replacing speedmeters with tables and sparklines
The image the right provides an example of a dashboard that uses both text and speedometers to provide updates to an audience on quarter-to-date metrics centered on customer support. This particular dashboard is quite redundant as the text at the top says the same thing as the speedometer series underneath. The only differences are that the text at the top does not show the target value and the speedometers do not show the change from the last update. In addition to being redundant, there is no indication of when the last update occurred. So, we have nothing to which we can compare our new quarter-to-date numbers.
The image below presents a redesigned version of this dashboard using a table structure. The display is much cleaner and easier to understand. The sparklines to the left display the trend of associated metric. This gives us an idea of how we are doing compared to the last few times the number was tracked. In addition, the table format is easier to read as it consolidates all of the necessary data into one place rather than having to look at both the text and the speedometers in the previous dashboard. The sidenotes provide the audience with an understanding of what they need to do in order to improve the numbers so that the targets can be met. This is a great improvement over the previous dashboard.
The only thing that would make this version of the dashboard even better is to display the amount of time that is covered in the sparklines. For the purposes of this dashboard, the appropriate time period should from beginning of the quarter to current date with a red dot at the end of the sparkline for the current data value.
Tags: dashboard, redesign, sparkline, speedometer