Project Dashboards
Contents |
Abstract
Since the advent of the computer, the world has steadily become more and more data driven. Today, data is a business key asset to any organization that takes advantage of its potential. Data has also become increasingly valuable within the field of project, program, and portfolio management, since advancements in software and tools have made project data collection and management significantly more seamless - leading to an ever-increasing amount of project data being collected throughout the course of a project. This vast amount of project data holds a great value potential if properly utilized.
Monitoring and controlling is one of the main pillars of a successfully conducted project (PMBOK, p.23). If the project-work and its progression is not monitored then any deviations from the plan will not be detected, meaning that project control and corrective actions become near impossible to manage. Imaging driving a car without a dashboard; without the critical information at a glance – like speed, fuel level, motor temperature, etc. – it becomes very difficult to operate the vehicle. The scenario is similar in a project management context; without critical project-related information at a glance, it can become difficult for the project manager to drive/control the project optimally. For this reason, it is of critical importance that project managers ensure effective project monitoring, and a great way to do this is by adopting project dashboards as a tool [1].
This article will explain what dashboards are, their purpose, and why they can be extremely valuable to a project manager. Furthermore, the article will explain practical and technical application of dashboards in project management. Lastly, the pitfalls and limitations of project dashboards will be presented.
The Big Idea
What are Dashboards?
It is commonly thought that origin of the dashboard comes from the wooden board that carriage makers attached to the front of horse carriages to prevent mud and rocks from being splashed (or “dashed”) onto drivers and their passengers by the horses that pulled them (https://www.thehogring.com/2012/11/25/where-did-the-term-dashboard-come-from/). Since then, dashboard evolved to become a key feature of e.g. the automobile in the form of a physical instrument panel that display critical information to the driver. This article will focus not focus on these physical instrument panel dashboards, but instead on digital dashboards that display key information needed to achieve objectives in a business or project-related context. These types of dashboards are commonly referred to as Business Intelligence (BI) Dashboards.
BI dashboards were first properly introduced in the 1980s, as corporations became increasingly data driven and digitalized. While the idea and the vision of the BI dashboard was very sound, the practical application was rarely successful until in the late 1990s, when more effective data warehousing and business intelligence methodologies meant that data had become more reliable and accessible. Since then, the dashboard has become increasingly practical and effective as corporations become increasingly data driven; leading to a surge in its popularity (Stephen Few, Information Dashboard Design, p. 23).
There is a fair degree of diversity in products that can be categorized as ‘dashboards’, and therefore it can be difficult to pin it down to a definitive definition. One definition, that appeared in Intelligent Enterprise magazine, is the following:
- “A dashboard is a visual display of the most important information needed to achieve one or more objectives; consolidated and arranged on a single screen so the information can be monitored at a glance.” (Stephen Few, "Dashboard Confusion", Intelligent Enterprise, March 20, 2004)
