The UX Principles for Effective BI Dashboards

How to transform complex data into clear, actionable insights with user-centric design.

Welcome to Tech Station, SDG Group’s hub for uncovering the latest innovations in data and analytics! In this article, we delve into a crucial but often overlooked topic in the world of Business Intelligence: User Experience (UX). We will discover how applying simple UX principles can transform a technically correct dashboard into a powerful and intuitive communication tool, ensuring the value hidden in the data is understood and acted upon by everyone.

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First things first. When we talk about UX, we talk about the User Experience — how the final user sees, feels, and interacts with a product. In our case, the product is the BI dashboard.

What separates a good dashboard from a bad one? Let’s look at the image below.

Bad example of a complex data representation

What do we see here? Perfectly correct data, hours of work by engineers, and important insights for the business.

But at the same time… a messy layout, colors that are too similar, tiny fonts, and no visual hierarchy at all. Why is this so important? Because the goal of the dashboard is not the data itself, but communication.

A good dashboard brings maximum information and precious insights to its viewer in the shortest time possible.

The Core Challenge: Translating Data into Meaning

The biggest challenge in working with data is translation. While data manipulation is a pillar of contemporary progress, even the most well-structured data needs to be translated into a format users can easily understand. In other words, the dashboard interface is the medium through which raw data becomes understandable.

An interface (inter-face) is a go-between for two systems: pieces of code, machines and humans, humans and services, etc. An interface serves to simplify the communication between two systems. In our case, the interface is a "bridge" between the data and the final user.

So how do you make complex data look simple? Data serves to encode information, and when it is presented in a raw, non-translated mode, it can be very difficult to read. Common difficulties include an exaggerated volume of data, excessive granularity, unclear dependencies, and the need to serve different types of users.

The good news is you don’t need to spend years studying UX design to make your dashboard "readable." Even small UX techniques can radically improve how well and how fast your data is understood.

1. Who is Your User?

Knowing your customer is crucial. Always ask yourself, "Who is going to use my product?" Keep in mind that often, especially in B2B/B2B2C contexts, your client is not the final user.

2. What Information is Most Important?

Ask yourself: what information should be the most prominent on the dashboard? To solve this, imagine your user has just 10 seconds to view it. What data would they want to see first? Make this data the "king" of the page by establishing a clear visual hierarchy.

3. How Readable is the Information?

Be careful how you display your information. Tiny fonts under 10px, weak contrasts (yellow on white, gray on gray), serif fonts, and colorful text all reduce readability. Remember, often simpler = better.

4. How Much Information Does the User Need?

A well-designed dashboard page usually contains 10 to 12 KPIs (between numbers and graphs). If more information is needed, it’s better to split it into multiple pages to avoid cognitive overload.

5. How Good are the Colors?

Color is one of the strongest instruments in data visualization. Reserve red, green, and orange for highlighting negative, positive, and cautionary information. Always test your palette for accessibility: keep in mind that 8% of men and 0.5% of women have color blindness. Feel free to use available web instruments to test your visualizations.