Sales
Finance
Marketing
Manufacturing

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HumanResources
Typeofmeasures

BalancedScorecard(forexample,KPIs)
SixSigma
Nonperformance

Spanofdata

Enterprisewide
Departmental
Individual

Updatefrequency

Monthly
Weekly
Daily
Hourly
Realtimeornearrealtime

Interactivity

Staticdisplay
Interactivedisplay(drilldown,filters,etc.)

Mechanismsofdisplay

Primarilygraphical
Primarilytext
Integrationofgraphicsandtext

Portalfunctionality

Conduittoadditionaldata
Noportalfunctionality

2.1.1.ClassifyingDashboardsbyRole
Perhapsoneofthemostusefulwaystocategorizeadashboard,andtheonethatI'llfocuson,isbyits
rolethetypeofbusinessactivitythatitsupports.Mybreakdownofdashboardsintothreeroles(strategic,
analytical,andoperational)iscertainlynottheonlywaytoexpressthetypesofbusinessactivitiesa
dashboardcansupport.However,thisistheonlyclassificationthatsignificantlyrelatestodifferencesin
visualdesign.
2.1.1.1.Dashboardsforstrategicpurposes
Theprimaryuseofdashboardstodayisforstrategicpurposes.Thepopular"executivedashboard,"and
mostofthedashboardsthatsupportmanagersatanylevelinanorganization,arestrategicinnature.They
providethequickoverviewthatdecisionmakersneedtomonitorthehealthandopportunitiesofthe
business.Dashboardsofthistypefocusonhighlevelmeasuresofperformance,includingforecaststolight
thepathintothefuture.Althoughthesemeasurescanbenefitfromcontextualinformationtoclarifythe

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meaning,suchascomparisonstotargetsandbriefhistories,alongwithsimpleevaluatorsofperformance
(forexample,goodandbad),toomuchinformationofthistypeortoomanysubtlegradationscandistract
fromtheprimaryandimmediategoalsofthestrategicdecisionmaker.
Extremelysimpledisplaymechanismsworkbestforthistypeofdashboard.Giventhegoaloflongterm
strategicdirection,ratherthanimmediatereactionstofastpacedchanges,thesedashboardsdon'trequire
realtimedata;rather,theybenefitfromstaticsnapshotstakenmonthly,weekly,ordaily.Lastly,theyare
usuallyunidirectionaldisplaysthatsimplypresentwhatisgoingon.Theyarenotdesignedforthe
interactionthatmightbeneededtosupportfurtheranalysis,becausethisisrarelythedirectresponsibility
ofthestrategicmanager.You'llbeluckyifyoucangetanexecutivetoviewtheinformationonacomputer
screenratherthanapieceofpaper,letalonedealwiththenavigationaldemandsofinteractiveonline
analysis.
2.1.1.2.Dashboardsforanalyticalpurposes
Dashboardsthatsupportdataanalysisrequireadifferentdesignapproach.Inthesecasestheinformation
oftendemandsgreatercontext,suchasrichcomparisons,moreextensivehistory,andsubtlerperformance
evaluators.Likestrategicdashboards,analyticaldashboardsalsobenefitfromstaticsnapshotsofdatathat
arenotconstantlychangingfromonemomenttothenext.However,moresophisticateddisplaymediaare
oftenusefulfortheanalystwhomustexaminecomplexdataandrelationshipsandiswillingtoinvestthe
timeneededtolearnhowtheywork.Analyticaldashboardsshouldsupportinteractionswiththedata,such
asdrillingdownintotheunderlyingdetails,toenabletheexplorationneededtomakesenseofitthatis,not
justtoseewhatisgoingonbuttoexaminethecauses.Forexample,itisn'tenoughtoseethatsalesare
decreasing;whenyourpurposeisanalysis,youmustbemadeawareofsuchpatternssothatyoucanthen
explorethemtodiscoverwhatiscausingthedecreaseandhowitmightbecorrected.Thedashboarditself,
asamonitoringdevicethattellstheanalystwhattoinvestigate,neednotsupportallthesubsequent
interactionsdirectly,butitshouldlinkasseamlesslyaspossibletothemeanstoanalyzethedata.
2.1.1.3.Dashboardsforoperationalpurposes
Whendashboardsareusedtomonitoroperations,theymustbedesigneddifferentlyfromthosethat
supportstrategicdecisionmakingordataanalysis.Thecharacteristicofoperationsthatuniquelyinfluences
thedesignofdashboardsmostistheirdynamicandimmediatenature.Whenyoumonitoroperations,you
mustmaintainawarenessofactivitiesandeventsthatareconstantlychangingandmightrequireattention
andresponseatamoment'snotice.Iftheroboticarmonthemanufacturingassemblylinethatattaches
thecardoortothechassisrunsoutofbolts,youcan'twaituntilthenextdaytobecomeawareofthe
problemandtakeaction.Likewise,iftrafficonyourwebsitesuddenlydropstohalfitsnormallevel,you
wanttobenotifiedimmediately.
Aswithstrategicdashboards,thedisplaymediaonoperationaldashboardsmustbeverysimple.Inthe
stressfuleventofanemergencythatrequiresanimmediateresponse,themeaningofthesituationandthe
appropriateresponsesmustbeextremelyclearandsimple,ormistakeswillbemade.Incontrastto
strategicdashboards,operationaldashboardsmusthavethemeanstograbyourattentionimmediatelyif
anoperationfallsoutsidetheacceptablethresholdofperformance.Also,theinformationthatappearson
operationaldashboardsisoftenmorespecific,providingadeeperlevelofdetail.Ifacriticalshipmentisat
riskofmissingitsdeadline,ahighlevelstatisticwon'tdo;youneedtoknowtheordernumber,who's
handlingit,andwhereitisinthewarehouse.Detailslikethesemightappearautomaticallyonan
operationaldashboard,ortheymightbeaccessedbydrillingdownonorhoveringthemouseoverhigher
leveldata,sointeractivityisoftenuseful.

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Thewaysthatdashboarddesignmusttakedifferentformsinresponsetodifferentrolesareclearlyworth
yourattention.We'llexaminesomeofthesedifferencesinmoredetailinChapter8,PuttingItAllTogether,
whenwereviewseveralexamplesofwhatworksandwhatdoesn'tforvariouspurposes.

2.2.TypicalDashboardData
Dashboardsareusefulforallkindsofwork.Whetheryou'reameteorologistmonitoringtheweather,an
intelligenceanalystmonitoringpotentialterroristchatter,aCEOmonitoringthehealthandopportunitiesof
amultibilliondollarcorporation,orafinancialanalystmonitoringthestockmarket,awelldesigned
dashboardcouldserveyouwell.
2.2.1.TheCommonThreadinDashboardDiversity
Despitethesediverseapplications,inalmostallcasesdashboardsprimarilydisplayquantitativemeasures
ofwhat'scurrentlygoingon.Thistypeofdataiscommonacrossalmostalldashboardsbecausetheyare
usedtomonitorthecriticalinformationneededtodoajobormeetoneormoreparticularobjectives,and
most(butnotall,aswe'llseelater)oftheinformationthatdoesthisbestisquantitative.
Thefollowingtablelistsseveralmeasuresof"what'scurrentlygoingon"thataretypicalinbusiness.
Table22.
Category

Measures

Sales

Bookings
Billings
Salespipeline(anticipatedsales)
Numberoforders
Orderamounts
Sellingprices

Marketing

Marketshare
Campaignsuccess
Customerdemographics

Finance

Revenues
Expenses
Profits

TechnicalSupport

Numberofsupportcalls
Resolvedcases
Customersatisfaction

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Calldurations
Fulfillment

Numberofdaystoship
Backlog
Inventorylevels

Manufacturing

Numberofunitsmanufactured
Manufacturingtimes
Numberofdefects

HumanResources

Employeesatisfaction
Employeeturnover
Countofopenpositions
Countoflateperformancereviews

InformationTechnology

Networkdowntime
Systemusage
Fixedapplicationbugs

WebServices

Numberofvisitors
Numberofpagehits
Visitdurations

Thesemeasuresareoftenexpressedinsummaryform,mostoftenastotals,slightlylessoftenasaverages
(suchasaveragesellingprice),occasionallyasmeasuresofdistribution(suchasastandarddeviation),and
rarerstillasmeasuresofcorrelation(suchasalinearcorrelationcoefficient).Summaryexpressionsof
quantitativedataareparticularlyusefulindashboards,whereitisnecessarytomonitoranarrayof
businessphenomenaataglance.Obviously,thelimitedrealestateofasinglescreenrequiresconcise
communication.
2.2.1.1.Variationsintiming
Measuresofwhat'scurrentlygoingoncanbeexpressedinavarietyoftimeframes.Afewtypicalexamples
include:

Thisyeartodate

Thisweektodate

Thisquartertodate

Yesterday

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Thismonthtodate

Todaysofar

Theappropriatetimeframeisdeterminedbythenatureoftheobjectivesthatthedashboardsupports.
2.2.1.2.Enrichmentthroughcomparison
Thesemeasurescanbedisplayedbythemselves,butitisusuallyhelpfultocomparethemtooneormore
relatedmeasurestoprovidecontextandtherebyenrichtheirmeaning.Hereareperhapsthemosttypical
comparativemeasures,andanexampleofeach.
Table23.
Comparativemeasure

Example

Thesamemeasureatthesamepointintimeinthepast

Thesamedaylastyear

Thesamemeasureatsomeotherpointintimeinthepast Theendoflastyear
Thecurrenttargetforthemeasure

Abudgetedamountforthecurrentperiod

Relationshiptoafuturetarget

Percentageofthisyear'sbudgetsofar

Apriorpredictionofthemeasure

Forecastofwhereweexpectedtobetoday

Relationshiptoafuturepredictionofthemeasure

Percentageofthisquarter'sforecast

Somemeasureofthenormforthismeasure

Average,normalrange,orabenchmark,such
asthenumberofdaysitnormallytakesto
shipanorder

Anextrapolationofthecurrenttomeasureintheformof Projectionoutintothefuture,suchasthe
aprobablefuture,eitherataspecificpointinthefuture
comingyearend
orasatimeseries
Someoneelse'sversionsofthesamemeasure

Acompetitor'smeasure,suchasrevenues

Aseparatebutrelatedmeasure

Ordercountcomparedtoorderrevenue

Thesecomparisonsareoftenexpressedgraphicallytoclearlycommunicatethedifferencesbetweenthe
values,whichmightnotleapoutasdramaticallythroughtheuseoftextalone.However,textaloneisoften
adequate.Forexample,whenonlythecomparisonitselfisrequiredandtheindividualmeasures(aprimary
measureandacomparativemeasure)aren'tnecessary,asinglenumberexpressedasapercentagecanbe
used(suchas119%ofbudgetor7%ofwherewewerethistimelastyear).
Measuresofwhat'scurrentlygoingonmaybedisplayedeitherasasinglemeasure,asasinglemeasure
combinedwithoneormoreindividualcomparativemeasures,orasoneofthefollowing:

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Multipleinstancesofameasure,eachrepresentingacategoricalsubdivisionofthemeasure(for
example,salessubdividedintoregionsoracountoforderssubdividedintonumericrangesinthe
formofafrequencydistribution)

Temporalinstancesofameasure(thatis,atimeseries,suchasmonthlyinstancesofthemeasure)

Timeseriesinparticularproviderichcontextforunderstandingwhat'sreallygoingonandhowwellit's
going.
2.2.1.3.Enrichmentthroughevaluation
Becausewithadashboardagreatdealofdatamustbeevaluatedquickly,italsoisquiteusefultoexplicitly
declarewhethersomethingisgoodorbad.Suchevaluativeinformationisoftenencodedasspecialvisual
objects(forexample,atrafficlight)orasvisualattributes(forexample,bydisplayingthemeasureinbright
redtoindicateaseriouscondition).Whendesignedproperly,simplevisualindicatorscanclearlyalertusers
tothestateofparticularmeasureswithoutalteringtheoveralldesignofthedashboard.Evaluative
indicatorsneednotbelimitedtobinarydistinctionsbetweengoodandbad,butiftheyexceedthelimitof
morethanafewdistinctstates(forexample,verybad,bad,acceptable,good,andverygood),theyrunthe
riskofbecomingtoocomplexforefficientperception.
2.2.2.NonQuantitativeDashboardData
ManypeoplethinkofdashboardsandKPIsasnearlysynonymous.Itiscertainlytruethatdashboardsarea
powerfulmediumforpresentingKPIs,butnotallquantitativeinformationthatmightbeusefulona
dashboardbelongstothelistofdefinedKPIs.Infact,notallinformationthatisusefulondashboardsis
evenquantitativethecriticalinformationneededtodoajobcannotalwaysbeexpressednumerically.
Althoughmostinformationthattypicallyfindsitswayontoadashboardisquantitative,sometypesofnon
quantitativedata,suchassimplelists,arefairlycommonaswell.Hereareafewexamples:

Top10customers

Issuesthatneedtobeinvestigated

Tasksthatneedtobecompleted

Peoplewhoneedtobecontacted

Anothertypeofnonquantitativedataoccasionallyfoundondashboardsrelatestoschedules,including
tasks,duedates,thepeopleresponsible,andsoon.Thisiscommonwhenthejobthatthedashboard
supportsinvolvesthemanagementofprojectsorprocesses.
Ararertypeinvolvesthedisplayofentitiesandtheirrelationships.Entitiescanbestepsorstagesina
process,peopleororganizationsthatinteractwithoneanother,oreventsthataffectoneanother,toname
afewcommonexamples.Thistypeofdisplayusuallyencodesentitiesascirclesorrectanglesand
relationshipsaslines,oftenwitharrowsatoneorbothendstoindicatedirectionorinfluence.Itisoften
usefultointegratequantitativeinformationthatisassociatedwiththeentitiesandrelationships,suchas
theamountoftimethatpassedbetweeneventsinaprocess(forexample,byassociatinganumberwith
thelinethatlinkstheeventsorbyhavingthelengthofthelineitselfencodetheduration)orthesizesof
businessentities(perhapsexpressedinrevenuesornumberofemployees).

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Nowthatyouknowabitabouthowandwhydashboardsareused,it'stimetotakeacloserlookatsome
designprinciples.Inthenextchapter,we'lldelveintosomeofthemistakesthatarecommonlymadein
dashboarddesign.

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Chapter3.ThirteenCommonMistakesinDashboardDesign
Preoccupationwithsuperficialandfunctionallydistractingvisualcharacteristicsofdashboardshasledtoa
rashofvisualdesignproblemsthatunderminetheirusefulness.Thirteenvisualdesignproblemsare
frequentlyfoundindashboards,includingintheexamplesfeaturedasexemplarybysoftwarevendors.

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Exceedingtheboundariesofasinglescreen
Supplyinginadequatecontextforthedata
Displayingexcessivedetailorprecision
Choosingadeficientmeasure
Choosinginappropriatedisplaymedia
Introducingmeaninglessvariety
Usingpoorlydesigneddisplaymedia
Encodingquantitativedatainaccurately
Arrangingthedatapoorly
Highlightingimportantdataineffectivelyornotatall
Clutteringthedisplaywithuselessdecoration
Misusingoroverusingcolor
Designinganunattractivevisualdisplay
Thefundamentalchallengeofdashboarddesignistheneedtosqueezeagreatdealofinformationintoa
smallamountofspace,resultinginadisplaythatiseasilyandimmediatelyunderstandable.Ifthisdoesn't
soundchallenging,eitheryouareanexpertdesignerwithextensivedashboardexperience,oryouare
baskingintheglowofnaivet.Attemptthetask,andyouwillfindthatdashboardsposeauniquedata
visualizationchallenge.Anddon'tassumethatyoucanlooktoyoursoftwarevendorforhelpiftheyhave
thenecessarydesigntalent,they'redoingagreatjobofhidingit.
Sadly,itiseasytofindmanyexamplesofthemistakesyoushouldavoidbylookingnofurtherthantheweb
sitesofthesoftwarevendorsthemselves.Let'susesomeoftheseexamplestoexaminedesignthatdoesn't
workandlearnwhyitdoesn't.
Note:Inalmosteverycase,I'vechosentouseactualexamplesfromvendorwebsitestoillustrate
dashboarddesignmistakes.Indoingso,Iamnotsayingthatthesoftwarethatproducedtheexampleis
badI'mnotcommentingonthequalityofthesoftwareonewayoranother.WhatIamsayingisthatthe
designpracticeisbad.Thisresultsprimarilyfromvendors'lackofexpertiseinorinattentiontovisual
design.Thesevendorsshouldknowbetter,butthey'vechosentofocustheirenergiesonotheraspectsof
theirproducts,oftenhighlightingglitzyvisualfeaturesthatactuallyundermineeffectivecommunication.I
hopethatseeingtheirworkusedtoillustratepoordashboarddesignwillserveasawakeupcalltostart
payingattentiontothefeaturesthatreallymatter.

3.1.ExceedingtheBoundariesofaSingleScreen
Myinsistencethatadashboardshouldconfineitsdisplaytoasinglescreen,withnoneedforscrollingor
switchingbetweenmultiplescreens,mightseemarbitraryandabitfinicky,butitisbasedonsolidand
practicalrationale.Afterstudyingdatavisualizationforawhile,includingvisualperception,onediscovers
thatsomethingpowerfulhappenswhenthingsareseentogether,allwithineyespan.Likewise,something

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criticalislostwhenyoulosesightofsomedatabyscrollingorswitchingtoanotherscreentoseeother
data.Partoftheproblemisthatwecanholdonlyafewchunksofinformationatatimeinshortterm
memory.Relyingonthemind'seyetorememberinformationthatisnolongervisibleisarockyventure.
Oneofthegreatbenefitsofadashboardasamediumofcommunicationisthesimultaneityofvisionthatit
offers:theabilitytoseeeverythingthatyouneedatonce.Thisenablescomparisonsthatleadto
insightsthose"Aha!"experiencesthatmightnotoccurinanyotherway.Clearly,exceedingtheboundaries
ofasinglescreennegatesthisbenefit.Let'sexaminethetwoversionsofthisproblemfragmentingdatainto
separatescreensandrequiringscrollingindependently.
3.1.1.FragmentingDataintoSeparateScreens
Informationthatappearsondashboardsisoftenfragmentedinoneoftwoways:

Separatedintodiscretescreenstowhichonemustnavigate

Separatedintodifferentinstancesofasinglescreenthatareaccessedthroughsomeformof
interaction

Enablinguserstonavigatetodiscretescreensordifferentinstancesofasinglescreentoaccessadditional
informationisnot,ingeneral,abadpractice.Allowingnavigationtofurtherdetailortoadifferentsetof
informationthatachievesitspurposebestbystandingalonecanbeapowerfuldashboardfeature.
However,whenalltheinformationshouldbeseenatthesametimetogainthedesiredinsights,that
fragmentationunderminestheuniqueadvantagesofadashboard.Fragmentingdatathatshouldbeseen
togetherisamistake.
Let'slookatanexample.ThedashboardinFigure31fragmentsthedatathatexecutivesneedinto10
separatedashboards.Thiswouldbefineiftheexecutiveswouldn'tbenefitfromseeingthesevarious
measurestogether,butthatishardlythecase.

Figure31.Thisdashboardfragmentsthedatainawaythatunderminestheviewer'sabilitytoseemeaningfulrelationships.

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Inthisexample,abankingexecutiveisforcedtoexaminetheperformanceofthefollowingaspectsofthe
businessseparately:

Highlights
Deposits
Pastdueloans
Profitability
Growth
Loans
Risk
Depositmix
Channels
Marketshare

Eachofthesescreenspresentsaseparate,highlevelsnapshotofasinglesetofmeasuresthatoughttobe
integratedintoasinglescreen.Despitewhatyoumightassumeabouttheavailablescreenlabeled
"Highlights,"itdoesnotprovideaconsolidatedvisualoverviewofthedatabutconsistsprimarilyofatext
tablethatcontainsseveralofthemeasures.Abankingexecutiveneedstoseethesemeasurestogetherina
waythatenablescomparisonstounderstandhowtheyrelatetoandinfluenceoneanother.
Splittingthebigpictureintoaseriesofseparatesmallpicturesisamistakewheneverseeingthebigpicture
isworthwhile.
Asimilarexample,fromthesamesoftwarevendor,isshowninFigure32.Thistimethepictureofdaily
saleshasbeensplitintoaseparatedashboardforeachof20products.Iftheintentionistoservetheneeds
ofproductmanagerswhoareeachexclusivelyinterestedinasingleproductandneverwanttocompare
salesofthatproducttoothers,thisdesigndoesn'tfragmentthedatainaharmfulway.If,however,any
benefitcanbegainedbyviewingthesalesofmultipleproductstogether,whichisalmostsurelythecase,
thisdesignfails.

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Figure32.Thisdashboardrequiresviewerstoclickonadesiredproductandviewinformationforonlyoneproductatatime.

3.1.2.RequiringScrolling
ThedashboardinFigure33illustratestheproblemthat'screatedwhenscrollingisrequiredtoseeallthe
data.Notonlyareweleftwonderingwhatliesbelowthebottomofthescreeninthedashboardasa
whole,butwe'realsogivenimmediatevisualaccessonlytothefirstofmanymetricsthatappearinthe
scrollableboxatthetopright,beginningwith"No.Transactions."We'dbebetteroffreadingaprinted
reportextendingacrossmultiplepages,becauseatleastthenwecouldlayoutallofthepagesatoncefor
simultaneousviewing.Peoplecommonlyassumethatanythingthatliesbeyondtheirimmediatefieldof
visionandrequiresscrollingtoseeisoflessimportancethanwhat'simmediatelyvisible.Manyviewers
won'tbothertolookatwhatliesoffthescreen,andthosewhotakethetimewilllikelyresenttheeffort.

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Figure33.Thisdashboarddemonstratestheeffectivenessthatissacrificedwhenscrollingisrequiredtoseealltheinformation.

3.2.SupplyingInadequateContextfortheData
Measuresofwhat'scurrentlygoingoninthebusinessrarelydowellasasoloact;theyneedagood
supportingcasttosucceed.Forexample,tostatethatquartertodatesalestotal$736,502withoutany
contextmeanslittle.Comparedtowhat?Isthisgoodorbad?Howgoodorbad?Areweontrack?Arewe
doingbetterthanwehaveinthepast,orworsethanwe'veforecasted?Supplyingtherightcontextforkey
measuresmakesthedifferencebetweennumbersthatjustsitthereonthescreenandthosethatenlighten
andinspireaction.
ThegaugesinFigure34couldeasilyhaveincorporatedusefulcontext,buttheyfallshortoftheirpotential.
Forinstance,thecentergaugetellsusonlythat7,822unitshavesoldthisyeartodate,andthatthis
numberisgood(indicatedbythegreenarrow).Aquantitativescaleonagraph,suchastheradialscalesof
tickmarksonthesegauges,ismeanttoprovideanapproximationofthemeasure,butitcanonlydosoif
thescaleislabeledwithnumbers,whichthesegaugeslack.Ifthenumbershadbeenpresent,thepositions
ofthearrowsmighthavebeenmeaningful,butherethepresenceofthetickmarksalongaradialaxis
suggestsusefulinformationthathasn'tactuallybeenincluded.

Figure34.Thesedashboardgaugesfailtoprovideadequatecontexttomakethemeasuresmeaningful.

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Thesegaugesuseupagreatdealofspacetotellusnothingwhatsoever.Thesameinformationcouldhave
beencommunicatedsimplyastextinmuchlessspace,withoutanylossofmeaning:
Table31.
YTDUnits

7,822

OctoberUnits

869

ReturnsRate

0.26%

Anotherfailureofthesegaugesisthattheyteaseusbycoloringthearrowstoindicategoodorbad
performance,withouttellingushowgoodorbaditis.Theycouldeasilyhavedonethisbylabelingthe
quantitativescalesandvisuallyencodingsectionsalongthescalesasgoodorbad,ratherthanjustencoding
thearrowsinthismanner.Hadthisbeendone,wewouldbeabletoseeataglancehowgoodorbada
measureisbyhowfarthearrowpointsintothegoodorbadranges.
ThegaugethatappearsinFigure35doesabetterjobofincorporatingcontextintheformofmeaningful
comparisons.Here,thepotentialofthegraphicaldisplayismorefullyrealized.Thegaugemeasuresthe
averagedurationofphonecallsandispartofalargerdashboardofcallcenterdata.
Supplyingcontextformeasuresneednotalwaysinvolveachoiceofthesinglebestcomparisonrather,
severalcontextsmaybegiven.Forinstance,quartertodatesalesof$736,502mightbenefitfrom
comparisonstothebudgettargetof$1,000,000;salesonthisdaylastyearof$856,923;andatimeseries
ofsalesfiguresforthelastsixquarters.Suchadisplaywouldprovidemuchricherinsightthanasimple
displayofthecurrentsalesfigure,withorwithoutanindicationofwhetherit's"good"or"bad."Youmust
becareful,however,whenincorporatingrichcontextsuchasthistodosoinawaythatdoesn'tforcethe
viewertogetboggeddowninreadingthedetailstogetthebasicmessage.Itisusefultoprovideavisually
prominentdisplayoftheprimaryinformationandtosubduethesupportingcontextsomewhat,sothatit
doesn'tgetinthewaywhenthedashboardisbeingquicklyscannedforkeypoints.

Figure35.Thisdashboardgauge(foundinapaperentitled"MakingDashboardsActionable,"writtenbyLaurieM.Orlovand
publishedinDecember2003byForresterResearch,Inc.)doesabetterjobthanthoseinFigure34ofusingagaugeeffectively.

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Theamountofcontextthatoughttobeincorporatedtoenrichthemeasuresonadashboarddependson
itspurposeandtheneedsofitsviewers.Moreisnotalwaysbetter,butwhenmoreprovidesrealvalue,it
oughttobeincludedinawaythatsupportsbothaquickoverviewwithoutdistractionaswellascontextual
informationforricherunderstanding.1

3.3.DisplayingExcessiveDetailorPrecision
Dashboardsalmostalwaysrequirefairlyhighlevelinformationtosupporttheviewer'sneedforaquick
overview.Toomuchdetail,ormeasuresthatareexpressedtooprecisely(forexample,$3,848,305.93
ratherthan$3,848,305,orperhapseven$3.8M),justslowviewersdownwithoutprovidingthemany
benefit.Inaway,thisproblemistheoppositeextremeoftheoneweexaminedintheprevioussectiontoo
muchinformationratherthantoolittle.
ThedashboardinFigure36illustratesthistypeofexcess.ExaminethetwosectionsthatI'veenclosedin
redrectangles.Thelowerrightsectiondisplaysfrom4to10decimaldigitsforeachmeasure,whichmight
beusefulinsomecontexts,butdoubtfullyinadashboard.Thehighlightedsectionabovedisplaystime
downtothelevelofseconds,whichalsoseemslikeoverkillinthiscontext.Withadashboard,every
unnecessarypieceofinformationresultsintimewastedtryingtofilteroutwhat'simportant,whichis
intolerablewhentimeisoftheessence.

Figure36.Thisdashboardshowsunnecessarydetail,suchastimesexpressedtothesecondandmeasuresexpressedto10
decimalplaces.

Ibelievethatthecircularshapeusedbygaugeslikethisonewastesvaluablespaceonadashboard,asI'llexplainin
Chapter6,EffectiveDashboardDisplayMedia.Nevertheless,Icommendthisgaugefordisplayingricherinformation
thanmost.

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3.4.ChoosingaDeficientMeasure
Forameasuretobemeaningful,wemustknowwhatisbeingmeasuredandtheunitsinwhichthemeasure
isbeingexpressed.Ameasureisdeficientifitisn'ttheonethatmostclearlyandefficientlycommunicates
themeaningthatthedashboardviewershoulddiscern.Itcanbeaccurate,yetnotthebestchoiceforthe
intendedmessage.Forexample,ifthedashboardvieweronlyneedstoknowtowhatdegreeactual
revenuediffersfrombudgetedrevenue,itwouldbemoredirecttosimplyexpressthevarianceas9%(and
perhapsdisplaythevarianceof$8,066aswell)ratherthandisplayingtheactualrevenueamountof$76,934
andthebudgetedrevenueamountof$85,000andleavingittotheviewertocalculatethedifference.In
thiscase,apercentageclearlyfocusesattentiononthevarianceinamannerthatisdirectlyintelligible.
Figure37illustratesthispoint.Whilethisgraphdisplaysactualandbudgetedrevenuesseparately,its
purposeistocommunicatethevarianceofactualrevenuesfromthebudget.

Figure37.Thisgraphillustratestheuseofmeasuresthatfailtodirectlyexpresstheintendedmessage.

Thevariance,however,couldhavebeendisplayedmorevividlybyencodingbudgetedrevenueasa
referencelineof0%andthevarianceasalinethatmeandersaboveandbelowbudget(expressedinunits
ofpositiveandnegativepercentages,asshownonthenextpageinFigure38).Thepointhereistoalways
thinkcarefullyaboutthemessagethatmostdirectlysupportstheviewer'sneeds,andthenselectthe
measurethatmostdirectlysupportsthatmessage.

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Figure38.Thisgraphisdesignedtoemphasizedeviationfromatarget,whichitaccomplishesinpartbyexpressingthe
differencebetweenbudgetedandactualrevenuesusingpercentages.

3.5.ChoosingInappropriateDisplayMedia
Choosinginappropriatedisplaymediaisoneofthemostcommondesignmistakesmade,notjustin
dashboards,butinallformsofquantitativedatapresentation.Forinstance,usingagraphwhenatableof
numberswouldworkbetter,andviceversa,isafrequentmistake.Allowmetoillustrateusingseveral
examplesbeginningwiththepiechartinFigure39.

Figure39.Thischartillustratesacommonproblemwithpiecharts.

Thispiechartispartofadashboardthatdisplaysbreastcancerstatistics.Lookatitforamomentandseeif
anythingseemsodd.
Piechartsaredesignedspecificallytopresentpartsofawhole,andthewholeshouldalwaysaddupto
100%.Here,theslicelabeled"Breast13.30%"lookslikeitrepresentsaround40%ofthepieafarcryfrom
13.3%.Despitethemeaningthatapiechartsuggests,theseslicesarenotpartsofawhole;theyrepresent
theprobabilitythatawomanwilldevelopaparticularformofcancer(breast,lung,colon,andsixtypesthat
aren'tlabeled).Thismisuseofapiechartinvitesconfusion.
Thetruthis,Ineverrecommendtheuseofpiecharts.Theonlythingtheyhavegoingforthemisthefact
thateverybodyimmediatelyknowswhentheyseeapiechartthattheyareseeingpartsofawhole(or

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oughttobe).Beyondthat,piechartsdon'tdisplayquantitativedataveryeffectively.Asyou'llseein
Chapter4,TappingintothePowerofVisualPerception,humanscan'tcomparetwodimensionalareasor
anglesveryaccuratelyandthesearethetwomeansthatpiechartsusetoencodequantitativedata.Bar
graphsareamuchbetterwaytodisplaythisinformation.1
ThepiechartinFigure310showsthatevenwhencorrectlyusedtopresentpartsofawhole,thesegraphs
don'tworkverywell.Withoutthevaluelabels,youwouldonlybeabletodiscernthatopportunitiesrated
as"Fair"representthelargestgroup,thoseratedas"FieldSales:2VeryHigh"representaminisculegroup,
andtheotherratingsgroupsareroughlyequalinsize.

Figure310.Thisexampleshowsthatevenwhentheyareusedcorrectlytopresentpartsofawhole,piechartsaredifficultto
interpretaccurately.

Figure311displaysthesamedataasFigure310,thistimeusingahorizontalbargraphthatcanbe
interpretedmuchmoreefficientlyandaccurately.

Figure311.Thishorizontalbargraphdoesamuchbetterjobofdisplayingparttowholedatathantheprecedingpiecharts.

RefertomybookShowMetheNumbers:DesigningTablesandGraphstoEnlighten(Oakland,CA:AnalyticsPress,
2004)forathoroughtreatmentofthetypesofgraphsthatworkbestforthemostcommonquantitativemessages
communicatedinbusiness.

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Othertypesofgraphscanbeequallyineffective.Forexample,thegraphinFigure312showslittleregard
fortheviewer'stimeandnounderstandingofvisualperception.Thisgraphcomparesrevenuetooperating
costsacrossfivemonths,usingthesizeofoverlappingcircles(sometimescalledbubbles)toencodethe
quantities.Justaswiththeslicesofapie,usingcirclestoencodequantityreliesontheviewer'sabilityto
comparetwodimensionalareas,whichwesimplycannotaccuratelydo.Takethevaluesforthemonthof
Februaryasanexample.Assumingthatoperatingcostsequal$10,000,whatistherevenuevalue?

Figure312.Thisgraphusesthetwodimensionalareaofcirclestoencodetheirvalues,whichneedlesslyobscuresthedata.

Ournaturaltendencyistocomparethesizesofthetwocirclesusingasingledimensionlengthor
widthequaltothediameterofeach,whichsuggeststhatrevenueisaboutthreetimesthatofoperating
costs,orabout$30,000.Thisconclusioniswrong,however,toahugedegree.Thetwodimensionalareaof
therevenuecircleisactuallyaboutninetimesbiggerthanthatoftheoperatingcostscircle,resultingina
valueof$90,000.Oops!Notevenclose.
NowcompareoperatingcostsforthemonthsofFebruaryandMay.ItappearsthatcostsinMayaregreater
thanthoseinFebruary,right?Infact,theinteriorcirclesarethesamesizemeasurethemandsee.The
revenuebubbleinMayissmallerthantheoneinFebruary,whichmakestheenclosedoperatingcosts
bubbleinMayseembigger,butthisisanopticalillusion.Asyoucansee,theuseofabubblechartforthis
financialdatawasapoorchoice.AsimplebargraphliketheoneinFigure313worksmuchbetter.

Figure313.Thisbargraphdoesagoodjobofdisplayingatimeseriesofactualversusbudgetedrevenuevalues.

ActualversusbudgetedrevenueisalsothesubjectofFigure314,butthistimeit'ssubdividedinto
geographicalregionsratherthantimeslicesanddisplayedasaradargraph.Thequantitativescaleona
radargraphislaidalongeachoftheaxislinesthatextendfromthecentertotheperimeter,likeradiuslines

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ofacircle.Thesmallestvaluesarethosewiththeshortestdistancebetweenthecenterpointandthe
perimeter.

Figure314.Thisradargraphobscuresthestraightforwarddatathatit'stryingtoconvey.

Thelackoflabeledaxesinthisgraphlimitsitsmeaning,butthechoiceofaradargraphtodisplaythis
informationinthefirstplaceisanevenmorefundamentalerror.Onceagain,asimplebargraphlikethe
oneinFigure315wouldcommunicatethisdatamuchmoreeffectively.Radargraphsarerarely
appropriatemediafordisplayingbusinessdata.Theircircularshapeobscuresdatathatwouldbequiteclear
inalineardisplaysuchasabargraph.

Figure315.Thisbargrapheffectivelycomparesactualtobudgetedrevenuedata.

ThelastexamplethatI'llusetoillustratemypointaboutchoosinginappropriatemeansofdisplayappears
inFigure316.

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Figure316.ThisdisplayuselesslyencodesquantitativevaluesonamapoftheUnitedStates.

Therearetimeswhenitisveryusefultoarrangedataspatially,suchasintheformofamaporthefloor
planofabuilding,butthisisn'toneofthem.Wedon'tderiveanyinsightbylayingoutrevenue
informationinthiscase,whetherrevenuesaregood(greenlight),mediocre(yellowlight),orpoor(red
light),inthegeographicalregionsSouth(brown),Central(orange),West(tan),andEast(blue)onamap.
Ifthegraphicaldisplaywerepresentingmeaningfulgeographicalrelationshipssay,forshipmentsofwine
fromCalifornia,toindicatewherespecialtaxesmustbepaidwheneverdeliveriescrossstatelinesperhapsa
geographicaldisplaywouldprovidesomeinsight.Withthissimplesetoffourregionswithnoparticular
factorsattachedtogeographicallocation,however,theuseofamapsimplytakesupalotofspacetosay
nomorethanwefindinthetablethatappearsonthissamedashboard,whichisshowninFigure317.

Figure317.Thistable,fromthesamedashboard,providesamoreappropriatedisplayoftheregionalrevenuedatathatappears
inFigure316.

3.6.IntroducingMeaninglessVariety
Themistakeofintroducingmeaninglessvarietyintoadashboarddesigniscloselytiedtotheonewejust
examined.I'vefoundthatpeopleoftenhesitatetousethesametypeofdisplaymediummultipletimeson
adashboard,outofwhatIassumeisasensethatviewerswillbeboredbythesameness.Varietymightbe
thespiceoflife,butifitisintroducedonadashboardforitsownsake,thedisplaysuffers.Youshould
alwaysselectthemeansofdisplaythatworksbest,evenifthatresultsinadashboardthatisfilledwith
nothingbutmultipleinstancesofthesametypeofgraph.Ifyouaregivingviewerstheinformationthat
theydesperatelyneedtodotheirjobs,thedatawon'tborethemjustbecauseit'salldisplayedinthesame
way.Theywilldefinitelygetaggravated,however,ifforcedtoworkharderthannecessarytogetthe
informationtheyneedduetoarbitraryvarietyinthedisplaymedia.Infact,whereverappropriate,

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consistencyinthemeansofdisplayallowsviewerstousethesameperceptualstrategyforinterpretingthe
data,whichsavestimeandenergy.
Figure318illustratesvarietygoneamok.Thisvisualjumblerequiresashiftinperceptualstrategyforeach
displayitemonthedashboard,whichmeansextratimeandeffortontheuser'spart.

Figure318.Thisdashboardexhibitsanunnecessaryvarietyofdisplaymedia.

3.7.UsingPoorlyDesignedDisplayMedia
Itisn'tenoughtochoosetherightmediumtodisplaythedataanditsmessageyoualsomustdesignthe
componentsofthatmediumtocommunicateclearlyandefficiently,withoutdistraction.Mostgraphsused
inbusinesstodayarepoorlydesigned.Thereasonissimple:almostnoonehasbeentrainedinthe
fundamentalprinciplesandpracticesofeffectivegraphdesign.Thiscontentisthoroughlycoveredinmy
bookShowMetheNumbers:DesigningTablesandGraphstoEnlighten,soIwon'trepeatmyselfhere.
Instead,I'llsimplyillustratetheproblemwithafewexamples.
Inadditiontothefactthatabargraphwouldhavebeenabetterchoicetodisplaythisdata(thedivisionof
revenuebetweensixsales),Figure319exhibitsseveraldesignproblems.Lookatitforamomentandseeif
youcanidentifyaspectsofitsdesignthatinhibitquickandeasyinterpretation.

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Figure319.Thispiechartillustratesseveraldesignproblems.

HerearetheprimaryproblemsthatIsee:
Alegendwasusedtolabelandassignvaluestotheslicesofthepie.Thisforcesoureyestobounceback
andforthbetweenthegraphandthelegendtogleanmeaning,whichisawasteoftimeandeffortwhen
theslicescouldhavebeenlabeleddirectly.
Theorderoftheslicesandthecorrespondinglabelsappearsrandom.Orderingthembysizewouldhave
providedusefulinformationthatcouldhavebeenassimilatedinstantly.
Thebrightcolorsofthepieslicesproducesensoryoverkill.Brightcolorsoughttobereservedforspecific
datathatshouldstandoutfromtherest.
ThepiechartinFigure320alsoillustratesaproblemwithcolorchoice.

Figure320.Thispiechartusesofcolorsfortheslicesthataretoomuchaliketobeclearlydistinguished.

Inthiscase,the11colorsthatwerechosenaretoosimilar.Itisdifficulttodeterminewhichofthehues
alongtheyellowthroughorangetoredspectruminthelegendcorrespondstoeachsliceofthepie.This
kindofeyestrainingexerciseisdeadly,especiallyonadashboard.
AnotherexampleofanineffectivedisplaymediumisshowninFigure321.Thesemetersareanattemptto
betruetothemetaphorofacardashboard.Noticethatthenumberslookjustliketheywouldonan
odometer:theylackthecommasnormallyusedtodelineateeverysetofthreedigitstohelpusdistinguish
thousandsfrommillions,andsoon.Inamisguidedefforttomakethesemeterslookrealistic,their
developersmadethenumbershardertoreadengineersdesignedthesemeters,notbusinesspeople.Notice
alsothatnumbersalongthequantitativescalearepositionedinsideratherthanoutsidetheaxis,whichwill
causethemtobeobscuredbytheneedlewhenitpointsdirectlytothem,andthatthepositioningofthe

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textatthebottomofeachmeter(forexample,"4382934AmountSold"onthe"InternetRevenue"meter)
obstructstheneedleformeasuresnearthebottomortopofthescale.

Figure321.Thesedashboardmetershavedefinitelytakenthedashboardmetaphortoofar.

Inthelastsection,Ispokeofbargraphsasapreferablealternativetocertainotherdisplaymedia.
However,whilebargraphscandoanexcellentjobofdisplayingquantitativedata,theycanbemisusedas
well.ExaminethegraphinFigure322,andtakeamomenttolistanyproblemswithitsdesignthatyousee.
Writedownyourobservationsbelowbeforereadingon,ifyou'dlike.

Figure322.Thisbargraph,foundonadashboard,exhibitsseveraldesignproblems.

Youmighthavenoticedthatthegridlinesonthegraph(nottomentionthebackgroundpatternofcolored
rectangles)donothingbutdistractfromthedata.Gridlinessuchasthese,especiallywhenvisually
prominent,makeitmoredifficulttoseetheshapeofthedata.Perhapsyoualsonoticedthatthe3Deffect
ofthegraphnotonlyaddednovalue,butalsomadethevaluesencodedbythebarshardertointerpret.
Anythingelse?Well,thisgraphillustratesacommonproblemwithcolor.Whyiseachofthebarsadifferent
color?Thecolorsaren'tbeingusedtoidentifythebars,aseachonehasalabeltoitsleft.Differencesinthe
colorofdataencodingobjectsshouldalwaysbemeaningful;otherwise,theyneedlesslygrabourattention
andcauseustosearchformeaningthatisn'tthere.
ThedistinctcolorsofthebarsinFigure323do,thankfully,carrymeaning,butherethecolorsare
distractinglybrightandthe3Deffectmakesthemhardtoread.

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Figure323.Thisbargraph,foundonadashboard,waspoorlydesignedinanumberofways.

However,thisisn'ttheproblemthatImostwantyoutonotice.Thepurposeofthegraphistocompare
actualtobudgetedrevenuesforeachofthefourregions,butsomethingaboutitsdesignmakesthis
difficult.Canyouseetheproblem?Givenitspurpose,thebarsforactualandbudgetedrevenuesforeach
regionshouldhavebeenplacednexttooneanother.Astheyare,itisunnecessarilydifficulttocompare
them.Simpledesignmistakeslikethiscansignificantlyunderminethesuccessofadashboard.
Severaloftheexamplesthatwe'veexaminedhavebeenrenderedin3D,eventhoughthethirddimension
ofdepthdoesn'tencodeanymeaning.Evenwhenthethirddimensionisusedtoencodeaseparate
variable,however,itstillposesaproblem.ThegraphinFigure324usesthethirddimensionofdepthto
representtime(thefourquartersoftheyear2001).Theprobleminthiscaseisn'tthatthethirddimension
ismeaningless,butratherthatyoucan'treadeverythingonthechart.Thisiscausedbyocclusion.Adding
thedimensionofdepthcausessomeofthebarstobehiddenbehindoroccludedbyothers.Forinstance,
whatwerefaxrevenuesforQuarter3?Youcan'ttellbecausethebariscompletelyhidden.Whetherthe
thirddimensionisusedtoencodedataornot,youshouldalmostalwaysavoid3Dgraphs.Exceptionsto
thisrulearerarewhendisplayingtypicalbusinessdata.

Figure324.This3Dbargraphillustratestheproblemofocclusion.

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3.8.EncodingQuantitativeDataInaccurately
Sometimesgraphicalrepresentationsofquantitativedataaremistakenlydesignedinwaysthatdisplay
inaccuratevalues.InFigure325,forinstance,thequantitativescalealongtheverticalaxiswasimproperly
setforagraphthatencodesdataintheformofbars.Thelengthofabarrepresentsitsquantitativevalue.
ThebarsinthisgraphthatrepresentrevenueandcostsforthemonthofJanuarysuggestthatrevenuewas
aboutfourtimescosts.Anexaminationofthescale,however,revealstheerrorofthisnaturalassumption:
therevenueisactuallylessthandoublethecosts.Theproblemisthatthevaluesbeginat$500,000rather
than$0,astheyalwaysshouldinabargraph.

Figure325.Thisbargraphencodesthequantitativevaluesasbarsinaccurately,byfailingtobeginthescaleatzero.

3.9.ArrangingtheDataPoorly
Dashboardsoftenneedtopresentalargeamountofinformationinalimitedamountofspace.Ifthe
informationisn'torganizedwell,withappropriateplacementofinformationbasedonimportanceand
desiredviewingsequence,alongwithavisualdesignthatsegregatesdataintomeaningfulgroupswithout
fragmentingitintoaconfusinglabyrinth,theresultisaclutteredmess.Mostexamplesofdashboards
foundontheWebarecomposedofasmallamountofdatatoavoidtheneedforskilledvisualdesign,but
theystilloftenmanagetolookclutteredandthrowntogether.Thegoalisnotsimplytomakethe
dashboardlookgood,buttoarrangethedatainamannerthatfitsthewayit'sused.Themostimportant
dataoughttobeprominent.Datathatrequireimmediateattentionoughttostandout.Datathatshouldbe
comparedoughttobearrangedandvisuallydesignedtoencouragecomparisons.
ThedashboardinFigure326illustratessomeoftheproblemsoftenassociatedwithpoorarrangementof
data.Noticefirstofallthatthemostprominentpositiononthisdashboardthetopleftisusedtodisplaythe
vendor'slogoandnavigationalcontrols.Whatawasteofprimerealestate!Asyouscandownthescreen,
thenextinformationthatyouseeisagaugethatpresentstheaverageordersize.It'spossiblethataverage
ordersizemightbesomeone'sprimaryinterest,butit'sunlikelythat,ofalltheinformationthatappearson
thisdashboard,thisisthemostimportant.AsI'lldiscussinChapter5,EloquenceThroughSimplicity,the
leastprominentrealestateonthescreenisthelowerrightcorner.However,inthisexamplethelarge
amountofspacetakenupbythegraphsthatpresent"ComputersReturnsAcrossModels,"aswellasthe
largerfontsizesusedinthissection,tendstodrawattentiontodatathatseemstangentialtotherest.This
dashboardlacksanappropriatevisualsequenceandbalancebasedonthenatureandimportanceofthe

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data.Noticealsothatthebrightredbandsofcoloraboveeachsectionofthedisplay,wherethetitles
appearinwhite,arefarmoreeyecatchingthanisnecessarytodeclarethemeaningsoftheindividual
displays.Thisvisuallysegmentsthespacetoanunnecessarydegree.Lastly,notethatthesimilarityofthe
linegraphsthatdisplayordersizeandprofittrendsinvitesoureyestocomparethem.Thisisprobablya
usefulcomparison,butthepositionalseparationandsidebysideratherthanoverunderarrangementof
thetwographsmakesclosecomparisondifficult.Asthisexampleillustrates,youcan'tjustthrow
informationontothescreenwhereveryoucanmakeitfitandexpectthedashboardtodoitsjob
effectively.

Figure326.Thisdashboardexemplifiespoorlyarrangeddata.

3.10.HighlightingImportantDataIneffectivelyorNotatAll
Whenyoulookatadashboard,youreyesshouldimmediatelybedrawntotheinformationthatismost
important,evenwhenitdoesnotresideinthemostvisuallyprominentareasofthescreen.InChapter5,
EloquenceThroughSimplicity,we'llexamineseveralvisualtechniquesthatcanbeusedtoachievethisend.
Fornow,we'lllookatwhathappenswhenthisisn'tdoneatall,orisn'tdonewell.
TheproblemwiththedashboardinFigure327isthateverythingisvisuallyprominent,andconsequently
nothingstandsout.Thelogoandnavigationcontrols(thebuttonsontheleft)areprominentbothasa
resultoftheirplacementonthescreenandtheuseofstrongborders,butthesearen'tdataandtherefore
shouldn'tbeemphasized.Thentherearethegraphswherethedatareside:allthedataareequallybold
andcolorful,leavinguswithawashofsamenessandnocluewheretofocus.Everythingthatdeserves
spaceonadashboardisimportant,butnotequallysotheviewer'seyesshouldalwaysbedirectedtothe
mostcrucialinformationfirst.

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Figure327.Thisdashboardfailstodifferentiatedatabyitsimportance,givingrelativelyequalprominencetoeverythingonthe
screen.

3.11.ClutteringtheDisplaywithUselessDecoration
AnothercommonproblemonthedashboardsthatIfindonvendorwebsitesistheabundanceofuseless
decoration.Theyeitherhopethatwewillbedrawninbytheartistryorassumethatthedecorative
flourishesarenecessarytoentertainus.Iassureyou,however,thatevenpeoplewhoenjoythedecoration
uponfirstsightwillgrowwearyofitinafewdays.
ThemakersofthedashboardinFigure328didanexceptionaljobofmakingitlooklikeanelectronic
controlpanel.Ifthepurposeweretotrainpeopleintheuseofsomerealequipmentbymeansofa
simulation,thiswouldbegreat,butthatisn'tthepurposeofadashboard.Thegraphicsdedicatedtothis
endarepuredecoration,visualcontentthattheviewermustprocesstogettothedata.

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Figure328.Thisdashboardistryingtolooklikesomethingthatitisnot,resultinginuselessanddistractingdecoration.

IsuspectthatthedashboardinFigure329lookedtooplaintoitsdesigner,soshedecidedtomakeitlook
likeapageinaspiralboundbookcute,butadistractingwasteofspace.

Figure329.Thisdashboardisanotherexampleofuselessdecorationthedesignertriedtomakethedashboardlooklikeapage
inaspiralboundnotebook.

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Likewise,I'dguessthatthedesignerofthedashboardinFigure330aftercreatingamap,abargraph,and
atablethatalldisplaythesamedatadecidedthathehadtofilluptheremainingspace,sohewentwild
withanexplosionofblueandgraycircles.Blankspaceisbetterthanmeaninglessdecoration.Canyou
imagineyourselflookingatthiseveryday?

Figure330.Thisdashboardisavividexampleofdistractingornamentation.

Thelastexample,Figure331,includesseveralelementsofdecorationthatoughttobeeliminated.To
beginwith,avisuallyornatelogoandtitleuseupthemostvaluablerealestateacrosstheentiretopofthe
dashboard.Ifalogomustbeincludedforbrandingpurposes,makeitsmallandvisuallysubtle,andplaceit
somewhereoutoftheway.Thebackgroundcolorsofgoldandbluecertainlydrawoureyestothedata,but
theydosoinanunnecessarilyheavyhandedmanner.Also,thecolorgradientsfromdarktolightprovide
visualinterestthatsupportsnorealpurposeandisthereforedistracting.Lastly,themapsinthe
backgroundofthethreeuppergraphs,thoughvisuallymuted,stilldistractfromthedataitself.

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Figure331.Thisdashboardexhibitsseveralexamplesofdysfunctionaldecoration.

AsdatavisualizationexpertEdwardTufteobserves:
Ineptgraphicsalsoflourishbecausemanygraphicartistsbelievethatstatisticsare
boringandtedious.Itthenfollowsthatdecoratedgraphicsmustpepup,animate,
andalltoooftenexaggeratewhatevidencethereisinthedataIfthestatisticsare
boring,thenyou'vegotthewrongnumbers.1

3.12.MisusingorOverusingColor
We'vealreadyseenseveralexamplesofmisusedoroverusedcolor.TheremainingpointthatIwantto
emphasizehereisthatcolorshouldnotbeusedhaphazardly.

EdwardR.Tufte,TheVisualDisplayofQuantitativeInformation(Cheshire,CT:GraphicsPress,1983),80.

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Colorchoicesshouldbemadethoughtfully,withanunderstandingofhowweperceivecolorandthe
significanceofcolordifferences.Somecolorsarehotanddemandourattention,whileothersarecooler
andlessvisible.Whenanycolorappearsasacontrastrelativetothenorm,oureyespayattentionandour
brainsattempttoassignmeaningtothatcontrast.Whencolorsintwodifferentsectionsofadashboardare
thesame,wearetemptedtorelatethemtooneanother.Wemerrilyassumethatwecanusecolorssuch
asred,yellow,andgreentoassignimportantmeaningstodata,butindoingsoweexcludethe10%of
malesand1%offemaleswhoarecolorblind.InChapter4,TappingintothePowerofVisualPerception,
we'lllearnabitaboutcolorandhowitcanbeusedmeaningfullyandpowerfully.

3.13.DesigninganUnattractiveVisualDisplay
Notbeingonetomincewordsforthesakeofpropriety,I'llstatequitedirectlythatsomedashboardsare
justplainugly.Whenweseethem,we'reinclinedtoavertoureyeshardlythedesiredreactiontoascreen
that'ssupposedtobesupplyinguswithimportantinformation.Youmighthaveassumedfrommyearlier
warningagainstunnecessarydecorationthatIhavenoconcernfordashboardaesthetics,butthat'snotthe
case.Whenadashboardisunattractiveunpleasanttolookattheviewerisputinaframeofmindthatis
notconducivetoitsuse.I'mnotadvocatingthatweaddtouchestomakedashboardspretty,butrather
thatweattractivelydisplaythedataitself,withoutaddinganythingthatdistractsfromorobscuresit.(We'll
examinetheaestheticsofdashboarddesignabitinChapter7,DesigningDashboardsforUsability.)
Figure332onthenextpageisastellarexampleofunattractivedashboarddesign.Itappearsthatthe
personwhocreatedthisdashboardattemptedtomakeitlooknice,buthejustdidn'thavethevisualdesign
skillsneededtosucceed.Forinstance,inanefforttofillupthespace,somesections(suchasthegraphat
thebottomright)weresimplystretched.Also,althoughshadesofgraycanbeusedeffectivelyasthe
backgroundcolorofgraphs,thisparticularshadeistoodark.Theimagethatappearsunderthetitle
"Manufacturing"isclearlyanattempttoredeemthisdrearydashboardwithasplashofdecoration,butit
onlyservestodistractfromthedataandisn'tevenparticularlynicetolookat.Theguidingdesignprinciple
ofsimplicityalonewouldhavesavedthisdashboardfromitscurrentagony.

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Figure332.Thisisanexampleofaratherunattractivedashboard.

Youdon'tneedtobeagraphicartisttodesignanattractivedashboard,butyoudoneedtounderstanda
fewbasicprinciplesaboutvisualperception.We'llexaminetheseinthenextchapter.

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Chapter4.TappingintothePowerofVisualPerception
Visionisbyfarourmostpowerfulsense.Seeingandthinkingareintimatelyconnected.Todisplaydata
effectively,wemustunderstandabitaboutvisualperception,gleaningfromtheavailablebodyofscientific
researchthosefindingsthatcanbeapplieddirectlytodashboarddesign:whatworks,whatdoesn't,and
why.

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Understandingthelimitsofshorttermmemory
Visuallyencodingdataforrapidperception
Gestaltprinciplesofvisualperception
Itisn'taccidentalthatwhenwebegintounderstandsomethingwesay,"Isee."Not"Ihear"or"Ismell,"but
"Isee."Visiondominatesoursensorylandscape.Asasensophile,Icherishtherichabundanceofsounds,
smells,tastes,andtexturesthatinhabitourworld,butnoneoftheseprovidestherichvolume,bandwidth,
andnuanceofinformationthatIperceivethroughvision.Approximately70%ofthesensereceptorsinour
bodiesarededicatedtovision,andIsuspectthatthereisastrongcorrelationbetweentheextensive
brainpoweranddominanceofvisualperceptionthathavecoevolvedinourspecies.Howweseeisclosely
tiedtohowwethink.
I'velearnedaboutvisualperceptionfrommanysources,butonestandsoutabovetheothersinits
applicationtoinformationdesign:thebookInformationVisualization:PerceptionforDesignbyColinWare.
Dr.Wareexpressestheimportanceofstudyingvisualperceptionbeautifully:
Whyshouldwebeinterestedinvisualization?Becausethehumanvisualsystemisa
patternseekerofenormouspowerandsubtlety.Theeyeandthevisualcortexofthe
brainformamassivelyparallelprocessorthatprovidesthehighestbandwidth
channelintohumancognitivecenters.Athigherlevelsofprocessing,perceptionand
cognitionarecloselyinterrelatedHowever,thevisualsystemhasitsownrules.We
caneasilyseepatternspresentedincertainways,butiftheyarepresentedinother
ways,theybecomeinvisibleThemoregeneralpointisthatwhendataispresented
incertainways,thepatternscanbereadilyperceived.Ifwecanunderstandhow
perceptionworks,ourknowledgecanbetranslatedintorulesfordisplaying
information.Followingperceptionbasedrules,wecanpresentourdatainsucha
waythattheimportantandinformativepatternsstandout.Ifwedisobeytherules,
ourdatawillbeincomprehensibleormisleading.1
We'llconcentrateourlookatvisualperceptiononthefollowingareas:

Thelimitsofshorttermvisualmemory
Visualencodingforrapidperception
Gestaltprinciplesofvisualperception

Eachofthesetopicscanbeapplieddirectlytothedesignofdashboards.

4.1.UnderstandingtheLimitsofShortTermMemory
Intruth,wedon'tseewithoureyes;weseewithourbrains.Oureyesarethesensorymechanismsthrough
whichlightentersandistranslatedbyneuronsintoelectricalimpulsesthatarepassedontoandaroundin
ourbrains,butourbrainsarewhereperceptiontheprocessofmakingsenseofwhatoureyes
registeractuallyoccurs.

ColinWare,InformationVisualization:PerceptionforDesign,SecondEdition(SanFrancisco:MorganKauffman,
2004),xxi.

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Oureyesdonotregistereverythingthatisvisibleintheworldaroundus,butonlywhatlieswithintheir
spanofperception.Onlyaportionofwhatoureyessensebecomesanobjectoffocus.Onlythroughfocus
doeswhatweseebecomemorethanavaguesense.Onlyafractionofwhatwefocusonbecomesthe
objectofattentionorconsciousthought.Finally,onlyalittlebitofwhatweattendtogetsstoredawayfor
futureuse.Withouttheselimitsandfilters,perceptionwouldoverwhelmourbrains.
Ourmemoriesstoreinformationstartingthemomentweseesomething,continuingasweconsciously
processtheinformation,andfinallyaccumulatingoveryearsinapermanent(ornearlyso)storagearea
whereinformationremainsreadyforuseifeverneededagainthatis,untilaccesstothatinformation
eventuallybeginstoatrophy.
Memorycomesinthreefundamentaltypes:

Iconicmemory(a.k.a.thevisualsensoryregister)
Shorttermmemory(a.k.a.workingmemory)
Longtermmemory

Iconicmemoryisalotlikethevisualmemorybufferofacomputer:aplacewhereimagesarebrieflyheld
untiltheycanbemovedtorandomaccessmemory(RAM),wheretheyresidewhilebeingprocessedbythe
CPU.Eventhoughwhatgoesoniniconicmemoryispreconscious,acertaintypeofprocessingknownas
preattentiveprocessingoccursnonetheless.Certainattributesofwhatweseearerecognizedduring
preattentiveprocessingatanextraordinarilyhighspeed,whichresultsincertainthingsstandingoutand
particularsetsofobjectsbeinggroupedtogether,allwithoutconsciousthought.Preattentiveprocessing
playsapowerfulroleinvisualperception,andwecanintentionallydesignourdashboardstotake
advantageofthisifweunderstandabitaboutit.
Shorttermmemoryiswhereinformationresidesduringconsciousprocessing.Themostimportantthings
toknowaboutshorttermmemoryare:

Itistemporary.1
Aportionofitisdedicatedtovisualinformation.
Ithasalimitedstoragecapacity.

Wecanstoreonlythreetoninechunksofvisualinformationatatimeinshorttermmemory.Whenits
capacityisfull,forsomethingnewtobebroughtintoshorttermmemory,somethingthat'salreadythere
musteitherbemovedintolongtermmemoryorsimplyremovedaltogether(thatis,forgotten).What
constitutesa"chunk"ofvisualinformationvariesdependingonthenatureoftheobjectsweareseeing,
aspectsoftheirdesign,andourfamiliaritywiththem.Forinstance,individualnumbersonadashboardare
storedasdiscretechunks,butawelldesignedgraphicalpattern,suchasthepatternformedbyoneor
morelinesinalinegraph,canrepresentagreatdealofinformationasasinglechunk.Thisisoneofthe
greatadvantagesofgraphs(whenusedappropriatelyandskillfullydesigned)overtext.Dashboardsshould
bedesignedinawaythatsupportsoptimalchunkingtogetherofinformationsothatitcanbeperceived
andunderstoodmostefficiently,inbigvisualgulps.

Informationremainsinshorttermmemoryfromafewsecondstoaslongasafewhoursifperiodicallyrehearsed;
thenitisflushed.Ifrehearsedinaparticularway,informationismovedfromshorttermmemorytolongterm
memory,whereitisstoredmorepermanentlyforlaterrecall.Wheninformationisrecalledfromlongtermmemory,
itistemporarilymovedonceagainintoshorttermmemory,whereitisprocessed.

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Thelimitedcapacityofshorttermmemoryisalsothereasonwhyinformationthatbelongstogethershould
neverbefragmentedintomultipledashboards,andscrollingshouldn'tberequiredtoseeitall.Oncethe
informationisnolongervisible,unlessitisoneofthefewchunksofinformationstoredinshortterm
memory,itisnolongeravailable.Ifyouscrollorpagebacktoseeitagain,youthenloseaccesstowhatyou
weremostrecentlyviewing.Aslongaseverythingyouneedremainswithineyespanonasingledashboard,
however,youcanrapidlyexchangeinformationinandoutofshorttermmemoryatlightningspeed.

4.2.VisuallyEncodingDataforRapidPerception
Preattentiveprocessing,theearlystageofvisualperceptionthatrapidlyoccursbelowthelevelof
consciousness,istunedtodetectaspecificsetofvisualattributes.Attentiveprocessingissequential,and
thereforemuchslower.Thedifferenceiseasytodemonstrate.Takeamomenttoexaminethefourrowsof
numbersinFigure41,andtrytodetermineasquicklyasyoucanthenumberoftimesthenumber5
appearsinthelist.

Figure41.Howmanyfivesareinthislist?Notetheslowspeedatwhichweprocessvisualstimulithatlackpreattentive
attributes.

Howmanydidyoufind?Thecorrectanswerissix.Whetheryougottheanswerrightornot,theprocess
tookyouawhilebecauseitinvolvedattentiveprocessing.Thelistofnumbersdidnotexhibitany
preattentiveattributesthatyoucouldusetodistinguishthefivesfromtheothernumbers.Nowtryitagain,
thistimeusingthelistofnumbersinFigure42.

Figure42.Howmanyfivesdoyouseenow?Notethefastspeedatwhichweprocessvisualstimulithatexhibitpreattentive
attributes.

Mucheasierthistime,wasn'tit?Inthisfigurethefivescouldeasilybedistinguishedfromtheother
numbers,duetotheirdifferingcolorintensity(oneofthepreattentiveattributeswe'lldiscussbelow):the
fivesareblackwhilealltheothernumbersaregray,whichcausesthemtostandoutinclearcontrast.Why
couldn'tweeasilydistinguishthefivesinthefirstsetofnumbers(Figure41)basedpurelyontheirunique
shape?Becausethecomplexshapesofthenumbersarenotattributesthatweperceivepreattentively.
Simpleshapessuchascirclesandsquaresarepreattentivelyperceived,buttheshapesofnumbersaretoo
elaborate.
InInformationVisualization:PerceptionforDesign,ColinWaresuggeststhatthepreattentiveattributesof
visualperceptioncanbeorganizedintofourcategories:color,form,spatialposition,andmotion.Forour
presentinterestrelatedtodashboarddesign,I'vereducedhislargerlistof17preattentiveattributestothe
following11:

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Table41.

Category Attribute
Color
Hue

Intensity

Position

2Dlocation

Form

Orientation

Linelength

Linewidth

Size

Illustration

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Shape

Added
marks

Enclosure

Motion

Flicker

Avisualattributeofanobject,suchascolor,continuouslychangesbackandforth
betweentwovalues,ortheentireobjectitselfrepeatedlyappearsandthen
disappears.

Eachofthesevisualattributescanbeconsciouslyappliedtodashboarddesigntogrouporhighlight
information.Somecanbeusedtoencodequantitativeinformationaswell,aswe'lldiscussbelow.
4.2.1.AttributesofColor
Acommonwaytodescribecolorcombinesthreeattributes:hue,saturation,andlightness/brightness.This
issometimesreferredtoastheHSLorHSBsystemofdescribingcolor.Hueisamoreprecisetermforwhat
wenormallythinkofascolor(red,green,blue,purple,etc.).Saturationmeasuresthedegreetowhicha
particularhueexhibitsitsfull,pureessence.ThesaturationoftheredhueinFigure43rangesfrom0%
saturationontheleftto100%saturationontheright.

Figure43.Thefullrangeofcolorsaturation,inthiscaseofthehuered,with0%saturationontheleftand100%saturationon
theright.

Lightness(orbrightness)measuresthedegreetowhichanyhueappearsdarkorlight,rangingfromfully
dark(black)tofullylight(white).ThefullrangeoflightnessisshownfortheredhueinFigure44.

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Figure44.Thefullrangeofcolorlightness,inthiscaseofthehuered,with0%lightnessontheleft(pureblack)and100%
lightnessontheright(purewhite).

Intensityreferstobothsaturationandlightness.TheillustrationofcolorintensityonSection4.2showsa
circlethatvariesfromtheothersnotasadifferenthuebutasalighter(thatis,lessintense)versionofthe
samehue.Botharedifferentpointsalongacolorscalethatrangesfromwhite(nobrown)toarichdark
shadeofbrown(fullybrown).Itreallyisn'tnecessarytofullyunderstandthetechnicaldistinctionbetween
saturationandlightness,whichiswhyIdescribethembothmoresimplyasintensity.
Oneoftheinteresting(buthardlyintuitive)thingsaboutcoloristhatwedon'tperceivecolorinanabsolute
way.Whatweseeisdramaticallyinfluencedbythecontextthatsurroundsit.Takealookatthegray
squaresinFigure45.Theyappeartovaryinintensity,butinfacttheyareallexactlythesameasthelone
squarethatappearsagainstawhitebackgroundatthebottom.

Figure45.Contextaffectsourperceptionofcolorintensity.Thesmallsquareisactuallytheexactsameshadeofgray
everywhereitappears.

Allfivesquareshaveacolorvalueof50%black,yetthesurroundinggrayscalegradient,rangingfromlight
onthelefttodarkontheright,altersourperceptionofthem.Thisperceptualillusionappliesnotonlyto
intensity,buttohue.InFigure46,theword"Text"appearsagainsttwobackgrounds:redandblue.Inboth
cases,thecoloroftheword"Text"isthesame.However,itnotonlylooksdifferent,butit'smuchless
visibleagainsttheredbackground.

Figure46.Contextalsoaffectsourperceptionofhue.Theword"Text"isexactlythesamehueinbothboxes.

Colormustbeusedwithafullawarenessofcontext.Wenotonlywantdatatobefullylegible,butalsoto
appearthesamewhenwewishittoappearthesameanddifferentwhenwewishittoappeardifferent.
4.2.2.AttributesofForm
Someofthevisualattributesofformhavenoobviousconnectiontodashboarddesign,buttheirrelevance
shouldbecomeclearwithalittleexplanation.Themostcommonapplicationoforientationisintheformof

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italicizedtext,whichistextthathasbeenreorientedfromstraightupanddowntoslightlyslantedtothe
right.Iusuallydiscouragetheuseofitalicizedtextasameansofmakingsomewordsstandoutfromthe
rest,becauseitalicsarehardertoreadthannormalverticallyorientedtext.However,itissometimesuseful
inapinch.
Indashboarddesign,theattributeoflinelengthismostusefulforencodingquantitativevaluesasbarsina
bargraph.Linewidth,ontheotherhand,canbeusefulforhighlightingpurposes.Youcanthinkofline
widthasthethicknessorstrokeweightofaline.Whenlinesareusedtounderlinecontentor,intheform
ofboxes,toformbordersaroundcontent,youcandrawmoreattentiontothatcontentbyincreasingthe
thicknessofthelines.
Therelativesizesofobjectsthatappearonadashboardcanbeusedtovisuallyranktheirimportance.For
instance,largertitlesforsectionsofcontent,orlargertables,graphs,oricons,canbeusedtodeclarethe
greaterimportanceoftheassociateddata.Simpleshapescanbeusedingraphstodifferentiatedatasets
and,intheformoficons,toassigndistinctmeanings,suchasdifferenttypesofalerts.Addedmarksare
mostusefulondashboardsintheformofsimpleiconsthatappearnexttodatathatneedattention.Any
simplemark(suchasacircle,asquare,anasterisk,oranX),whenplacednexttoinformationonlywhenit
mustbehighlighted,worksasasimplemeansofdrawingattention.Lastonthelistofformattributesis
enclosure,whichisapowerfulmeansofgroupingsectionsofdataor,whenusedsparingly,highlighting
contentasimportant.Tocreatethevisualeffectofenclosure,youcanuseeitheraborderorafillcolor
behindthecontent.
4.2.3.AttributesofPosition
Thepreattentiveattribute2Dpositionistheprimarymeansthatweusetoencodequantitativedatain
graphs(forexample,thepositionofdatapointsinrelationtoaquantitativescale).Thisisn'tarbitrary.Ofall
thepreattentiveattributes,differencesin2Dpositionaretheeasiestandmostaccuratetoperceive.1
4.2.4.AttributesofMotion
AsItypethesewords,Iamawareofmycursorflickeringonandoffonthescreen.Flickerwaschosenas
themeanstohelpuslocatethecursorbecauseitisapowerfulattentiongetter.Evolutionhasequippedus
withaheightenedsensitivitytosomethingthatsuddenlyappearswithinourfieldofvision.Ourancient
ancestorsfounditveryvaluabletobecomeinstantlyalertwhenasabertoothedtigersuddenlyspranginto
theirperipheralvision.AsI'msureyou'reaware,flickeringobjectsonascreencanbequiteannoyingand
thusshouldusuallybeavoided.Still,thereareoccasionswhenflickerisuseful.Thisisespeciallytruefor
dashboardsthatareconstantlyupdatedwithrealtimedataandareusedtomonitoroperationsthat
requireimmediateresponses.
4.2.5.EncodingQuantitativeVersusCategoricalData
Someofthepreattentiveattributesthatwe'veexaminedcanbeusedtocommunicatequantitativedata,
whileotherscanbeusedonlytocommunicatecategoricaldata.Thatis,whilesomeattributesallowusto
perceiveonethingasgreaterthanothersinsomeway(bigger,taller,moreimportant),othersmerely
indicatethatitemsaredistinctfromoneanother,withoutanysenseofsomebeinggreaterthanorless
thanothers.Forexample,differentshapescanbeperceivedasdistinct,butonlycategorically.Squaresare

Perhapsyou'venoticedthatI'vespecified"2D"positionanobject'slocationrelativetotheverticalandhorizontal
dimensionsonlyandhaveignored3Dposition,alsoknownasstereoscopicposition.3Dpositionisalsoapreattentive
attribute,butthepseudo3Deffectthatcanbeproducedontheflatsurfaceofacomputerscreencomeswithabevy
ofperceptualproblemsthatcomplicateitsuse.3Delementsaresorarelynecessarytocommunicatebusiness
informationandsodifficulttodesigneffectivelythatIrecommendthatyouavoidusingthemaltogether.

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notgreaterthantrianglesorcirclesthey'rejustdifferent.Thefollowingtableagainlistseachofthe
preattentiveattributesandindicateswhicharequantitativelyperceived:
Table42.
Category
Color
Position
Form

Motion

Attribute
Hue
Intensity
2Dposition
Orientation
Linelength
Linewidth
Size
Shape
Addedmarks
Enclosure
Flicker

Quantitative
No
Yes,butlimited
Yes
No
Yes
Yes,butlimited
Yes,butlimited
No
No
No
Yes,basedonspeed,butlimited

Note:Youmightarguethatwecanperceiveorientationandcurvaturequantitatively,butthereisno
naturalassociationofgreaterorlesservaluewithdifferentorientationsordegreesofcurvature(for
example,whichisgreater,averticalorhorizontalline?).

Wecanusethoseattributeswithquantitativeperceptiondescribedas"Yes,butlimited"toencourage
perceptionofonethingasgreaterthan,equalto,orlessthananother,butnotwithanydegreeof
precision.Forexample,inFigure47,itisobviousthatthecircleontherightisbiggerthanthecircleonthe
left,buthowmuchbigger?Ifthesmallcirclehasasizeofone,whatisthesizeofthebiggercircle?

Figure47.Thisillustratesourinabilitytoassignprecisequantitativevaluestoobjectsofdifferentsizes.

Thecorrectansweris16,butit'slikelythatyouguessedalowernumber.Humanstendtounderestimate
differencesin2Dareas,andhenceyoumustbewaryofusing2Dareasofdifferentsizestoencode
quantitativevaluesespeciallyonadashboard,wherespeedofinterpretationisessential.

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Itisimportanttounderstandthedifferentwaysthatthepreattentiveattributescanbeusedtogroupand
encodedata,butbysplittingthemalongtheselinesquantitativeandcategoricaldonotmeantoimplythat
onlythoseattributesthatenableviewerstomakequantitativecomparisonsareofusetodashboard
designers.Ourinabilitytoperceivecertainpreattentiveattributesquantitativelydoesnotrenderthem
uselesstous.Eachofthemcanbeusedtodividedataintodistinctcategories,tovisuallylinkdatatogether
evenwhenitisseparatedspatially,andtohighlightdata.
4.2.6.LimitstoPerceptualDistinctness
Whendesigningdashboards,bearinmindthatthereisalimittothenumberofdistinctexpressionsofa
singlepreattentiveattributethatwecanquicklyandeasilydistinguish.Forexample,whenusingvarying
intensitiesofthecolorgraytodistinguishdatasetsinalinegraph,youmustmakesurethatthecolorof
eachlineisdifferentenoughfromthoseclosestincolortoittoclearlystandoutasdistinct.Whenyou
placeenoughperceptualdistancebetweenthecolorintensitiesoftheseparatelinestomakethem
sufficientlydistinct,there'sapracticallimitofaboutfivetothenumberofdistinctexpressionsthatare
availableacrossthegrayscale.InFigure48,itiseasytoseethatitwouldbedifficulttoincludemoregray
linesthatwouldstandoutasdistinctwithoutrequiringcareful,conscious,andthusslowexaminationon
thepartoftheviewer.

Figure48.Thereisapracticallimitofaboutfivedistinctcolorintensitiesonthegrayscalecontinuumthatcanbeusedto
encodeseparatelinesinagraph.

Similarlimitsapplytoeveryoneofthepreattentiveattributes,exceptlinelength(suchasthelengthofa
baronagraph)and2Dlocation(suchasthelocationofadatapointonagraph).Whenorganizingdata
intodistinctgroupsusingdifferentexpressionsofanypreattentiveattribute,youshouldbecarefulnotto
exceedfivedistinctexpressions.Whenusingtheshapeattribute,inadditiontothislimityoumustalsobe
carefultochooseshapesthataresimple,suchascircles,squares,triangles,dashes,andcrosses(orXs).
Rememberthatcomplexshapes,includingmosticons,arenotperceivedpreattentively.Whenusinghue,
keepinmindthateventhoughwecaneasilydistinguishmorethanfivehues,shorttermmemorycan't
simultaneouslyretainthemeaningofmorethanaboutnineintotal.Also,theuseoftoomanyhuesresults
inadashboardthatlookscluttered,withtoomanydistinctionstosortthroughquickly.Whendesigning
dashboards,ithelpstopreparestandardsetsofhues,colorintensities,shapes,andsoonfromwhichto

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choose,andthensticktothem.Thiswillkeepthedisplayperceptuallysimpleandwilleliminatetheneedto
selectvisualattributesfromscratcheachtimeyoumustchooseone.
4.2.7.UsingVividandSubtleColorsAppropriately
ColorissooftenmisusedindashboarddesignthatI'mcompelledtoemphasizeonemoreprincipleofits
use.Somecolorsaresoothing,andsometakeholdofusandshakeusaround.Knowingthedifferenceis
quiteimportant.Therearetimeswhenparticularinformationneedstograbtheviewer'sattentioninan
unavoidableway,butusingcolorforthispurposeworksonlyifit'sdonesparingly.Reservetheuseof
bright,fullysaturatedcolorforthesespecialcases.Colorsthatarecommoninnature,suchassoftgrays,
browns,oranges,greens,andblues,workverywellasastandardcolorpalettefordashboards.Theyallow
theviewertoperusethedashboardcalmlywithanopenmind,ratherthanstressfully,withpinpoint
attentioninresponsetoassaultingcolors.Figure49displaysexamplesofstandardandboldcolorpalettes.

Figure49.Examplesoftwocolorpalettes:oneforstandarduseandoneforemphasis.

4.3.GestaltPrinciplesofVisualPerception
Backin1912,theGestaltSchoolofPsychologybeganitsfruitfuleffortstounderstandhowweperceive
pattern,form,andorganizationinwhatwesee.TheGermanterm"gestalt"simplymeans"pattern."These
researchersrecognizedthatweorganizewhatweseeinparticularwaysinanefforttomakesenseofit.
TheirworkresultedinacollectionofGestaltprinciplesofperceptionthatrevealthosevisualcharacteristics
thatinclineustogroupobjectstogether.Theseprinciplesstillstandtodayasaccurateanduseful
descriptionsofvisualperception,andtheyofferseveralusefulinsightsthatwecanapplydirectlyinour
dashboarddesignstointentionallytiedatatogether,separatedata,ormakesomedatastandoutas
distinctfromtherest.
We'llexaminethefollowingsixprinciples:

Proximity
Closure
Similarity
Continuity
Enclosure
Connection

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4.3.1.ThePrincipleofProximity
Weperceiveobjectsthatarelocatednearoneanotherasbelongingtothesamegroup.Figure410clearly
illustratesthisprinciple.Basedontheirrelativelocations,weautomaticallyseethedotsasbelongingto
threeseparategroups.Thisisthesimplestwaytolinkdatathatyouwanttobeseentogether.Whitespace
aloneisusuallyallyouneedtoseparatethesegroupsfromtheotherdatathatsurroundsthem.

Figure410.TheGestaltprincipleofproximityexplainswhywesee3groupsinsteadofjust10dotsinthisimage.

Theprincipleofproximitycanalsobeusedtodirectviewerstoscandataonadashboardpredominantlyin
aparticulardirection:eitherlefttorightortoptobottom.Placingsectionsofdataclosertogether
horizontallyencouragesviewers'eyestogroupthesectionshorizontally,andthustoscanfromlefttoright.
Placingsectionsofdataclosertogetherverticallyachievestheoppositeeffect.
NoticehowsubtlythisworksinFigure411.Youarenaturallyinclinedtoscanthesmallsquaresthatappear
onthelefthorizontallyasrowsandtheonesontherightverticallyascolumns,allbecauseofhowtheyare
positionedinrelationtoeachother.

Figure411.TheGestaltprincipleofproximitycanbeusedtoencourageeitherhorizontalorverticalscanning.

4.3.2.ThePrincipleofSimilarity
Wetendtogrouptogetherobjectsthataresimilarincolor,size,shape,andorientation.Figure412
illustratesthistendency.

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Figure412.Whenobjectssharesomevisualattributeincommon,wetendtoseethemasbelongingtothesamegroup.

Thisprinciplereinforceswhatwe'vealreadylearnedabouttheusefulnessofcolor(bothhueandintensity),
size,shape,andorientationtoencodecategoricalvariables.Theprincipleofsimilarityappliesvery
effectivelytogroupsofvisualobjectsthatvaryasdifferentexpressionsofpreattentiveattributessuchas
these.Itworksespeciallywellasameansofidentifyingdifferentdatasetsinagraph(forexample,income,
expenses,andprofits).Evenwhendatathatwewishtolinkresidesinseparatelocationsonadashboard,
theprincipleofsimilaritycanbeappliedtoestablishthatlink.
Forinstance,ifyouwishtotietogetherrevenueinformationthatappearsinvariousgraphs,youcandoso
byusingthesamecolortoencodeitwhereveritappears.Thistechniquecanbeusefulforencouraging
comparisonsofanydatathatappearinvariousplaces,suchasordercount,ordersize,andorderrevenue.
4.3.3.ThePrincipleofEnclosure
Weperceiveobjectsasbelongingtogetherwhentheyareenclosedbyanythingthatformsavisualborder
aroundthem(forexample,alineoracommonfieldofcolor).Thisenclosurecausestheobjectstoappear
tobesetapartinaregionthatisdistinctfromtherestofwhatwesee.Noticehowstronglyyoureyesare
inducedtogrouptheenclosedobjectsinFigure413.

Figure413.TheGestaltprincipleofenclosurepointsoutthatanyformofvisualenclosurecausesustoseetheenclosedobjects
asagroup.

Thearrangementofthetwosetsofcirclesinthisfigureisexactlythesame,yetthedifferingenclosures
directustogroupthecirclesinverydifferentways.Thisprincipleisexhibitedfrequentlyintheuseof
bordersandfillcolorsorshadingintablesandgraphstogroupinformationandsetitapart.Asyoucansee,
itdoesnottakeastrongenclosure(e.g.,bright,thicklinesordominantcolors)tocreateastrong
perceptionofgrouping.

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4.3.4.ThePrincipleofClosure
Humanshaveakeendislikeforlooseends.Whenfacedwithambiguousvisualstimuliobjectsthatcouldbe
perceivedeitherasopen,incomplete,andunusualformsorasclosed,whole,andregularformswe
naturallyperceivethemasthelatter.Theprincipleofclosureassertsthatweperceiveopenstructuresas
closed,complete,andregularwheneverthereisawaythatwecanreasonablydoso.Figure414illustrates
thisprinciple.

Figure414.TheGestaltprincipleofclosureexplainswhyweseetheseasclosedshapes,despitethefactthattheyarenot
finished.

ItisnaturalforustoperceivewhatappearsontheleftinFigure414asarectangleratherthantwosetsof
threeconnectedlinesconnectedatrightanglesandtoperceivetheobjectontherightasacompleteoval
ratherthansimplyacurvedline.
Wecanapplythistendencytoperceivewholestructuresindashboards,especiallyinthedesignofgraphs.
Forexample,wecangroupobjects(points,lines,orbarsinagraph,etc.)intovisualregionswithouttheuse
ofcompletebordersorbackgroundcolorstodefinethespace.Thisispreferable,becausetheneedto
displayalargecollectionofdatainasmallamountofspacerequiresthatweeliminateallvisualcontent
thatisnotabsolutelynecessary,toavoidclutter.AsshowninFigure415,itissufficienttodefinethearea
ofagraphthroughtheuseofasinglesetofXandYaxes,ratherthanbylinesthatformacomplete
rectanglearoundthegraph,withorwithoutafillcolor.

Figure415.TheGestaltprincipleofclosurealsoexplainswhyonlytwoaxes,ratherthanfullenclosure,arerequiredonagraph
todefinethespaceinwhichthedataappears.

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4.3.5.ThePrincipleofContinuity
Weperceiveobjectsasbelongingtogether,aspartofasinglewhole,iftheyarealignedwithoneanotheror
appeartoformacontinuationofoneanother.InFigure416,forinstance,wetendtoseetheindividual
linesasacontinuationofoneanother,moreasadashedlinethanseparatelines.

Figure416.TheGestaltprincipleofcontinuityexplainswhyweseethisasasinglewavyline.

Thingsthatarealignedwithoneanotherappeartobelongtothesamegroup.InthetableinFigure417,it
isobviouswhichitemsaredivisionnamesandwhicharedepartmentnames,basedontheirdistinct
alignment.Divisions,departments,andheadcountsareclearlygrouped,withoutanyneedforverticalgrid
linestodelineatethem.Eventhoughthedivisionanddepartmentcolumnsoverlapwithnowhitespacein
between,theirdistinctalignmentalonemakesthemeasytodistinguish.Thissametechniquecanbeused
totietogetherseparatesectionsofdataonadashboard.

Figure417.TheGestaltprincipleofcontinuityalsoexplainshowtheindentationoftextworksasameanstogroupinformation.

4.3.6.ThePrincipleofConnection
Weperceiveobjectsthatareconnectedinsomeway,suchasbyaline,aspartofthesamegroup.InFigure
418,eventhoughthecirclesarenearertooneanotherverticallythanhorizontally,thelinesthatconnect
themcreateaclearperceptionoftwohorizontallyattachedpairs.

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Figure418.TheGestaltprincipleofconnectionexplainswhyweseethesedotsgroupedbyrowsratherthancolumns.

AsFigure419illustrates,theperceptionofgroupingproducedbyconnectionisstrongerthanthat
producedbyproximityorsimilarity(color,size,andshape);itisweakeronlythanthatproducedby
enclosure.Theprincipleofconnectionisespeciallyusefulfortyingtogethernonquantitativedatafor
example,torepresentrelationshipsbetweenstepsinaprocessorbetweenemployeesinanorganization.

Figure419.Whenobjectsareconnected,suchasbythelinesintheseexamples,theyaregroupedtogethermorepowerfully
thanbyjustaboutanyothervisualmeans.Onlytheenclosureintherightmostexamplemorestronglygroupsthetwosquares
ontherightthantheconnectionsformedbythelines.

4.4.ApplyingthePrinciplesofVisualPerceptiontoDashboardDesign
Twoofthegreatestchallengesindashboarddesignaretomakethemostimportantdatastandoutfrom
therest,andtoarrangewhatisoftenagreatdealofdisparateinformationinawaythatmakessense,gives
itmeaning,andsupportsitsefficientperception.Anunderstandingofthepreattentiveattributesofvisual
perceptionandtheGestaltprinciplesprovidesausefulconceptualfoundationforfacingthesechallenges.It
ismuchmorehelpfultounderstandhowandwhysomethingworksthantosimplyunderstandthat
somethingworks.Ifyouunderstandthehowandwhy,whenyou'refacedwithnewchallengesyou'llbe
abletodeterminewhetherornottheprinciplesapplyandhowtoadaptthemtothenewcircumstances.If
you'vesimplybeentoldthatsomethingworksinaspecificsituation,you'llbestuckwhenfacedwith
conditionsthatareevenslightlydifferent.
Asyouproceedintothecomingchapters,you'llhaveseveralopportunitiestoreinforceyourgraspofvisual
perceptionbyapplyingwhatyou'velearnedtoseveralrealworlddashboarddesignproblems.

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Chapter5.EloquenceThroughSimplicity
Nowthatyou'refamiliarwithsomeofthesciencebehinddashboarddesign,it'stimetotakealookatafew
strategiesyoucanemploytocreateeffectivedisplays.Theguidingprincipleindashboarddesignshould
alwaysbesimplicity:displaythedataasclearlyandsimplyaspossible,andavoidunnecessaryand
distractingdecoration.

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Characteristicsofawelldesigneddashboard
Reducingthenondatapixels
Enhancingthedatapixels
Inearlierchapters,weconcentratedonwhatdoesn'twork.Nowit'stimetoshiftourfocustowhatdoes,
beginningwiththedesignprocessitselfthegoalsandstepsnecessarytoproducedashboardsthatinform
rapidlywithimpeccableclarity.

5.1.CharacteristicsofaWellDesignedDashboard
Thefundamentalchallengeofdashboarddesigninvolvessqueezingagreatdealofusefulandoften
disparateinformationintoasmallamountofspace,allthewhilepreservingclarity.Thiscertainlyisn'tthe
onlychallengeothersabound,suchasselectingtherightdatainthefirstplacebutitistheprimary
challengethatisparticulartodashboards.Limitedtoasinglescreentokeepallthedatawithineyespan,
dashboardrealestateisextremelyvaluable:youcan'taffordtowasteaninch.Fittingeverythinginwithout
sacrificingmeaningdoesn'trequiremuscles,itrequiresfinesse.

Figure51.Thefundamentalchallengeofdashboarddesignistoeffectivelydisplayagreatdealofoftendisparatedatainasmall
amountofspace.

Unlessyouknowwhatyou'redoing,you'llendupwithaclutteredmess.Thinkforamomentaboutthe
cockpitofacommercialjet.Yearsofeffortwentintoitsdesigntoensurethatdespitethemanythings

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pilotsmustmonitor,theycanseeeverythingthat'sgoingonataglance.EverytimeIboardaplane,I'm
gratefulthatskilleddesignersworkedhardtopresentthisinformationeffectively.Similarcareisneededfor
thedesignofdashboards,butunlikeaircraftcockpitdesign,fewofthosewhocreatedashboardshave
actuallystudiedthescienceofdesign.Youcanbecomeanexceptiontothisunfortunateandcostlynorm.It
isunlikelythatpeoplewilllosetheirlivesifyoufail,butbusinessesdooccasionallycrashandburnand
frequentlylosemoneyduetofailedcommunicationofjustthissort.
HenryDavidThoreauoncepennedthesamewordthreetimesinsuccessiontoemphasizeanimportant
qualityoflifethatappliestodesignaswell:"Simplify,simplify,simplify!"1ThoughIoftenfail,Istrivetolive
mylifeandtodesignallformsofcommunicationaccordingtoThoreau'ssageadvicetokeepthingssimple.
Eloquenceincommunicationisoftenachievedthroughsimplification.Toooftenwesmearathicklayerof
gaudymakeupoverdatainanefforttoimpressorentertain,ratherthanfocusingoncommunicatingthe
truthofthematterintheclearestpossibleway.
Whendesigningdashboards,youmustincludeonlytheinformationthatyouabsolutelyneed,youmust
condenseitinwaysthatdon'tdecreaseitsmeaning,andyoumustdisplayitusingvisualdisplay
mechanismsthat,evenwhenquitesmall,canbeeasilyreadandunderstood.Welldesigneddashboards
deliverinformationthatis:

Exceptionallywellorganized
Condensed,primarilyintheformofsummariesandexceptions
Specifictoandcustomizedforthedashboard'saudienceandobjectives
Displayedusingconciseandoftensmallmediathatcommunicatethedataanditsmessagein
theclearestandmostdirectwaypossible

Dashboardstellpeoplewhat'shappeningandshouldhelpthemimmediatelyrecognizewhatneedstheir
attention.Justlikethedashboardofacar,whichprovideseasilymonitoredmeasuresofspeed,remaining
fuel,oillevel,batterystrength,enginetrouble,andsoon,abusinessinformationdashboardprovidesan
overviewthatcanbeassimilatedquickly,butdoesn'tnecessarilygiveyoualltheinformationyoumight
needtothoroughlyrespondtoanyproblemsoropportunitiesthatarerevealed.
Afulldiagnosistodeterminehowtorespondtothedatagleanedfromadashboardoftenrequires
additionalinformation.Thisisasitshouldbe,becauseadashboardthattriedtogiveyoueverythingyou
needtodoyourjob,includingallthedetails,wouldbeunreadable.Instead,dashboardsshouldprovidea
broadandhighleveloverviewthatinformsyouinstantlyaboutthestateofthings.Iftheygofurtherby
providingquickandeasyaccesstotheadditionalinformationthatyoumightneed,that'swonderfulbut
thatjourneytakesyoubeyondthedashboarditself.
5.1.1.CondensingInformationviaSummarizationandException
Thebestwaytocondenseabroadspectrumofinformationtofitontoadashboardisintheformof
summariesandexceptions.Summarizationinvolvestheprocessofreduction.Summariesrepresentasetof
numbers(oftenalargeset)asasinglenumber.Thetwomostcommonsummariesthatappearon
dashboardsaresumsandaverages.Measuresofdistributionandcorrelationaresometimesappropriate,
butthesearerelativelyrare.
Giventhepurposeofadashboardtohelppeoplemonitorwhat'sgoingon,muchoftheinformationit
presentsisnecessaryonlywhensomethingunusualishappening;somethingthatfallsoutsidetherealmof

HenryDavidThoreau,Walden(originallypublishedin1864).

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normality,intotherealmofproblemsandopportunities.Whymakesomeonewadethroughhundredsof
valueswhenonlyoneortworequireattention?Wecallthesecriticalvaluesexceptions.
Thebestdashboardsaredesignedtospecificallyaddressinformationneedsrelatedtoaparticularobjective
orsetofobjectives.Notonlyshouldtheinformationbenarrowedtowhatdirectlyapplies,butthe
communicationofthatinformationshoulduseitsaudience'svocabulary.Youwouldn'texpressthe
relationshipbetweenthecostsofmarketingandresultingrevenuesasalinearcorrelationcoefficientifthe
audiencehadnoideawhatthatwasorhowtomakesenseofit.Afamiliargraphwoulddoabetterjob.
Likewise,youwouldn'tbreakthedataintomonthsiftheaudiencewerecomposedofsalesmanagerswho
thinkentirelyintermsofweeks.Customizationisvitaltothesuccessofadashboard.
Anaspectofcustomizationthatisoftenoverlookedinvolvesexpressingquantitativedataatalevelof
precisionthatisappropriatetothetaskathand.Thegreaterthenumericprecision,themoretimeitwill
takeviewerstoabsorbthedata.Whenexaminingfinancials,mostexecutivesrarelyneedtoseenumbers
downtothelevelofcentsorevenbeyondthenearestthousand,tenthousand,hundredthousand,oreven
million,butthemanagerofaccountingmightneedtoseeeverypenny.
Displaymediamustbedesignedtosayexactlywhattheyneedtosaynomoredirectly,clearly,andwithout
anyformofdistraction,inawaythatcommunicatesthemaximummeaningintheminimumamountof
space.Ifadisplaymechanismthatlookslikeafuelgauge,thermometer,ortrafficsignalcommunicatesthe
necessaryinformationinthismanner,thenthat'swhatyououghttouse.If,however,itfailsanyofthese
tests,itoughttobereplacedwithsomethingthatdoesthejobbetter.Insistingoncutedisplayswhenother
meanswouldworkbetteriscounterproductive,evenifeveryoneseemstobeinlovewiththem.Thisloveis
fickle.Theappealofcutenesswillfadequickly,andtheonlythingthatwillmatterthenishowwellthe
displaydeviceworks:howefficientlyandeffectivelyitcommunicates.
Twofundamentalprinciplesshouldguidetheselectionoftheidealdashboarddisplaymedia:

Itmustbethebestwaytodisplayaparticulartypeofinformationthatiscommonlyfoundin
dashboards.
Itmustbeabletoserveitspurposeevenwhensizedtofitintoasmallspace.

Inthenextchapter,we'llexamineanideallibraryofdashboarddisplaymediathatfulfillthese
requirements.Fornow,let'sexaminesomedesignprinciples.

5.2.KeyGoalsintheVisualDesignProcess
EdwardR.Tufteintroducedaconceptinhis1983classicTheVisualDisplayofQuantitativeInformationthat
hecallsthe"datainkratio."Whenquantitativedataisdisplayedinprintedform,someoftheinkthat
appearsonthepagepresentsdata,andsomepresentsvisualcontentthatisnotdata(a.k.a.nondata).
Figure52showstwodisplaysofquantitativedata:oneintheformofatableandtheotherintheformofa
graph.Takeaminutetoexaminethemandtrytodifferentiatethedatainkfromthenondataink.

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Figure52.Thistableandgraphconsistofbothdatainkandnondataink.

Thereisn'tmuchnondatainkineitherthetableorthegraph,becausetheywereintentionallydesignedto
keepittoaminimum.Figure53showsthesametableandgraph,thistimewiththenondatainkencoded
asred.

Figure53.Here,thenondatainkishighlightedinred.

Tuftedefinesthedatainkratiointhefollowingway:
Alargeshareofinkonagraphicshouldpresentdatainformation,theinkchanging
asthedatachange.Datainkisthenonerasablecoreofagraphic,thenon
redundantinkarrangedinresponsetovariationinthenumbersrepresented.Then,
Datainkratio
=dataink/totalinkusedtoprintthegraphic
=proportionofagraphic'sinkdevotedtothenonredundantdisplayofdata
information
=1.0proportionofagraphicthatcanbeerasedwithoutlossofdatainformation.1
Hethenappliesitasaprincipleofdesign:"Maximizethedatainkratio,withinreason.Everybitofinkona
graphicrequiresareason.Andnearlyalwaysthatreasonshouldbethattheinkpresentsnewinformation."2
Thisprincipleappliesperfectlytothedesignofdashboards,withonesimplerevision:becausedashboards
arealwaysdisplayedoncomputerscreens,I'vechangedtheword"ink"to"pixels."Acrosstheentire
dashboard,nondatapixelsanypixelsthatarenotusedtodisplaydata,excludingablankbackground
shouldbereducedtoareasonableminimum.TakeamomenttoexaminethedashboardinFigure54on
thenextpageandtrytoidentifythenondatapixelsthatcanbeeliminatedwithoutsacrificinganything
meaningful.

1
2

EdwardR.Tufte,TheVisualDisplayofQuantitativeInformation(Cheshire,CT:GraphicsPress,1983),93.
Ibid.,96.

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Figure54.Thisdashboarddisplaysanexcessiveamountofnondatapixels.

Thenondatapixelsthatyoucouldeasilyeliminatewithoutanylossofmeaninginclude:

Thethirddimensionofdepthonallthepiechartsandonthebarsintheupperbargraph
Thegridlinesinthebargraphs
Thedecorationinthebackgroundoftheupperbargraph
Thecolorgradientsinthebackgroundsofthegraphs,whichvaryfromwhiteatthetopthrough
shadesofblueastheyextenddownward

Someofthedatapixelsonthisdashboardcouldalsoberemovedwithoutalossofusefulmeaningwe'll
comebacktothatinamoment.
Reducingthenondatapixelstoareasonableminimumisakeyobjectivethatplacesusonthepathto
effectivedashboarddesign.Muchofvisualdashboarddesignrevolvesaroundtwofundamentalgoals:
1. Reducethenondatapixels.
2. Enhancethedatapixels.

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Youstartbyreducingthenondatacontentasmuchaspossible,andthenproceedtoenhancethedata
contentwithasmuchclarityandmeaningaspossible,workingtomakethemostimportantdatastandout
abovetherest(Figure55).

Figure55.Keygoalsandstepsofvisualdashboarddesign.

5.2.1.ReducetheNonDataPixels
Thegoalofreducingthenondatapixelscanbebrokendownintotwosequentialsteps:
1. Eliminateallunnecessarynondatapixels.
2. Deemphasizeandregularizethenondatapixelsthatremain.
Let'stakealookathowtoaccomplishthesetwogoals.
5.2.1.1.Eliminateallunnecessarynondatapixels
Dashboarddesignisusuallyaniterativeprocess.Youbeginbymockingupasampledashboard,andthen
youimproveitthroughaseriesofredesigns,eachfollowedbyafreshevaluationleadingtoanother
redesign,untilyouhaveitright.Asyougetbetterandbetteratthis,thenumberofiterationsthatwillbe
requiredwilldecrease,partlybecauseyouwon'tbeincludingunnecessarynondatapixelsinthefirstplace.
Nomatterhowfaryouadvance,however,thestepoflookingforunnecessarynondatapixelswillnever
ceasetobeproductive.
Thenextfewfiguresprovideexamplesofnondatapixelsthatoftenfindtheirwayontodashboardsbutcan
usuallybeeliminatedwithoutloss.
Graphicsthatservemerelyasdecoration(Figure56).

Figure56.Youshouldeliminategraphicsthatprovidenothingbutdecoration.

Variationsincolorthatdon'tencodeanymeaning(Figure57).

Figure57.Thesebarsvaryincolorfornomeaningfulreason.

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Bordersthatareusedtodelineatesectionsofdatawhenthesimpleuseofwhite/blankspacealonewould
workaswell(Figure58).

Figure58.Unnecessarybordersaroundsectionsofdatafragmentthedisplay.

Fillcolorsthatareusedtodelineatesectionsofcontentsuchasatitle,thedataregionorlegendofagraph,
thebackgroundofatable,oranentiresectionofdata,whenaneutralbackgroundwouldworkaswell
(Figure59).

Figure59.Fillcolorstoseparatesectionsofthedisplayareunnecessary.

Gradientsoffillcolorwhenasolidcolorwouldworkaswell(Figure510).

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Figure510.Gradientsofcolorbothonthebarsofthisgraphandacrosstheentirebackgroundadddistractingnondatapixels.

Gridlinesingraphs(Figure511).

Figure511.Gridlinesingraphsarerarelyuseful.Theyareoneofthemostprevalentformsofdistractingnondatapixelsfound
indashboards.

Gridlinesintables,whichdividethedataintoindividualcellsordivideeithertherowsorthecolumns,
whenwhitespacealonewoulddothejobaswell(Figure512).

Figure512.Gridlinesintablescanmakeotherwisesimpledisplaysdifficulttolookat.

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Fillcolorsinthealternatingrowsofatabletodelineatethemwhenwhitespacealonewouldworkaswell
(Figure513).

Figure513.Fillcolorsshouldbeusedtodelineaterowsinatableonlywhenthisisnecessarytohelpviewers'eyestrackacross
therows.

Completebordersaroundthedataregionofagraphwhenonehorizontalandoneverticalaxiswould
sufficientlydefinethespace(Figure514).

Figure514.Acompleteborderaroundthedataregionofagraphshouldbeavoidedwhenasinglesetofaxeswouldadequately
definethespace.

3Dingraphswhenthethirddimensiondoesn'tcorrespondtoactualdata(Figure515).

Figure515.3Dshouldalwaysbeavoidedwhentheaddeddimensionofdepthdoesn'trepresentactualdata.

Visualcomponentsorattributesofadisplaymediumthatservenopurposebuttomakeitlookmorelikea
realphysicalobjectormoreornate(Figure516).

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Figure516.Thisdashboardisfilledwithvisualcomponentsandattributesthatservethesolepurposeofsimulatingrealphysical
objects.

Thisisbynomeansacomprehensivelist,butitdoescovermuchofthenondatacontentthatIroutinely
runacrossondashboards.Whenyoufindthatyou'veincludeduselessnondatapixelssuchasthoseinany
oftheaboveexamples,simplyremovethem.
5.2.1.2.Deemphasizeandregularizethenondatapixelsthatremain
Notallnondatapixelscanbeeliminatedwithoutlosingsomethinguseful.Somesupportthestructure,
organization,orlegibilityofthedashboard.Forinstance,whendataistightlypacked,sometimesitis
necessarytouselinesorfillcolorstodelineateonesectionfromanother,ratherthanwhitespacealone.In
thesecases,ratherthaneliminatingtheseusefulnondatapixels,youshouldsimplymutethemvisuallyso
theydon'tattractattention.Focusshouldalwaysbeplacedontheinformationitself,notonthedesignof
thedashboard,whichshouldbealmostinvisible.Thetrickistodeemphasizethesenondatapixelsby
makingthemjustvisibleenoughtodotheirjob,butnomore.
Beginningonthenextpageareafewexamplesofnondatapixelsthatareeitheralwaysoroccasionally
useful.I'veshowneachoftheseexamplesintwoways:1)aversionthatistoovisuallyprominent,which
illustrateswhatyoushouldavoid;and2)aversionthatisjustvisibleenoughtodothejob,whichisthe
objective.
Axislinesthatareusedtodefinethedataregionofagraph(Figure517).

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Figure517.Axislinesusedtodefinethedataregionofagrapharealmostalwaysuseful,buttheycanbemuted,likethoseon
theright.

Lines,borders,orfillcolorsthatareusedtodelineatesectionsofdatawhenwhitespaceisnotenough
(Figure518).

Figure518.Linescanbeusedeffectivelytodelineateadjacentsectionsofthedisplayfromoneanother,buttheweightofthese
linescanbekepttoaminimum.

Gridlinesingraphswhennecessarytoreadthegrapheffectively(Figure519).

Figure519.Gridlinesareusefulwhentheyhelpviewerscomparespecificsubsectionsofgraphs,suchastherangeofvaluesthat
fallwithin65to75ontheverticalscaleand35,000to45,000onthehorizontalscale.

Gridlinesand/orfillcolorsintableswhenwhitespacealonecannotadequatelydelineatecolumnsand/or
rows(Figure520).

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Figure520.Gridlinesandfillcolorscanbeusedintablestoclearlydistinguishsomecolumnsfromothers,butthisshouldbe
doneinthemutedmannerseenbelowratherthantheheavyhandedmannerseenabove.

Fillcolorsinthealternatingrowsofatablewhenwhitespacealonecannotadequatelydelineatethem
(Figure521).

Figure521.Fillcolorscanbeusedtodelineaterowsinatablewhennecessarytohelpviewers'eyesscanacrosstherows,but
thisshouldalwaysbedoneinthemutedmannerseenbelowratherthanthevisuallyweightymannerseenabove.

Theseexamplesdemonstratehowthevisualprominenceofnondatapixelscanusuallybedeemphasized
byusinglight,lowlysaturatedcolors,suchaslightgrays,andminimalstrokeweights(thatis,thinlines).
Nondatapixelsalsocanbepushedfurtherfromnoticebyregularizingthem(thatis,bymakingthem
consistent).Iftheaxislinesofallgraphslookthesamesay,ifyouusethesamelightgraylineswherever
theyappearnoonegraphislikelytocatchaviewer'seyesmorethantheothers.Differencesseldomgo
unnoticed,evenwhentheyareexpressedinmutedtones.Don'tvarythecolor,weight,orshapeofnon
datapixelsthatservethesamepurposeinthedashboard.
Anothercategoryofcontentoftenfoundondashboardsthatcanbeconsiderednondatapixelsisthat
whichsupportsnavigationanddataselection.Buttonsandselectionboxesareoftenusedtoallowusersto
navigatetoanotherscreenortochoosethedatathatappearsonthedashboard(forexample,byselecting
adifferentsubset,suchashardwareratherthansoftware).Theseelementsmightserveanimportant
function,buttheydon'tdisplaydata.Assuch,theyshouldnotbegivenprominence.Iftheymustexist,

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placetheminanoutofthewaylocationsuchasthebottomrightcornerofthescreenandmutethem
visually,sotheywon'tcompetewiththedataforattention.NoticehowmuchofthedashboardinFigure5
22isdedicatedtobuttonsanddataselectioncontrols,whichI'vehighlightedwithredborders.These
elementstakeupfarmorevaluableandprominentrealestateonthedashboardthanisrequired.

Figure522.Thisdashboardgivesnavigationalanddataselectioncontrolsfarmoredominanceandspacethantheydeserve.

Similarly,whileitmaysometimesbenecessarytoincludeonthedashboardinstructionsthatprovide
importantsupportinformation,anynonessentialtextjusttakesupspacethatcouldbeusedbydata,
attractsattentionawayfromthedata,andcluttersthedashboard'sappearance.Itusuallyworksbestto
placemostinstructionalordescriptivecontenteitheronaseparatescreenthatcaneasilybereachedwhen
neededor,ifpossible,intheformofpopupsthatcanbeaccessedwhennecessarywithaclickofthe
mouse.NoticehowmuchprimerealestateiswastedonthedashboardinFigure523toprovide
instructionsthatviewerswillprobablyonlyneedthefirsttimetheyusethedashboard.

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Figure523.Asyoucanseeintheareahighlightedinred,thisdashboardusesupvaluablespacetodisplayinstructionsthat
couldhavebeenprovidedonlywhenneededthroughaseparatescreenorapopupmenu.

5.2.2.EnhancetheDataPixels
Justlikethereductionofnondatapixels,theprocessofenhancingthedatapixelscanbebrokendowninto
twosequentialsteps:

Eliminateallunnecessarydatapixels.
Highlightthemostimportantdatapixelsthatremain.

Let'sexaminethesetwotasks.
5.2.2.1.Eliminateallunnecessarydatapixels
Whenyou'redesigningadashboard,itistemptingtothroweverythingyouthinkanyonecouldever
possiblywantontoit.Thoseofuswhohaveworkedinthefieldofbusinessintelligenceforawhilehave
grownwearyofbeingaskedformore(alwaysmore!),sothethoughtofheadingoffthisdemandbygiving
folkseverythingupfrontcanbeappealing.Onadashboard,however,whereimmediateinsightisthegoal,
thisisacostlymistake.I'mnotsuggestingthatyouforcepeopletogetbywithlessthantheyreallyneed,
butratherthatyouhonortheconsiderationofwhattheyreallyneedforthetaskathandasastrict

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criterionfortheselectionofdata.Byremovinganyinformationthatisn'treallynecessary,you
automaticallyincreasefocusontheinformationthatremains.
Eliminationofunnecessarydatapixelsisachievednotonlythroughthecompleteremovaloflessrelevant
databutalsobycondensingdatathroughtheuseofsummariesandexceptions,sothatthelevelofdetail
thatisdisplayeddoesn'texceedwhat'snecessary.Formostapplications,itwouldbeabsurdtoinclude
detailedinformationsuchastransactionlevelsalesdataonadashboardsomelevelofsummarizationis
needed,anditisoftenuptoyoutodeterminewhatthatlevelis.Youmightchoosetodisplayasingle
quartertodatevalue,avalueperregion,oravaluepermonth,justtonameafewpossibilities.
Exceptionsareanespeciallyusefulmeanstoreducethedataonadashboardtowhatisessentialforthe
taskathand.Often,thestateofsomethingneednotbepresentedunlessthereisaproblemoran
opportunitythatrequiresaction.Ifyoucareaboutstaffexpensesonlywhensomeonehasexceededa
definedthreshold,whyclutterthedashboardwithacompletelistofallstaffmembersandtheirexpenses?
Bewareoftakingthisusefulpracticeofmanagingbyexceptiontoofar,however.Ireceivedanemail
recentlyfromanexecutiveofasoftwarecompanythatspecializesindashboards.Wewerediscussingmy
definitionofadashboard,andinthecourseofthisdiscussionhestatedthatacustomeronceassertedthat
hisidealdashboardwoulddisplayasingletrafficsignaltoindicateifeverythingwasallrightorifanything
neededattention.Theideawasthathedidn'twanttobebotheredwithunnecessaryinformationifallwas
well,andwhensomethingwaswrong,hecoulddrilldownfromthatsinglealerttoadditional,more
detaileddashboardsorreportstodetermineexactlywhatwaswrongbeforetakingaction.ForaninstantI
foundmyselfenamoredwiththisidea,attractedtoitsSpartansimplicitybutonlyforamoment.Thenext
momentmymindbecamehauntedbyvisionsofexecutivestryingtoruntheirbusinessesinignorantbliss,
completelyoutoftouchunlessthresholdsbuiltintothesoftwaredeterminedthattheyoughttobe
informed.Anyonewhohasajobtodoneedstokeepupwithabasicpictureofwhat'sgoingon,evenwhen
alliswell.Toooftenleaderswhetherinbusiness,academia,religion,orpoliticsforgeaheadwiththeir
agendas,relyingentirelyonotherstotellthemwhattheythinktheyshouldknow,onlytodiscoverafterthe
dustofsomedestructiveeventsettlesthattheyknewfartoolittletoleadeffectively.
Beforedepartingfromthetopicofsummariesandexceptions,Iwanttofocusinonaparticular
summarizingtechniquethatIfindusefulonoccasion.ThistechniqueinvolveswhatIcallmultifocidisplays.
Whenitisusefultodisplayhistoricalcontextforameasure,suchasthelast12monthsorthelast5years,
ofteninformationthatismoredistantfromthepresentislessimportantthanrecenthistory.Insuchcases,
thereisnoreasontodisplaythefullrangeofdataatthesamelevelofdetail.Forinstance,youmightwant
todisplaythecurrentmonthasdailymeasures,thepreceding12monthsasmonthlymeasures,andthe
preceding4yearsasannualmeasures.Thisdisplaywouldconsistofthreesections,eachexpressedin
differentintervalsoftime,withlongerintervalsandmoresummarizationusedfortheperiodthemost
distantfromthepresent.Graphicdisplayscanbedesignedtopresenttimeseriesinthismanner,as
illustratedinFigure524.

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Figure524.Thesethreetimeseriesgraphsdisplayingpublictransportationriderstatisticscontainthreelevelsofdetail:dailyfor
thecurrentmonth,monthlyforthecurrentyear,andyearlyforthelast10years.

Varyinginterestcancorrespondtodistancesinspaceaswellastime.Forinstance,aviewermightbemost
interestedindatafromhisimmediategeographicalregion,andgraduallylessinterestedindatafrom
increasinglydistantgeographicalareas.1
5.2.2.2.Highlightthemostimportantdatapixelsthatremain
Alltheinformationthatfindsitswayontoadashboardshouldbeimportant,butnotalldataiscreated
equal:somedataismoreimportantthanotherdata.Themostimportantinformationcanbedividedinto
twocategories:

Informationthatisalwaysimportant
Informationthatisonlyimportantatthemoment

Whenyouconsidertheentirecollectionofinformationthatbelongsonadashboard,youshouldbeableto
prioritizeitaccordingtowhatisusuallyofgreatestinteresttoviewers.Forinstance,adashboardthat
servestheneedsofacorporation'sexecutivesmightdisplayseveralcategoriesoffinancial,sales,and
personneldata.Onthewhole,however,theexecutivesusuallycareaboutsomekeymeasuresmorethan
others.
Theothercategoryofespeciallyimportantinformationisthatwhichisimportantonlywhenitreveals
somethingoutoftheordinary.Ameasurethathasfallenfarbehinditstarget,anopportunitythathasjust
arisenandwon'tlastforlong,oranoperationalconditionthatdemandsimmediateattentionallfallinto
thiscategory.
Thesetwocategoriesofimportantinformationrequiredifferentmeansofhighlightingonadashboard.The
firstcategoryinformationthatisalwaysimportantcanbeemphasizedusingstaticmeans,butthesecond
categoryinformationthatisimportantonlyatthemomentrequiresadynamicmeansofemphasis.
Thelocationofdataonthescreenthelayoutisanaspectofadashboard'sappearancethatdoesn't,orat
leastshouldn't,changedynamically.Thisistruenotonlybecauseitwouldbetechnicallydifficultto
dynamicallyrearrangetheplacementofdataonthescreen,butalsobecauseaftersomeuseviewerswill
cometoexpectspecificdatatoappearinspecificlocations,whichisgoodbecauseithelpsthemtoscanthe

Multifocidisplaysarenotexclusivelyrelevanttodashboards.Ihaveafondnessforbeautifullyrenderedmaps,andI
enjoyexploringgeographyandtracingmytravelsacrossthesurfaceofmaps.Infact,Ikeepthreemapsmountedon
thewallsofmyoffice:anextremelylargeoneofCalifornia,myhomestate;aslightlysmalleroneoftheentireUnited
States;andanevensmalleroneoftheentireworld.Thismightseemcountertothelogicalarrangement,becausethe
worldiscertainlylargerthanCalifornia,butitservesmyneedsprecisely.Iwanttoseegreatdetailinplacescloseto
home,whereIspendmostofmytime,andgraduallylessandlessdetailasthedistancefromhomegrows.

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dashboardquickly.Becauselocationisstatic,thisisavariablethatwecanleveragetohighlightinformation
thatisalwaysimportant.
Fewaspectsofvisualdesignemphasizesomedataabovetherestaseffectivelyasitslocation.Figure525
identifiestheemphasizingeffectthatdifferentregionsofadashboardprovide.Thetopleftandcenter
sectionsofthedashboardaretheareasofgreatestemphasis.Thegreateremphasistiedtotheupperleftis
primarilyduetotheconventionsofmostwesternlanguages,whichsequencewordsonapagefromleftto
rightandtoptobottom.Contrarytotheinfluenceofreadingconventions,however,theverycenterofthe
screenisalsoaregionofstrongemphasis,duetoamorefundamentalinclinationofvisualperception.I've
found,however,thatplacinginformationinthecenterresultsinemphasisonlywhenitissetapart
somewhatfromwhatsurroundsit,suchasthroughtheuseofwhitespace.

Figure525.Differentdegreesofvisualemphasisareassociatedwithdifferentregionsofadashboard.

Asmuchaspossible,placetheinformationthatisalwaysofgreatimportanceintheupperleftorcenter
regionsofthedashboard.Neverwastethisvaluablerealestatebyplacingacompanylogoorcontrolsfor
navigationordataselectionintheseareas.Figure526providesavividexampleofwhatyoushouldavoid
whendesigningthelayoutofadashboard.

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Figure526.Themostvaluablerealestateonthisdashboardisdedicatedtoacompanylogoandmeaninglessdecoration.

Visualattributesotherthanlocationonthescreenareusuallyeasytomanipulateinadynamicmannerona
dashboard.Assuch,dynamictechniquescanbeusedtohighlightinformationthatisofgreatimportance
onlyatparticulartimes.Thesetechniquescanalsobeusedtohighlightinformationthatisalways
important,onceyou'veuseduptheprimescreenlocationsforotherimportantdata.
ManyofthevisualattributesthatweexaminedinChapter4,TappingintothePowerofVisualPerception,
canbeusedeffectivelytohighlightdata,bothstaticallyanddynamically.Herearetwoapproachesthatyou
cantake:

Useexpressionsofvisualattributesthataregreaterthanthenorm(forexample,brighteror
darkercolors).
Useexpressionsofvisualattributesthatsimplycontrastwiththenorm(forexample,bluetext
whenthenormisblackorgray).

Expressionsofvisualattributesdon'tneedtobegreaterthanotherstostandout;contrastfroma
predominantpatternisallittakes.Visualperceptionishighlysensitivetodifferencesandevervigilantto
assignmeaningtothemwhentheyaredetected.
Someusefulexpressionsofvisualattributesthatareperceivedasgreaterthanothersincludethefollowing:
Table51.
Visual
attribute

Usefulexpressions

Illustrations

Color

Adarkerormorefullysaturatedversionofanyhueisnaturallyperceivedas

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intensity

greaterthanalighterorlesssaturatedversion.

Size

Biggerthingsclearlystandoutasmoreimportantthansmallerthings.

Linewidth

Thickerlinesstandoutasmoreimportantthanthinnerlines.

Someusefulexpressionsofvisualattributesthatstandoutmerelythroughcontrasttothenormincludethe
following:
Table52.
Visual
attribute

Usefulexpressions

Illustrations

Hue

Anyhuethatisdistinctfromthenormwillstandout. 1

Orientation

Anythingorienteddifferentlythanthenormwillstandout.

Enclosure

Anythingenclosedbybordersorsurroundedbyafillcolorwillstandoutif
differentfromthenorm.

Addedmarks

Anythingwithsomethingdistinctlyaddedtoitoradjacenttoitwillstand
out.

Anyofthesevisualattributescanbeusedtomakethemostimportantinformationstandoutfromtherest.
Colorisespeciallyusefulbecausedistinctdifferencesincolorstandoutveryclearlyandbecauseitisa
variablethatisnormallyeasytochangedynamicallyusingdashboardsoftwarebasedonpredefineddata
conditions.
I'vealsofoundthatoneofthebestwaystodrawattentiontoparticularitems,especiallythoseexpressed
astext,involvestheuseofanaddedmarkwithadistinctcolor.Forexample,causingasimplesymbolsuch
asacircle,checkmark,orasterisktoappearnexttoitemsthatneedattentiondoesthejobnicely.Choosing
onecolorandvaryingitsintensitytoindicatevaryingdegreesofimportanceorurgencyworksbetterthan
usingdifferentcolors,becauseeventhosewhoarecolorblindcandetectdistinctintensitiesofthesame
color.Figure527illustratesthispractice.Differentsymbolscouldalsobeusedtoindicatedifferentlevels
ofimportanceorurgencywithnoneedtovarytheircolors,butincreasingcolorintensitiescorresponding
toincreasinglevelsofimportanceorurgencyareunderstoodmoreintuitively.

Reddoesnotsignifythatsomethingisimportant,urgent,oraprobleminallcultures.Forexample,inChina,red
connoteshappiness.Bearinmindalsowhenchoosingsymboliccolorsthatasignificantchunkofthepopulationis
colorblind.

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Figure527.Simplesymbolscanbeusedalongwithvaryingcolorintensitiestodynamicallyhighlightdata.

Whenhighlightingimportantinformation,youmustalwaysbecarefultorestrictthedefinitionofwhat's
important.Ifyouhighlighttoomuchinformation,nothingwillstandoutandyourefforttocommunicate
willfail.Whenusedwithdiscretion,however,visualhighlightingcanachievethegoalofimmediate
recognitionandquickresponse.

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Chapter6.EffectiveDashboardDisplayMedia
Dashboardsmustbeabletocondensealotofinformationontosinglescreenandpresentitataglance
withoutsacrificinganythingimportantorcompromisingclarity.Consequently,theyrequiredisplaymedia
thatcommunicateeffectively,despitetheseconditions.Everysectionofdataonadashboardshouldbe
displayedusingtheclearestandrichestpossiblemeans,usuallyinsmallamountofspace.Thisrequiresan
availablelibraryofdisplaymediathathavebeenselected,customized,andsometimescreatedespeciallyfor
dashboards,andanunderstandingofthecircumstancesinwhicheachmediumofdisplayshouldbeapplied.

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Selectthebestdisplaymedium
Anideallibraryofdashboarddisplaymedia
Adashboardmustbebuiltusingappropriatelychosenanddesigneddisplaymediatoreachitsunique
potentialforclearandimmediatecommunication.We'llbeginthischapterwithsomebasicguidelinesfor
matchingyourdataandmessagetotherightformofdisplay,andthenproceedtotheheartofthechapter:
thedescriptionofafulllibraryofdisplaymediathatareidealfordashboards.

6.1.SelecttheBestDisplayMedium
Thebestmediumfordisplayingdatawillalwaysbebasedonthenatureoftheinformation,thenatureof
themessage,andtheneedsandpreferencesoftheaudience.Asingledashboardgenerallydisplaysa
varietyofdataandrequiresavarietyofdisplaymedia,eachmatchedtospecificdata.Inthenextsection
we'llpairspecificdataandmessageswiththegraphicmediathatdisplaythembest,butlet'sbeginhere
withamorefundamentalquestion:"Shouldtheinformationbeencodedastext,graphics,orboth?"The
appropriatenessofeachmediumforagivensituation,eitherverballanguageinwrittenform(text)orvisual
language(graphics),isn'tarbitrary.
Verballanguageisprocessedserially,onewordatatime.Somepeoplearemuchfasterreadersthan
othersanabilitythatIenvybuteveryoneprocesseslanguageserially.Especiallywhencommunicating
quantitativeinformation,thestrengthofwrittenwordsandnumberscomparedtographicsistheir
precision.Ifyoursolepurposeistopreciselycommunicatecurrentyeartodateexpensesof$487,321,for
example,nothingworksbetteronadashboardthanasimpledisplaylikethis:
Table61.
YTDExpenses

$487,321

Displayingindividualvaluesdoesnotrequiregraphicsindeed,theirusewouldonlyretardcommunication.
Let'scontinuetoenhancethisdatatoseeifthereisapointwhereswitchingfrompuretexttotheaddition
ofgraphicsaddsclearvalue.
Sometimesjustprovidinganindividualnumberandlabelisappropriate,butoftenyouwanttosaymore.
Let'senhancethedatawithasimpleevaluativeremarkthatthisyeartodateexpensefigureishigherthan
itshouldbe:
Table62.
YTDExpenses

$487,321

Thiscertainlyisn'ttheonlywaytocommunicatethisevaluativeinformation,butitissufficient.Aslongas
onlymeasuresinthisconditionaredisplayedinthisfashion,eventhosewhoarecolorblindwillbeableto
recognizethatwearecallingattentiontothisexpenseamount(becausewe'veboldfacedthenumber).
Nowlet'saddtothegeneraldeclarationthatthisexpenseamountisbadthespecificcriterionthatwas
usedtodeterminethis,whichinthiscaseisthetargetforyeartodateexpenses:
Table63.

YTDExpenses

Actual
$487,321

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Target
$450,000


Atthisstagewe'rebeginningtoventureintotheterritorywhereagraphicaldisplaymightbeuseful,butit
certainlyisn'timperativeyet.Theviewermustdoalittlemathtointerprettheextentoftheexpense
overage,butinthiscasethemathissimpleandfast.Youcouldevenremovetheneedfortheviewertodo
thecalculationbyaddingtheamountofvariancefromthetarget,orperhapsbydisplayingthevariance
alone,withouttheactualexpenseamount,ifthevarianceisallthat'sneeded.Herearesomeexamplesof
howyoucouldchoosetopresentthisdata,usingtextalone:
Table64.

YTDExpenses

Table65.

YTDExpenses

Table66.

YTDExpenses

Table67.

YTDExpenses
YTDExpensesVariance
YTDExpensesVariance

Actual
$487,321

Target
$450,000

Actual
$487,321

Target
$450,000

Actual
$487,321

Varience
+$37,321

Varience%
+$8%

VariancetoTarget
+$37,321

Actual
$487,321
+$37,321
+8%

VariancetoTarget%
+8%

Anyoneoftheseapproachesmightbeappropriateforasinglemeasurethathasbeenenhancedwith
contextualdatasuchasthetargetandsomeindicationofwhetheritisgoodorbad.
Anentiredashboardfullofindividualmeasuresexpressedtextuallyinthismannerwouldworkfineifits
purposeweretodrawattentiontoindividualmeasuresoneatatime,butwhatifyouwantabiggerpicture
ofthewholeorcomparisonsofmultiplemeasurestoemerge?Textalonedoesn'tsupportthis.
Text,especiallywhenorganizedintotables(thatis,asrowsandcolumnsofdata),isasuperbmediumfor
lookingupinformation.Busschedules,taxratetables,andtheindexesofbooks,tonamebutafew
examples,areallorganizedastablestosupportthisuse.IfyouneedtolookuptheConsumerPriceIndex
(CPI)rateforSeptember1996usingthetableinFigure61,forexample,youcaneasilyfindtheprecise
valueof157.8.Graphsdon'tsupportlookingupindividualvaluesasefficiently,andcertainlynotas
precisely.

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Figure61.ThisCPItableillustratesthestrengthoftablesasameanstolookuppreciseindividualvalues.

NowlookattheCPItableagain,butthistimetrytodeterminetheshapeofthevaluesastheychange
throughthecourseoftheyear1996.Textdoesn'tsupportthisviewofthedata,butlookathowclearlythe
graphinFigure62onthenextpagepresentsit.

Figure62.ThisgraphoftheCPIfortheyear1996illustrateshowwellgraphsrevealtheshapeofdata,inthiscaseasitchanges
throughtime.

Noticealso,however,thattheprevioustaskoflookinguptheindexvalueforSeptemberisnotsupported
verywellbythegraph.
When,inthelate18thcentury,theBritishsocialscientistWilliamPlayfairinventedmanyofthegraphsthat
westillusetoday,hecreatedapowerfullanguageforcommunicatingquantitativeinformation.Giving
valuesshapethroughtheuseofgridcoordinatesalongtwoaxesenabledustovisualizenumbers,which
dramaticallyextendedourabilitytothinkquantitatively.Thisisthestrengthofgraphs:theygiveshapeto
numbersand,indoingso,bringtolightpatternsthatwouldotherwiseremainundetected.
Let'sseesomeoftheseconceptsatworkonadashboard.Lookatthepredominantlytextbaseddashboard
inFigure63.

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Figure63.Apredominantlytextbaseddashboard.

Noticehowthetextualmediumprimarilysupportstheprocessoflookup.Eachmeasureisisolatedfromthe
rest,andcomparisonsaredifficult.
Theonlybigpictureinformationthatisprovidedisconveyedthroughthevisualattributeofhue.Assuming
thatyouarenotcolorblindandcandistinguishthesehues,withaquickscanthemanyredandyellow
boxesrevealthatmuchiswrong.Beyondthat,youareforcedtoconsidereachmeasureindividually.Ifno
comparisonsorpatternsareusefulforthisdashboard,thepredominanceoftextisfine.Butevenifthis
werethecase,whichisunlikely,thetextualdisplayofthisinformationcouldhavebeenpresentedinaless
fragmentedway,suchastheredesignthatyouseeinFigure64.Here,themeasuresarearrangedintables
tomakescanningeasier.Thered,yellow,andgreencolorcodinghasbeenreplacedwithboldface,black,
andgraytext,respectively,toenableperceptionbypeoplewhoarecolorblind.Notethatthisredesignhas
improvedthedashboard'suseforlookup,butnotforgleaningadditionalmeaning.

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Figure64.RedesignofthetextbaseddashboardinFigure63,arrangedintablestobettersupportlookup.

Effectivedashboardsneedtocombinetextandgraphicsinawaythatsupportsarichandmeaningful
displayofdata,alongwiththedesiredlevelofquantitativeprecision,inawaythatcanbeperceived
efficiently.Witheachmeasureorsetofrelatedmeasures,youmustaskwhattheviewerneeds,howthe
datawillbeused,andwhatmessagethedatamustconvey,andthenblendtheuseoftextandgraphicsto
achievethesecommunicationobjectives.

6.2.AnIdealLibraryofDashboardDisplayMedia
Sofarwe'veconsideredonlythefirst,mostfundamentalstepinselectingthebestmediumofdisplay.Once
you'vechosenbetweentext,graphics,orsomecombinationofthetwo,youmustthendeterminehowto
organizethetextand/orwhatkindsofgraphicstouse.Thesechoicesarevital.Apoorlychosengraph,for
example,couldcompletelyobscureotherwisecleardata.Inthissection,we'llfocusspecificallyonthebest
choiceofgraphicaldisplaytousewhenyoudeterminethatavisualratherthanatextualdisplayis
appropriate.
Mostdisplaymediathatworkwellondashboardsareprobablyfamiliartoyoualready.Quantitativegraphs
andseveralothertypesofchartsthatarecommonlyusedinbusinessreporting(forexample,processflow
andorganizationcharts)workwellondashboards,providedtheirdesigniskeptclearandsimple.
Thisdiscussionfocusesondashboarddisplaymediathatareusedtopresentactualdata.Otherdisplay
media,suchascommandbuttons,aresometimesneeded,buttheyfalloutsideourscopeofinterest.Two
fundamentalprincipleshaveguidedtheselectionofeachdisplaymediuminthisproposedlibrary:

Itmustbethebestmeanstodisplayaparticulartypeofinformationthatiscommonlyfound
ondashboards.
Itmustbeabletoserveitspurposeevenwhensizedtofitintoasmallspace.

Thelibraryisdividedintosixcategories:

Graphs
Images
Icons

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Drawingobjects
Text
Organizers

6.2.1.Graphs
Mostdashboarddisplaymediafallintothegraphcategory.Giventhepredominanceofquantitativedataon
mostdashboards,thisisn'tsurprising.Allbutoneoftheitems(treemaps)inthiscategorydisplay
quantitativedataintheformofa2DgraphwithXandYaxes.Mostofthesearefamiliarbusinessgraphs,
butoneortwowillprobablybenewtoyou,becausetheyweredesignedoradaptedspecificallyforusein
dashboards.Here'sthelist:

Bulletgraphs
Bargraphs(horizontalandvertical)
Stackedbargraphs(horizontalandvertical)
Combinationbarandlinegraphs
Linegraphs
Sparklines
Boxplots
Scatterplots
Treemaps

6.2.1.1.Bulletgraphs
Thisistheonegraphonthelistthatisalmostcertainlynewtoyou.Iassumethisbecauseabulletgraphisa
simpleinventionofmyown,createdspecificallyfordashboards.Itismyanswertotheproblemsexhibited
bymostofthegaugesandmetersthathavebecomesynonymouswithdashboards.Gaugesandmeters
typicallydisplayasinglekeymeasure,sometimescomparedtoarelatedmeasuresuchasatarget,and
sometimesinthecontextofquantitativerangeswithqualitativelabelsthatdeclarethemeasure'sstate
(suchasgoodorbad).Figure65providestwoexamplesofthegaugesandmetersthatarecommonly
foundondashboards.Bothdisplayakeymeasureincomparisontoatarget,whichisrepresentedbyzero
onthegaugeontherightand,Iassume,bythetopofthethermometerontheleft.

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Figure65.Thesearetypicalexamplesofmetersandgaugeswithcontextualdata.1

Thequestionthatyoushouldaskwhenconsideringgaugesandmeterssuchastheseis:"Dotheyprovide
theclearest,mostmeaningfulpresentationofthedataintheleastamountofspace?"Inmyopinion,they
donot.RadialgaugessuchastheexampleontherightinFigure65wasteagreatdealofspace,dueto
theircircularshape.Thisproblemismagnifiedwhenyouhavemanyradialdisplaymechanismsonasingle
dashboard,fortheycannotbearrangedtogetherinacompactmanner.Thelinearnatureofthe
thermometerstyleofdisplaypotentiallyavoidsthisproblem,butindisplayssuchasthis,spacetendstobe
wastedonmeaninglessrealism.Ifdashboarddisplaymediaweredesignedbyexpertcommunicators,
ratherthanbygraphicartistswhoclearlyhaven'tfocusedonthecommunicationneeds,theywouldlook
muchdifferent.
Thebulletgraphachievesthecommunicationobjectivewithouttheproblemsthatusuallyplaguegauges
andmeters.Itisdesignedtodisplayakeymeasure,alongwithacomparativemeasureandqualitative
rangestoinstantlydeclareifthemeasureisgood,bad,orinsomeotherstate.Figure66providesasimple
example.

Figure66.Asimplehorizontallyorientedbulletgraph.

Now,Iamwellawarethatitsoundsabittoohighandmightyformetocallthebulletgraphmyinvention.
It'snotmuchmorethanabargraphwithasinglebar,orathermometerwithoutthereservoirattheendto
holdthemercurywhileatrest.Simpleasitis,whyhasn'tanyoneelsecomeupwiththisideabefore?Any
softwarevendorwhowantstouseitcanbemyguest,freeofcharge.I'llevensupplythedesign
specification.Figure67showsthesamebulletgraph,thistimewitheachofitscomponentsidentified.

Figure67.Asimplebulletgraphwitheachofitscomponentslabeled.

Thelineardesignofthebulletgraph,whichcanbeorientedeitherhorizontallyorvertically,allowsseveral
tobeplacednexttooneanotherinarelativelysmallspace.Figures68and69showhowcloselytheycan
bepackedtogetherimaginehowmuchroomwouldberequiredtodisplaythesamedatausingcircular
gauges.

CanyoumakesenseofthethermometerontheleftinFigure65?Dosalesincreaseastheyriseorastheyfallonthe
thermometer?Giventhefactthatactualsalesare75.93%oftargetandthemercuryinthethermometerextends
about75%ofthewaytothetopofthethermometer,wemustassumethatsalesriseasthemercuryrises,butthen,
asredonadashboardusuallymeansbad,whyistheredrangeatthetop?

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AsyouscanacollectionofbulletgraphssuchasthoseinFigures68and69,noticehoweasyitistodetect
thosemeasuresthathavemetorexceededthecomparativemeasuresrepresentedbytheshortlinethat
intersectseachbar.Whenameasureexceedsthisbar,acrossshapeisformed.Thisformiseasytosee
becauseitisperceivedpreattentively.Youcanscanthebulletgraphsonadashboardandimmediately
knowwhichmeasuresaredoingwellandwhicharenotsimplybythepresenceorabsenceofthesecross
shapes.

Figure68.Acollectionofhorizontallyorientedbulletgraphs.

Figure69.Acollectionofverticallyorientedbulletgraphs.

Noticealsothatthebackgroundfillcolorsthatencodethequalitativecategories(suchasbad,satisfactory,
andgood)arevariablesofcolorintensityratherthanofhue.Thisassuresthatviewerswhoarecolorblind

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canstillseethedistinctions.Eventhoughvariousshadesofgrayhavebeenusedintheexamplessofar,any
huewillwork.Figure610usesvariousintensitiesofbeige.

Figure610.Thisbulletgraphusesvariousintensitiesofbeigetoencodequalitativestates.

Youcanencodemorethanthreequalitativestateswithbackgroundfillcolors,buttoavoidcomplexitythat
cannotbeperceivedefficientlyandtomaintainacleardistinctionbetweenthecolors,youshouldn't
exceedfive.Figure611illustratesthispracticallimit.

Figure611.Thisbulletgraphusesfivedistinctcolorintensitiestoencodequalitativestates.

Itissometimesusefultocompareakeymeasuretomorethanoneothermeasure.Forinstance,youmight
wanttocomparerevenuetotherevenuetargetandtotherevenueamountatthistimelastyear.The
bulletgrapheasilyhandlesmultiplecomparisonsbyusingadistinctmarkerforeach.Thesedistinctionscan
bedisplayedusingvariablesofcolorintensity,linewidth(a.k.a.strokeweight),orevensymbolshapesina
pinch.Figure612illustrateshowtwocomparisonscanbeincludedusingmarkerswithdifferentstoke
weights.

Figure612.Thisbulletgraphincludestwocomparisons,whichhavebeenmadevisuallydistinctthroughtheuseofdifferent
strokeweights.

WhenIoriginallydevelopedthedesignspecificationforthebulletgraph,Icalleditbyadifferentname:a
performancebar.Thisoriginalnamepossessedchutzpahandevokedasenseofgoodhealth,duetoits
similaritytothosepopularultraperformancenutritionsnackslikethePowerBar.Ihadtochangethename,
however,becauseIeventuallyrealizedthatthereweretimeswhenthekeymeasureshouldbeencoded
usingsomethingotherthanabar.
Wheneveryouuseabartoencodeaquantitativevalue,asyou'veseenineachoftheexamplesofbullet
graphssofar,thequantitativescaleshouldstartatzero.Thelengthofthebarrepresentsthevalue,notjust
thelocationofitsendpoint,soascalethatstartsanywherebutzerowillproduceabarwithalengththat
doesn'tcorrespondtoitsvalue.Thismakesaccuratecomparisonsbetweenbarsverydifficult.
Itissometimesusefulwithbulletgraphs,however,toavoidstartingthequantitativescaleatzerosothat
thescalecanbenarrowedtodisplaymorequantitativedetail.Forinstance,supposethatallofthevalues
thatneedtobeincludedinthebulletgraphfallbetweentherangeof$150,000and$300,000,andyou
wanttofocusexclusivelyonthisrangeofvaluestoshowmoresubtletyinthedifferencesbetweenthekey
measureanditscomparisons(forexample,atarget).Inthiscase,youshouldusesomemeansotherthana
bartoaccuratelyencodethekeymeasure.Forexample,youcanuseamarker(asimplesymbolshape)to

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encodethekeymeasureanddifferentlyshapedmarkersforanycomparativemeasures.Figure613
illustratesthisapproach.

Figure613.Becausethequantitativescaleofthisbulletgraphdoesnotbeginatzero,itusesasymbolmarkerratherthanabar
toencodethekeymeasure.Inthiscase,thekeymeasureisencodedasacircleandthetargetmeasureisencodedasashort
line.

Usingabartoencodethekeymeasurehastheadvantageofsuperiorvisualweighttohighlightthekey
value,butasymbolmarkerallowsyoutonarrowthequantitativescaletodisplaygreatersubtletyinthe
valuesandtheirdifferences(usingthesymbolmarkerservesasavisualalerttotheviewerthatthescale
doesnotstartatzero).Bothworkwellonadashboard.
Let'slookatonemorewayyoucanusebulletgraphs.Wheneveryoucompareacurrentmeasuretoa
futuretarget,suchasrevenueasofJanuary15comparedtoaQuarter1target,youcaneasilyseehowfar
youarefromthetarget,butit'snotalwayssoeasytotellifyouareontracktomeetorsurpassthatfuture
target,whichcouldstillbeweeksorevenmonthsaway.Thisistruewhetheryouareusingabulletgraphor
anyothergraphicalmeanstodisplaythisinformation.Thisshortcomingintheusefulnessofthe
comparisoncanbeamelioratedbyaddingaprojectionofwhereyou'llbeattheendoftheperiodoftime
thatisrelevanttothetarget.ThebulletgraphinFigure614onthenextpagesplitstherevenuemeasure
intotwosegments:theactualmeasureasoftodayandtheprojectedmeasureofrevenuebasedoncurrent
performance.Thisprovidesarichdisplaythattellsyounotonlyhowfaralongyouareonthepathtothe
futuretarget,butalsohowwellyou'redoingtodayinrelationtothattarget.

Figure614.Thisbulletgraphdisplaysboththeactualquartertodaterevenueandaprojectionofexpectedquarterendrevenue
basedoncurrentperformance.

Icanstatewithsomeconfidencethatbulletgraphsworkwell,becauseI'vetestedthemincontrolled
experimentstocomparethemtosimpleradialgauges.Inmytests,bulletgraphsoutperformedradial
gaugesbothinefficiencyandaccuracyofperception.Thenumberoftestsubjectswasfartoosmallto
satisfyscientificstandards,soI'llrefrainfromclaimingspecificmeasuresofsuperiorperformance.These
testsweresufficient,however,toenablemetostatewithoutreservationthatbulletgraphsworkeverybit
aswellondashboardsasradialgaugesandareabletoconveythesameinformationinmuchlessspace.I
believethatmakesthemsuperior.
6.2.1.2.Bargraphs
Unlikebulletgraphs,bargraphsaredesignedtodisplaymultipleinstances,ratherthanasingleinstance,of
oneormorekeymeasures.Infact,everygraphinthisproposedlibraryotherthanthebulletgraphis
designedtodisplaymorethanoneinstanceofoneormoremeasures.Bargraphsaregreatfordisplaying
measuresthatareassociatedwithitemsinacategory,suchasregionsordepartments.ThegraphinFigure
615isatypicalexamplethatcouldbefoundonadashboard:itdisplaystwokeymeasuresbookingsand
billingsrevenuesubdividedintosalesregions.

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Figure615.Atypicalbargraph.

Iusetheterm"bargraph"inreferencetoallgraphsthatusebarstoencodedata,whethertheyare
orientedverticallyorhorizontally.
Figure616showsanotherexampleofatypicalbargraph,thistimewiththebarsrunninghorizontally.

Figure616.Abargraphwithhorizontallyorientedbars.

Tofullyunderstandwhenitisappropriatetoencodedatainagraphasbarsratherthanaslines(asinaline
graph),youmustunderstandalittleaboutthethreetypesofcategoricalscalesthatappearcommonlyin
graphs:
Nominalscalesconsistofdiscreteitemsthatbelongtoacommoncategorybutreallydon'trelatetoone
anotherinanyparticularway.Theydifferinnameonly(thatis,nominally).Theitemsinanominalscale,in
andofthemselves,havenoparticularorderanddon'trepresentquantitativevaluesinanyway.Typical
examplesindashboardsincluderegions(forexample,TheAmericas,Asia,andEurope)anddepartments
(forexample,Sales,Marketing,andFinance).

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Ordinalscalesconsistofitemsthat,unliketheitemsinanominalscale,dohaveanintrinsicorder,butin
andofthemselvesstilldonotcorrespondtoquantitativevalues.Typicalexamplesinvolverankings,suchas
"A,B,andC,""small,medium,andlarge,"and"poor,belowaverage,average,aboveaverage,and
excellent."
Intervalscales,likeordinalscales,alsoconsistofitemsthathaveanintrinsicorder,butinthiscasethey
representquantitativevaluesaswell.Anintervalscalestartsoutasaquantitativescalethatisthen
convertedintoacategoricalscalebysubdividingtherangeofvaluesintheentirescaleintoasequential
seriesofsmallerrangesofequalsizeandgivingeachrangealabel.Considerthequantitativerangemade
upofvaluesextendingfrom55to80.
Thisrangecouldbeconvertedintoacategoricalscaleoftheintervaltypeconsistingofthefollowing
sequenceofsmallerranges:

Greaterthan55andlessthanorequalto60
Greaterthan60andlessthanorequalto65
Greaterthan65andlessthanorequalto70
Greaterthan70andlessthanorequalto75
Greaterthan75andlessthanorequalto80

Figure617showsanexampleofeachtypeofscale.

Figure617.Thethreetypesofcategoricalscalesfoundingraphs.

Here'saquick(andsomewhatsneaky)testtoseehowwellyou'vegraspedtheseconcepts.Canyouidentify
thetypeofcategoricalscalethatappearsinFigure618?

Figure618.Thisisacategoricalscalethatiscommonlyusedingraphs.Canyoudeterminewhichofthethreetypesitis?

Monthsoftheyearobviouslyhaveanintrinsicorder,whichbegsthequestion:"Dotheitemsinatime
seriescorrespondtoquantitativevalues?"Infact,theydo.Unitsoftimesuchasyears,quarters,months,
weeks,days,hours,andsoonaremeasuresofquantity,andtheindividualitemsinanygivenunitof
measureforexample,yearsrepresentequalintervals.(Actually,monthsaren'texactlyequal,andevenyears
varyinsizeoccasionallyduetoleapyears,buttheyarecloseenoughinsizetoconstituteanintervalscale
forreportingpurposes.)
Bargraphsneverlinegraphsarethebestmeanstodisplaymeasuressubdividedintodiscreteinstances
alonganominalorordinalscale.Thevisualweightofbarsplacesemphasisontheindividualvaluesinthe

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graphandmakesiteasytocompareindividualvaluestooneanotherbysimplycomparingtheheightofthe
bars.Lines,ontheotherhand,emphasizetheoverallshapeofthevalues,andbyconnectingtheindividual
valuestheygiveasenseofcontinuityfromonevaluetothenextthroughouttheentireseries.Thissenseof
connectionbetweenthevaluesisappropriateonlyalonganintervalscale,whichsubdividesacontinuous
rangeofquantitativevaluesintoequal,sequentialintervals;it'snotappropriatealonganominalorordinal
scale,wherethevaluesarediscreteandnotintimatelyconnected.Figure619showssomeexamplesof
inappropriateandappropriateusageoflinestoencodedataingraphs.

Figure619.Examplesofinappropriate(toptwo)andappropriate(bottomtwo)usesoflinestoencodedataingraphs.

Linegraphsareusefulforencodingvaluesalonganintervalscale,butthereareoccasionswhenitis
preferabletouseabargraphtodisplaysuchmeasures.Forexample,whenyouwishtoemphasizethe
individualvaluesratherthantheoveralltrendsorotherpatternsofthevalues,orwhenyouwishtoenable
closecomparisonsofvaluesthatarelocatednexttooneanother,abargraphisabetterchoice.Figure620
onthenextpagedisplaysthesameintervaldataintwoways:asabargraphandasalinegraph.Noticethe
differencesinwhatthetwoimagesemphasize,despitethefactthatthedataarepreciselythesame.The
bargraphemphasizestheindividualvaluesineachintervalandmakesiteasytocomparethosevaluesto
oneanother,whilethelinegraphdoesamuchbetterjobofrevealingtheoverallshapeofthedistribution.

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Figure620.Thesetwographsoneabargraphandonealinegraphdisplayexactlythesamedatabuthighlightdifferentaspects
ofit.

Becausebargraphsemphasizeindividualvalues,theyalsoenableeasycomparisonsbetweenadjacent
values.Figure621illustratestheeasewithwhichyoucancomparemeasuresinthiscasetheproductivity
ofthedaytimeandthenighttimecrewsinanygivenmonthusingthistypeofgraph.

Figure621.Barsarepreferabletolinesforencodingdataalonganintervalscaleinthiscase,atimeseriesdividedinto
monthswhenthegraphisintendedtosupportcomparisonsofindividualmeasures.

Evenwhenyouwishtodisplayvaluesthatrepresentpartsofawhole,youshoulduseabargraphrather
thantheeverpopularpiechart.Thiswillpresentthedatamuchmoreclearlyjustbesuretoindicate
somewhereintext(forexample,inthegraph'stitle)thatthebarsrepresentpartsofawhole.Figure622
providesanexampleofbothapiechartandabargraphusedtopresentthesameparttowholedata.
Noticehowmucheasieritistomakeaccuratevisualjudgmentsoftherelativesizesofeachpartinthebar
graph.

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Figure622.Youcanuseabargraphtomoreclearlydisplaythesameparttowholedatathatiscommonlydisplayedwithapie
chart.

6.2.1.3.Stackedbargraphs
Avariationofthebargraphthatissometimesusedtodisplaybusinessdataisthestackedbargraph.This
typeofgraphisusefulforcertainpurposes,butitcaneasilybemisused.Irecommendagainsteverusinga
stackedbargraphtodisplayasingleseriesofparttowholedata.Aregularbargraphworksmuchbetter.
Asyoucansee,itismuchharderandmoretimeconsumingtoreadthestackedbargraphinFigure623
thanthebargraphshowingthesamedatainFigure622.

Figure623.Astackedbargraphisnotthebestwaytodisplayasingleseriesofparttowholedata.

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Stackedbargraphsaretherightchoiceonlywhenyoumustdisplaymultipleinstancesofawholeandits
parts,withemphasisprimarilyonthewhole.Figure624providesanexamplewithaseparateinstanceof
salesrevenueperquarter,eachsubdividedbysaleschannel.

Figure624.Theonlycircumstancewhenastackedbargraphisusefuliswhenyoumustdisplaymultipleinstances(forexample,
oneforeachquarter)ofawhole(totalsales)anditsparts(inthiscase,persaleschannel),withagreateremphasisonthewhole
thantheparts.

Thechangesinthedistributiontendtobesomewhatdifficulttodetectforallthesegmentsexcepttheone
thatappearsatthebottomofeachbar(inthiscase,"Direct"sales),whichiswhyastackedbargraph
shouldnotbeusedifthesechangesmustbeshownmoreprecisely.Noticethedetailregardingthechanges
indistributionofsalesthatcaneasilybeseeninthebargraphsinFigure625(especiallytheoneonthe
right).Ifyouwanttoclearlydisplayboththewholeanditsparts,youcanuseeithertwographsnexttoone
anotheroneforthewholeandoneforitspartsoracombinationbarandlinegraphwithtwoquantitative
scalesonefortheparts,encodedasindividualbars,andoneforthewhole,encodedasaline.

Figure625.Thesebargraphsrevealtheshiftsinthedistributionofsalesbetweenthefourchannelsmuchmoreclearlythanthe
stackedbargraphinFigure624.

6.2.1.4.Combinationbarandlinegraphs
Whenyoucombinebarsandlinestogetherinasinglegraph,youshouldn'tdosoarbitrarily.This
combinationshouldbeusedonlywhensomedatacanbedisplayedbestusingbars,withanemphasison

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individualvaluesandlocalcomparisons,andsomeusingaline,withanemphasisontheoverallshapeof
thedata.Acommonexampleinvolvesdisplayingrevenuesandexpenses(usingbarstohighlightthe
individualmonths)alongwithprofits(usingalinetohighlightthetrend),asseeninFigure626.

Figure626.Thisgraphcombinesbarsandalinetohighlightmonthlyrevenuesandexpensesontheonehandandtheoverall
trendofprofitsontheother.

AlesscommonuseofcombinationbarandlinegraphsisonethatIsuggestedinthebargraphsection
aboveasawaytoclearlydisplaymultipleinstancesthroughtimeofboththeindividualpartsofawhole
andthewholeitself.TheexampleinFigure627solvesthisproblem.

Figure627.Exampleofacombinationbarandlinegraphthatdisplaysquarterlyinstancesofrevenuebysaleschannel,encoded
asbars,andtotalrevenue,encodedasaline.

Thisisacombinationbarandlinegraphwithonequantitativescaleforthebarsandanotherfortheline.It
isn'tnecessarytousetwoquantitativescales,oneontheleftaxisandoneontheright,butdoingso

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eliminatesthewastedspacethatwouldotherwiseappearinthegapbetweenthetotalsalesvaluesandthe
muchsmallervaluesfortheindividualsaleschannels.
AnotherusefulcombinationofbarsandalinebreaksarulethatIdeclaredearlier,whenIsaidthatyou
shoulduselinesonlytoencodedataalonganintervalscale.Thereisoneexceptiontothisrule,which
involvesaspecialkindofgraphcalledaParetochart(namedafteritsinventor,VilfredoParetothesame
fellowwhoformulatedthewellknown80:20ruleofdistribution1).Let'slookatanexample,andI'llexplain
whytheParetochartdeservestobeanexceptiontomygeneralruleabouttheuseoflinesingraphs.
Paretochartsdisplayindividualvaluesasbarsandthecumulativetotalofthosevaluesasalinealonga
categoricalscale.ThecategoricalscaleinaParetochartmaybeatimeseries,suchasmonthsoftheyear;
thisisanintervalscale,sotheuseofalineinthiscasedoesn'tneedanexplanation.TheexampleinFigure
628doesnothaveanintervalscale,butalinestillworkswellinthisexample.

Figure628.ThisParetochartdisplayssalesrevenuebysalesrepresentatives,encodedasbars,aswellasthecumulative
revenue,encodedasaline.

Thisgraphhasbeendesignedtoclearlyshowthatthetop3of10totalsalesrepresentativeswere
responsiblefor75%oftotalrevenueforthequarter.Thecategoricalscale,consistingofsales
representatives,isanordinalscalebyvirtueofthefactthatthesalespeoplehavebeenarrangedinorderby
rank,basedontheirsales.Cumulativesales,astheyincreasefromonesalespersontothenextinranked
order,representmeaningfulchange.Eachsuccessivevalueisintimatelyconnectedtotheonethat
precedesit,becauseitisthesumofitselfandthepreviousvalue.Thisintimateconnectionmeritstheuse
ofalinetoencodechangesinvaluesfromonetothenext.Theslopeofthelineprovidesusefulinformation
inthiscontext:thesteeperthelinefromonesalespersontothenext,thegreaterthatsalesperson's
revenuecontributionwasrelativetothenextbestsalesperson's.Byviewingthelineasawhole,youcan
easilyseehowevenlydistributedthecontributionsofthesalespeopleare,orhowmuchtheyareskewed
towardthetopperformers.

The80:20ruleofdistributionisoftenusedinreferencetoacompany'srevenue,usuallystatingthat80%ofthe
revenuecomesfrom20%ofthecustomers.Pareto'soriginalobservationthatledtotheformulationofthisrulein
19thcenturyItalywasthat80%ofthecountry'swealthwasownedby20%ofthepopulation.

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6.2.1.5.Linegraphs
Linegraphsdoanexceptionaljobofrevealingtheshapeofdataitsmovementupanddownfromonevalue
tothenextespeciallyasitchangesthroughtime.Anytimethatyouwishtoemphasizepatternsinthedata,
suchastrends,fluctuations,cycles,ratesofchange,andhowtwodatasetsvaryinrelationtooneanother,
linegraphsprovidethebestmeans.Keepinmindthatwhenyoudisplaytimeseriesdataonadashboard,
theshapeofthedata("Isitgoingupordown?""Isitvolatile?""Doesitgothroughseasonalcycles?")is
generallythepicturethatisneeded,ratherthantheemphasisonindividualvaluesthatbargraphsprovide.
Inthecontextofdashboards,linegraphsareoftenthebestmeanstopresentaquickoverviewofatime
series.
Figure629showsthesametimeseriesdataintwoways:ontheleftusingabargraphandontheright
usingalinegraph.Noticehowmuchmorequicklyandclearlytheoverallshapeofthedatacomesthrough
inthelinegraph.Unlikeabargraph,thequantitativescaleofalinegraphneednotbeginatzero,butitcan
benarrowedtoarangeofvaluesbeginningjustbelowthelowestandjustabovethehighestvaluesinthe
data,therebyfillingthedataregionofthegraphandrevealinggreaterdetail.Alwaysbesuretomakethe
linesthatencodethedatamoreprominentthananyotherpartofthegraphsothatthedatastandsout
aboveallelse.

Figure629.Twographsofthesametimeseriesdata:abargraphontheleftandalinegraphontheright.Noticehowthe
overallshapeofthedataismucheasiertoseeinthelinegraph.

6.2.1.6.Sparklines
SparklinesarethebrainchildofEdwardR.Tufte,atrueaficionadoofdatadisplay.Hehasdedicatedafull
chaptertotheminhisbookBeautifulEvidence(asyetunpublishedbutexpectedin2006).Mytreatmentof
thesubjectisbriefandfarfromdefinitive;mypurposehereistodescribesparklinesonlytotheextent
necessarytodemonstratetheirvaluablecontributiontodashboards.Figure630providesanexampleofa
simplesparkline.

Figure630.Asimplesparklinethatdisplaysthe12monthhistoryofacheckingaccountbalance.

Tuftecreatedthesparklinetoprovideabarebonesandspaceefficienttimeseriescontextformeasures.
AssumingthatthesparklineinFigure630encodesarolling12monthhistoryofanaccountbalance,the
upsanddownsareinstantlyavailabletotheviewerwhowishestoconsiderthemeaningofthecurrent
balanceinlightofitshistory.

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Tuftedescribessparklinesas"dataintense,designsimple,wordsizegraphics."1Assuch,theyareidealfor
dashboardsandanythingelsethatrequireshighlycondensedformsofdatadisplay,suchasmedical
diagnosticreportsthatincludepatienthistories.
Youmightbewondering,"Where'sthequantitativescale?"It'snowheretobeseen,andthat'sintentional.
Sparklinesarenotmeanttoprovidethequantitativeprecisionofanormallinegraph.Theirwholepurpose
istoprovideaquicksenseofhistoricalcontexttoenrichthemeaningofthemeasure.Thisisexactlywhat's
requiredinadashboard.Insteadofdetails,youmustdisplayaquickviewthatcanbeassimilatedata
glance.Thedetailscancomelater,ifneeded,intheformofsupplementalgraphsandreports.
Althoughalwayssmallandsimple,sparklinescanincludeabitmoreinformationthanwhatI'veillustrated
sofar.Figure631showsasparklinethatincludesalightgrayrectangletorepresentthenumberof
manufacturingdefectsthatareacceptable,whichrevealsthatinthelast30days(thefullrangeofthe
sparkline)thenumberofdefectshasexceededtheacceptablerangeonthreeoccasions.Theoptionalred
dotmarkingthefinalvalueinthesparklinetiestheendofthesparklinetothecurrentvalueoffiveby
makingthembothred.

Figure631.Thissparklinedisplays30daysofmanufacturingdefecthistorycomparedtotheacceptablerange.

Peoplecommonlyusesimpleupordowntrendarrowstodisplaythedirectioninwhichameasureis
moving,buttheseareoftenambiguous.InlookingattheMTDRevenuemeasureinFigure632,for
example,itisn'tobviousiftheupwardtrendarrowindicatesthatrevenueistrendingupwardoverallfor
theyear,thequarter,themonth,orjustsinceyesterday.

Figure632.Simpletrendarrowsareoftenusedondashboards,butwhattheymeanissometimesunclear.

Asparkline,however,asshowninFigure633,isnotambiguous,becauseitdisplaystheentireperiodof
historyacrosswhichthetrendapplies.

Figure633.Thissparklineprovidesaclearpictureofthehistoricaltrendleadinguptothepresentmeasure.

Asyoucansee,sparklinesareidealfordashboards.Everydashboardvendoroughttosupportthem.
6.2.1.7.Boxplots
Theboxplotisafairlyrecentadditiontothelexiconofgraphs.Itwasinventedinthe1970sbyan
extraordinarymathematiciannamedJohnWilderTukey,whospecializedindatadisplay.Thisparticular
typeofgraphdisplaysthedistributionofvaluesetsacrosstheentirerange,fromthesmallesttothe
largest,withmanyusefulmeasuresinbetween.
Itisofteninadequatetodescribeasetofvaluesasasinglesummarizedmeasuresuchasasumoraverage.
Attimesitisimportanttodescribehowthosevaluesaredistributedacrosstheentirerange.Forinstance,
tofullyunderstandthenatureofemployeecompensationinyourcompanyineachofthesalarygrades
(thatis,specifiedlevelsofcompensationwithprescribedranges),youwouldcertainlyneedtoseemore

EdwardR.Tufte,BeautifulEvidence(Cheshire,CT:GraphicsPress,2006).

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thanthesumofsalariesforeachsalarygrade.Evenameasureofaveragecompensation,suchasthemean
ormedian,wouldn'ttellyouenough.Let'slookatafewdifferentwaysthatthisdatacouldbepresented.
Figure634presentsthemediansalaryineachgradethatis,thevaluethat'sinthemiddleofeachrange.

Figure634.Thisgraphdisplaysemployeesalariespersalarygradeasasinglemedianvalueforeachgrade.

Theadequacyofthisdisplaydependsonyourpurpose.Ifyourpurposerequiresasenseofhowsalariesare
distributedacrosseachrange,thisdisplaywon'ttellenoughofthestory.Themedianexpressestheexact
centeroftherange,butnothowthevaluesaredistributedaroundthatcenter.Figure635showssixquite
differentexamplesofhowtheindividualsalariesinasinglesalarygradewithapotentialrangeof$20,000
to$30,000andamedianpreciselyinthemiddleat$25,000mightbedistributedacrossthatrange.Asyou
cansee,themedianalonetellsalimitedstory,soitisoftenusefultodisplaythedatainawaythatreveals
moreabouthowthevaluesaredistributed.

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Figure635.Sixexamplesofhowasetofsalarieswiththesamemedianvaluemightbedifferentlydistributed.Thescaleonthe
verticalaxesrepresentsthenumberofemployeeswhosesalariesfallintoeachoftherangesthatrunalongthescaleonthe
horizontalaxes.

ThegraphinFigure636onthenextpageillustratesthesimplest(andleastinformative)waytodisplay
howsetsofvaluesaredistributed.Itusesrangebarstodisplaytwovaluesforeachsalarygrade:thelowest
andthehighest.Althoughitisusefultoseethefullrangeofeachsalarygrade,thissimpleapproachstill
tellsusnothingabouthowindividualvaluesaredistributedacrossthoseranges.Dothevaluesclusternear
thebottom,center,ortop,oraretheyevenlydistributed?

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Figure636.Thisisthesimplestbutleastinformativewaytodisplayrangesofvalues.Itusesrangebarsthatencodethelowest
andhighestsalariesineachsalarygrade.

Withacombinationofrangebarsandameasureofthemedian,asshowninFigure637,abitmoreinsight
beginstoemerge.

Figure637.Thisgraphcombinesrangebarswithdatapointstomarkthemediansaswellasthehighandlowsalariesineach
salarygrade.

Knowingthatbydefinitionhalfofthevaluesarelargerthanthemedianandhalfaresmaller,weknowthat
whenthemedianisclosertothelowendofarangeofvalues,morevaluesfallintothelowerhalfthanthe
upperhalfoftherange.Thecloserthemedianistothebottomoftherange,themoreskewedthevalues
areintheoppositedirection.Theoppositeistruewhenthemedianliesclosertothetopoftherange.The
understandingofthedistributionthatisrevealedbythisrelativelysimpledisplaycertainlyisn'tcomplete,
butit'sdefinitelygettingbetterandisprobablysufficientformanypurposesonadashboard.

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Youcanthinkofthecombinationofrangebarswithdatapointstomarkthemediansasasimplisticversion
ofaboxplot.Atrueboxplot,asintroducedbyTukey,providesmoreinformation.Theboxportionofabox
plotissimplyarectangle(orbar)withorwithoutafillcolor.Aswitharangebar,thebottomofthebox
representsavalueandthetoprepresentsavalue,buttheseareusuallynotthelowestandhighestvalues
intherange.Figure638illustratesafullgrownversionofasingleboxplotwith"whiskers"(knownasa
boxandwhiskerplot).Thisisjustoneofthemanyvariationsthatarecommonlyused.

Figure638.Anindividualboxplotwithwhiskers.Outliersareindividualdatavaluesthatfalloutsidetherangethatisdefinedby
thewhiskers.

Agraphwithboxeslikethisconveysarichpictureofdatadistributionperhapstoorichformostdashboards
andmostofthefolkswhousethem.Asimplerversionoftheboxplot,suchastheoneinFigure639onthe
nextpage,maybepreferablefordashboarduse

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Figure639.Asimplifiedversionofaboxplotsuchasthisoneisusuallymoreappropriatefordashboardsthantheoneshownin
Figure638.

6.2.1.8.Scatterplots
Ascatterplotdoesonlyonething,butitdoesitquitewell:itdisplayswhetherornot,inwhatdirection,and
towhatdegreetwopairedsetsofquantitativevaluesarecorrelated.Forinstance,ifyouwanttoshowthat
thereisarelationshipbetweenthenumberofbroadcastadsandsalesrevenues,ascatterplotsuchasthe
oneinFigure640wouldworknicely.

Figure640.Thisscatterplotdisplaysthecorrelationbetweenthenumberofbroadcastadsandtheamountofsalesrevenuefor
24months.

Inthiscase,boththenumberoftimesadswereairedandthesalesrevenuesforeachmonthwere
collectedasapairedsetofvaluesfor24months.Thisgraphtellsusthefollowing:

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Thereisacorrelationbetweenadsandsalesrevenue,indicatedbythefactthatachangeinthe
numberofadsalmostalwayscorrespondedtoachangeinsalesrevenue.
Thecorrelationispositive(upwardslopingfromlefttoright),indicatingthatasthenumberof
adsincreasedthesalesrevenuealsousuallyincreased.
Thecorrelationisfairlystrong.Thisisindicatedbythetightgroupingofthedatavaluesaround
thetrendline,showingthatanincreaseordecreaseinadsfromonemeasuretoanother
almostalwayscorrespondedtoasimilaramountofincreaseordecreaseinsalesrevenue.

Giventhateachpairofmeasureswascollectedforagivenmonthacross24consecutivemonths,thisdata
couldhavebeendisplayedasatimeserieslinegraph,butthenatureofthecorrelationwouldnothave
stoodoutasclearly.
Thescatterplotwillstillworknicelyifyousplitthemeasuresintomultiplesets.Forinstance,youcouldsplit
theadsintotwotypesradioandtelevisionasshowninFigure641.Aquickexaminationofthisdisplaytells
usthatthecorrelationoftelevisionadstosalesrevenueismorepositive(upwardsloping)thanthatof
radioads,thoughthestrengthofeachcorrelation(theproximityofthedatavaluestothetrendline)
appearstobeaboutthesame.

Figure641.Thisscatterplotdisplaysthecorrelationbetweenthenumberofradioandtelevisionadsandtheirrespective
amountofsalesrevenuefor24months.

Scatterplotsaresometimesrenderedthreedimensionally,inordertodisplaythecorrelationofthree
quantitativevariables,ratherthanjusttwo.Othermethodsaresometimesusedaswelltoincreasethe
numberofcorrelatedvariablesinasinglescatterplot.Irecommendagainstusinganyoftheseapproaches
onadashboard,however,becauseevenwhentheyaredesignedaswellaspossible,theyrequiretoomuch
studytounderstandtimethatdashboardviewersdon'thave.
OneotherpointI'dliketomentionisthattheuseofastraighttrendline(alsoknownasalineofbestfit)in
ascatterplotmakesthedirectionandstrengthofthecorrelationstandoutmorethanjusttheindividual
datapointsbythemselves.ThegraphinFigure642ispreciselythesameastheoneinFigure641,except
thatitlackstrendlines.Itiseasytoseethatthedirectionandespeciallythestrengthofthecorrelations
wouldrequiremoretimetodiscernwithoutthetrendlines.Linesofbestfitcomeinseveraltypes,someof

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whicharecurved,andeachworksbestfordatasetsthatexhibitparticularpatterns.Knowledgeofwhento
usethemandhowtointerpretthem,however,isnotcommonexceptamongstatisticians,soitisbestto
avoidallbutthesimplestraightlineofbestfitunlessyouandthedashboard'susershavethenecessary
trainingtounderstandtheotherforms.

Figure642.Thisscatterplotdisplaysthecorrelationbetweenthenumberofradioandtelevisionadsandtheirrespective
amountofsalesrevenuefor24months,thistimewithoutthetrendlinesthatappearinFigure641.

6.2.1.9.Treemaps
Treemaps,developedinthe1990sbyBenShneidermanoftheUniversityofMaryland,aregraphsusedto
displaylargesetsofhierarchicallyorcategoricallystructureddatainthemostspaceefficientwaypossible.
Shneidermanisoneofthemostinspiringresearchersandinnovatorsworkingininformation
visualizationonewhoplayedamajorroleindefiningthedomain.Treemapscompletelyfillavailablescreen
spacewithasetofcontiguousrectanglesthathaveeachbeensizedtoencodeaquantitativevariable.
Hierarchiesandcategoriesarerepresentedasrectanglescontainedwithinlargerrectangles.Inadditionto
thequantitativevariablethatisassociatedwithrectanglesize,colorcanalsobeusedtoencodeasecond
quantitativevariableforprovidingarichermultivariatedisplay.
Thepurposeoftreemapsisnottomakefinequantitativecomparisonsortorankitems,butrathertospot
particularconditionsofinterest.The2Dareasofrectanglesandvariationsincolordonotsupporteasy,
efficient,oraccuratevaluecomparisons,butwhenthesevisualattributesarecombinedinthetreemap,
theycanmakeparticularconditionsjumpoutandtherebyenabletheprocessofdiscovery.
Duetotheirspaceefficientdesign,treemapscanbeusedquiteeffectivelyondashboards,buttheyshould
bereservedforthosecircumstancesforwhichtheyweredeveloped,and,whenused,shouldbedesigned
withcare.TheexampleinFigure643illustratesanappropriatelyappliedandeffectivelydesignedtreemap
forabusinessdashboard.

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Figure643.Thistreemap,createdusingTreemap4.3softwaredevelopedattheUniversityofMaryland'sHumanComputer
InteractionLab(HCIL),displayssalesdata(revenueandpercentageofquota)byregion.

Itdisplayssalesbyregion,withrevenueencodedasrectanglesizeandthepercentageofsalesquota
achievedencodedascolor(rangingfrombrightredasthelowestpercentageandpurewhiteasthe
highest).Noticehowyoureyesaremostlydrawntothelargeredrectangles,whichrepresentstateswith
largerevenuesthatareperformingpoorlyinotherwords,stateswhoseperformanceresultsinthegreatest
negativeaffectonrevenue(forexample,California).Ifyou'reinterestedinspottingthosestateswhose
goodperformanceishavingthegreatestpositiveaffectonrevenue,yousimplylookforthelargestlight
coloredrectangles(forexample,Florida).
Ichosetouseasinglehueratherthanseveraltoencodethepercentageofsalesquota,varyingthevalues
byintensityfromcompletelyunsaturatedred(thatis,white)tofullysaturated,brightred.Itiscommonfor
thistypeofdatatobeencodedinatreemapusingmultiplehues,suchasredforvaluesthatarebelow
quotaandgreenforthosethatareabovequota.Typically,thesecolorswouldrangefrombrightredatthe
lowendthroughdarkeranddarkershades,reachingblackinthemiddle(forvaluesclosetothequota),and
proceedingthroughdarkshadesofgreenallthewaytobrightgreenatthehighend.Ifacleardistinction
betweenvaluesthatarebelowquotaandthoseaboveisnecessary,thenmultiplehueswouldwork,butI
believethatoftenwhensuchdistinctionsaredisplayed,theyareunwarranted.Ifyouareresponsiblefor
monitoringsalesperformancebystate,doyoureallywanttoseeaqualitativedistinctionbetweenastate
thatisslightlybelowquota(darkred)andonethatisslightlyabovequota(darkgreen)?Arethesevalues
reallythatdifferent?
Treemapsareusuallyinteractive,providingthemeanstoselectaparticulariteminthehierarchyandthen
drilldownintothenextlevelofitemsthatbelongtothehigherlevelitemthatyouselected.Thisenables
easynavigationthroughthehierarchytoinvestigateparticularconditionsofinterest,potentiallyrevealing

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whatisgoingonatlowerlevelsthatiscreatingtheseconditions.Thisprovidesasimplepathformorefully
exploringandrespondingtothoseconditionsthatjumpoutonthedashboardasneedingattention.
6.2.1.10.Finalthoughtsaboutgraphs
Youmightbewonderingwhysomeoftheothergraphsthatarefamiliartoyouaremissingfromthis
proposedlibrary.Eachismissingforoneofthefollowingtworeasons:

ItcommunicateslesseffectivelythananalternativethatI'veincluded.
Itistoocomplexforthetypicalneedsofadashboard.

Thepiechartprobablytopsthelistofoftenusedgraphsthatwereleftoutofthislibraryofgraphsbecause
theycommunicatelesseffectivelythanothermeans.Piechartsweredesignedtodisplayparttowhole
information,suchastheindividualproductsthatmakeupanentireproductline.Aswe'vealready
discovered,however,parttowholeinformationcanbecommunicatedmoreclearlyusingabargraph.
Anothercomparisonofthetwotypesofgraphusedtodisplaythesamesetofparttowholedataisshown
inFigure644.

Figure644.Thispiechartandbargraphbothdisplaythesameparttowholedata.Thevaluesaremucheasiertointerpretand
comparewhenabargraphisused.

Viewerscanprocesstheinformationinthebargraphontherightmuchmorequicklyandeasilythaninthe
piechartontheleft.Why?Whereasabargraphusesthepreattentivevisualattributeoflinelength(thatis,
thelengthsorheightsofthebars)toencodequantitativevalues,piechartsencodevaluesasthetwo
dimensionalareasoftheslicesandtheiranglesastheyextendfromthecentertowardthecircumference
ofthecircle.Ourvisualperceptiondoesapoorjobofaccuratelyandefficientlycomparing2Dareasand
angles.Theonlythingthatapiecharthasgoingforitisthatwhenyouseeoneyouautomaticallyknowthat
youarelookingatmeasuresthatarepartsofawhole.Becausebargraphscanbeusedforothertypesof
comparisons,whenyouusethemtodisplayparttowholedata,youmustlabeltheminamannerthat
makesthisclear.Aslongasthisisdone,bargraphsarefarsuperior.
Apiechartfallsintoalargerclassofgraphscalledareagraphs.Areagraphsuse2Dspacetoencode
quantitativevalues,whichispronetoinaccurateinterpretationandoftentoocclusion(aproblemthatis
causedwhenoneobjectishiddenentirelyorinpartbehindanother).TheareagraphinFigure645onthe

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nextpageillustratestheproblemofocclusionrevenuesforQuarters2and3intheWestandQuarter4in
theNortharecompletelyhidden.

Figure645.Areagraphscansufferfromtheproblemofocclusion.

Anothertypeofgraphthat'ssurfacingmoreandmoreoftenthesedaysistheradargraph,acirculargraph
thatencodesquantitativevaluesusinglinesthatradiatefromthecenterofthecircletomeettheboundary
formedbyitscircumference.Itisnothingbutalinegraphwiththecategoricalscalearrangedalonga
circularaxis,asyoucanseeontheleftinFigure646.Forcommonbusinessdataaradargraphisnotas
effectiveasabargraph(shownontherightinFigure646),becauseitismoredifficulttoreadvalues
arrangedinacircularfashion.TheonlytimeI'vefoundaradargraphtobetolerablefordisplayingtypical
businessdatawaswhenthecategoricalscalecouldnaturallybeenvisionedascircularforexample,when
themeasuresonthescalearethehoursofaday,duetothefamiliarcirculararrangementoftimeona
clock.

Figure646.Thisradargraph(left)andbargraph(right)displaythesameexpensedata.Intheradargraph,departmentsare
arrangedalongthecircumferenceandthequantitativescaleforexpensesresidesalongtheradialaxesthatextendfromthe
center.Thebargraphismucheasierandfastertoread.

6.2.2.Icons
Iconsaresimpleimagesthatcommunicateaclearandsimplemeaning.Onlyafewareneededona
dashboard.Themostusefuliconsaretypicallythosethatcommunicatethefollowingthreemeanings:

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Alert
Up/down
On/off

6.2.2.1.Alerticons
Itisoftenusefultodrawattentiontoparticularinformationonadashboard.Thisisespeciallytruewhen
somethingiswrongandrequiresattention.Aniconthatworksasanalertshoutsattheviewer,"Hey,look
here!"Foranicontoplaythisrolewell,itneedstobeexceptionallysimpleandnoticeable.Tenvariations
ofanalerticon,eachwithitsownslightlydifferentmeaning,arefartoocomplexforadashboard.Tryto
limitalertlevelstoamaximumoftwo,andideallytoone.Asinglealerticoncatchestheeyemuchmore
effectivelythanmultiplealertswithvariousmeanings.
Acommonalertschemeondashboardsusesthetrafficlightmetaphor,composedofthreecolorswith
differentmeanings.Greenistypicallyusedtoindicatethatalliswellbutwhat'sthepoint?Ifeverything's
fine,youdon'tneedtodrawattentiontothedata.Alertsthatarealwaystheredrawlessattentionthan
alertsthatappearonlywhenattentionisrequired.Thisisbecauseasimpleiconthatappearsonlyincertain
circumstancesisperceivedpreattentivelyasan"addedmark."Thispreattentiveattributeisnottappedinto
whenthetrafficlightalertsystemisused,becausealthoughthecolorusedtoencodethedatamaychange,
nothingisbeingadded.
I'vefoundthatasimpleshape,suchasacircleorsquare,usuallyworksbestasanalerticon.Ifyoumust
communicatemultiplelevelsofalerts,ratherthanusingdistincticons,stickwithoneshapeandvarythe
color.Trafficsignalcolorsofred,yellow,andgreenareconventional,buttheydon'tworkforthe10%of
malesand1%offemaleswhoarecolorblind.Figure647illustratesthispointbyshowingthecolorsgreen,
yellow,andredontheleftandwhatapersonwiththepredominantformofcolorblindnesswouldseeon
theright.

Figure647.Theiconsontherightsimulatewhatsomeonewhoiscolorblindwouldseewhenlookingatthoseontheleft.

Asolutionthatworksforeveryoneinvolvesdistinctintensitiesofthesamehue,suchaslightred(inplace
ofyellow)anddarkred,asshowninFigure648.

Figure648.Thesimplealerticonsontheleftusevaryingintensitiesofasinglehuetoencodedifferentmeanings.Thetwoon
therightsimulatewhatapersonwhoiscolorblindwouldsee.Varyingintensitiesofanysinglehuearedistinguishableby
everyone.

6.2.2.2.Up/downicons
Up/downiconsconveythesimplemessagethatameasurehasgoneupordowncomparedtosomepoint
inthepastorisgreaterorlesserthansomethingelse,suchasthetarget.Financialinformationiscommon

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ondashboards,andaquickwaytoindicatetheupordownmovementofstocks,profits,andsoonisoften
useful.Fortunately,aconventionalsymbolisalreadyinusetocommunicatethesemeanings:atriangleor
arrowwiththetippointingeitherupordown.Thecoloroftheiconsmayvaryaswell(usuallygreenfor
goodandredforbad)sotheystandoutmoreclearly,butagain,thisisaproblemforthosewhoarecolor
blind.Thisproblemcanbeavoidedbyusingcolorsthatvarygreatlyinintensityaswellashue,suchasfully
saturatedredfortheiconthatindicatesmovementinthewrongdirectionandlesseyecatchingpalegreen
fortheother.Figure649illustratesapossiblepresentationoftwoversionsofthissimpleicon.

Figure649.Simpleupanddownicons.

6.2.2.3.On/officons
On/officonsserveasflagstoidentifysomeitemsasdifferentfromothers.Forexample,ifyoudisplayalist
ofthetop10currentsalesopportunitiesandyouwanttoflagsomeasbeingclosertoclosingthanothers,a
simpleon/officonwoulddothisnicely.Othertypicalusesincludemarkingfeatureditems,suchasproducts
inalist,andpointingoutwhereyoucurrentlyareonaschedulethatincludeseventsthatextendintothe
pastandfuture.Anyoneofmanysimpleiconscouldbeusedtoservethispurpose,butcheckmarks,
asterisks,andXs(Figure650)areprobablythemostcommonandintuitivelyunderstood.Regardlessof
whichiconyouchooseforthispurpose,itisbesttopickoneandsticktoit.Consistencymightseemboring,
butondashboardsitmakesthingsclear.

Figure650.Sampleon/officons.

6.2.3.Text
Alldashboards,nomatterhowgraphicallyoriented,includesomeinformationthatisencodedastext.This
isbothnecessaryanddesirable,forsomeinformationisbettercommunicatedtextuallyratherthan
graphically.Textisusedforthecategoricallabelsthatidentifywhatitemsareongraphs,butitisoften
appropriateinotherplacesaswell.Anytimeitisappropriatetoreportasinglemeasurealone,without
comparingittoanything,textcommunicatesthenumbermoredirectlyandefficientlythanagraph(Figure
651).Notethatintheseinstancessomemeanstodisplaythetextonadashboard,suchasasimpletext
box,isnecessary.1

Figure651.Textcanbeusedonadashboardtoclearlyconveyasinglemeasureonitsown.

6.2.4.Images
Themeanstodisplayimagessuchasphotos,illustrations,ordiagramsissometimesusefulonadashboard,
butrarely,inmyexperience.Adashboardthatisusedbyatrainermightincludephotographsofthepeople

11

SeeChapter7,DesigningDashboardsforUsability,foradiscussionofchoosingfontsforuseonadashboard.

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scheduledtoattendtheday'sclass,oneusedbyamaintenanceworkermighthighlighttheareasofthe
buildingwherelightbulbsneedtobereplaced,oroneusedbyapolicedepartmentmightuseamapto
showwherecrimeshaveoccurredinthelast24hours.However,imageswillbeunnecessaryformost
typicalbusinessuses.
6.2.5.DrawingObjects
Itissometimesusefultoarrangeandconnectpiecesofinformationinrelationtooneanotherinwaysthat
simpledrawingobjectshandlewithclarityandease.Forinstance,whendisplayinginformationabouta
process,itcanbehelpfultoarrangeseparateeventsintheprocesssequentiallyandtoindicatethepath
alongwhichtheprocessflows,especiallywhenbranchingalongmultiplepathsispossible.Another
exampleiswhenyouneedtoshowconnectionsbetweenentities,perhapsincludingahierarchical
relationship,suchasinanorganizationchart.Entitiescaneasilybedisplayedasrectanglesandcircles,and
relationshipscanbedisplayedusinglinesandarrows.Forinstance,rectanglesorcirclescouldrepresent
tasksinaproject,witharrowsconnectingthemtoindicatetheirrelationshipsandorder.
Figures652and653provideexamplesofhowsomeoftheseobjectsmightbeused.Theycanalsobeused
tohighlightandgroupinformation,whichisacommonneedindashboarddesign.Switchingbetween
rectanglesandcirclesprovidesaneasywaytodistinguishdifferenttypesofentities.Linesandarrowsboth
showconnectionsbetweenentities,butarrowsdisplaytheadditionalelementofdirection.

Figure652.Simpledrawingobjectscanbeusedtoclarifyrelationshipsbetweenthecomponentsofnetrevenue.

Figure653.Simpledrawingobjectscanbeusedtodisplayrelationshipsbetweentasksinaprojectplan.

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6.2.6.Organizers
Itisoftenthecasethatsetsofinformationneedtobearrangedinaparticularmannertocommunicate
clearly.Threeseparatewaysoforganizingandarrangingrelatedinformationstandoutasparticularlyuseful
whendisplayingbusinessinformationondashboards:

Tables
Spatialmaps
Smallmultiples

6.2.6.1.Tables
Tablesarrangedataintocolumnsandrows.Thisisafamiliararrangementfortext(Figure654),butitcan
alsobeusedtoarrangeanyoftheotherdisplaymediathatwe'vealreadyexamined.Arranginggraphs,
icons,andimagesintocolumnsandrowsisoftenuseful.

Figure654.Atabulararrangementoftext.

6.2.6.2.Spatialmaps
Spatialmapsofferamorespecializedandlessoftenneededformoforganization.Theycanbeusedto
associatedatabothcategoricalandquantitativewithphysicalspace.Whendataistiedtophysicalspaceand
itsmeaningcanbeenhancedbymakingthatarrangementvisible,spatialmapsareuseful.
Themostcommonarrangementofdatarelatedtophysicalspaceisageographicalarrangementintheform
ofamap.Whenthegeographicallocationofthethingbeingmeasuredmustbeseentounderstandthe
data,placingthemeasuresonamapsupportsthisunderstanding.However,thisdoesn'tmeanthatany
timemeasurescanbeshowninrelationtogeography,theyshouldbe;onlywhenthemeaningofthedata
istiedtogeographyandthatmeaningcannoteasilybeunderstoodwithoutactuallyseeingthedata
arrangedonamapshouldthisapproachbetaken.Forexample,salesrevenuecanbeunderstoodin
relationtoasmallnumberofsalesregionswithoutdisplayingthedataonamap(seeFigure655),but
displayingconcentrationsofabsenteeismamongemployeesinstoreslocatedthroughouttheUnitedStates
onamapcouldrevealpatternsrelatedtolocationthatmightnotbeobviousotherwise.

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Figure655.Spatialmapscanbeusefulwhentheyaddtoourunderstandingofthedata,but,asinthiscase,theyareoftenused
unnecessarily.

Thesecondmostusefultypeofspatialmaponadashboardisprobablythefloorplanofabuilding.If,for
example,itisyourjobtomonitortemperaturesthroughoutalargebuildingandrespondwhenever
particularareasexceedestablishednorms,seeingthetemperaturesarrangedonafloorplancouldbring
relationshipsbetweenadjacentareastolightthatyoumightmissotherwise.
6.2.6.3.Smallmultiples
ThelastorganizerarrangesgraphsinamannerthatEdwardTuftecalls"smallmultiples."Thisarrangement
istabular,consistingofasingleroworcolumnofrelatedgraphs,ormultiplerowsandcolumnsofrelated
graphsarrangedinamatrix.Ilistsmallmultiplesseparatelyfromtablesbecauseorganizersthatdisplay
smallmultiplesoughttohavesomeintelligencebuiltintothemtohandleaspectsofthisarrangementthat
wouldbetimeconsumingtoarrangemanuallyinatable.
Inadisplayofsmallmultiples,thesamebasicgraphappearsmultipletimes,eachtimedifferingalonga
singlevariable.Let'slookatanexample.Ifyouneedtodisplayrevenuedataasabargraphacrossfoursales
regions,withbookingsandbillingsrevenueshownseparately,youcoulddosoinasinglegraph,asshown
inFigure656.

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Figure656.Thisbargraphdisplaysthreevariables.

If,however,youmustsimultaneouslydisplaytherevenuesplitbetweenthreesaleschannels(forexample,
solddirectly,throughdistributors,andthroughresellers),asinglegraphwon'twork.Totherescuecomes
thesmallmultiplesdisplay.AsshowninFigure657,byarrangingthreeversionsofthesamegraphnextto
oneanotheronegraphpersaleschannelyoucanshowtheentirepicturewithineyespan,making
comparisonseasy.Toeliminateunnecessaryredundancy,youcouldavoidrepeatingtheregionlabelsin
eachgraph,aswellasthelegendandtheoveralltitle.Thisnotonlysavesvaluablespace,whichisalways
importantonadashboard,butitalsoreducestheamountofinformationthattheviewermustreadwhen
examiningthedisplay.

Figure657.Thisseriesofhorizontallyalignedsmallmultiplesdisplaysrevenuesplitbetweenthreesaleschannels.

Anintelligentorganizerforsmallmultiplesbuiltintothesoftwarewouldallowyoutoreferencethedata,
indicatewhichvariablegoesonwhichaxisofthegraph,whichshouldbeencodedaslinesofseparate
colors,whichshouldvarypergraph,andfinallywhetheryouwantthegraphstobearrangedvertically,
horizontally,orinamatrix;theorganizerwouldthenhandletherestforyou.Asofthiswriting,Ihaveyetto
seedashboardsoftwarethatmakesthiseasytodo.Ireservethehope,however,thatthiswillsoonchange.

6.3.Summary
ThelibraryofdashboarddisplaymediathatI'veproposedinthischapteriscertainlynotcomprehensive,
norwillitremainunchangedastimegoeson.Asnewgraphicinventionsemergethatsuitthepurposeand
designconstraintsofdashboards,thislibrarywillcontinuetogrow,butIexpectthatitwilldososlowly.

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Justbecauseavendorintroducesanewvisualizationtechniquedoesn'tmeanitbelongsonadashboard.
Let'skeepthevisiontruetoformandeffectiveforenlighteningandefficientcommunication.

Chapter7.DesigningDashboardsforUsability
Afewimportantaspectsofdashboard'svisualdesignremaintobeconsidered.Oneofthemostchallenging
istheneedtoarrangemanyitemsofinformationoftenrelatedsolelybytheviewer'sneedtomonitorthem
allinamannerthatdoesn'tresultinaclutteredmess.Thisarrangementmustsupporttheintrinsic
relationshipsbetweenthevariousitemsandthemannerinwhichtheymustbenavigatedandusedto
supportthetaskathand.Adashboard'sdesignmustoptimallyandtransparentlysupportitsuse.Thewhole
alsomustbepleasingtolookupon,oritwillbeignored.

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Organizetheinformationtosupportitsmeaninganduse
Maintainconsistencyforquickandaccurateinterpretation
Maketheviewingexperienceaestheticallypleasing
Designforuseasalaunchpad
Testyourdesignforusability
Beyondselectingappropriatedisplaymediaandreducingthenondatapixelstoaminimum,attentionalso
mustbegiventoseveralotheraspectsofdesigntoguaranteethatyourdashboardsareeasytouseanddo
everythingtheycantosupporttheviewer'sneedtorespondtotheinformation.Havingknowledgeofafew
moredesignstrategiesunderyourbeltwillhelpyoublendallthevisualaspectsofyourdashboardintoa
pleasingandfunctionaldisplay.

7.1.OrganizetheInformationtoSupportItsMeaningandUse
Youcan'tjusttakeinformationandthrowitontothedashboardanywayyouplease.Howthepiecesare
arrangedinrelationtooneanothercanmakethedifferencebetweenadashboardthatworksandonethat
endsupbeingignored,eventhoughtheinformationtheypresentisthesame.Keepthefollowing
considerationsinmindwhenyoudeterminehowtoarrangedataonthescreen:

Organizegroupsaccordingtobusinessfunctions,entities,anduse.
Colocateitemsthatbelongtothesamegroup.
Delineategroupsusingtheleastvisiblemeans.
Supportmeaningfulcomparisons.
Discouragemeaninglesscomparisons.

7.1.1.OrganizeGroupsAccordingtoBusinessFunctions,Entities,andUse
Agoodfirstcutatorganizingdataistoformgroupsthatarealignedwithbusinessfunctions(forexample,
orderentry,shipping,orbudgetplanning),withentities(departments,projects,systems,etc.),orwithuses
ofthedata(forinstance,theneedtocomparerevenuesandexpenses).Thesearethenaturalwaysto
organizemostbusinessdata.
Inabusiness,becauseentitiesandfunctionsarepartsofaninterconnectedsystem,someonewhoserole
spansmanyoftheseindividualunitsmightprefertoseedataorganizedinawaythatismoreintegrated
andalignedwiththewaysheusesthatinformation.Forinstance,aCEOstandsabovethedivisionsfoundin
anorganization'sstructureandusuallywantstoseerelationshipsamongdatathataremoreholistic,
perhapsbasedontherelativeimportanceofeachitemtothecompany'sbottomline,fromgreatestto
least.Inacaselikethis,itemsthatothersmightnaturallyseeasbelongingtodistinctgroupsmightbe
groupedtogethertobetterservetheneedsoftheCEO.Ifthereisaparticularorderinwhichthedataought
tobescannedtobuildthedesiredoverviewasefficientlyaspossible,groupingandorderingitems
accordinglymightworkbest.
Whenorganizingdataonadashboard,startbylearningpreciselyhowtheinformationwillbeusedandhow
thepiecesoughttobearrangedtobestservetheseuses.
7.1.2.ColocateItemsThatBelongtotheSameGroup
Onceyou'vedeterminedthoseitemsthatbelongtogetherrelativetothetaskathand,thebestmeansto
connectthemistoplacethemclosetooneanother,yetdelineatedinsomesimplemannerfrom

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surroundinggroups.Usingpositiontogroupitemsvisuallyisastrategythatispreattentivelyandthus
rapidlyperceived.
7.1.3.DelineateGroupsUsingtheLeastVisibleMeans
Visualmeansthatareusedtodelineategroupsofdata,suchasgridlines,borders,andbackgroundfill
colors,qualifyasnondatapixels.Assuch,theyshouldbeonlyasvisibleasnecessarytodothejob.Whatis
theleastvisiblemeanstovisuallydelineategroupsofdata?Theansweriswhitespace.Whenenoughblank
spacesurroundsagroupofdatatosetitapartfromtheothergroups,theobjectiveisaccomplished
withoutaddinganyvisualcontenttothedashboardthatmightdistractattentionfromthedata.Usewhite
spacetodelineategroupsofdatawheneverpossible.
Ofcourse,asdashboardsareoftenhighdensitydisplays,theydonotalwayshavethesparespace
necessarytousewhitespacealonetodelineatethegroups.Whenthatisthecase,subtlebordersare
usuallythebestmeanstodistinguishthegroups.Youmightbesurprisedathowlightlinescanbeandstill
dothejob.TakealookatFigure71foranexampleofhowyoucanusewhitespaceorlightbordersto
delineatethesamegroupsofdata.

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Figure71.Thefourtablesonthetophavebeenseparatedeffectivelyusingwhitespacealone,butthefouronthebottom,
becausetheyareclosertogether,havebeenseparatedusinglightborders.

7.1.4.SupportMeaningfulComparisons
Measuresofperformancecomealiveonlywhenyoucomparethemtoothermeasures.Forexample,
knowingthatquartertodatesalesrevenueis$92,354ismeaningfulonlywhencomparedtooneormore
othermeasuresthatcanbeusedasyardstickstodetermineitsmerit,suchasatargetortheamountof
revenuethathadcomeinatthispointinthepriorquarter.Youcanencouragemeaningfulcomparisonsby
doingthefollowing:

Combiningitemsinasingletableorgraph(ifappropriate)
Placingitemsclosetooneanother
Linkingitemsindifferentgroupsusingacommoncolor
Includingcomparativevalues(forexample,ratios,percentages,oractualvariances)whenever
usefulforclarityandefficiency

Figure72illustratestwoofthesepractices.Thegraphontopshowsseveralmeasuresthatsharethesame
unitofmeasure,displayedinasinglegraphtoencouragecomparison.Thegraphonthebottomcombines
twodatasetswithdifferentunitsofmeasureinasinglegraphbyplacingonequantitativescaleontheleft
verticalaxisandanotherontheright.

Figure72.Twoexamplesofcombiningmultiplemeasuresinasinglegraphtoencouragecomparisons.

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ThetableinFigure73illustrateshowvaluescanbeexpresseddirectlyascomparativeunitsofmeasureto
encouragecomparisons.Boththe"%ofTotal"and"%ofFcst"columnscontainvaluesthatarecomparative
bytheirverynature.Especiallywhenyouwanttocommunicatethedegreetowhichonevaluediffersfrom
another,percentagesexpressthismoredirectlythanrawvalues.

Figure73.Youcanusecomparativevaluestodirectlysupportcomparisons.

7.1.5.DiscourageMeaninglessComparisons
Evenifit'sallimportanttosomejoborsetofobjectives,notallthedatathatappearsonadashboardis
meanttobecompared.However,withoutvigilance,youmightinadvertentlymakedesignchoicesthat
encouragethecomparisonofunrelateddata.Forinstance,inFigure74,someofthecolorchoicesproduce
thisunintendedeffect.Thecolorsgreenandredmean"good"and"bad"wherevertheyappear,which
encouragesustoassumethatallthecolorsusedonthisdashboardmeanthesamewherevertheyappear.
However,thisisn'tthecasenoticethatthecoloryellowmeans"satisfactory"insomecontexts,butinone
graphitrepresentsforecastbalancesandinanotherthemonthofJune.Inthiscase,ournaturalinclination
tolinklikecolorsismisleading.

Figure74.Thisdashboardinadvertentlyencouragesmeaninglesscomparisons.

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Youcandiscouragemeaninglesscomparisonsbydoingtheoppositeofthepracticesmentionedinthe
previoussection:

Separateitemsfromoneanotherspatially(ifappropriate).
Usedifferentcolors.

7.2.MaintainConsistencyforQuickandAccurateInterpretation
Differencesinappearancealwayspromptustosearch,whetherconsciouslyorunconsciously,forthe
significanceofthosedifferences.Anythingthatmeansthesamethingorfunctionsinthesamewayought
tolookthesamewhereveritappearsonadashboard.Evensomethingassubtleasarbitrarilyusingdark
axislinesononegraphandlightaxislinesonanotherwillleadviewerstosuspectthatthisdifference,
whichisinfactarbitrary,issignificant.
It'simportanttomaintainconsistencynotonlyinthevisualappearanceofthedisplaymedia,butinyour
choiceofdisplaymediaaswell.Iftwosectionsofdatainvolvethesametypeofquantitativerelationship
(suchasatimeseries)andareintendedforsimilaruse(forexample,tocompareameasuretoatarget
measureforeachmonth),youshouldusethesametypeofdisplayforboth(forexample,abargraph).
Nevervarythemeansofdisplayforthesakeofvariety.Alwaysselectthemediumthatbestcommunicates
thedataanditsmessage,evenifthatmeansthatyourdashboardconsistsofthesametypeofgraph
throughout.

7.3.MaketheViewingExperienceAestheticallyPleasing
In1988DonaldNorman,acognitivescientist,wroteawonderfulbookentitledTheDesignofEveryday
Things(NewYork:BasicBooks).Itisaclassicinthefieldofdesignthatconvincinglyarguesthatthe
effectivenessofsomething'sdesignshouldbejudgedbyhowwellitworksandhoweasyitistouse.Inthe
yearssinceitspublication,designershaveoftenaccusedNormanofignoringthevalueofaesthetics.This
frequentcritiquewasoneofhismotivesforwritingtherecentbookentitledEmotionalDesign:WhyWe
Love(orHate)EverydayThings(NewYork:BasicBooks,2004).
Inthisbook,Normandescribesthepsychologicalandphysiologicalbenefitsofaestheticallypleasingdesign.
Ifappliedtodashboarddesign,Norman'spointwouldarguethataestheticallypleasingdashboardsare
moreenjoyable,whichmakesthemmorerelaxing,whichpreparestheviewerforgreaterinsightand
creativeresponse.ThisisnotadeparturefromhisearlierassertionsinTheDesignofEverydayThings,but
ratheranextensionassertingthataesthetics,whennotinconflictwithaproduct'susability,possess
intrinsicqualitiesthatalsocontributetousability.Thisnewbookconvincinglyreframesthediscussion
abouttheimportanceofusabilityasamatternotofusabilityversusaestheticsbutofusabilityversus
anythingthatflagrantlyunderminesusability,whichgood,aestheticallypleasingdesignmanagestoavoid.
Ilovevisualart.Iappreciatebeautyforitsownsake.Momentsofgreatbeautyexaltme.Information
design,however,isaboutcommunication:gettinganintendedmessageacrossinawaythatresultsin
usefulunderstanding.Aestheticsareanimportantcomponentofinformationdesign,butnotinthesame
waythattheyareinart.Ifadashboardisnotdesignedinanaestheticallypleasingway,theunpleasant
experiencethatresultsfortheviewerunderminesthedashboard'sabilitytocommunicate.Ona
dashboard,youraesthetictalentoughttobeapplieddirectlytothedisplayofthedataitself,notto
meaninglessanddistractingornamentation.Theaestheticsofdashboarddesignshouldalwaysexpress
themselvessimply,strivingfortheeloquencethatemergesuniquelyfromsimplicity.

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ThedashboardshowninFigure75,whilesimpleenough,isaglaringexampleofdesignthatisanythingbut
aestheticallypleasing.Howcanyouavoidcreatingasimilarmonstrosity?Let'slookatafewguidelinesthat
willhelpyouachieveasimpleaestheticwithoutcompromisingthedata.

Figure75.Anexampleofadownrightuglydashboard.

7.3.1.ChooseColorsAppropriately
Pooruseofcolorisperhapsthemostcommonoffensetoadashboard'sappearance.Colorsthatarebright
ordarknaturallydemandmoreattention.Toomanybrightordarkcolorscanquicklybecomevisually
exhausting.Whenselectingcolors,keepthefollowingguidelinesinmind:

Keepbrightcolorstoaminimum,usingthemonlytohighlightdatathatrequiresattention.
Exceptforcontentthatdemandsattention,uselesssaturatedcolorssuchasthosethatare
predominantinnature(forexample,thecolorsoftheearthandsky).
Useabarelydiscernablepalebackgroundcolorotherthanpurewhitetoprovideamore
soothing,lessstarklycontrastingsurfaceonwhichthedatacanreside.

Figure76illustratestheseprinciples.

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Figure76.Avoidtheuseofbrightcolorsexcepttohighlightparticulardatastickwithmoresubduedcolorsformostofwhat's
displayed.Useabackgroundcolorthatisslightlyoffwhitetoavoidthestarkcontrastbetweenforegroundcolorsagainstapure
whitebackground.

7.3.2.ChooseHighResolutionforClarity
Thehighdensityofinformationthattypicallyappearsonadashboardrequiresthatthegraphicalimagesbe
displayedwithexceptionalvisualclarity.Imageswithpoorresolutionarehardtoread,whichslowsdown
theprocessofscanningthedashboardforinformation(andisjustplainannoying).Visualclaritydoesnot
requirefancyshadingorphotorealism;simplehighresolutionimageswilldo.
7.3.3.ChoosetheRightText
Myfinalrecommendationregardingdashboardaestheticsinvolvestheuseoftext.Usethemostlegible
fontyoucanfind.Youdon'tneedtosetamoodorreinforceathemebyusinganunusualfont.Ornatetext
mightbeappropriateforaposteradvertisingthecircus,butnotforadashboard.Youwantafontthatcan
bereadthefastestwiththeleastamountofstrainontheeyes.Findonethatworksandstickwithit
throughoutthedashboard.Youcanuseadifferentfontforheadingstohelpthemstandoutifyouwish,but
that'sthepracticallimit.Figure77illustratesafewofthegoodandbadchoicesthatareavailable.

Figure77.Examplesofsomefontsthatareeasytoreadyandsomethatarenot.

7.4.DesignforUseasaLaunchPad
Assinglescreendisplays,dashboardsdonotalwaysprovidealltheinformationneededtoperformajobor
topursueaparticularsetofobjectives.Theycanprovidetheinitialoverviewthatisneededformonitoring
atahighlevel,buttheymightneedtobesupplementedwithadditionalinformationformore
comprehensiveunderstandingandresponse.Dashboardsshouldalmostalwaysbedesignedforinteraction.
Themostcommontypesofdashboardinteractionare:

Drillingdownintothedetails
Slicingthedatatonarrowthefieldoffocus

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Whicheveroftheseyouintend,whenyourdashboardservesasalaunchpadtoadditional,complementary
information,besuretokeepthefollowingprinciplesinmind:

Allowtheviewertoinitiatethelaunchbyclickingthedataitself.
Useconsistentlaunchactions.

Enablingtheviewertoaccessadditionaldata(suchasthedetailsbeneaththeoverview)viadirect
interactioniseasyandintuitive,anditsavesspaceonthedashboardbyeliminatingseparatecontrolssuch
asbuttons.Ifyoudisplayabargraphinwhicheachbarrepresentstherevenueofadifferentsalesregion,
forexample,itmightbeidealtoallowtheviewertoclickdirectlyonaparticularbartoseeagraphthat
furthersubdividesthatregion'srevenueaccordingtotheindividualstatesthatbelongtotheregion.
Likewise,iftherearetimeswhenaviewermightwanttoknowtheprecisevalueforaparticulardatapoint
alongalinegraph,theabilitytohoveroverthatpositionandhavethevaluepopuptemporarilyastextis
ideal.Whatevermechanismyoudecidetobuildintothedashboardtoinitiatelinkstoadditionaldata,make
surethatitisconsistentwhereveritappears,toavoidconfusion.

7.5.TestYourDesignforUsability
Nomatterhowwelldesignedyourfinalproductturnsouttobe,itisalwayshardtodissuadepeoplefrom
predeterminednotionsofhowitshouldlook.Doyourbesttopreventthosewhowilleventuallyuseyour
completeddashboardfromdevelopingexpectationsaboutitslookandfeelapartfromyourinputand
expertadvice.Presentyouruserswithasingleprototypeofthemosteffectivedesignthatyoucancreate,
andletthatbethestartingpointfordiscussionsabouthowitmightbetweakedtobetterservetheirneeds.
Don'tpresentthemwithseveralalternativedesigns,becauseeventhoughyourusersprobablyknowwhat
theyneedtoaccomplish,theydon'tknowhowthedashboardoughttobevisuallydesignedtoachievethat
result.Youarethedesigner,soitisuptoyoutobringthisexpertisetotheprocess.
Youwillnevergeteverythingrightonthefirsttry,nomatterhowskilledyouare.Youmustputyourdesign
tothetest.Onlythosewhowillactuallyusethedashboardarequalifiedtodetermineifitactuallyworks
andworkswell.Showittothempopulatedwithrealdata,andobservethemastheylookitoverandlearn
tomakesenseofthedata.Ifyouareintroducingdisplaymediathatarenewtothem,beginwithsimple
instructioninhowtheyworkandexplainwhyyouchosethosemechanismsratherthanothersthatmight
bemorefamiliar.Ifyou'vedoneyourhomeworkandyourusersreallycareaboutdoingtheirjobswell
ratherthandoingtheminaparticularway,usabilitytestingwillusuallyresultinrelativelyminoradditions
andtweakstorefinetheeffectivenessofthedashboard,ratherthanmajorrevisions.Althoughthereare
certainlyexceptionswhendealingwiththefoiblesofhumanbeings,gooddesignusuallyresultsinagood
reception.

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Chapter8.PuttingItAllTogether
Agreatdealofinformationhasbeenamassedasthelessonsinthisbookhavebeenunveiledstepbystep,
conceptbyconcept,andprinciplebyprinciple.Nowitistimetotieitalltogether,toseetheseprinciples
combinedintheformofsampledashboards.Theproofisintheefficacyoftheresult:dashboardsthatcan
bemonitoredandunderstoodataglance.We'lllookatfourexamplesofeffectivelydesigneddashboards,
andputourknowledgetothetestbycritiquingeightalternatesolutionstooneofthesedesignproblems.

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Samplesalesdashboards
SampleCIOdashboard
Sampletelesalesdashboard
Samplemarketinganalysisdashboard
Inthisfinalchapter,we'llbringtogethertheprinciplesandpracticestaughtthroughoutthebook.We'll
examinesomedashboardsthatillustratetheclearandefficientcommunicationthatresultsfrominformed
design,andwe'lltestyourknowledgebycritiquingseveralothers.Thesesamplesaddressfourdifferent
businessscenarios,includingdashboardsthatsupportstrategic,analytical,andoperationalpurposes:
SamplesalesdashboardAsalesmanagermightusethisdashboardtomonitorsalesperformanceand
opportunities(strategic).
SampleCIOdashboardAChiefInformationOfficer(CIO)mightusethisdashboardtomonitorseveral
aspectsofacompany'sinformationsystems(strategicandoperational).
SampletelesalesdashboardThesupervisorofateamofsalesrepresentativeswhotakeordersandanswer
questionsbyphonemightusethisdashboardtomonitorperformance(operational).
SamplemarketinganalysisdashboardAmarketinganalystmightusethisdashboardtomonitorthe
marketingperformanceofthecompany'swebsite(analytical).
TheseexampleswillnotonlyputfleshonthebonesofthedesignprinciplesthatI'vetaughtinthisbook,
but(Ihope)willalsosuggestideasforthetypesofinformationyoumightdisplayonadashboardandsome
interestingandeffectivewaystodoso.

8.1.SampleSalesDashboard
Apartfromexecutivedashboards,Isuspectthatnoonetypeofdashboardisimplementedmoreoftenthan
asalesdashboard.Salesactivityisthelifegivingheartofmostbusinesses.Thoseinchargeofsalesneedto
keeptheirfingersonthepulseatalltimes,evenwhenalliswell.Salesstrategiesmightneedtochange
quicklywhennewopportunities,problems,orcompetitivepressuresarise.Awelldesigneddashboardcan
beapowerfultoolforasalesmanager.
Ibegandesigningthesamplesalesdashboardbyselectingtheinformationthatseemedmostimportantfor
asalesmanagertomonitor.EachitemthatIselectedisameasureofwhat'scurrentlygoingoninsales.
Here'sthelist:1

Salesrevenue
Salesrevenueinthepipeline(expectedrevenuedividedintocategoriesofprobability)
Profit
Customersatisfactionrating
Top10customers
Marketshare

Keepinmindthatthepurposeofthesamplesinthischapterisnottodefinethedatathatyoushouldincludeonany
particulartypeofdashboard,butrathertoillustratehowthevisualdesignprinciplesthatyou'velearnedinthisbook
canbeappliedtorealworldsituations,andhowtheymightlook.Itisn'tpossibletodeterminetheprecisedatathat
willbeappropriateforalldashboardsofanyparticulartype,suchasasalesdashboard.

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Foreachoftheseitems,Ineededtomakeseveraldecisions,including:

AtwhatlevelofsummarizationshouldIexpressthismeasure?
WhatunitofmeasureshouldIusetoexpressthismeasure?
WhatcomplementaryinformationshouldIincludeascontexttoenhancethismeasure'smeaning?
Whatmeansofdisplaywouldbestexpressthismeasure?
Howimportantisthismeasuretoasalesmanagercomparedtotheothermeasures?
Atwhatpointinthesequenceofviewingtheitemsonthedashboardmightasalesmanagerwant
toseethismeasure?
Towhatothermeasuresmightasalesmanagerwanttocomparethismeasure?

IfIweredesigningasalesdashboardforaparticularpersonorgroup,Iwouldinvolvetheminanswering
thesequestions.Formypresentpurposes,however,Imadeseveralassumptionsbasedonmyknowledge
ofsalesandproducedthedashboardinFigure81.

Figure81.Asamplesalesdashboardthatputsintopracticetheprincipleswe'vediscussedthroughoutthisbook.

Examinethisdashboardonyourown,througheyesthatcannowrecognizewhatworksandwhatdoesn't,
withanunderstandingofwhy.Lookateachmeasure,atwhatIincludedascontext,andateveryaspectof
thevisualdesign,bothonitsownandinrelationtothewhole.Askyourself,"Whywasitdesignedinthis
way?"Takesometimenowtodothisbeforereadingon.Hopefully,you'llbeabletoidentifyandexplain
thereasonsformostofmydesignchoices.
Hereareafewofthehighlights:
Colorhasbeenusedsparingly.Otherthanthelightbrownheadingstoclearlygroupthedatainto
meaningfulsections,theonlyothercolorthatisnotagraytoneappearsontheredalerts.Thisjudicious
useofcolormakesthoseitemsthatmustgrabattentiondosoclearly,withoutcompetitionfromother
colorsthatmightalsoattractattention.
Theprimerealestateonthescreenhasbeenusedforthemostimportantdata.Assumingthatthe
measuresthathavebeenidentifiedasthe"keymetrics"aregenerallythemostimportantitemsonthe
dashboard,placingthemintheupperleftcornerofthescreengivesthemtheprominencethatthey
deserve.
Small,concisedisplaymediahavebeenusedtosupportthedisplayofadensesetofdatainasmall
amountofspace.Thisdashboarddisplaysagreatdealofinformation,yetitisn'tcluttered.Spaceefficient
andsimpledisplaymediasuchassparklinesandbulletgraphsarerequiredtoachievethiseffect.
Somemeasureshavebeenpresentedbothgraphicallyandastext.Peoplewhomonitorsalesactivityare

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generallyinterestedinknowingboththeactualsalesamountsandhowwellsalesaredoingcomparedto
targets.
Thedisplayofquartertodaterevenueperregioncombinestheactualandpipelinevaluesintheformof
stackedbars.Thisapproachenablesviewerstoeasilyseetheresultofaddinganticipatedtoactualrevenue
inrelationtothetarget.
Whitespacealonehasbeenusedtodelineateandgroupdata.Borders,gridlines,andbackgroundfill
colorsareunnecessaryandwouldseverelyclutterthescreen.
Thedashboardhasnotbeenclutteredwithinstructionsanddescriptionsthatwillseldombeneeded.A
singlehelpbuttonhasbeenprovidedtoallowtheviewertoaccessinformationthatwillprobablybe
neededonlyonceortwice,atthebeginningofthedashboard'suse.
Lookingatthissampledashboard,youmightseewaysthatdifferentchoicescouldhavebeenmadeto
furtherimproveitseffectiveness.Ifullyexpectandevenhopetoreceivefeedbackfromreaderslikeyouto
pointoutimprovementsthatcouldbemade.
Youmightfinditusefultocomparemysalesdashboardtoseveralothersthatweredesignedtomeetthe
sameexactsetofrequirements.IrecentlyjudgedadatavisualizationcompetitionforDMReview
magazine.Oneofthefourbusinessscenariosthatparticipantswereaskedtoaddresswithdata
visualizationsolutionsrequiredasalesdashboardwiththesamemeasuresthatIincludedinmine.The
contestantsweregiventherequirementswithoutanydesigninstructionorsamplesolutions.I'dliketo
showyouafewofthesolutionsthatweresubmitted,allofwhicharequitedifferentfrommine.Examine
themtojudgehowthechoicestheirdesignersmademighthavebeenimproved.Ibelievethatbydoingthis
youwillseehowapplyingthedesignprinciplesthatyou'velearnedinthisbookwillofferclearadvantages
overtheseotherapproaches.
I'veincludedafewcommentsfollowingeachofthesealternativesalesdashboardsolutions,buttakethe
timetoexamineeachofthemonyourownbeforereadingmycritique.Thiseffortwillstrengthenyour
understandingofdashboarddesignandhelptomoreseamlesslyintegratetheprincipleswe'vecovered
intoyourthinking.Ihaven'tbotheredtolisteveryoneoftheproblemsthatI'vediscoveredineachofthe
dashboards,buthavefocusedprimarilyonuniqueproblems.

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CritiqueofSalesDashboardExample1

Figure82.Thistextbasedsamplesalesdashboardcouldbeimproved.

Thissalesdashboardusesanapproachthatreliesalmostentirelyontexttocommunicate,usingvisual
meansonlyintheformofgreen,lightred,andvibrantredhuestohighlightitemsas"good,""satisfactory,"
or"poor."Expressingquantitativedatatextuallyprovidesprecisedetail,butthisisn'tusuallythepurposeof
adashboard.Dashboardsaremeanttoprovideimmediateinsightintowhat'sgoingon,buttextrequires
readingaserialprocessthatismuchslowerthantheparallelprocessingofavisuallyorienteddashboard
thatmakesgooduseofthepreattentiveattributesofvisualperception.
Tocompareactualmeasurestotheirtargets,mentalmathisrequired.Graphicalsupportofthese
comparisonswouldhavebeeneasierandfastertointerpret.
Numbershavebeencenterjustifiedinthecolumns,ratherthanrightjustified.Thismakesthemharderto
comparewhenscanningupanddownacolumn.
Someimportantmeasuresaremissing.Thisdashboarddoesnotincludepipelinerevenueorthetop10
customers.
Allfourquartersofthecurrentyearhavebeengivenequallevelsofemphasis.Asalesmanagerwouldhave
greaterinterestinthecurrentquarter.Thedesignofthedashboardshouldhavefocusedonthecurrent
quarterandcomparativelyreducedemphasisontheotherquarters.
Propercarehasnotbeengiventomakeimportantdistinctions.Thegreaterintensityofthevibrantredhue
thatisusedtohighlightmeasuresthatareperformingpoorlywillstandoutclearlyeventocolorblind
users,butthesubduedshadeofredandtheequallysubduedshadeofgreenmightnotbedistinguishable.

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Also,thenumbersthatoughttostandoutmostandbeveryeasytoreadthepoorlyperformingmeasures
arethehardesttoreadagainstthedarkredbackground.
CritiqueofSalesDashboardExample2

Figure83.Thissolutionexhibitssomeofthesameproblemsasthepreviousexample,butalsoafewdifferentones.

Thegridlinesthatappearinthetablesarenotneededatall.Eveniftheywereneeded,theyshouldhave
beenmutedvisually.Intheircurrentheavyform,theyimprisonthenumbers.
Thegridlinesthatappearinthegraphsarealsounnecessary.Theydistractfromthedata.Especiallyinthe
contextofadashboard,youcan'taffordtoincludeanyunnecessaryvisualcontent.
Thedropshadowsonthebarsandlinesintwoofthegraphsandonthepiechartarevisualfluff.These
elementsserveonlytodistract.

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Allofthenumbersinthetableshavebeenexpressedaspercentages.Ifthosewhousethisdashboardonly
careaboutperformancerelativetotargets,thisisfine,butitislikelythattheywillwantasenseofthe
actualamountsaswell.
Thepiechartisnotthemosteffectivedisplaymedium.Assumingthatitisworthwhiletodisplayhowthe
90%probabilityportionoftherevenuepipelineisdistributedamongtheregions,abargraphwiththe
regionsinrankedorderwouldhavecommunicatedthisinformationmoreeffectively.
Overall,thisdashboardexhibitstoomanybrightcolors.Thedashboardasawholeisvisuallyoverwhelming
andfailstofeaturethemostimportantdata.
Thereisnocomparisonoftrendsintherevenuehistory.The12monthrevenuehistoryshownintheline
graphisuseful,butitwouldalsohavebeenusefultoseethishistoryperregionandperproduct,toallow
thecomparisonoftrends.
CritiqueofSalesDashboardExample3

Figure84.ThissolutionillustratesseveraloftheproblemsthatIpointedoutinChapter3,ThirteenCommonMistakesin
DashboardDesign.

Thisdesignfragmentsthedatathatasalesmanagerwouldwanttoseeintoseparateinstancesofthe
dashboard.Noticetheradiobuttonsabovethegraphontheleft,whichareusedtoselectthequarterthat
youwanttosee.Thisgivesyounomeanstocomparesalesperformanceovertime.
Thephotographsarechartjunk(atermcoinedbyEdwardTuftetodescribevisualcontentinaninformation
displaythatservesonlyasdecoration).Thisuselessdecorationservesonlytodistractfromthedata.After
seeingthesefacesforacoupleofdays,viewerswilltireofthemandwishthespacehadbeenbetterused.

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Furthermore,themostimportantrealestateonthescreen(atthetopleft)istakenupbyphotographsand
acompanylogo.Thisisawasteofvaluablespace.
Thebargraphintheupperleftfailstovisuallydisplayclearcomparisonstothetargets.Youmustreadthe
numbersprintedonthebarstodeterminetherelationshipstothetargets.
Thetwographsontherightmakeanattempttovisuallycomparetherevenuemeasurestotheirtargets,
buttheyusealinetoencodethetargets,whichisinappropriateforthisdata.Usingalinetoconnectvalues
inagraphsuggestsarelationshipofchangebetweenthevalues,butrevenuevaluesforindividualproducts
orregionsarenotintimatelyconnectedtooneanothertheyarediscretevaluesalonganominalscale.The
patternsformedbythelinesaremeaningless.
CritiqueofSalesDashboardExample4

Figure85.Thisexampleusedheadacheinducingcolors.

Theuseofcoloristoodramatic,especiallyintheareaswiththedarkbackgrounds.Alight,slightlyoffwhite
backgroundthroughoutwouldhaveworkedbetter.Also,theuseofextremelydifferentbackgroundcolors
toseparatethedataintofoursectionsisn'tnecessary.
Whitespaceisoverused.Ratherthansurroundingthetwotablesontheleftinalargeamountofwhite
space,thetablescouldhavebeenenlargedtomakethemeasiertoread.

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CritiqueofSalesDashboardExample5

Figure86.Thissolutionexhibitssomeoftheproblemsfoundinpreviousexamples,andafewothers.

Onceagain,wehaveadesignthathasfragmentedthedata.Noticetheradiobuttonsorslidersnexttoeach
ofthegraphs.Wecanonlyseeonemeasureatatimeineachgraph,yetmuchofthisdataoughttobe
displayedtogethertoenableustomakeusefulcomparisons(suchasbetweentheregions).
Thebeautiful,brightlycoloredpiechartslooksomuchlikecandy,Igetasugarrushjustlookingatthem.
Thecolorsaremuchtoobright,andthephotorealisticshadingtogivethema3Dappearanceissimplynot
necessary.Thiseffectmakesthepiechartsjumpoutasthedominantfeaturesofthedashboard,whichis
notwarranted.Also,onceagain,piechartsarenotthemosteffectivemeansofdisplayingdataona
dashboard,becausetheydon'tallowforcomparisonsaseasilyasbargraphs.
Thevisualshadingonthebarsandbuttons,likethatonthepiecharts,isunnecessaryanddistracting.This
contributestotheeffectofmakingtheseobjectspopoutinappropriately.

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CritiqueofSalesDashboardExample6

Figure87.Whilevisuallyappealinginsomeways,thissolutionhassomeseriousweaknesses.

Despitethevisualappealofthelefthalfofthisdashboard,thedisplaymediawerenotwellchosen.The
circularrepresentationsoftimeseriesdatausinghuestoencodestatesofperformance(good,satisfactory,
andpoor)areclever,butforthepurposeofshowinghistory,thesearenotasintuitiveorinformativeasa
lineardisplay,suchasalinegraph.
Noneofthemeasuresthatappearontheleftsideofthedashboardisrevealedbeyonditsperformance
state.Knowingtheactualrevenueamountandmoreabouthowitcomparestothetargetwouldcertainly
beusefultoasalesmanager.Unlikesomeofthepreviousexamplesthatusedhuestoencodestatesof
performance,however,Ibelievethatthesehueswerecarefullychosentoberecognizablebythosewho
arecolorblind.
Thecirculardisplaymechanismstreatallperiodsoftimeequally.Thereisnoemphasisonthecurrent
quarter.
Gradientfillcolorsinthebargraphsaddmeaninglessvisualinterest.Theyalsoinfluenceperceptionofthe
valuesencodedbythebarsinsubtleways.Barsthatextendintothedarkersectionsofthegradientappear
slightlydifferentfromthosethatextendonlyintothelightersections.Dashboarddesignersshouldbe
consciousofeventhesesubtleeffectsandavoidthem.

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CritiqueofSalesDashboardExample7

Figure88.Thisdashboardhasaproblemthatwehaven'tseensofarthatunderminesitseffectiveness.

Someofthesegraphsaretoocomplexforeasyinterpretation.Therevenueperformancebyproductand
regiongraphsatthelowerleftandthequartertodatesalespipelinebyregiongraphinthecenterbottom
positionallusebarsthatencodevaluesintwodimensions,usingboththeheightandwidthofeachbar.
Thisisaworthwhileattempttosavespace,butonethatrequirestoomuchstudytointerpretdueto
limitationsinvisualperception.ThetwographsontheleftbothusetheX(horizontal)axistoencode
revenueperformancecomparedtotarget,andtheY(vertical)axistoencodetheportionofeachproductor
regiontothewhole,functioninglikestackedbargraphs.Thepipelinerevenuegraphinthecenterdisplays
thedifferentpartsofthepipeline(90%probability,etc.)assegmentsofthebarrunninghorizontallyfrom
lefttoright,andtheregionalportionsofthetotalpipelineasverticalsegments.Usingboththeheightand
widthofthebarstoencodequantitativevaluesrectanglesthattemptustocomparetheir2Dareastoone
anotherresultsininaccuratecomparisons.

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CritiqueofSalesDashboardExample8

Figure89.Thisfinalexampleisquiteadeparturefromtheothersandhassomeserious(andprobablyobvious)flaws.

Thisdashboard,whileaninterestingcontrasttotheothers,isconfusingatfirstglanceandlikelytoremain
thatwayforsomewhile.Muchofthedataitpresentsisalsofairlyimprecise.Colorsandshapeshavebeen
usedtoencodevaluesintherectanglesthatappearthroughoutthedashboard.Intheupperrightcorner,
youfindalegendthattellsyouwhateachoftherectanglesrepresents(revenue,marketshare,profit,etc.)
whereveryouseethemarrangedinthisparticularconfiguration.Althoughakeyforthemeaningofthe
variouscolorsandshapesthatappearintherectanglesdoesnotappearonthedashboard,thekeyshown
inFigure810wasprovidedseparatelywhenitwassubmittedforthecompetition.Youcouldcertainly
memorizethemeaningsofthevariousrectanglelocationsandofthecolorsandshapesinsidethem,but
evenafterthateffort,theserectangleswouldstillnevergiveyoumorethanaroughsenseofhowthe
measurescomparetotheirtargets.Forinstance,seeingthesemeasuresencodedinthiswayandarranged
sidebysidetorepresentmonthsorquartersdoesnotcomeclosetoprovidingtheunderstandingof
historicaltrendthatasimplelinegraphcouldconvey.

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Figure810.KeyforinterpretingthedatainFigure89.

Nowthatyou'vetakenthislittletourthroughseveralsolutionstothesamedashboarddesignchallenge,go
backandtakealookoncemoreatthedashboardinFigure81.Asyoucansee,thereisaneloquenceto
datadisplayedsimplythatcannotbeachievedifwestrayfromtheessentialgoalofcommunication.

8.2.SampleCIODashboard
AChiefInformationOfficermustkeeptrackofmanyfactsregardingtheperformanceofthecompany's
informationsystemsandactivities,includingprojectsthatservethecompany'sinformationneeds.Ichose
toincludethefollowingdatainmysampledashboard:

Systemavailability(uptime)
Expenses
Customersatisfaction
Severeproblemcount
CPUusagerelativetocapacity
Storageusagerelativetocapacity
Networktraffic
Applicationresponsetime
Majorprojectmilestones
Topprojectsinthequeue
Othercriticalevents

ThisisamixtureofstrategicandfrequentlyupdatedoperationalinformationthataCIOmightneed.
ExamineFigure811closelyandtrytogetasenseforhowitmightworkintherealworld.
Onlyonesectionofthisdashboardtheupperleftcornerdisplaysnearrealtimedata.Thissectionconsistsof
aseriesoffivealerts:oneforeachofthesystemsthattheCIOmightneedtorespondtoimmediatelywhen
aproblemarises.Ifnoredcirclesappearinthissection,nothingcriticaliscurrentlywrongwithanyofthese
systems.TobettergrabtheCIO'sattention,redalertsthatappearinthissectioncouldblinkuntilclicked,or

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evenemitalongwiththeblinksasoundthatgraduallyincreasesinvolume.Theredalertobjectscouldalso
serveaslinkstootherscreensthatdescribepreciselywhatiswrong.
TherestofthisdashboardprovidestheCIOwithinformationthatismorestrategicinnature.Noticethata
greatdealofcontextualinformationhasbeenprovidedtocomplementthemeasuresespecially
comparisonstomeasuresofacceptableperformance.ThisisthekindofcontextthatcouldhelptheCIO
easilymakesenseofthesemeasures.

Figure811.AsampleCIOdashboard.

Thereisagreatdealofinformationonthisdashboard,yetitdoesn'tseemcluttered.Thisislargelydueto
thefactthatnondatapixelshavebeenreducedtoaminimum.Forinstance,whitespacealonehasbeen
usedtoseparatethevarioussectionsofthedisplay.Ajudicioususeofcolorhasalsocontributedtothis
effect.Besidesgrayscalecolors,theonlyotherhuesyouseeareamutedgreenforthenameofeach
sectionandtwointensitiesofred,whichineverycaseservesasanalert.Itiseasytoscanthedashboard
andquicklyfindeverythingthatneedsattention,becausetheredalertobjectsareunique,visuallyunlike
anythingelse.
Includinginformationaboutprojectmilestones,pendingprojects,andothercriticaleventsonthis
dashboardnotonlylocatesallthemostimportantinformationtheCIOneedsinoneplace,butalso
supportsusefulcomparisons.Beingremindedaboutcomingeventsthatmightaffectexistingsystemsand

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beingabletolookimmediatelyatthecurrentperformanceofthosesystemscouldraiseusefulquestions
abouttheirreadiness.

8.3.SampleTelesalesDashboard
Thissampledashboardwasdesignedtomonitorrealtimeoperationssothatatelesalessupervisorcan
takenecessaryactionswithoutdelay.Thisisn'tadashboardthat'slikelytobelookedatonceaday,butone
thatwillbekeptavailableandexaminedthroughouttheday.Itdoesn'tdisplayasmanymeasuresasthe
examplesyou'veseensofarinthischapter,becausetoomanymeasurescanbeoverwhelmingwhenthe
dashboardisusedtomonitorrealtimeoperationsthatrequirequickresponses.Onlythefollowingsix
measuresareincluded:

Callwaittime
Callduration
Abandonedcalls(thatis,callerswhogottiredofwaitingandhungup)
Callvolume
Ordervolume
Salesrepresentativeutilization(representativesonlinecomparedtothenumberavailable)

That'sitandthat'splentyforadashboardofthistype.
Imaginethatyou'reresponsibleforateamofaround25telesalesrepresentativesandareusingthe
dashboardinFigure812tokeepontopoftheiractivitiesthroughouttheday.
Theprimarymetricsthatyoumustvigilantlymonitorarethelengthoftimecustomersarewaitingto
connectwithasalesrepresentative,thelengthoftimesalesrepresentativesarespendingoncalls,andthe
numberofcustomerswhoaregettingdiscouragedandhangingupwhilewaitingtogetthrough.Becauseof
theirimportance,thesethreemetricsarelocatedintheupperleftcornerofthedashboardandare
extremelyeasytoread.
Whenproblemsarise,suchasthelengthyholdtimesandexcessivelylengthycallsshowninthisexample,
youmustquicklydeterminethecausebeforetakingaction.Thisiswhenyouwouldswitchyourfocustothe
performanceoftheindividualsalesrepresentatives,whichyoucanseeontherightsideofthedashboard.
Individualsarerankedbyperformance,withthoseperformingpoorlyatthetopandaredrectangle
highlightingthosewhoareperformingoutsidetheacceptablerange.

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Figure812.Asampletelesalesdashboard.

Asadashboardformonitoringrealtimeoperations,thedatawouldprobablychangewithupdatesevery
fewseconds.Thiscanbedistractingwhenyou'retryingtofocusonaproblem,however,soa"Freeze
Data/UnfreezeData"buttonhasbeenprovidedtotemporarilyputahalttoupdates.Whenupdatesare
frozen,thebuttonshinesyellowtoremindyouofthisfact.Ifthedisplayremainsfrozenfortoolong,the
buttonbeginstoblinkwithabrighteryellowuntilclickedtoonceagainallowupdates.Whenalertsfirst
appear(theredcircles),theyblinktoattractattentionandperhapsevenemitanaudiosignaltoalertyouif
youaren'twatchingthescreen.Tostopthesesignals,youclicktheredalert.Toremindyouthatyou've
blockedthealertsfromprovidingurgentsignals,the"ResetAlerts"buttonturnsyellow,andafterawhile
beginstoblink.Onceclicked,allalertscanonceagainsignalurgentconditionsifnecessary.

8.4.SampleMarketingAnalysisDashboard
Thelastsampledashboardwe'lllookatisanexampleofonethatsupportsanalysis(Figure813).Likeall
dashboards,itisusedtomonitortheinformationneededtodoajob,butinthiscasethatjobhappensto
primarilyinvolveanalysis.Dashboardscanprovideausefulmeansforanalyststowatchovertheirdomains
andspotconditionsthatwarrantexamination.Ideally,theycanalsoserveasdirectlaunchpadstothe
additionaldataandtoolsnecessarytoperformcomprehensiveanalyses.
Thisparticularscenarioinvolvesananalystwhoseworksupportsthemarketingeffortsofthecompany's
website.Shemonitorscustomerbehavioronthesitetoidentifybothproblemsthatpreventcustomers
fromfindingandpurchasingwhattheywantandopportunitiestointerestcustomersinadditional

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products.Toexposeactivitiesonthewebsitethatcouldleadtoinsightifstudiedandunderstood,the
followingdataappearsonthedashboard:

Numberofvisitors(daily,monthly,andyearly)
Numberoforders
Numberofregisteredvisitors
Numberoftimesindividualproductswereviewedonthesite
Occasionswhenproductsthatweredisplayedonthesamepagewererarelypurchasedtogether
Occasionswhenproductsthatwerenotdisplayedonthesamepagewerepurchasedtogether
Referralsfromotherwebsitesthathaveresultedinthemostvisits

Theinformationthatappearsatthetopofthisdashboardprovidesanoverviewofthewebsite's
performancethroughtimeandlistsmissedopportunitiesandineffectivemarketingefforts.Noticethatthe
timeseriesinformationregardingvisitorstothesiteissegmentedintothreesections,eachfeaturinga
differentintervaloftime.Theintervalshavebeentailoredtorevealgreaterdetailfortherecentpastand
increasinglylessdetailthefartherbackthedatagoes.
Muchoftheinformationonthisdashboardhasbeenselectedandarrangedtodisplayaranking
relationship.Thisiscommonwhenadashboardisusedtofeatureexceptionalconditions,bothgoodand
bad.Muchofthisrankedinformationiscommunicatedintheformoftext,withlittlegraphicalcontent.
Giventhepurposetoinformtheanalystofpotentialareasofinterestwithabriefexplanationofwhy,text
doesthejobnicely.Theanalystmustreadeachentrytodecideifshe'llinvestigatethematter,butgraphical
displays,whichcouldbescannedfaster,wouldnotdothejobaswell.Thefactthatanitemappearsonone
oftheselistsalreadyimpliesitsimportance,sographicaldevicessuchasalertswouldaddnothing.

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Figure813.Asamplewebmarketinganalysisdashboard.

8.5.AFinalWord
Todesigndashboardsthatreallywork,youmustalwaysfocusonthefundamentalgoal:communication.
Morethananythingelse,youmustcarethatthepeoplewhouseyourdashboardscanlookatthemand
understandthemsimply,clearly,andquickly.Dashboardsdesignedforanyotherreason,nomatterhow
impressiveorentertaining,willbecometiresomeinafewdaysandwillbediscardedinafewweeksandfew
thingsaremorediscouragingthanhavingyourhardworktossedasideasuseless.
WhenIdesignsomethingthatmakespeople'slivesbetter,helpsthemworksmarter,orgivesthemwhat
theyneedtosucceedinsomethingthatisimportanttothem,Iamremindedthatoneofthegreat
cornerstonesofalifeworthlivingisthejoyofdoinggoodwork.Thisdoesn'tjusthappen;itistheresultof
effortthatyoumakebecauseyoucare.Yourdashboardsmaynotchangetheworldinanybigway,but
anythingyoudowellwillchangeyoutosomedegreeforthebetter.Evenifthebusinessgoalsthatyou're
helpingsomeoneachievethroughawelldesigneddashboarddon'tultimatelymattertoyouorarenot
intrinsicallyworthyofgreateffort,you'reworththeeffort,andthat'senough.Infact,that'splenty.

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AppendixA.RecommendedReading
BooksbythreeauthorsinparticularstandoutascomplementarytotheinformationthatI'vepresented
aboutdashboarddesign,andeachdeservesaplaceinyourlibrary:
WayneW.Eckerson,DirectorofResearch,TheDataWarehousingInstitute(TDWI).
PerformanceDashboards:Measuring,Monitoring,andManagingYourBusiness
(Indianapolis,IN:WileyPublishing,Inc.,2005)
Wayneisoneofthetopindustryanalystsfocusedonbusinessintelligenceanddatawarehousing.Inhis
book,hecoversseveralaspectsofdashboardsthatfalloutsideofmyexclusiveconcentrationonvisual
design,includinghowtheycanbeusedtoimprovebusinessperformance.
EdwardR.Tufte,ProfessorEmeritusatYaleUniversity
TheVisualDisplayofQuantitativeInformation(Cheshire,CT:GraphicsPress,1983)
VisualExplanations(Cheshire,CT:GraphicsPress,1990)
EnvisioningInformation(Cheshire,CT:GraphicsPress,1997)
BeautifulEvidence(Cheshire,CT:GraphicsPress,2006)
NooneinrecenthistoryhascontributedmoretoourunderstandingofvisualinformationdisplaythanDr.
Tufte.Allofhisbooksarebeautifullydesigned,eloquentlywritten,andoverflowingwithinsights.
ColinWare,DirectoroftheDataVisualizationResearchLaboratory,UniversityofNewHampshire
InformationVisualization:PerceptionforDesign,SecondEdition(SanFrancisco,CA:
MorganKaufmannPublishers,2004)
Whatweknowtodayaboutvisualperceptioncomesfromtheworkofmanyresearchersfrommany
scientificdisciplines,butDr.Wareappliesthisknowledgetothevisualpresentationofinformationbetter
thananyoneelse.

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Colophon
Genevieved'EntremontwastheproductioneditorforInformationDashboardDesign.RachelWheelerwas
thecopyeditor.ClaireCloutierprovidedqualitycontrol.SpecializedComposition,Inc.providedproduction
services.
StephenFewdesignedthecoverofthisbook.KarenMontgomeryproducedthecoverlayoutinAdobe
InDesignCS,usingSabonandNewsGothicCondensedfonts.
MikeKohnkeandTerriDriscolldesignedtheinteriorlayout.ThetextfontisSabon,andtheheadingfontis
NewsGothicCondensed.Theoriginalillustrationsthatappearinthisbookwereproducedbytheauthor,
StephenFew,usingMicrosoftExcelandAdobeIllustratorCS.

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