Data visualization has always been a key skill for designers. We visualize simple things like how much we’ve spent on coffee this week or how much closer we are to a weight goal this month. Simple visualizations like these can be inserted as charts for context in other screens, but when the data is more complex, the display often turns into a dashboard. But what exactly is (and maybe more importantly isn’t) a dashboard?

I’ve heard some interesting answers… everything from “any page with charts on it” to “a way for users to build their own UI”. Those are both a bit extreme, but there are some good definitions floating around the internet (as well as more than a few bad ones). My personal favorite comes from Stephen Few, who says,

“A dashboard is a visual display of the most important information needed to achieve one or more objectives; consolidated and arranged on a single screen so the information can be monitored at a glance.”

Why that definition? Because, not only does it capture that a dashboard has a visual display of data, but also that that visual display has a distinct purpose or value. The most common mistake I see designers make when building dashboards is the desire to start with something that looks good and fills a space, and then try to layer functionality on top. Starting with a pretty dashboard on Dribbble and hoping you’ll get to an effective interface is a recipe for disaster (a pretty disaster, but a disaster nonetheless).

Why are dashboards important?

We use dashboards to help users quickly assess state and determine what needs to be done in response. The usability of the dashboards can literally be the difference between a small dip in a service’s availability and a full-blown outage that impacts the business’ bottom line.

For the last four years, I’ve been the design lead for operations software at VMware, where I set the design direction for multiple products including vRealize Operations Manager, vRealize Log Insight, and Wavefront by VMware. Each includes some sort of custom dashboard feature. The designers on my team create dashboards that help users overcome the complexities of large-scale and often disorganized data. These products are used by software developers and IT professionals to manage and operate some of the most important applications in the world, and for these users, the time it takes to analyze data isn’t just important — it’s critical.

5 steps to effective dashboard design

While I’m sure there are many differing methods, the following steps reflect how I typically approach a project that has identified a need for dashboards. I’ve found these steps helpful when I design dashboards at VMware, and I hope others find them useful as well.

1. Define the people & their purpose

As designers, we know that we don’t design software for ourselves but for our users. And just like any other part of an application, dashboards should be focused on meeting user needs. That means we first need to identify who the dashboard is for.

To use the source metaphor, a car’s dashboard is built around the things that the driver needs. If you were building for the passenger, things like engine RPMs may not matter much, but what station is on the radio becomes critical. It’s all about what’s important to that particular user. Secondly, we need to know what their purpose is in this context. Are they the driver trying to get the car from point A to point B, or are they the passenger trying to select just the right songs for a road trip? Every design decision is a choice, so understanding your primary target user’s goals will help you in making choices.