r/dataanalysis • u/EditorDue6725 • 8d ago

Data Question How do you know when a dashboard has too many metrics?

I’m practicing dashboard design and keep adding metrics because they all seem potentially useful. At some point it starts feeling more like a data dump than something that actually helps with decisions.

How do you decide what stays and what gets removed?

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u/Wheres_my_warg DA Moderator 📊 7d ago

It is generally best to work with the end user to find out what actually makes a useful metric for them. The dashboard should exist to answer a business question. It should focus on the information that does that. The end users usually have a sense of what is important and not.

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u/Pale_Squash_4263 7d ago

Data dumps themselves are not necessarily bad. I find the reports that feel cluttered are because each part of the dashboard relies off all the other parts. So sales relies on opportunities, which relies on number of contacts, which relies on number of salespeople, etc. when viewing the dashboard, you have to keep that context in your head at the same time

If you split things out into logical components. Even “busy” dashboards can be readable

So you might have one section dedicated to opportunities, one dedicated to sales personnel, etc

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u/bayouski 7d ago

i usually separate metrics into the ones someone actually needs to make a decision and the ones that are mainly useful for diagnosing why something changed.

the first group stays on the main dashboard, the second can live in drilldowns. if two metrics tell basically the same story or one wouldn't change what anyone does, i'd probably remove it from the main view.