Excel Dashboards and Reports for Dummies. Alexander Michael

Figure 1-4: Studies show that users pay particular attention to the upper left and middle left of a document.

      You can leverage these priority zones to promote or demote certain components based on significance. If one of the charts on your dashboard warrants special focus, you can simply place that chart in a region of prominence.

      

Note that surrounding colors, borders, fonts, and other formatting can affect the viewing patterns of your readers, deemphasizing a previously high-prominence region.

Format numbers effectively

      There will undoubtedly be lots of numbers on your dashboards. Some of them will be in charts, and others will be in tables. Remember that every piece of information on your dashboard should have a reason for being there. It’s important that you format your numbers effectively to allow your users to understand the information they represent without confusion or hindrance. Here are some guidelines to keep in mind when formatting the numbers on your dashboards and reports:

      ✔ Always use commas to make numbers easier to read. For example, instead of 2345, show 2,345.

      ✔ Use decimal places only if that level of precision is required. For instance, there’s rarely a benefit to showing the decimal places in a dollar amount, such as $123.45. In most cases, the $123 will suffice. Likewise in percentages, use only the minimum number of decimals required to represent the data effectively. For example, instead of 43.21 %, you may be able to get away with 43 %.

      ✔ Use the dollar symbol only when you need to clarify that you’re referring to monetary values. If you have a chart or table that contains all revenue values, and there’s a label clearly stating this, you can save room and pixels by leaving out the dollar symbol.

      ✔ Format very large numbers to the thousands or millions place. For instance, rather than display 16,906,714, you can format the number to read 17M.

      

In Chapter 3 of this book, you explore how to leverage number-formatting tricks to enhance the readability of your dashboards and reports.

Use titles and labels effectively

      It’s common sense, but many people often fail to label items on dashboards effectively. If your manager looks at your dashboard and asks you, “What is this telling me?” you likely have labeling issues. Here are a few guidelines for effective labeling on your dashboards and reports:

      ✔ Always include a timestamp on your reporting mechanisms. This minimizes confusion when distributing the same dashboard or report in monthly or weekly installments.

      ✔ Always include some text indicating when the data for the measures was retrieved. In many cases, the timing of the data is a critical piece of information when analyzing a measure.

      ✔ Use descriptive titles for each component on your dashboard. This allows users to clearly identify what they’re looking at. Be sure to avoid cryptic titles with lots of acronyms and symbols.

      ✔ Although it may seem counterintuitive, it’s generally good practice to de-emphasize labels by formatting them to hues lighter than the ones used for your data. Lightly colored labels give your users the information they need without distracting them from the information displayed. Ideal colors for labels are colors commonly found in nature: soft grays, browns, blues, and greens.

      Key Questions to Ask Before Distributing Your Dashboard

      Before you send out your finished dashboard, it’s worth your time to step back and measure it against some of the design principles discussed in this chapter. Here are some key questions you can use as a checklist before distributing your dashboard.