You know your KPI dashboard may need a rethink when....

It has 42 'Key' Performance Indicators.

Not all performance indicators are equal. One of the biggest issues companies have is attempting to measure too many things and failing to focus on the critical things. Key performance indicators are those that tell you something (in as near real time as possible) that allows you to quickly change your approach and influence behaviours to see immediate improvements. It's unusual for there to be more than a dozen really key performance indicators. The good news is you can identify the real KPIs and other supporting indicators through a structured approach based on your organisations strategy, plans and critical success factors.

Your managers need to tab through multiple screens to cross reference important data.

The purpose of a dashboard is to communicate meaningful information in a way that allows people to make connections and take action. One of the greatest but necessary challenges in designing a dashboard is to group as much of the connected data into a single visual space without overwhelming the reader. If you users have to tab and scroll around to look at sets of data, their ability to perceive and understand the information is severely hindered.

Your dashboard contains 3D bar charts that have contained the same data for the last 12 months.

Dashboard 'real estate' is at a premium. It should not be wasted on supposedly 'impactful' graphical effects that look impressive to the unconcerned browser, but actually make it harder for the involved reader to understand what is happening. Similarly, dashboards that tell you what you already know are of limited value, consider exception based reporting on 'steady state' information and focus on finding patterns and correlations in the information that will help you

The top left hand quadrant of your dashboard has a logo or generic business graphic.

The human eye is drawn to particular parts of a screen, most obviously the left upper quadrant. This is where information requiring most emphasis and attention should be placed. If instead, it shows an arty graphic of some high powered generic business types, you probably need to consider a redesign.

For a comprehensive view on designing your IT governance and management dashboard, from identification of KPIs through to effective communication of information, contact us.