Best Practices for Tableau Dashboard Design

Tableau dashboards: A dashboard is a collection of several views, letting you compare a variety of data simultaneously. For example, if you have a set of views that you review every day, you can create a dashboard that displays all the views at once, rather than navigate to separate worksheets. 

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Below are some common guidelines that you should follow when designing a dashboard.

The dashboard should be created with the business audience in mind, and the following points need to be kept in mind when constructing dashboards:

• Dashboards should present information related to business matters, instead of displaying all possible parameters in a limited area.
• The information presented in the dashboard must be well defined and must have the appropriate formatting.
• Dashboards should have a logical structure so that viewers can easily combine information.
• A user with little business knowledge should be able to specify information from the dashboard without explicit assistance. 

The dashboard should be easy to read and should convey all important information to users. To do this, the following points should be kept in mind:

• The dashboard should not have more than two metrics in the same area, as this increases confusion for the audience.
• All considerations made during the dashboard design should be stated in the dashboard itself.
• Using too many colors on the dashboard reduces its meaning. 
• Users have trouble remembering each color and its meaning; therefore, we should use 2–    3 colors in        the dashboard.
• The colors should match logically. For example, green usually represents growth, and          red represents     loss and decline.

As we move up the ladder of organization, the information available on the dashboard changes. 

• Business leaders and key stakeholders use a strategic dashboard to understand issues affecting the business as a whole.
• Middle managers use strategic dashboards to understand department-level business details.
• These dashboards are also known as analytical dashboards and are used to view information at granular level.
• They allow managers to see the root of the problems facing their organization.
• Managers and employees use operational dashboards to monitor the company's day-to-day operations.
• These dashboards are known as active dashboards, as they facilitate the day-to-day operation of the company.

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