Why more dashboards can mean less insight
A dashboard should support a named decision. Measures without owners or actions can add pressure without improving control.
The performance question
Different dashboards can describe the same activity with conflicting definitions. Executives then spend time reconciling figures rather than deciding what to do. Start with the business question and identify the minimum measures that make a change in action possible.
What the evidence supports
HSE identifies processing demands from displays, alarms and communications as part of workload. Its guidance supports assessing information inputs. It does not establish an ideal dashboard count or imply that visual reporting is inherently harmful.[1]
A practical approach
Inventory executive dashboards and name the decision each supports. Remove or consolidate duplicate measures after agreeing definitions and owners. For each remaining indicator, state the threshold or pattern that prompts investigation, the responsible person and the next action. Preserve necessary specialist and statutory reporting.
How to review progress
Review occasions when the dashboard led to a documented action and where interpretation was disputed. Check data freshness and missing values. A leaner display that hides uncertainty is not improved insight; it simply makes the uncertainty less visible.
Sources and references
- Human factors: Workload Opens in a new tab
Health and Safety Executive
Processing limits, task analysis, workload drift and staffing