Building a better business dashboard

Dashboards have become buzzwords in the analytics world — and inside many a credit union business unit. They have been lauded as the magic pill for credit unions who want to use their data to better understand their members, drive value, and meet specific business goals. However, if you ask any analytics practitioner, they’ll tell you the same story over and over: they put in hours of time and effort to build a dashboard that exactly meets the specifications from the business — only to have that work languish somewhere on the internal network.

And while no one technique can ensure a dashboard will deliver value, there are some key steps that can materially improve the success of your business dashboards.

Start Early, Ask Questions

• How well do you know your audience? While you may know the data, the end user knows the business. Before you meet with them, do some preparation work on possible data sources you might need, and identify questions you know you’ll need answered. When you meet, start with broad questions and work down to detail.

 

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