I’m struggling to get our C-suite to engage with the complex reports I build. They often find them too cluttered. What are the current best practices for "data storytelling" to ensure that the insights lead to actual business decisions? I want to focus on key performance indicators without losing the granular detail that my department leads might need during a deep dive.
3 answers
The secret to executive reporting is the "inverted pyramid" approach. You should start with the most critical high-level KPIs at the very top—things like Net Profit Margin or Customer Acquisition Cost. Use clear, uncluttered visuals like simple bar charts or trend lines rather than complex scatter plots. For the deep-dive aspect, utilize Power BI’s "drill-through" and "tooltip" features. This keeps the initial view clean for the CEO, while allowing department heads to click on a specific data point to see the underlying transactions or regional performance metrics without leaving the page.
Are you following a specific design framework like the Gestalt Principles to help guide the viewer's eye to the most important parts of your dashboard?
Always remember that less is more. If a chart doesn't directly answer a business question that was asked by the stakeholders, it shouldn't be on the main dashboard.
Exactly, Karen. A common mistake in business analysis is trying to show all the work done instead of just showing the results that actually matter to the audience.
Charles, I’ve read about Gestalt but haven't strictly applied it. I usually just focus on color-coding for "Good" vs "Bad" metrics. However, after your comment, I see how using proximity and similarity could help group related KPIs together more logically. I’m going to try redesigning our monthly revenue report using these principles to see if it reduces the number of follow-up questions I get from the directors.