How to Build Dashboards People Actually Use

Begin a dashboard project by identifying the decision it should support. If no one can name the decision, the dashboard can easily become a report that looks busy without helping anyone act.

Keep the first version focused: a primary metric, a useful trend and the few breakdowns that explain what changed. Additional views can be added after observing what users actually need.

Performance and clarity are features. A dashboard should make important information easy to find on the devices and connections people really use.