Fran Cardells (Independent Data Consultant), Lotta Weigeldt (Growth Specialist), Martin Jelinek (AppAgent - Mobile Growth Consultancy) and Alexis Ernst (CX Consultant, Accenture) talk about how to improve your own dashboard in order to increase visibility on metrics and your impact.
There is a difference between a dashboard and a report.
- Dashboard is for what you need to be looking at frequently. It's a set of visualizations or pieces of information that you can check to understand the performance every day/week/month.
- Report is defined separately for each occasion. It goes much more in depth.
An overall company "static" dashboards with a set of 4-5 KPIs can be useful to understand what's left to reach goals company-wide. But you should also have dashboards for specific teams (e.g. management, product management, etc.) that allow them to interact with the numbers to make more sense out of it.
You want simplicity. Dashboards should make getting important pieces of information efficient: being able to find the piece of data you're looking to find without clutter.
Put no more than 5 KPIs in your dashboard. Visualization also helps getting buy-in and the dashboard should be visually appealing.
Contain the information within tiles and respect the grid layout. To get rid of the clutter think about how you want to layout the information before you even start putting graphs in: put the most important information upfront.
Start from the top level and then go into more details gradually. The dashboard should tell a story and have a good user flow, adapted to the person using it.
Reflect user groups and create a set of dashboards. A good dashboard contains the data that you need and is different based on your role (not necessarily the information showed but how it's laid out). There is no dashboard that works well for a CEO and a UA dashboard.
An important focus is the data that is inside the dashboard. Try rethinking what you're showing and the KPIs that are visible: sometimes break away from the KPIs that you've been looking at for a long time to get a new perspective.
Sometimes we tend to assume what the dashboard user wants. Do not overwhelm the user and keep it simple and in line with the story so the user knows what to do with the information.
Prioritize the metrics:
- Following the (app) user journey (e.g. installs → registrations → first critical action → monetization)
- Reflecting the long-term and short-term company goals (e.g. growth-focused, increasing revenue stream, actions you want to see from users, etc.)
Start with something basic. When you see some users starting asking questions after looking at common metrics (new users, retention, etc.) is when you start thinking about integrating other things in the dashboard or put in a more granular report.
Wonderful visualizations for someone used to data might only be good for that person. But not everybody is a dashboard designer and it's useless if things require 10 minutes explanations.
It's important not to be hesitant to give feedback on the dashboard because it is something that you are supposed to use on a daily basis. Be brave and do a second or third round of feedback.
AppAgent's approach is to have with a spreadsheet with all the possible metrics and possible visualizations found online (from articles, videos). Have one source where you save and keep track of how other people are visualizing things.
A lot of companies still do not look at the cohort perspective which is very relevant vs. just looking at a set of numbers at a specific time.
There is a difference between a dashboard and a report.
- Dashboard is for what you need to be looking at frequently. It's a set of visualizations or pieces of information that you can check to understand the performance every day/week/month.
- Report is defined separately for each occasion. It goes much more in depth.
An overall company "static" dashboards with a set of 4-5 KPIs can be useful to understand what's left to reach goals company-wide. But you should also have dashboards for specific teams (e.g. management, product management, etc.) that allow them to interact with the numbers to make more sense out of it.
You want simplicity. Dashboards should make getting important pieces of information efficient: being able to find the piece of data you're looking to find without clutter.
Put no more than 5 KPIs in your dashboard. Visualization also helps getting buy-in and the dashboard should be visually appealing.
Contain the information within tiles and respect the grid layout. To get rid of the clutter think about how you want to layout the information before you even start putting graphs in: put the most important information upfront.
Start from the top level and then go into more details gradually. The dashboard should tell a story and have a good user flow, adapted to the person using it.
Reflect user groups and create a set of dashboards. A good dashboard contains the data that you need and is different based on your role (not necessarily the information showed but how it's laid out). There is no dashboard that works well for a CEO and a UA dashboard.
An important focus is the data that is inside the dashboard. Try rethinking what you're showing and the KPIs that are visible: sometimes break away from the KPIs that you've been looking at for a long time to get a new perspective.
Sometimes we tend to assume what the dashboard user wants. Do not overwhelm the user and keep it simple and in line with the story so the user knows what to do with the information.
Prioritize the metrics:
- Following the (app) user journey (e.g. installs → registrations → first critical action → monetization)
- Reflecting the long-term and short-term company goals (e.g. growth-focused, increasing revenue stream, actions you want to see from users, etc.)
Start with something basic. When you see some users starting asking questions after looking at common metrics (new users, retention, etc.) is when you start thinking about integrating other things in the dashboard or put in a more granular report.
Wonderful visualizations for someone used to data might only be good for that person. But not everybody is a dashboard designer and it's useless if things require 10 minutes explanations.
It's important not to be hesitant to give feedback on the dashboard because it is something that you are supposed to use on a daily basis. Be brave and do a second or third round of feedback.
AppAgent's approach is to have with a spreadsheet with all the possible metrics and possible visualizations found online (from articles, videos). Have one source where you save and keep track of how other people are visualizing things.
A lot of companies still do not look at the cohort perspective which is very relevant vs. just looking at a set of numbers at a specific time.
There is a difference between a dashboard and a report.
- Dashboard is for what you need to be looking at frequently. It's a set of visualizations or pieces of information that you can check to understand the performance every day/week/month.
- Report is defined separately for each occasion. It goes much more in depth.
An overall company "static" dashboards with a set of 4-5 KPIs can be useful to understand what's left to reach goals company-wide. But you should also have dashboards for specific teams (e.g. management, product management, etc.) that allow them to interact with the numbers to make more sense out of it.
You want simplicity. Dashboards should make getting important pieces of information efficient: being able to find the piece of data you're looking to find without clutter.
Put no more than 5 KPIs in your dashboard. Visualization also helps getting buy-in and the dashboard should be visually appealing.
Contain the information within tiles and respect the grid layout. To get rid of the clutter think about how you want to layout the information before you even start putting graphs in: put the most important information upfront.
Start from the top level and then go into more details gradually. The dashboard should tell a story and have a good user flow, adapted to the person using it.
Reflect user groups and create a set of dashboards. A good dashboard contains the data that you need and is different based on your role (not necessarily the information showed but how it's laid out). There is no dashboard that works well for a CEO and a UA dashboard.
An important focus is the data that is inside the dashboard. Try rethinking what you're showing and the KPIs that are visible: sometimes break away from the KPIs that you've been looking at for a long time to get a new perspective.
Sometimes we tend to assume what the dashboard user wants. Do not overwhelm the user and keep it simple and in line with the story so the user knows what to do with the information.
Prioritize the metrics:
- Following the (app) user journey (e.g. installs → registrations → first critical action → monetization)
- Reflecting the long-term and short-term company goals (e.g. growth-focused, increasing revenue stream, actions you want to see from users, etc.)
Start with something basic. When you see some users starting asking questions after looking at common metrics (new users, retention, etc.) is when you start thinking about integrating other things in the dashboard or put in a more granular report.
Wonderful visualizations for someone used to data might only be good for that person. But not everybody is a dashboard designer and it's useless if things require 10 minutes explanations.
It's important not to be hesitant to give feedback on the dashboard because it is something that you are supposed to use on a daily basis. Be brave and do a second or third round of feedback.
AppAgent's approach is to have with a spreadsheet with all the possible metrics and possible visualizations found online (from articles, videos). Have one source where you save and keep track of how other people are visualizing things.
A lot of companies still do not look at the cohort perspective which is very relevant vs. just looking at a set of numbers at a specific time.
Notes for this resource are currently being transferred and will be available soon.
[💎@02:42] There is a difference between a dashboard and a report.
A dashboard is a great way of displaying a general overview but should also allow you to deep-dive into separate topics. A lot of people want to put everything in the dashboard but they should not confuse with reports.
Interactivity & Real-time can be a great thing in the hands of person that can handle such a power. Dashboards are more about consuming data.
The dashboard audience is critical. Who's the dashboard built for and what's the goal of the dashboard?
[💎@05:40] Overall company "static" dashboards with a set of 4-5 KPIs can be useful to understand what's left to reach goals company-wide. But you should also have dashboards for specific teams (e.g. management, product management, etc.) that allow them to interact with the numbers to make more sense out of it.
[💎@06:45] You want simplicity. Dashboards should make getting important pieces of information efficient: being able to find the piece of data you're looking to find without clutter.
[💎@08:03] Put no more than 5 KPIs in your dashboard. Visualization also helps getting buy-in and the dashboard should be visually appealing.
Simplicity and consistency are the 2 main rules when designing any type of dashboard. Easy enough to understand. If there is too much going on it becomes overloaded and useless.
[💎@09:14] Contain the information within tiles and respecting the grid layout. To get rid of the clutter think about how you want to layout the information before you even start putting graphs in: put the most important information upfront.
[💎@10:14] Start from the top level and then go into more details gradually. The dashboard should tell a story and have a good user flow, adapted to the person using it.
A lot of dashboards do not fit these principles. You want:
It should look good but never sacrifice the clarity of the information for visuals.
[💎@11:19] Reflect user groups and create a set of dashboards. A good dashboard contains the data that you need and is different based on your role (not necessarily the information showed but how it's laid out). There is no dashboard that works well for a CEO and a UA dashboard.
Follow the points mentioned above, which is going to be enough in most cases. It is not rocket science.
[💎@13:50] An important focus is the data that is inside the dashboard. Try rethinking what you're showing and the KPIs that are visible: sometimes break away from the KPIs that you've been looking at for a long time to get a new perspective.
[💎@15:15] Sometimes we tend to assume what the dashboard user wants. Do not overwhelm the user and keep it simple and in line with the story so the user knows what to do with the information.
There needs to be a connection of relevancy between the team that prepares the dashboard and the one that uses it.
There are also multiple ways to define things like ROAS, ROI, sessions and it needs to be consistent throughout the company.
[💎@15:15] Sometimes we tend to assume what the dashboard user wants. Do not overwhelm the user and keep it simple and in line with the story so the user knows what to do with the information.
[💎@19:50] Prioritize:
The metrics depend who the dashboard is for, but there is usually a set of common metrics that everybody uses:
[💎@22:00] Start with something basic. When you see some users starting asking questions after looking at common metrics (new users, retention, etc.) is when you start thinking about integrating other things in the dashboard or put in a more granular report.
You shouldn't spend too much time looking at the data, the idea is to have data that allows you to take action.
To better know which metrics to include, you need to know who the dashboard is for (e.g. UA, product, etc.).
There is a set of visualizations that you can use: bar chart, bubble chart, etc.
Best way to start is to follow the dashboard user journey. You can user-test by having someone that will be using the dashboard to see how they use it.
[💎@27:15] Wonderful visualizations for someone used to data might only be good for that person. But not everybody is a dashboard designer and it's useless if things require 10 minutes explanations.
[💎@28:35] It's important not to be hesitant to give feedback on the dashboard because it is something that you are supposed to use on a daily basis. Be brave and do a second or third round of feedback.
[💎@02:42] There is a difference between a dashboard and a report.
A dashboard is a great way of displaying a general overview but should also allow you to deep-dive into separate topics. A lot of people want to put everything in the dashboard but they should not confuse with reports.
Interactivity & Real-time can be a great thing in the hands of person that can handle such a power. Dashboards are more about consuming data.
The dashboard audience is critical. Who's the dashboard built for and what's the goal of the dashboard?
[💎@05:40] Overall company "static" dashboards with a set of 4-5 KPIs can be useful to understand what's left to reach goals company-wide. But you should also have dashboards for specific teams (e.g. management, product management, etc.) that allow them to interact with the numbers to make more sense out of it.
[💎@06:45] You want simplicity. Dashboards should make getting important pieces of information efficient: being able to find the piece of data you're looking to find without clutter.
[💎@08:03] Put no more than 5 KPIs in your dashboard. Visualization also helps getting buy-in and the dashboard should be visually appealing.
Simplicity and consistency are the 2 main rules when designing any type of dashboard. Easy enough to understand. If there is too much going on it becomes overloaded and useless.
[💎@09:14] Contain the information within tiles and respecting the grid layout. To get rid of the clutter think about how you want to layout the information before you even start putting graphs in: put the most important information upfront.
[💎@10:14] Start from the top level and then go into more details gradually. The dashboard should tell a story and have a good user flow, adapted to the person using it.
A lot of dashboards do not fit these principles. You want:
It should look good but never sacrifice the clarity of the information for visuals.
[💎@11:19] Reflect user groups and create a set of dashboards. A good dashboard contains the data that you need and is different based on your role (not necessarily the information showed but how it's laid out). There is no dashboard that works well for a CEO and a UA dashboard.
Follow the points mentioned above, which is going to be enough in most cases. It is not rocket science.
[💎@13:50] An important focus is the data that is inside the dashboard. Try rethinking what you're showing and the KPIs that are visible: sometimes break away from the KPIs that you've been looking at for a long time to get a new perspective.
[💎@15:15] Sometimes we tend to assume what the dashboard user wants. Do not overwhelm the user and keep it simple and in line with the story so the user knows what to do with the information.
There needs to be a connection of relevancy between the team that prepares the dashboard and the one that uses it.
There are also multiple ways to define things like ROAS, ROI, sessions and it needs to be consistent throughout the company.
[💎@15:15] Sometimes we tend to assume what the dashboard user wants. Do not overwhelm the user and keep it simple and in line with the story so the user knows what to do with the information.
[💎@19:50] Prioritize:
The metrics depend who the dashboard is for, but there is usually a set of common metrics that everybody uses:
[💎@22:00] Start with something basic. When you see some users starting asking questions after looking at common metrics (new users, retention, etc.) is when you start thinking about integrating other things in the dashboard or put in a more granular report.
You shouldn't spend too much time looking at the data, the idea is to have data that allows you to take action.
To better know which metrics to include, you need to know who the dashboard is for (e.g. UA, product, etc.).
There is a set of visualizations that you can use: bar chart, bubble chart, etc.
Best way to start is to follow the dashboard user journey. You can user-test by having someone that will be using the dashboard to see how they use it.
[💎@27:15] Wonderful visualizations for someone used to data might only be good for that person. But not everybody is a dashboard designer and it's useless if things require 10 minutes explanations.
[💎@28:35] It's important not to be hesitant to give feedback on the dashboard because it is something that you are supposed to use on a daily basis. Be brave and do a second or third round of feedback.
[💎@02:42] There is a difference between a dashboard and a report.
A dashboard is a great way of displaying a general overview but should also allow you to deep-dive into separate topics. A lot of people want to put everything in the dashboard but they should not confuse with reports.
Interactivity & Real-time can be a great thing in the hands of person that can handle such a power. Dashboards are more about consuming data.
The dashboard audience is critical. Who's the dashboard built for and what's the goal of the dashboard?
[💎@05:40] Overall company "static" dashboards with a set of 4-5 KPIs can be useful to understand what's left to reach goals company-wide. But you should also have dashboards for specific teams (e.g. management, product management, etc.) that allow them to interact with the numbers to make more sense out of it.
[💎@06:45] You want simplicity. Dashboards should make getting important pieces of information efficient: being able to find the piece of data you're looking to find without clutter.
[💎@08:03] Put no more than 5 KPIs in your dashboard. Visualization also helps getting buy-in and the dashboard should be visually appealing.
Simplicity and consistency are the 2 main rules when designing any type of dashboard. Easy enough to understand. If there is too much going on it becomes overloaded and useless.
[💎@09:14] Contain the information within tiles and respecting the grid layout. To get rid of the clutter think about how you want to layout the information before you even start putting graphs in: put the most important information upfront.
[💎@10:14] Start from the top level and then go into more details gradually. The dashboard should tell a story and have a good user flow, adapted to the person using it.
A lot of dashboards do not fit these principles. You want:
It should look good but never sacrifice the clarity of the information for visuals.
[💎@11:19] Reflect user groups and create a set of dashboards. A good dashboard contains the data that you need and is different based on your role (not necessarily the information showed but how it's laid out). There is no dashboard that works well for a CEO and a UA dashboard.
Follow the points mentioned above, which is going to be enough in most cases. It is not rocket science.
[💎@13:50] An important focus is the data that is inside the dashboard. Try rethinking what you're showing and the KPIs that are visible: sometimes break away from the KPIs that you've been looking at for a long time to get a new perspective.
[💎@15:15] Sometimes we tend to assume what the dashboard user wants. Do not overwhelm the user and keep it simple and in line with the story so the user knows what to do with the information.
There needs to be a connection of relevancy between the team that prepares the dashboard and the one that uses it.
There are also multiple ways to define things like ROAS, ROI, sessions and it needs to be consistent throughout the company.
[💎@15:15] Sometimes we tend to assume what the dashboard user wants. Do not overwhelm the user and keep it simple and in line with the story so the user knows what to do with the information.
[💎@19:50] Prioritize:
The metrics depend who the dashboard is for, but there is usually a set of common metrics that everybody uses:
[💎@22:00] Start with something basic. When you see some users starting asking questions after looking at common metrics (new users, retention, etc.) is when you start thinking about integrating other things in the dashboard or put in a more granular report.
You shouldn't spend too much time looking at the data, the idea is to have data that allows you to take action.
To better know which metrics to include, you need to know who the dashboard is for (e.g. UA, product, etc.).
There is a set of visualizations that you can use: bar chart, bubble chart, etc.
Best way to start is to follow the dashboard user journey. You can user-test by having someone that will be using the dashboard to see how they use it.
[💎@27:15] Wonderful visualizations for someone used to data might only be good for that person. But not everybody is a dashboard designer and it's useless if things require 10 minutes explanations.
[💎@28:35] It's important not to be hesitant to give feedback on the dashboard because it is something that you are supposed to use on a daily basis. Be brave and do a second or third round of feedback.
