I’ve already written a post about how dashboards are a horrible way to communicate. I’m here today to remind you that your dashboards still suck. Let’s start with the most recent example.
This image is a useless piece of information. I’m certain somewhere there is a developer proud of how they took a donut chart and made it prettier. And I would agree it is pretty…it’s pretty useless.
Let’s break it down.
This graphic doesn’t tell me anything about the amount of fuel, in gallons (or liters for my non-US readers). And that’s really the most important piece of information. A close second is displaying the range (number of miles/km remaining before empty). Telling me I have 35% fuel remaining has no value unless you know (1) how much fuel is left or (2) how far you can travel before empty.
This is why your dashboards still suck. Right now, you’ve built something, some chart, and the chart is hiding data behind an aggregate, a summation, or a percentage. And I bet it is leading to bad business decisions.
When I pull up to the pump the question I have is “how many gallons can I put in my Jeep”, not “how much percentage”. (As an aside, Jeep does not provide me the size of my tank in the operating manual. I needed to Google that information, it’s 21.5 gallons). If the app can tell me I am at 35% full, they can also tell me I have 7.525 gallons remaining, or that I need 13.975 gallons to fill my tank.
Stop building images that take good data and make it useless.
You’re better than this.
Did you pick the Jeep colour to match the blog?
No, the color picked me!
That is a good looking L1M3 colored Jeep! 😉
Ha! The official name is Mojito!, complete with an exclamation point. But I kinda like L1M3, too.
You’ll have no trouble finding you car in a crowded parking lot 🙂