Lately I've been researching the data visualization space and how dashboards really benefit organizations. The general value of dashboards may seem obvious to some, but actually defining the proper metrics and aligning those to an organization's overall strategic goals may not be as obvious. Especially when organizations try to manage everything as opposed to looking at the key metrics that tie in to specific performance goals – whether with individual employees, departments, or the organization as a whole.
In a recent conversation with Allan Wille, the President and CEO of Klipfolio, he discussed that one of the trends within the dashboard industry is the expansion of dashboard use to include non-management employees and the customization of metrics towards each individual or group based on their role within the organization – basically the advent of operational BI through the use of data visualization.
This means that the ability to tailor KPIs and to create customized solutions that meet the requirements of different roles within the organization and that roll up to management are possible and are taking place within organizations and will continue to do so. The ability to expand the role of dashboards from executive based towards daily monitoring of metrics and performance against those metrics enables organizations to become more proactive and empowers employees enabling them to do their jobs better.
