Introduction

Dashboards are essential tools for business intelligence, allowing users to monitor key performance indicators (KP indicators) and other important metrics in real time. However, creating a successful dashboard goes beyond just displaying data—it requires careful design principles to ensure the dashboard is clear, intuitive, and actionable. This course will cover the best practices for designing effective dashboards that convey insights, highlight critical trends, and provide an excellent user experience. Participants will learn to design dashboards that enable better decision-making, enhance productivity, and help users easily interpret data.

Objectives

By the end of this course, participants will:

• Understand the core principles of dashboard design, including layout, usability, and visual hierarchy.
• Learn how to identify key metrics and KPIs that should be featured on a dashboard.
• Gain proficiency in choosing the right visualizations for different types of data and audiences.
• Master the art of dashboard interactivity, ensuring users can explore data while keeping the dashboard intuitive.
• Develop skills to design dashboards using industry-leading tools like Tableau, Power BI, and Google Data Studio.
• Understand common dashboard pitfalls and how to avoid them to create user-friendly designs.

Who Should Attend?

This course is ideal for:

• Data analysts, business analysts, and business intelligence professionals who are involved in creating or maintaining dashboards.
• Managers and decision-makers who want to improve how data is presented to support decision-making.
• Data visualization professionals looking to learn best practices for dashboard design.
• Anyone interested in learning how to design dashboards that effectively communicate data insights.

Day 1: Introduction to Dashboard Design Principles

Morning Session: What Makes a Great Dashboard?

• Overview of dashboards: Definitions and types (operational, analytical, strategic).
• The role of dashboards in business intelligence and decision-making.
• Core principles of dashboard design: Simplicity, clarity, relevance, and efficiency.
• Common mistakes in dashboard design and how to avoid them.
• Hands-on: Reviewing sample dashboards and discussing what works and what doesn’t.

Afternoon Session: Understanding User Needs and Defining KPIs

• Identifying the target audience: Understanding their goals and what information they need.
• Defining key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics that should drive dashboard design.
• Best practices for aligning dashboard content with user needs.
• Hands-on: Conducting a user needs analysis for a sample dashboard.

Day 2: Layout and Visual Hierarchy

Morning Session: Layout Design for Effective Dashboards

• The importance of layout in dashboard design: How it impacts usability and data comprehension.
• Types of layout designs: Grid-based layouts, hierarchical layouts, and custom layouts.
• Visual hierarchy: Guiding the user’s attention and focusing on key metrics first.
• Best practices for dashboard layout: Grouping related information, minimizing clutter, and creating intuitive flow.
• Hands-on: Designing an initial layout for a dashboard with emphasis on visual flow.

Afternoon Session: Principles of Color and Typography

• The role of color in dashboard design: How color can guide attention and emphasize trends.
• Color theory for dashboards: Choosing the right color palette for readability and accessibility.
• Typography and text design: Ensuring clarity and consistency in font usage.
• Best practices for using color and typography to enhance the dashboard experience.
• Hands-on: Redesigning a dashboard with optimized color schemes and typography.

Day 3: Choosing the Right Visualizations

Morning Session: Types of Data Visualizations

• Overview of common visualizations: Bar charts, line charts, pie charts, area charts, gauges, heatmaps, and maps.
• When to use specific chart types: Best practices for choosing the right visualization for your data.
• Balancing complexity and clarity: Simplifying visualizations without losing critical data insights.
• Hands-on: Selecting appropriate visualizations for a given dataset and designing them for a dashboard.

Afternoon Session: Advanced Visualization Techniques for Dashboards

• Interactive visualizations: Drill-downs, filters, and dynamic charts.
• Handling time-series data and trends with appropriate chart types.
• Visualizing geospatial data with maps and geographical views.
• Designing charts for performance tracking and anomaly detection.
• Hands-on: Creating interactive elements (filters, dynamic charts) for a sample dashboard.

Day 4: Building Dashboards with Industry Tools

Morning Session: Introduction to Dashboard Tools

• Overview of popular dashboard tools: Tableau, Power BI, Google Data Studio, and others.
• Key features and capabilities of each tool: Connecting to data sources, creating charts, and dashboard publishing.
• Best practices for dashboard creation in each tool.
• Hands-on: Getting started with Tableau or Power BI: Connecting to a data source and creating the first chart.

Afternoon Session: Creating Your First Dashboard

• Step-by-step guide to building an interactive dashboard using industry tools.
• Data import, chart creation, layout adjustments, and interactivity implementation.
• Best practices for dashboard publishing and sharing within the organization.
• Hands-on: Building a complete dashboard from scratch, incorporating layout, KPIs, visualizations, and interactivity.

Day 5: Advanced Dashboard Techniques and Final Project

Morning Session: Interactivity and Advanced Features

• Advanced features for enhancing dashboard interactivity: Conditional formatting, tooltips, and drill-down options.
• How to use filters and selectors to allow users to explore the data.
• Best practices for dashboard performance optimization: Ensuring fast load times even with large datasets.
• Common usability issues and how to address them.
• Hands-on: Adding interactivity and advanced features to a dashboard.

Afternoon Session: Final Project and Course Wrap-Up

• Final project: Participants will create a complete dashboard using the principles and tools covered during the course.
• Presentations: Each participant will present their dashboard, explaining their design choices, the KPIs selected, and the insights conveyed.
• Group discussion and feedback: Review and critique of final projects.
• Key takeaways from the course and best practices for dashboard design.
• Q&A session and course wrap-up.

Materials and Tools:

• Software and Tools: Tableau, Power BI, Google Data Studio, Microsoft Excel.
• Reading: “The Big Book of Dashboards” by Steve Wexler, Jeffrey Shaffer, and Andy Cotgreave, “Storytelling with Data” by Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic.
• Resources: Sample datasets for dashboard creation, course slides, and templates.

Post-Course Support:

• Access to course materials, recorded sessions, and additional resources.
• Post-course webinars for deeper exploration of advanced dashboard design topics.
• A community forum for sharing dashboards, exchanging feedback, and networking with other participants.
• One-on-one consulting sessions to help implement best practices in participants’ own projects.