Reflecting design thinking: a case study of the process of designing dashboards
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JSIT-03-2015-0018 |
| Published date | 10 August 2015 |
| Pages | 286-306 |
| Date | 10 August 2015 |
| Author | Amelia Cahyadi,Adi Prananto |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Information systems |
Reecting design thinking:
a case study of the process of
designing dashboards
Amelia Cahyadi and Adi Prananto
Department of Information Systems and Logistics,
Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, Australia
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the complexities in dashboard design process.
Design/methodology/approach – The authors chose case study research, following Benbasat et al.
(2002) who argued that it is suitable for information system research, as researchers could perform the
study in the organisation as a natural setting. As a result, the authors could learn and generate insights
from practice. Another reason was mainly as the phenomenon being studied cannot be taken away from
its context (Yin, 2003). In addition, through case study, the authors aim to achieve a deeper
understanding and richer descriptions on the subject of research in a “real-world context” (Yin, 2012). In
addition, it aims to understand the intricacy of the processes going on in the organisation by focusing
more towards organisational rather than the technological issues (Benbasat et al., 1987).
Findings – Through research, the authors highlighted that it is important to align the dashboard design
with the organisation’s visions and goals. This creates a more persuasive rationale for adoption amongst the
users, as they could use the dashboard as a means to assist them in achieving the vision and goals of the
organisation. More importantly, the analysis clearly indicates the need to consider the creation of a
dashboard as a holistic exercise. The intricate processes of designing a dashboard are often underestimated.
Instead of focusing into a specic aspect (such as user interface or functionality) of designing dashboards, the
authors should look into the multi-faceted aspects in designing an effective dashboard.
Research limitations/implications – This paper articulates the ndings from a single case study.
However, arguably, the results of this study are transferable to other entities responsible for designing
business intelligence (BI) and business analytics dashboards. Research on dashboard design and the
use of design thinking across different type organisations is currently ongoing to allow for cross-case
analyses.
Practical implications – The study has determined that interdisciplinary and cross-functional
group communications play a signicant role in designing a dashboard. The ability to collaborate with
“data owners”, would be dashboard users, managers of the technical infrastructure, and process owners
leads to a workable and effective dashboard. In this sense, design thinking could be used and/or
regarded as a holistic, creative and solutions-oriented framework.
Originality/value – With an increasing interest on BI and business analytics, dashboards have an
increasingly pivotal role in providing a summary of data for business users. The literature review
shows in designing a dashboard; there is much emphasis on the graphical user interface and in
providing features and functionalities for the dashboards. This paper presents a case study outlining
the key considerations of a team in charge of business analytics and dashboard creations for a
university. Through the case study analysis, the authors explore the key aspects that inuence a
dashboard design and analyse the design processes using the concept of design thinking as the
theoretical framework.
Keywords Business intelligence, Design thinking, Business analytics, Dashboard, Design process
Paper type Research paper
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/1328-7265.htm
JSIT
17,3
286
Received 9 March 2015
Revised 23 March 2015
3 April 2015
Accepted 8 April 2015
Journalof Systems and
InformationTechnology
Vol.17 No. 3, 2015
pp.286-306
©Emerald Group Publishing Limited
1328-7265
DOI 10.1108/JSIT-03-2015-0018
Introduction
Contemporary organisations (particularly medium to large organisations) need
something to help managers to monitor organisational performance simply and in a
more efcient way (Few, 2006). A dashboard is one of the outcomes of business
intelligence (BI) that could be used to facilitate the key management tasks of monitoring,
examining and controlling (Eckerson, 2006,Su and Chiong, 2011). Not all dashboards
are necessarily built on top of BI infrastructure (Eckerson, 2011), as there are
dashboards that come as a component of enterprise systems (Microsoft, 2012,SAP,
2011). Generally, dashboards are created through a series of analyses of the data and
used to represent key metrics that matter for the decision makers (Howson, 2008). These
key metrics may be inuential in the decision-making activities of the organisation;
hence, arguably, an appropriate design of the dashboard is pivotal.
Our paper is focused on the issue of dashboard design. In an organisational context,
managers use dashboards to support their daily tasks in their organisations
(Rasmussen et al., 2009;Resnick, 2003). According to Rasmussen et al. (2009),a
well-designed dashboard displaying key information can help managers spot problems
and, hence, take proper actions to improve the situations. It seems clear, therefore, that
having efcient tools to access information related to the key performance indicators
(KPIs) would be valuable to decision-makers in the organisation (Dyczkowski et al.,
2014).
Arguably, the creation of a dashboard is a design issue and activity. Fundamentally,
design occurs in most of the things we do (Papanek, 1984), as it is a basic human activity
(Papanek, 1984,Lawson and Dorst, 2009). Everything around us is a product of design
and everyone is capable of designing (Cross, 2011). We start designing when we want to
create something new (Cross, 2011) or when we want a current situation to change into
a more desired one (Simon, 1996). The design process starts when we initiate the
preparation of actions towards a desired and expected result (Papanek, 1984).
Research has been conducted in the past into the importance of dashboard design,
development and implementation (Clark et al., 2006;Pauwels et al., 2009;Yigitbasioglu
and Velcu, 2012). Pauwels et al. (2009) conducted a study on the literature focusing on the
development stages and the effectiveness of marketing dashboards, measured by the
benets generated for the organisation. Elsewhere, Clark et al. (2006) performed two
surveys which had shown a relation between using a dashboard and a better return of
investment.
Later, Yigitbasioglu and Velcu (2012) reviewed the literature on dashboard
visualisation, appearance and user characteristics. Generally, while the graphical user
interface (GUI) and visual features were essential, they found that functionality was also
an important feature that needs to be taken into consideration when implementing a
dashboard. They argued that as users continue to utilised information to support their
decision making, designers need to be mindful of the effect of information overload. It is
important not to make poor design decisions by putting anything on the dashboard
which distracts the users’ focus on the key information in the dashboard (Yigitbasioglu
and Velcu, 2012).
Similarly, practitioner-oriented publications discuss how information should be
visualised in dashboards (Few, 2006); how to monitor, manage and measure businesses
with dashboards (Eckerson, 2011); and how dashboards should be designed through a
number of steps in the dashboard design process (Rasmussen et al., 2009, p. 93).
287
Process of
designing
dashboards
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