{"id":28414,"date":"2022-11-10T14:43:00","date_gmt":"2022-11-10T13:43:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alistar.net\/?p=28414"},"modified":"2026-10-02T13:38:42","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T11:38:42","slug":"how-to-create-an-effective-dashboard-in-power-bi-in-5-steps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alistar.net\/en\/blog\/in-5-stappen-een-effectief-dashboard-in-power-bi\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Create an Effective Dashboard in Power BI in 5 Steps"},"content":{"rendered":"

A good dashboard or report has at least the following two characteristics: the data reflects reality, and the user can effectively use it to meet their information needs. The latter of these two characteristics is often overlooked: the numbers displayed may be accurate, but the message doesn\u2019t come across. A major pitfall is including as many tables and charts as possible out of fear that information might otherwise be missing. In this blog post, I\u2019ll walk you through a step-by-step plan to help you avoid this\u2014and other\u2014pitfalls. I\u2019ll apply these tips directly to a report that\u2019s factually accurate but could still be improved in terms of effective design. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a page from a report on user statistics for a Power BI environment:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This report is full of information, the elements aren\u2019t neatly aligned, the margins around the elements aren\u2019t uniform, and there\u2019s little structure to it. It\u2019s a good starting point for a report, where a few simple steps can go a long way toward improving the report\u2019s effectiveness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 1: Preparation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Before you start building your dashboard, it's important to have a clear goal in mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Creating a dashboard is just like using your GPS: you have to specify a destination first before it can plan a route. The more accurately you enter where you want to go, the better it can recommend a route that takes you to your desired location. Imagine you want to drive to the Ensior headquarters. If you only enter the town \u2018Driebergen-Rijsenburg\u2019 into the navigation system, you\u2019ll get fairly close to your destination, but only when you also enter the street name and number will you actually arrive at the exact spot you want to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clearly defining your goal is therefore crucial, just as it is when building a dashboard. At first, this will be very basic\u2014for example, \u2018a sales dashboard\u2019 or \u2018an HR dashboard.\u2019 The trick lies in specifying the goal in concrete terms. After all, the end user might want a sales dashboard for management to compare different sales representatives. Or, conversely, a sales dashboard for the sales representatives themselves to track their own sales against their targets. Such details are important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A well-defined goal answers the following questions: What is it? Who is it for? What is the need?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you have a clear understanding of this, you can begin to define the information that needs to be presented to achieve the goal. I recommend doing this the traditional way, using \u2018User Stories.\u2019 A User Story includes a \u2018who,\u2019 a \u2018what,\u2019 and a \u2018why.\u2019 It takes the form If {who}, I want {what} because {why}.<\/em> For example: \u201cAs CEO, I want to know if there\u2019s an upward trend in our revenue over the years because I want to have a better grasp of my company\u2019s growth.\u201d Without these user stories, you run the risk of overlooking important insights while also presenting unnecessary ones, which can make the information overwhelming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 2: A Theme<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Having a good theme can save you a lot of time, especially if you\u2019re going to create multiple reports. You won\u2019t have to set up a large portion of the formatting for each visual individually. This saves time while creating the report and improves consistency. Those who are already experienced with Power BI themes probably know that you can customize more aspects of a theme than what\u2019s available in the theme editor by editing the JSON file, but that\u2019s a bit too advanced for now. If you\u2019re interested in doing this, you can find more information online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The starting point for your theme is your corporate identity. Using your corporate identity not only looks more professional, but it also has a positive effect on how the report is used: taking the step to use Power BI can be a big and daunting one, but using your familiar corporate identity can make that step seem a little less daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All roads lead to Rome, but the way I work is by using the \u2018Color Picker\u2019 in \u2018Microsoft PowerToys\u2019<\/a> which allows me to retrieve the hex code of a selected pixel on my screen. I then enter this into the \u2018Power BI Theme Generator\u2019 by \u2018PowerBI.tips\u2019<\/a>. I usually select \u2018Gradient\u2019 under \u2018Palette.\u2019 If you use the free version, you can\u2019t export the JSON, so you\u2019ll have to copy everything manually into the theme editor in Power BI. You can find this theme editor in Power BI Desktop under View -> the dropdown menu under Themes -> Customize current theme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When using your corporate identity, be mindful of the meanings associated with colors. If we were to use Ensior\u2019s corporate identity, we\u2019d quickly notice red and blue. If we were to use these colors in charts, the red elements would quickly take on a negative connotation. In such cases, focus more on shades of blue and gray, and use red only in places where that negative connotation is intentional\u2014and, at most, in a few details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also try to avoid black and white, especially for text and background colors. Too much contrast makes reading text with these colors less comfortable. For example, use very dark gray instead of black and very light gray instead of white. This reduces the contrast slightly, which is easier on the eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 3: The Layout<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A well-known quote in the real estate world is \u201cLocation, location, location!\u201d<\/em> There's only so much space available, and some locations are more in demand than others. This also applies to dashboard design. You need to think carefully about which visuals really add value, and where on your canvas you'll place them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You don\u2019t need to know the exact details just yet, but figure out roughly how many KPI\/Card visuals and how many other visuals you\u2019ll need. For example, two KPIs on annual sales totals, two KPIs on the number of customers, one visual showing sales throughout the year, and one visual showing sales by product. Also try to determine which ones are more important than others. It helps to already know what level of detail you need\u2014don\u2019t go beyond that. Maybe you don\u2019t need to show sales compared to last year in a line chart at all; a KPI might be enough. If you do end up using the line chart (which takes up more space than the KPI visualization), you\u2019re not making the best use of the space you have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Western cultures, we\u2019re used to reading from left to right and from top to bottom. This means we also read a dashboard in a sort of \u2018F\u2019 shape. Start at the top and read from left to right, then move to the middle row and read it from left to right, and finally read whatever is at the bottom. In the previous step, you already considered which visuals are more important than others; these should therefore be placed higher up on the left. Also, try to place items that are related to one another close together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A helpful tip is to plan it out in PowerPoint. There, you can place shapes and charts for the visuals and easily align them with each other. Also, make sure that the margins between elements are consistent throughout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 4: Formatting Visuals<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Now that you have a good layout, you can start creating visuals. You\u2019ll need to think carefully about which visuals to use, since each type of visual has a specific use case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are certain rules of thumb for choosing your visuals. For example, if it\u2019s about time, it\u2019s probably a line graph. If it\u2019s about different categories, it\u2019s probably a bar or column chart. If it\u2019s about a location, it could be a map. Here\u2019s one from earlier: blog<\/a> rewritten. Try to save a large table or matrix for a detail page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Make sure all information needs are met, but keep it as simple as possible. Every chart should be easy for everyone to read. Give it a clear title and, if necessary, a subtitle, clear axes, axis labels, a legend, etc. Make sure the most important element stands out the most. For example, in a line chart showing sales for the current year and the previous year, this year\u2019s line could be in a theme color, while last year\u2019s sales could be shown in gray.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using icons can also be very helpful for quickly understanding a visual and seeing at a glance what you're looking at. See the example below\u2014the top border from our new BI User Statistics<\/em> report:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Here are a few other practical tips at a glance:<\/p>\n\n\n\n