Monthly Archives: July 2009

Google Analytics Marketing Dashboard

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Enterprise Dashboard Example from the Desk of The Dashboard Spy (dashboardspy.com) – Long time readers know that I always approach business dashboard design with a fierce user-centric focus. My background as a user experience director and information architect just doesn’t allow me to do otherwise. (In fact, I’m the originator of a user-centric approach called Users FIRST that I’ll describe in a future post)

Designing a successful user experience (a business intelligence dashboard, in this case) requires an understanding of the true wants and needs of the end user. Note that I use the word “true” when describing a user’s requirements. In my experience, the “true” desires of a user are often not explicitly stated by the user and have to be drawn out. Successfully doing so requires a patient and sincere bonding experience with the user.

In today’s enterprise dashboard example, I highlight a dashboard that is successful exactly because the designers understand the user’s “true” hot buttons. It’s a marketing metrics dashboard from Klipfolio.com, the makers of “desktop dashboards” – widget / gadget like dashboards that reside on the desktop level (they appear automatically when you turn on your pc and can expand and collapse to the sides of your screen).

Specifically, the dashboard that I have in mind is the Klipfolio Google Analytics Dashboard. It’s for web marketers and analysts looking to track the performance of their website in terms of marketing metrics. Typical KPIs include top keywords, visitor statistics, goal conversion rates, etc.

Let’s take a look at the Google Analytics Dashboard first and then I’ll tell you why I think this dashboard is so successful (hint: It gives the user something they really want).

Google Analytics Dashboard from Klipfolio

Here’s why I think that this dashboard really hits the user’s needs square on. Of course, it offers the user those metrics that they really want. In fact, the Klipfolio Dashboard for Google Analytics lets the user choose from what they call “Klips” to put on their dashboard via a control panel. Users can tailor the selection they want from many web site stats and calculations. But the real “secret sauce” of this dashboard is that the designers understood the psychology of the marketing user and their incredible need (sometimes outrageously extreme) to keep refreshing their screens to see the latest Google stats. How many people have hit “refresh” over and over again to see how many new conversions or visitors they get?

By incorporating the “desktop dashboard” approach to information delivery where the data display becomes part of your desktop and automatically refreshing the Google data, this dashboard neatly meets a major need for the user – automatic updates of web stats that are constantly in view yet don’t obscure their desktop nor interfere with their work flow.

I just love the idea. It’s perfect for web analytics and I think can be applied to many other areas of the enterprise.

The Klipfolio Dashboard for Google Analytics just got released in a new version. Here are some details from Klipfolio:

Better visibility into web analytics data benefits marketing professionals, new media agencies, and web masters alike. Klipfolio Dashboard for Google Analytics helps those professionals and organizations improve web-based marketing ROI by removing barriers to using Google Analytics more effectively and often.

Unlike web-based or other applications that must be opened and can hide behind other windows, Klipfolio Dashboard for Google Analytics is a desktop sidebar that keeps key web metrics always visible for “top of mind” awareness and at-a-glance understanding. It enables side-by-side comparison of KPI reports, with current and previous date ranges to provide context and trending information.

With Klipfolio Dashboard for Google Analytics, web-site analysts can read accounts with multiple websites and sub-domains in one place. Its unique ability to duplicate Klips – the small graphical displays that make up Klipfolio dashboards – enables side-by-side goal tracking of multiple websites.

Klipfolio has also updated its Google Adwords Klip to provide more information and Goal Conversion Rate data for Traffic Sources, Adwords, Keywords, and Goals. Its sorting capabilities mean users can quickly see what is performing best, filter out nonperformers, and key in on what matters most. They can drill down on traffic sources for a summary, and then drill into their top referring sites for details.

Klipfolio Dashboard for Google Analytics lets users choose among a variety of Klips, so they can display the web analytics and trends over time that matter to them. Available Klips include top keywords, Web visitor statistics (including page views and bounce rates), traffic sources, goal performance, and Google Adwords campaign performance metrics.

Download the sample and try it out. Let me know if you find the desktop dashboard approach useful and compelling. It’s certainly neat!

Regards

Hubert Lee
The Dashboard Spy

Seth Godin on Dashboards

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Dashboards are getting lots of great press this month. First, we had that picture of President Obama using the Federal IT Dashboard (which identified 45 projects to shut down right away because of cost overruns and schedule concerns).

Now we have marketing guru and possibly the world’s smartest man, Seth Godin, giving dashboards some focus on his blog. In a blog post simply titled “Dashboards”, Seth asks if you’re solving your users’ knowledge problems.

Here’s a quick screen grab of part of Seth’s post:

seth godin dashboards

There’s lots more, so be sure to visit his post. I took only 2 snippets of his post.

With this exposure, business dashboards are really going to take off. Millions of Americans are now checking on their government’s spending through the Federal It Dashboard, most new busines applications have adopted dashboards as the new “home page” content, and now smart people outside of business intelligence (like Seth Godin) are spreading the joys of dashboarding. The whole dashboard approach to presenting data visualizations and business intelligence is about to reach the tipping point.

I’m proud to have done my part in advocating the use of dashboards and educating people about the best practices of dashboard design. It’s gratifying to be part of such a revolution in the presentation of knowledge and information.

Seth Godin is a genius. Note again the 4 points he makes:

  1. If you can add a digital dashboard to your service, do it.
  2. If you can make the dashboard public, it gets more powerful.
  3. Highlight data that changes behavior.
  4. Allow the user to highlight the information that matters to them.

Watch the hyperbolic adoption rate of business dashboards from this point. And remember, I called it!

Hubert Lee
The Dashboard Spy

For more insights, and to receive a valuable dashboard html template, sign up for The Dashboard Spy Newsletter.

Using Dashboards to Cut Bad Projects

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Business dashboards enable management transparency which in turn allows the entire user base to “call out” unacceptable levels of performance. We are seeing this in a major way with the Federal IT Dashboard. Since the launch, there has been quite a bit of focus on the “red” indicators showing up on the dashboard charts for the various agencies. Secretary of Veteran’s Affairs, Eric K. Shinseki has taken major action in halting bad projects – probably to head off negative press. And of course, unless the VA is the only government department with problematic I.T. projects, watch for other departments to cancel their projects as well.

In a blog post titled “Evidence-based Decisions“, Federal CIO Vivek Kundra announced that the new Federal IT Dashboard has identified 45 information technology projects that are being immediately halted. These projects are either so behind schedule or over budget that they cannot continue until a determination is made as to whether or not they are worth it.

The 45 projects belong to the Veterans Affairs Department and total $200 million in budget. The worst project identified is over 17 months late and 110% over budget.

Here’s a screenshot of the top page of the dashboard showing the Veterans Administration bar charts. Notice all the red in the bottom bar:

Veterans Administration IT Dashboard

These decisions come about 2 weeks after the launch of the Federal IT Dashboard. Kundra credits the role of the I.T. dashboard in identifying the problem projects, but cautions that a business dashboard is not a substitute for good management.

“We were able to catch these contracts, in part, thanks to our new tool, the ‘IT Dashboard,’ which helped shed light on the performance of projects across the federal government,” Kundra wrote.

If you are just hearing about the IT Dashboard for the first time, it allows you to see which IT projects are working and on-schedule (and which are not), offer alternative approaches, and provide direct feedback to the chief information officers at federal agencies.

Given the size and complexity of the federal IT portfolio, the challenges we face are substantial and persistent. The dashboard is not a substitute for good management. Its value comes from leaders who use the information to make tough, evidence-based decisions on the future of IT investments.

The VA’s announcement is part of a broader effort by the Administration to make the federal government more transparent and to boost accountability and drive better performance. From IT accountability to personnel and contracting reforms, the administration is committed to providing better value, efficiency, and effectiveness for taxpayers’ dollars.

Hubert Lee
The Dashboard Spy

PS. New Book on Dashboards: Business Dashboards: A Visual Catalog for Design and Deployment

Federal Dashboard Reaches 20 Million Hits in 2 Weeks

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In a recent Dashboard Spy post about the Federal Dashboard (see http://www.enterprise-dashboard.com), I lauded the efforts of Federal CIO Vivek Kundra, especially his recent work with the IT Dashboard. Some of you probably thought I was a bit over the top with all my gushing praise about the dashboard and my claim that this ushers in a new level of user consciousness about business dashboards.

Well, the buzz just keeps on growing, and I’m more in love with the IT Dashboard project than ever!

Remember this picture I showed of a certain user taking a look at the Federal IT Dashboard?

Obama Dashboard

Well, it turns out that that President Obama wasn’t the only dashboard user. In the 2 weeks since the launch of the IT dashboard, there have been over 20 million hits. It’s too bad that “hits” as a measure is still being used, because I’d really like to know how many unique visitors there were to the dashboard.

Anyway, my point is that this business dashboard project is extraordinary not only because of the visibility it brings to the government IT spending metrics that it reports on (we know how much we can use greater management transparency!), but because of the incredible visibility of the project itself. The fact that the President of the United States is one of the users giving your dashboard the once over is probably quite thrilling. It brings a whole new meaning to “let’s pay a little attention to the user interface!”.

Also, I’m sure that, once in a while, you worry about your application’s peak loads and how it’s handling a surge of users. Well, how would you like to worry about the infrastructure issues for this project? I suppose that we’re talking world class infrastructure and maintenance.

The other interesting item I wanted to bring to your attention was that the Federal CIO has been blogging about the dashboard and is asking for your feedback and input on future functionality. Check out the IT Dashboard Blog and this statement from Kundra:

For anybody just joining us, the“IT Dashboard” is a new, one-stop clearinghouse of information that allows anyone with a web browser to track federal IT initiatives and hold the government accountable for progress and results. A part of USASpending.gov, the dashboard allows you to see what IT projects are working and on-schedule (and which are not), offer alternative approaches, and provide direct feedback to the chief information officers at federal agencies – in effect, keeping tabs on the people who are responsible for taxpayer dollars for technology.

Leading up to the launch, we tapped the brightest and most innovative minds from Federal agencies, Congress, independent oversight organizations, and the private sector as we built the IT Dashboard. Over 400 federal employees joined our daily open house sessions for a hands-on opportunity to try the Dashboard, check their data, and suggest improvements. Until July 31, CIOs can submit investment evaluations and update other investment data. During this time, you will notice that the site will continue to be in “beta” as we deliver additional key features.

But we can’t simply make this an exercise in federal agency reporting. That is why we started this blog. We want to hear from you about what works and what doesn’t with the site. Is there a more innovative approach that an investment should consider? Does the contract data look incorrect to you? Is there an application that we should add? This is a site to serve you, and to do that, we need to hear from you.

So bookmark this blog, and come back to us often. There is a lot happening over the next few weeks as we review the entire federal IT portfolio, assess the performance of investments, identify areas to save money, improve performance, and share best practices.

Tags: Obama dashboard, federal dashboard, federal it dashboard, IT dashboard