What a dashboard should show first
Most dashboards show everything and answer nothing. Start with the four questions your team asks every morning.
A dashboard is a tool for making decisions, not a place to store numbers. Before designing one, we sit with the people who will use it and write down the questions they ask out loud.
Answer the morning questions
For a logistics team they were simple: where is everyone, what is late, what is loading and what is it costing. Each became one block on the first screen.
Show change, not just totals
A number means little without a direction. Small trend lines and a comparison with last week turn a figure into a signal.
Make exceptions loud
Everything on time can be quiet. A delayed truck, a low stock item or a failed payment should be the brightest thing on the screen.
