Create an effective dashboard: Instructions for use

Introduction

The dashboard is not a simple aggregate of figures and results in a company. It is a crucial device for proactive navigation, highlighting gaps between predictions and reality, to quickly instigate corrective measures accordingly.

The Business Dashboard

Also known as the “dashboard”, the dashboard is the preferred partner of the management controller. It has evolved to become more than a simple control tool, and is now a powerful decision-making aid promoting the continuous improvement of company processes and performance.

What is a management control dashboard?

The main function of the company dashboard is to provide a synthetic representation of the company's activity and results, mainly via visual supports such as graphs. It is a tool for presenting indicators linked to the company's objectives, with the aim of quickly implementing corrective measures.

Steps for building a dashboard for management control

Define dashboard goals

Before diving headlong into creating your management control dashboard, it is imperative to clarify your expectations and needs. It is also essential to identify the end users of each piece of data. It is at this first phase of reflection that it becomes crucial to involve your colleagues in the design of the table. Uniting them around this project will stimulate their motivation when using it in the future.

Choose indicators

It is crucial to select indicators in line with your company's strategy. These indicators must be consistent with the type of dashboard defined in the previous step and must absolutely enable immediate actions to be taken.

Structure the dashboard

Structuring the dashboard consists of organizing the indicators so that the message delivered is as clear and complete as possible. The dashboard design should be visually appealing to make it easy to read and understand.

Set update frequency

The dashboard update frequency is determined based on the frequency of changes and the relevance of the analysis for the implementation of corrective measures.

Measure the gaps

This involves determining how to measure the different indicators chosen and identifying any gaps. Here again, the use of graphics is recommended for easier reading.

Determine the technical solution

The choice of the support on which the dashboard will be built is of capital importance. It should be simple to use and allow for quick and easy updating.

To go further

To refine your analysis, you can download these free competitive analysis models to study your market and check the viability of planned projects.

In summary, the creation of a business dashboard requires a good determination of objectives, the judicious choice of indicators, an effective structuring of the table, a clear definition of the frequency of updates, the precise measurement of gaps and , finally, the choice of an appropriate technical solution. All this will contribute to the construction of a dashboard which will be a real tool to support proactive decision-making and management.