Dashboards ? Ask me how... but first ask ourself Why you need a Dashboard..

Question

<b><i>"A dashboard is a visual display of the most important information needed to achieve one or more objectives which fits entirely on a single computer screen so it can be monitored at a glance."</i></b> - Stephen Few
<p>
That is a good way to describe the purpose of a Dashboard, but not enough to understand the whole concept.
<p>
Few phenomena characterize our time more uniquely and powerfully than the rapid rise and influence of information technologies. These technologies have unleashed a tsunami of data that rolls over and flattens us in its wake. Taming this beast has become a primary goal of the informtion industry. One tool that has emerged from this effort in recent years if the information dashboard. This single-screen display of the most important information people need to do a job, presented in a way that allows them to monitor what's going on in an instant, is a powerful new medium of communication.
<p>
Most information dashbarods that are used in business today fall far short potential. The root of the problem is not technology (only ;)... ) but poor visual design. To serve their purpose and fulfill their potential, dashboards must display a dense array of information in a small amount of space in a manner that communicates clearly and immediately. This requires design that taps into and leverages the power of visual perception to send and process large chunks of information rapidly.
<p>
We can learn a lot with the Human Being Mr. Steve Jobs from Apple, in one of the biography about this expert I found a pretty new and interesting perspective about DESIGN:
<p>
<b><i>"Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works."</i></b> - Steve Jobs
<p>
<b><i>"In most people's vocabularies, design means veneer. It's interior decorating. It's the fabric of the curtains of the sofa. But to me, nothing could be further from the meaning of design. Design is the fundamental soul of a human-made creation that ends up expressing itself in successive outer layers of the product or service."</i></b>- Steve Jobs
<p>
Everybody on a leadership position wants to have a beautiful (with colors and animations) Dashboard to show and talk about it to his neighbor in the next door (office) and the beauty of a Dashboard goes beyond.. it must touch your visual sense and provoke your ability to see exactly what you are looking for... to solve your problem or even to provoke the insight before it happens.
<p>
Any thoughts ? I've attached some examples and you can take your own conclusion...
<p>
I would recommend a good literature for those that are interested in: INFORMATION DASHBOARD DESIGN - The Effective Visual Communication of Data - Stephen Few.
<p>
Amazon:
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Information-Dashboard-Design-Effective-Communication/dp/0596100167/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1248497014&sr=8-1">http://www.amazon.com/Information-Dashboard-Design-Effective-Communication/dp/0596100167/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1248497014&sr=8-1</a>

Answer 1

<b><i>"A dashboard is a visual display of the most important information needed to achieve one or more objectives which fits entirely on a single computer screen so it can be monitored at a glance."</i></b> - Stephen Few
<p>
That is a good way to describe the purpose of a Dashboard, but not enough to understand the whole concept.
<p>
Few phenomena characterize our time more uniquely and powerfully than the rapid rise and influence of information technologies. These technologies have unleashed a tsunami of data that rolls over and flattens us in its wake. Taming this beast has become a primary goal of the informtion industry. One tool that has emerged from this effort in recent years if the information dashboard. This single-screen display of the most important information people need to do a job, presented in a way that allows them to monitor what's going on in an instant, is a powerful new medium of communication.
<p>
Most information dashbarods that are used in business today fall far short potential. The root of the problem is not technology (only ;)... ) but poor visual design. To serve their purpose and fulfill their potential, dashboards must display a dense array of information in a small amount of space in a manner that communicates clearly and immediately. This requires design that taps into and leverages the power of visual perception to send and process large chunks of information rapidly.
<p>
We can learn a lot with the Human Being Mr. Steve Jobs from Apple, in one of the biography about this expert I found a pretty new and interesting perspective about DESIGN:
<p>
<b><i>"Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works."</i></b> - Steve Jobs
<p>
<b><i>"In most people's vocabularies, design means veneer. It's interior decorating. It's the fabric of the curtains of the sofa. But to me, nothing could be further from the meaning of design. Design is the fundamental soul of a human-made creation that ends up expressing itself in successive outer layers of the product or service."</i></b>- Steve Jobs
<p>
Everybody on a leadership position wants to have a beautiful (with colors and animations) Dashboard to show and talk about it to his neighbor in the next door (office) and the beauty of a Dashboard goes beyond.. it must touch your visual sense and provoke your ability to see exactly what you are looking for... to solve your problem or even to provoke the insight before it happens.
<p>
Any thoughts ? I've attached some examples and you can take your own conclusion...
<p>
I would recommend a good literature for those that are interested in: INFORMATION DASHBOARD DESIGN - The Effective Visual Communication of Data - Stephen Few.
<p>
Amazon:
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Information-Dashboard-Design-Effective-Communication/dp/0596100167/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1248497014&sr=8-1">http://www.amazon.com/Information-Dashboard-Design-Effective-Communication/dp/0596100167/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1248497014&sr=8-1</a>