Carla Märkl
Erno Marius Obogeanu-Hempel
Management dashboards are software solutions that provide a clear overview of the most important company-related key performance indicators. Their goal is to enable managers to make data-based decisions. However, in day-to-day operations, when informed decisions need to be made directly by employees at the point of action, real-time dashboards or operational management dashboards help to deliver the right information to the right person at the right time.
In this article, we will introduce you to four different examples of such real-time management dashboards. We will also show you the dos and don’ts of creating a dashboard.
real-time management dashboards definition.
Operational management dashboards provide employees with a real-time visualization of data at a glance. Such dashboards exist for all kinds of areas and departments. In this chapter, we will introduce you to some common operational management dashboards with specific examples. You can easily build and customize all the dashboards presented here with our free software, the Peakboard Designer, or download them from our templates.
- IT Management Dashboard
- Fleet Management Dashboard
- Lean Management Dashboard
- OKR Management Dashboard
example IT management dashboard & explanation.
The following two images show what real-time management dashboards can look like for the IT department.
This template maps the server room with the server racks and displays the utilization of each server. In addition, sensors can be integrated to measure the temperature, as well as an alarm system. The temperature of all servers is also displayed on the dashboard.
You can see the most important real-time data from up to three servers on this template in a visually appealing way. It provides information about network utilization, CPU, storage space and RAM. It also shows the last reboot, the last backup and the runtime.
example fleet management dashboard & explanation.
This template for a Fleet Management Dashboard shows how many vehicles are available, in use or in the workshop. It also shows when appointments are scheduled for the repair shop or customer service. Costs are also listed. The real-time data is clearly visualized in different diagrams and listings.
example lean management dashboard & explanation.
This dashboard displays important key figures of a production line in real time. It shows the status of the current order and provides information about the degree of achievement of the production target. In addition, news and the responsible employee are displayed. In a reduced view, information on other production lines is also visualized.
example okr management dashboard & explanation.
The OKR method is a management method that aligns the individual goals of employees and teams with the company’s goals and thus makes them measurable. As employees can see that their commitment contributes to the achievement of the company’s goals, their motivation and identification with their own work increases.
The following OKR dashboard can display up to four OKR sets.
The four OKR examples displayed consist of a qualitative objective and three quantitative key results each. The progress towards the Objective is measured by the degree of achievement of the Key Results. With the OKR Dashboard, all OKR sets can be viewed at a glance.
dos and don’ts when creating a management dashboard.
There are a few things to consider when creating operational management dashboards. The following overview shows how to set up your ideal management dashboard.
- Keep your dashboard as simple as possible - the focus is on the metrics
- Analyze in advance which metrics provide the most information about progress and target achievement
- If you decide to use a template, customize it to your individual requirements
- Don't use too many different colors or fonts on your dashboard
- Avoid placing too many dashboard elements on a single slide
- Make sure to keep your target audience, the future users of the dashboard, in mind and think about their needs
Erno Marius Obogeanu-Hempel – visionary, thought leader and recognized expert in the fields of digitization, strategy, OKR, digital transformation and innovation for more than two decades. With valuable practical experience, he inspires people and advises companies. He acquired his digital mindset on his numerous work stays in Silicon Valley. From there, he also brought back new methods and approaches. Erno Marius Obogeanu-Hempel: Author and contributor to several books, university lecturer, keynote speaker, and founder and CEO of the consultancy DigitalWinners.
