UX for SAP Analytics People Stories – How to make data beautiful

In our previous article “Turn data into action with People Analytics” we described how important it is to create visual data representation to take advantage of the brain’s ability to process images much faster than texts.

SAP Analytics allows the creation of interaction dashboards which include tables or charts.

To leverage the full power of dashboards, it is fundamental to present data in a clear, simple and intuitive way. Furthermore, clear texts are needed to present the data and guide the user throughout the dashboard.

How can user-friendly dashboards be designed?

In this article we tell our experience about designing easy-to-read dashboards in SAP People Analytics, and we explain the importance of guiding the user through dashboards.

Analyzing the requestor’s requirements

First, before we start the design of the dashboard, we need to analyze the requirements.

What are the objectives of the dashboard? What decision or action should be taken based on the data shown?
Who’s the target of the dashboard?
Is this target already familiar with data analysis?
What is the most relevant data?

These are some examples of the questions that need to be asked to start the design.

Good content is designed if we switch the perspective: from ourselves to the correct user target.

Consistent design

After the requirement analysis has been done, we can start drafting a coherent project.

We need to define main content areas: are there data sets that belong to the same topic and that can be presented together? These content areas, ideally, correspond to the dashboard pages.

Contents need to be logically ordered, and the most relevant data needs to be graphically emphasized.

Based on the complexity of the dashboard, we have a different number of pages. Each page should be essentially and clearly focused on a specific information. This can help the user to take a decision with more awareness, based on the information conveyed by the data.

During the design phase, close team collaboration between different professionals is fundamental: the Data Analyst, the Graphic Designer and the UX Designer need to work together to obtain a coherent, well founded and user-friendly result.

Furthermore, the design team should consider that the dashboard might be viewed both via desktop, and via mobile. Therefore, the dashboard needs to be responsive.

Welcome page

Once the core pages of the dashboard are drafted, it is fundamental to design a welcome page as the cover of the dashboard.

The welcome page should guide the user and briefly explain the objectives of the dashboard, the structure of the main pages and general tips on how to use and navigate the dashboard.

Microcopy: the core of user experience

The welcome page should not be the only place where to put relevant information to guide the user.

The most relevant information must be in the specific context, right where the user needs it.

In fact, microcopy texts need to be placed near the various charts and tables to explain the data on display. The most important principle is to take nothing for granted and provide self-explicatory content to guide the user.

For example, a brief introduction can be placed on each page to explain the specific purpose and content.

Furthermore, each widget and control should have a dedicated description to explain its functionality and the most difficult features.

If there are some abbreviations, they must be clarified with a specific legend.

If some actions are needed to obtain a specific result, the process must be explained using examples.

The user may feel lost in the sea of data: it is up to us to offer ourselves as a guide, by using the right words with the correct tone of voice.

Contacts and assistance

Although careful content design has been done, the user may still need assistance using the dashboard. Or maybe his/her feedback can provide useful input to improve the experience.

This is why it is essential to make support contacts available. These contacts are a reference for the user, for any question.

The contact page or contact section must be clearly visible across the dashboard.

Dashboards: it’s not just about data

In this article we highlighted the importance of the user experience in dashboards, by indicating the main suggestions to design user-friendly content.

However, each dashboard is different, so it requires a specific and in-depth design.

Do you need to develop a dashboard, and do you want it to be easy to use?

Reach out to us and we will find the best solution for you!