Information Dashboard Design By Stephen Few. Publisher: O'Reilly Pub Date: January 2006 ISBN: 0‐596‐10016‐7 Pages: 223 Copyright Copyright © 2006 Stephen Few All rights reserved. Printed in Italy. Published by O'Reilly Media, Inc.
1005 Gravenstein Highway North Sebastopol, CA 95472 O'Reilly books may be purchased for educational, business, or sales promotional use. Online editions are also available for most titles (safari. For more information, contact our corporate/institutional sales department: 800‐998‐9938 or corporate@oreilly. Editor Colleen Wheeler Production Editor Genevieve d'Entremont Art Director Mike Kohnke Cover Designer Stephen Few Interior Designers Mike Kohnke, Terri Driscoll Production Services Specialized Composition, Inc.
Print History January 2006: First Edition. The O'Reilly logo is a registered trademark of O'Reilly Media, Inc. Information Dashboard Design and related trade dress are trademarks of O'Reilly Media, Inc. Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks.
Where those designations appear in this book, and O'Reilly Media, Inc. was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed in caps or initial caps. While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher and author assume no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein. 0‐596‐10016‐7 To my parents, Bob and Joyce Few, whose pride in my journeyhowever strange that journey must have sometimes seemedinstilled deep down into my bones the resolve to keep placing one foot in front of the other.
About the Author Stephen Few has over 20 years of experience as an IT innovator, consultant, and educator. Today, as Principal of the consultancy Perceptual Edge, Stephen focuses on data visualization for analyzing and communicating quantitative business information. He is working to raise consciousness and to provide a treatment plan that addresses the needs of business in the language of business. His previous book, Show Me the Numbers: Designing Tables and Graphs to Enlighten, is a powerful fitness program designed to target the data presentation aspects of this problem.
Today, from his office in Berkeley, California, Stephen provides consulting and training services, speaks frequently at conferences, and teaches in the MBA program at the University of California in Berkeley. More about his current work can be found at www. Introduction Few phenomena characterize our time more uniquely and powerfully than the rapid rise and influence of information technologies. These technologies have unleashed a tsunami of data that rolls over and flattens us in its wake.
Taming this beast has become a primary goal of the information industry. One tool that has emerged from this effort in recent years is the information dashboard. This single‐screen display of the most important information people need to do a job, presented in a way that allows them to monitor what's going on in an instant, is a powerful new medium of communication. At least it can be, but only when properly designed.
Most information dashboards that are used in business today fall far short of their potential. The root of the problem is not technologyat least not primarilybut poor visual design. To serve their purpose and fulfill their potential, dashboards must display a dense array of information in a small amount of space in a manner that communicates clearly and immediately. This requires design that taps into and leverages the power of visual perception to sense and process large chunks of information rapidly.
This can be achieved only when the visual design of dashboards is central to the development process and is informed by a solid understanding of visual perceptionwhat works, what doesn't, and why. No technology can do this for you. You must bring this expertise to the process. Take heartthe visual design skills that you need to develop effective dashboards can be learned, and helping you learn them is the sole purpose of this book.
If the information is important, it deserves to be communicated well. Acknowledgments Without a doubt I owe the greatest debt of gratitude to the many software vendors who have done so much to make this book necessary by failing to address or even contemplate the visual design needs of dashboards. Their kind disregard for visual design has given me focus, ignited my passion, and guaranteed my livelihood for years to come. Now, on to those who have contributed more directly and personally to this effort.
As a man, I will never be able to create, shelter, and nourish an emerging life within this body of mine. In recent years, however, I have recognized and pursued the opportunity to breathe life into the products of my imagination and pass them on to the world in the form of books. Writing a book is a bit like bearing a child. Working with a publisher to help the child learn to walk before venturing into the world is a lesson in trust.
The folks at O'Reilly Media have taught me to entrust to thembeginning with unspeakable angst, but proceeding through unfaltering steps toward ever‐increasing comfortthe collegial care of this beloved child. Many at O'Reilly have contributed so much, but two in particular have stood by my side from the beginning with soothing voices of confidence and calm. My editor, Colleen Wheeler, knew when to listen in silence, when to tease me out of myopia, and when to gently remind me that I was in her considerate and considerable care. My acquisitions editor, Steve Weiss, sought me out and wooed me through months of thoughtful discussion into the O'Reilly fold.
He gave assurances and has made sure that they were fulfilled. 3 About the Author. Clarifying the Vision. All That Glitters Is Not Gold.
Even Dashboards Have a History. Dispelling the Confusion. What Is a Dashboard?. Variations in Dashboard Uses and Data.
Classifying Dashboards by Role. Typical Dashboard Data. The Common Thread in Dashboard Diversity. Thirteen Common Mistakes in Dashboard Design.
Exceeding the Boundaries of a Single Screen. Fragmenting Data into Separate Screens. Supplying Inadequate Context for the Data. Displaying Excessive Detail or Precision.
Choosing a Deficient Measure. Choosing Inappropriate Display Media. Introducing Meaningless Variety. Using Poorly Designed Display Media.
Encoding Quantitative Data Inaccurately. Arranging the Data Poorly. Highlighting Important Data Ineffectively or Not at All. Cluttering the Display with Useless Decoration.
Misusing or Overusing Color. Designing an Unattractive Visual Display. Tapping into the Power of Visual Perception. Understanding the Limits of Short‐Term Memory.
Visually Encoding Data for Rapid Perception. Attributes of Color. Attributes of Form. Attributes of Position.
Attributes of Motion. Encoding Quantitative Versus Categorical Data. Limits to Perceptual Distinctness. Using Vivid and Subtle Colors Appropriately.
Gestalt Principles of Visual Perception. The Principle of Proximity. The Principle of Similarity. The Principle of Enclosure.
The Principle of Closure. The Principle of Continuity. The Principle of Connection. Applying the Principles of Visual Perception to Dashboard Design.
Eloquence Through Simplicity. Characteristics of a Well‐Designed Dashboard. Condensing Information via Summarization and Exception. Key Goals in the Visual Design Process.
Reduce the Non‐Data Pixels. Enhance the Data Pixels. Effective Dashboard Display Media. Select the Best Display Medium.
An Ideal Library of Dashboard Display Media. Designing Dashboards for Usability. Organize the Information to Support Its Meaning and Use. Organize Groups According to Business Functions, Entities, and Use.
Co‐locate Items That Belong to the Same Group. Delineate Groups Using the Least Visible Means. Support Meaningful Comparisons. Discourage Meaningless Comparisons.
Maintain Consistency for Quick and Accurate Interpretation. Make the Viewing Experience Aesthetically Pleasing. Choose Colors Appropriately. Choose High Resolution for Clarity.
Choose the Right Text. Design for Use as a Launch Pad. Test Your Design for Usability. Putting It All Together.
Sample Sales Dashboard. 148 Critique of Sales Dashboard Example 1. 151 Critique of Sales Dashboard Example 2. 152 Critique of Sales Dashboard Example 3.
153 Critique of Sales Dashboard Example 4. 154 Critique of Sales Dashboard Example 5. 155 Critique of Sales Dashboard Example 6. 156 Critique of Sales Dashboard Example 7.
157 Critique of Sales Dashboard Example 8. Sample CIO Dashboard. Sample Telesales Dashboard. Sample Marketing Analysis Dashboard.
Clarifying the Vision Dashboards offer a unique and powerful solution to an organization's need for information, but they usually fall far short of their potential. Dashboards must be seen in historical context to understand and appreciate how and why they've come about, why they've become so popular, and whydespite many problems that undermine their value todaythey offer benfits worth pursuing. To date, little serious attention has been given to their visual design. This book strives to fill this gap.
However, confusion abounds, demanding a clear definition of dashboards before we can explore the visual design principles and practices that must be applied if they are to live up to their unique promise. Problems with dashboards today Dashboards in historical context Current confusion about what dashboards are A working definition of "dashboard" A timely opportunity for dashboards Above all else, this is a book about communication. It focuses exclusively on a particular medium of communication called a dashboard. In the fast‐paced world of information technology (IT), terms are constantly changing.
Just when you think you've wrapped your mind around the latest innovation, the technology landscape shifts beneath you and you must struggle to remain upright. This is certainly true of dashboards. Live your life on the surface of these shifting sands, and you'll never get your balance. Look a little deeper, however, and you'll discover more stable ground: a bedrock of objectives, principles, and practices for information handling that remains relatively constant.
Dashboards are unique in several exciting and useful ways, but despite the hype surrounding them, what they are and how they work as a means of delivering information are closely related to some long‐familiar concepts and technologies. It's time to cut through the hype and learn the practical skills that can help you transform dashboards from yet another fad riding the waves of the technology buzz into the effective means to enlighten that they really can be. Today, everybody wants a dashboard. Like many newcomers to the technology scene, dashboards are sexy.
Software vendors work hard to make their dashboards shimmy with sex appeal. They taunt, "You don't want to be the only company in your neighborhood without one, do you?" They warn, "You can no longer live without one." They whisper sweetly, "Still haven't achieved the expected return on investment (ROI) from your expensive data warehouse? Just stick a dashboard in front of it and watch the money pour in." Be still my heart. Those gauges, meters, and traffic lights are so damn flashy! You can imagine that you're sitting behind the wheel of a German‐engineered sports car, feeling the wind whip through your hair as you tear around curves on the autobahn at high speeds, all without leaving your desk. Everyone wants a dashboard today, but often for the wrong reasons.
Rest assured, however, that somewhere beyond the hype and sizzle lives a unique and effective solution to familiar business problems that are rooted in a very real need for information. That's the dashboard that deserves to live on your screen. All That Glitters Is Not Gold Dashboards can provide a unique and powerful means to present information, but they rarely live up to their potential. Most dashboards fail to communicate efficiently and effectively, not because of inadequate technology (at least not primarily), but because of poorly designed implementations.
No matter how great the technology, a dashboard's success as a medium of communication is a product of design, a result of a display that speaks clearly and immediately.
