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Course Library · Lesson 5 of 6
Digital · Guided lesson

Design a decision dashboard

About 33 minutes · 5 reading + 28 practice and checks
Work at your own pace. Optional videos take extra time.
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Before you begin

The idea in everyday life

A dashboard is a decision surface, not a trophy wall of charts. Lead with the few measures and comparisons the audience needs, show period and filters, use truthful axes, and make exceptions actionable. Keep detailed data available for investigation.

The idea

A dashboard is a decision surface, not a collage of everything the data can display.

Try it

One step at a time.

Use the sample or information you have permission to use. Keep your work as you go. You can pause between steps.

  1. 1

    Name the audience, how often decisions are made, and actions the dashboard should trigger.

  2. 2

    Lead with a small set of defined key metrics, then show trend, target, driver, and exception.

  3. 3

    Use tables for exact lookup and charts for patterns; label directly and remove decorative clutter.

  4. 4

    Show date range, filter state, refresh time, units, definitions, and source limitations.

Example

See how it works.

The sales dashboard shows current revenue versus target, prior-period comparison, cancellation rate, and a region breakdown. A note defines the refresh date and revenue logic. The highest cancellation region links to a filtered detail table for follow-up.

Check your work

Did you cover these?

  • Every visual answers a named decision question.
  • Definitions, units, periods, filters, and refresh date are visible.
  • Color is used consistently and never as the only carrier of meaning.
Your work

What to finish

A one-screen dashboard with no more than six key views and a definitions panel.

Common mistake

Watch for this

Using 3D charts, inconsistent scales, or unexplained color to make weak information feel analytical.

How can I tell I understand it?

A decision-maker can identify what changed, why it matters, and what to inspect next in one minute.

Try 3 questions

Quick knowledge check

Answer all 3 questions. Get at least 2 right and the lesson completes automatically.

Not yet passed

You’ll get an explanation for each answer. Signed in? Your results save to your account.

1A weekly training dashboard uses this rule: flag completion below 80%. Group A completed 18 of 20 tasks; Group B completed 14 of 20. Which group should be flagged, and why?
2A dashboard says “Applications: 12,” but the reader needs to decide what to follow up this week. Which revision makes the count useful for that decision?
3Two comparable monthly totals are 98 and 100. A bar chart starts its vertical axis at 97, making the second bar appear three times as tall. What presentation change addresses the distortion?
0 of 3 answeredApply the lesson to a short question, then review the explanation.
5
Finish this lesson

Pass the check. We’ll save the progress.

Answer all 3 questions above and get at least 2 right. You can review the explanations and try again.

Go to the knowledge check
Optional course overview video · same video as Lesson 1
Kevin StratvertPivot Table Excel TutorialYouTube
Optional course overview

Pivot Table Excel Tutorial

From Kevin Stratvert. Watch here or open it on YouTube .

Use the pivot chart workflow in the video as an engine; then simplify the visible output until a reader can name the main exception in ten seconds.
Tools, templates, and lesson sources

Tools and templates

Tools open in a new tab so you can keep your place here.

Sources and further reading

Explore the references behind this lesson.

Microsoft — Excel help & learning
Google — Sheets training and help
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