So You Think You Want a Dashboard?

In public health, data collection is a key and regular activity, but as we’ve previously discussed (here and here) there is a big difference between data simply existing and data being put into critical use to improve health outcomes. Data visualization has an ability to bridge this divide, and dashboards are a popular example of data viz bringing actionable information to people’s fingertips.

If you’re about to (or aspire to) embark on the journey of designing a new dashboard with data, a bit of advance planning can set you up for success in how your hard work is used for decision-making.

JSI’s Center for Health Information Monitoring and Evaluation (CHIME) created a guide, Designing a New Data Dashboard, that breaks down the process of designing a dashboard. It offers a series of recommendations and considerations for each phase and is suited to be adapted in a variety of contexts. Intended to be used as a tool to assist teams as they collect user requirements, technical needs, and applications, it’s also a resource to guide the conversation between the dashboard designer and technical staff, serving as a grounding point for the brainstorming period.

Explore the guide here.

Read More:

Five Lessons Learned from Applying Design Thinking to Data Use

An Innovative Approach to Improving Health Data Use in Ethiopia

Who Needs to Do What? How We Use Data to Plan for Activating Families and Communities to Support Breastfeeding