that seemed nice on the floor however didn’t actually say something?
Once I first tried to make sense of my dataset one Saturday afternoon, constructing a dashboard appeared like the following cheap step in my information science journey.
I’d binged sufficient YouTube tutorials to suppose I knew what a “good” one ought to seem like, in all probability one thing with a clear structure and possibly a couple of filters on the facet.
With all that, I jumped proper in.
I made a construction of how I needed it to be and laid out elements for my dashboard, however once I lastly pieced all of it collectively, one thing felt off.
I stepped again to take a look at it, actually. I walked throughout the room and studied it from completely different angles. All of us do that, proper?
After a couple of lengthy appears to be like, I couldn’t clarify what story the dashboard was really telling.
And don’t get me unsuitable, it was fairly first rate for a primary try. However it felt like watching a bunch of individuals all speak over one another.
I had squeezed in numerous chart sorts—bar charts subsequent to pie charts subsequent to line graphs—all combating for consideration on one display screen. Every chart had one thing attention-grabbing to say, simply not in a method that added as much as a transparent level.
Later that night, my abdomen sank as I sat there watching my display screen, the blue glow reflecting off my espresso mug. If my very own dashboard couldn’t join with me, how might I count on it to attach with anybody else?
I began studying about why some dashboards fail to attach with folks. I stumbled throughout a Harvard Business Review article that defined what number of dashboards fail to drive actual choices as a result of most analysts focus an excessive amount of on appears to be like quite than readability.
It talked about one thing about “chart junk”, simply ornamental components that don’t add that means.
That hit dwelling. Ouch.
Look, information storytelling isn’t nearly explaining insights. Relatively, it’s about helping people see what you saw in your evaluation and explaining it in a method that is sensible to them.
This text isn’t in regards to the technical facet of constructing dashboards; there are already numerous tutorials that may train you that.
Relatively, it’s in regards to the components we frequently overlook: how dashboards talk that means and intent. I’ll additionally share the errors and classes that modified the way in which I see information after constructing my first dashboard.
Why My Dashboard Appeared Proper however Felt Unsuitable
It took me a little bit of humility to confess that the issue wasn’t the design.
It was me.
I used to be attempting to inform a narrative I hadn’t really found but.
I started to see that information actually isn’t the story itself; as an alternative, it’s type of just like the language we use to inform one. And like all language, that means comes from how we select to rearrange it.
That’s once I discovered I wanted to pause earlier than constructing something and ask myself a couple of key questions first. I name them the three Ws:
- Why does this information matter?
- Who am I designing for?
- What query am I actually attempting to reply?
These easy questions modified the whole lot. My dashboards stopped being simply visuals and began feeling extra like precise conversations.
It took me some time to appreciate the issue wasn’t the software and even the dataset.
It was the way in which I approached the story.
I had spent a lot time attempting to make the dashboard look proper that I by no means stopped to ask what it was really saying. It was like that second in The Matrix when Neo lastly sees the code. As soon as that thought crossed my thoughts, I knew I needed to begin over.
(If you wish to dive deeper into dashboard design rules, this guide is stable.)
Constructing Once more, however In another way
Once I got here again to the venture, I made a decision to begin over. However this time, I didn’t rush to open my visualization software simply but. Which felt bizarre, truthfully. My fingers had been itching to click on one thing.
I sat with the information for a bit, attempting to know what it was actually saying and the way I might information that story towards interactive visuals.
One thing about slowing down felt proper. I began noticing stuff I didn’t see earlier, primarily small particulars that felt like they shouldn’t matter, however really did.
As a substitute of attempting to indicate the whole lot, I made a decision to deal with one concept and construct round it. For instance, I had all these gross sales metrics sitting in entrance of me, however I picked one query that stood out:
Why had been month-to-month gross sales dropping regardless that buyer sign-ups had been rising?
That shifted the whole lot. Immediately, my visuals weren’t combating for consideration. As a substitute, they had been working collectively to inform the identical story.
As I went alongside, the much less I added, the clearer the whole lot turned. I eliminated a couple of pointless charts and added transient notes to elucidate what sure numbers meant.
I added a easy annotation that mentioned “Drop-off level” with an arrow pointing to the place issues began declining. No fancy design, simply readability. It wasn’t good, nevertheless it felt much more intentional.
I spent three days constructing the primary model. The second? Six hours.
Six.
Not as a result of I rushed, however as a result of I lastly knew what mattered.
Once I shared it, folks didn’t simply nod politely. They leaned nearer, requested considerate questions, and likewise tried to guess what may be driving the traits. One particular person even pulled out their telephone to take an image of it.
It felt completely different, in a great way. Not gonna lie, I felt fairly proud.
Wanting again, that second modified how I approached tasks afterward. I started to see dashboards much less as one thing to show and extra as a option to translate what I used to be seeing, and assist others perceive it.
Typically I nonetheless catch myself questioning if I’m doing it proper, however possibly that’s the purpose. Possibly storytelling with information isn’t about getting it good.
Maybe it’s about slowing down lengthy sufficient to ask, what story am I actually attempting to inform right here?
What I’d Inform My Previous Self
If I might return to that first try, right here’s what I’d inform myself:
Begin with pen and paper earlier than opening the software. Sketch out the story first. What’s the start, center, and finish? You don’t want software program for that.
Delete one chart for each two you add. If it doesn’t straight assist your essential level, it’s only a distraction. Be ruthless with what you place in.
Learn your dashboard out loud. In the event you can’t clarify it in a single breath, simplify. Your viewers gained’t have extra endurance than you do.
These easy guidelines have saved me numerous hours and prevented me from creating extra cluttered dashboards that look busy however say nothing.
I consider each dataset has a voice, nevertheless it takes endurance to hear carefully sufficient to listen to what it’s actually saying. And belief me, when you do, the whole lot from the visuals to the insights begins to align with function.
Conclusion and Takeaways
Once I first began, I needed to show that I might construct one thing nice. However by the top? Seems the perfect dashboards aren’t the flashiest ones. They’re those that make folks pause and say, “Oh. I get it now.”
That venture taught me one thing I didn’t count on: information storytelling is much less in regards to the information and extra about empathy.
There was this satisfying click on when the whole lot lastly made sense—not only for me, however for everybody who checked out it. That feeling of connection, of being understood, made all of the rebuilding price it.
Now, each time I open a brand new dataset, I remind myself of that lesson: begin gradual, hear carefully, and construct with intention. Typically I nonetheless mess it up. However at the least now I do know what I’m aiming for.
The aim isn’t to impress, it’s to attach.
