How to Create Actionable Dashboards

Dashboards should be designed for action, not data. Most dashboards contain plenty of data. Dozens of metrics and pretty charts. We've been taught that data drives action, but in practice, it rarely does. As you build your dashboards & and reports, consider the question: What is the user's "next best action"? Then, build solutions to prompt (or enable) that action. Some examples of "next best action": 1.) More Data Sometimes, the user will have more questions. That's ok! We build in self-service filters, segments, and drill-downs to dive in deeper. Self-service > fewer questions for the data team > faster time to action. 2.) Related Data Most businesses will have dozens of reports, often fragmented and disjointed. We can build links to bridge between the reports. Additionally, those links can be dynamic to carry through important filters (date ranges, segments applied) and help users keep their contextual flow. Less time hunting for reports > faster action. 3.) Sharing the data Once users find interesting data, they want to save it or send it to a coworker or client. Enable sharing via email, slack, raw export, etc. Sharing > More distribution > more action. 4.) Actions in another platform (Shopify, Meta, Salesforce, etc) Based on the data, users will need to make a change in another tool. Take someone in merchandising. They see product reports showing that certain products have low conversion rates, likely due to dwindling inventory levels. We can build a link in the dashboard that takes them DIRECTLY to the Shopify admin portal to the product setup and re-merchandise their collection. With one click, they've gone from data > to action. Fewer clicks > faster action. 5.) Alerts Users may see a number and wish they knew about it sooner. For this we setup alerts (email, slack, sms, webhook, etc.) Faster alerts > faster action. Our goal is to transform data-heavy dashboards into tools for action. Consider: - Can we make them more self-service? - Can users set up alerts? - Can they export and share the data easily? - Can we link tools and reports together to avoid context switching? - Can we automate the data to drive action? Are there any tricks you're using to make your dashboards more actionable? #businessintelligence #looker #ecommerceanalytics #measure

After 10+ years in BI, I’ve watched hundreds of executives use dashboards. Want the truth? They don’t use them how you think. That dashboard you spent 3 weeks perfecting? They spend ~15 seconds on it. In those 15 seconds, they: • Skip your clever navigation • Ignore methodology notes • Never hover for tooltips • Focus on anything red • Screenshot one chart for a meeting You designed for 45 minutes of analysis. They gave it the executive scan™. Your best users: Find a number to justify the decision they already made. Your worst: Ask for a monthly PDF version and never return. I stopped fighting this. I started designing for it. Now I: • Build for the 3-second story, not the 30-slide deep dive • Add a “What Changed This Week” summary up top • Make red impossible to miss (because that’s all they’re looking for) • Separate views for deep-dive analysts and fast-scanning execs I stopped designing for data lovers. And started designing for decision makers. Want your dashboard to survive the C-suite attention span? Let’s talk.