Data dashboards have rapidly become more prevalent in recent years due to an increased desire for quickly digestible information. Due to the speed of popularity growth there has been very little time spent on the refinement of this form. As with any developing design trend, there is a period of exploration that pushes boundaries and attempts to define the design space in which the trend will rest. This exploration has gone on for quite some time, with the first data dashboards beginning to be developed around the 1980’s in the form of Executive Information Systems (EIS).
These early iterations of what we call a Data Dashboard today were not stored on the internet but were rather used by businesses internally as a way to make data driven decisions quickly and effectively. This practice is what laid the groundwork for the Dashboards we see today, and are rooted in the ability to access complex data quickly and efficiently. Although the concept of tiled data visualizations in the form of a dashboard has been in use for decades, there has yet to be a set of best practices developed for the design and implementation of dashboards in specific work environments or sectors. There have however been several books written about the general concept of creating an informational dashboard but the resources available for those creating these visualizations have remained vague and non-specific.
The needs of agencies in different sectors and fields of study or service vary so greatly that the application of generalized guidelines can become difficult as particular needs are not met. To further explain the need for discourse specific design guidelines, the concept of accessibility in design offers a unique embodiment of the differing needs of a field of practice. Accessibility in this context can be defined by the considerations made in order to provide public data and materials in a manner which can be understood and accessed by any member of the public regardless of any disability that they may face.
To learn more about dashboarding in the public sector, read through the pdf attached!
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