The Importance of a Dashboard

Just as a car has a panel with the main indicators of its operation, the strategy of a company must have one that allows it to have a global vision of what is happening and allow it to make the best possible and informed decisions. We call this panel, a Dashboard.

The dashboard must play a fundamental role in your day to day. It will allow you to identify problems, and make decisions based on data and not intuitions or incomplete information (as is usually done in companies).

What is a dashboard?

It is a graphic representation of the main indicators (KPI - we saw it in our previous blog entry!) That intervene in the achievement of the business objectives, and that is oriented to the decision making to optimize the strategy of the company. A dashboard must transform data into information and this into knowledge for the business.

Characteristics of a strategic dashboard

1. Number of KPIs: only those KPIs needed (usually between 7 and 10 KPIs).

It does not consist of adding data, but of showing in the most appropriate way those that allow us to make decisions.

2. Segmentation and context: these KPIs must be presented in a way that is relevant (actionable) for the business.

3. Visualization: the person making the decisions must be able to easily interpret the information they are looking at. So the dashboard should be brief, speak the same language of the decision maker and its graphic representation adequate to be visual, so that its study is attractive.

4. Analysis: in addition to the KPIs, the dashboard should be accompanied by a periodic analysis of what happened, the recommendations given and their potential impact on the business. The analysis should recommend actions, not describe them.