Executive ReportingNovember 18, 20255 min read
What Executives Need From a Performance Dashboard
Executive dashboards often fail by showing too much. The best ones answer a small set of important questions clearly and prompt action rather than admiration.
Fewer numbers, more meaning
An executive dashboard is not a data warehouse on a screen. Its job is to answer a handful of essential questions about the health and direction of the business.
When a dashboard tries to show everything, it ends up communicating nothing. Restraint is a feature.
Designing for decisions
Good executive reporting pairs each metric with context: a target, a trend, and an exception flag when attention is required. The reader should know within seconds whether anything needs their attention.
Drill-down should be available but not required. The top layer serves the executive; the layers beneath serve the analyst.