In the modern analytics-enabled enterprise, data is not necessarily the biggest barrier to evolving the data culture. It is people. The promise of the insight-driven organization is that people are making decisions backed by data. But not all people want to use data or are aligned with making decisions with data. Indeed, it becomes more about bringing people on a journey so they can see and then realize the benefits of using data. As such, unlocking the insight-driven enterprise is more about people than it is data.

To address this, a process is needed. A process that understands the complexities of working with data but also integrates change management, user experience and data literacy. That is why the Enterprise Dashboard Process exists.

The Barriers Facing the Data-Driven Enterprise

Before diving into the details of the process, it is necessary to better understand the problems that this process addresses.

Many organizations struggle to deliver valuable insights with their data. Over time this compounds and can create the following problems:

• Misaligned stakeholders and expectations from the business
• People not acting or using data to make decisions
• Low trust in data and in data people
• Proliferation of low-value reports and dashboards

One of the biggest problems many companies face is a lack of alignment between people, different teams and their departments, resulting in information silos. This often leads to low value from their data, with insights that are not actionable or relevant. Another common problem is a low level of trust in the accuracy and completeness of the data. 

What is the Process

The Enterprise Dashboard Process helps to address these issues by providing a structured framework for aligning people, identifying value, designing, developing and deploying dashboards that align with business goals, bring together disparate data sources, and create a shared understanding of data insights. With the Enterprise Dashboard Process, organizations can better leverage their data to make informed decisions and drive business growth.

The Enterprise Dashboard Process is a comprehensive and iterative approach to designing and building dashboards that provide critical insights for businesses. The process is designed to help organizations develop data-driven cultures that can drive business growth and success.

The process is broken down into three parts:

1. Requirements Gathering
2. Design
3. Build & Adoption

Benefits of the Approach

The Enterprise Dashboard Process provides many benefits to organizations. First, it ensures that the dashboard is designed to meet the specific needs of the stakeholders and end-users, as it incorporates their feedback and requirements throughout the process. This leads to a more user-friendly and intuitive dashboard that is more likely to be adopted and used effectively.

Overall, the Enterprise Dashboard Process is an iterative and agile approach to creating transformative dashboards. The process is user-centered and aims to address the needs of the end-users while also providing valuable insights for the organization. The process is also designed to address change management methodologies and ensure a successful adoption of the dashboard. By using the Dashboard Wireframe Kit as part of this process, technical teams can better communicate with non-technical stakeholders and ensure that the final dashboard meets the needs of the end-users.

1: Requirements Gathering

The Requirements Gathering phase is the first step in the process and involves defining the strategy and planning for the dashboard, interviewing stakeholders and end users, developing personas, identifying key business questions (KPQs), mapping questions to actions, performing a data assessment, and creating an iteration plan.

Change management methodologies are an important consideration in the Requirements Gathering phase. The process involves identifying the key stakeholders and end users and understanding their needs and concerns. By engaging with stakeholders throughout the process, change management can be more effectively implemented to ensure that the dashboard is embraced by the organization.

User experience is also an essential element of the Requirements Gathering phase. By identifying the key business questions and mapping them to actions, it is possible to design a dashboard that provides the most relevant and valuable insights to the end users. This helps to ensure that the dashboard is easy to use and provides the necessary information to support decision-making.

This phase is critical to the success of the Enterprise Dashboard Process. By taking the time to define the key business questions and mapping them to actions, the dashboard can be designed to provide the most value to the end users. By engaging with stakeholders and understanding their needs, change management can be more effectively implemented to ensure the dashboard is embraced by the organization.

2: Design

After gathering the requirements, the design phase comes next. This is largely the design of the look and feel of the dashboard and the outputs will be a set of wireframes that people can react to. During this phase, the design team will select the key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics that will be included in the dashboard. These are the data points that will help stakeholders track progress towards their goals.

Once the KPIs have been identified, the team will need to choose the best way to display them. This is where the dashboard wireframe kit comes in. The kit allows the team to experiment with different chart types and layouts, and to get feedback from stakeholders on what works best for them.

Using the dashboard wireframe kit, the team can quickly create prototypes of the dashboard that show the proposed layout and design. These prototypes can be tested with stakeholders to get feedback on what works and what doesn't. This is a crucial step in the process, as it allows the team to make changes before investing time and resources in development.

The design phase also involves selecting the filters and controls that will be used to interact with the data. The dashboard wireframe kit makes it easy to experiment with different filter types and to see how they will interact with the charts and metrics.

Once the design is finalized, the team can move on to the development phase. However, it's important to note that the design is final at this point. There will be no further changes during development until the next iteration of the process.

3: Build & Adoption

The final stage of the Enterprise Dashboard Process is Build & Adoption. This is where the actual dashboard is built based on the requirements gathered in phase 1 and the wireframes designed in phase 2. The dashboard is developed using data visualization tools such as Tableau, Power BI, or QlikView.

Before launching the dashboard, training materials are created for the end users. These materials should focus on just-in-time training content that is specific to the users' roles and responsibilities. This approach ensures that the training is relevant and impactful.

The dashboard launch sequence is the next step, and it involves a series of steps to maximize adoption of the dashboard. This includes building excitement around the new dashboard through targeted communication and marketing, hosting a launch event or webinar, and providing hands-on training.

Finally, adoption is measured to ensure that the usage goals are being met. User feedback is gathered, and the dashboard is monitored for performance and usage. If adoption is lower than expected, change management methodologies can be used to address any resistance to the new dashboard.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Enterprise Dashboard Process provides a clear and effective approach to ensure the successful implementation and adoption of data-driven decision-making across an organization. By focusing on the key elements of data literacy, change management, and adoption, organizations can ensure that their investments in data technology and tools result in tangible value and impact. With a commitment to continuous improvement and a willingness to adapt to changing business needs, the Enterprise Dashboard Process offers a powerful framework to enable organizations to drive better outcomes and achieve their goals through data.