Showing them their own data.
WHAT CUSTOMERS WANT
Answers to specific questions they already have.
WHAT TO FIND OUT
What those questions are.
WHY
Dashboards built on assumption go unused.
WHAT A USEFUL DASHBOARD SHOWS
Few measures
With context: comparison, trend or target
And a route to the detail behind them
WHY CONTEXT MATTERS
A number alone does not indicate whether it is good.
WHAT EXPORT TO PROVIDE
Spreadsheet download, always.
WHY
Customers combine your data with theirs, and refusing export produces frustration and workarounds.
WHAT SCHEDULED REPORTS PROVIDE
Delivery without anyone signing in.
WHY THAT MATTERS
It reaches people who never use the product directly, including decision-makers.
WHAT TO BE CAREFUL WITH
Reports run against production, slowing everything Very large exports timing out Figures that disagree with other screens
WHY THAT LAST POINT MATTERS MOST
Inconsistent figures destroy confidence in all of them.
WHAT TO DEFINE
Each measure, precisely, and document it.
WHAT TO RUN HEAVY REPORTING FROM
A copy, not the live database.
WHAT TO GENERATE IN THE BACKGROUND
Anything slow, delivered when ready.
WHAT TO SHOW
When the data was last updated.
