# Dashboard > Use when building or fixing a KPI dashboard decision-makers must read in one screen: which metrics earn a tile, how each tile is framed to answer a decision, and which chart fits it. NOT defining the metrics or their targets (that is kpi-framework), wiring the data (that is analytics), or writing a narrative status report (that is reporting). - Skill: `ericrisco/dashboard` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 6 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add ericrisco/dashboard` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/ericrisco/dashboard/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Data & Analytics - Author: ericrisco (https://skillmd.com/u/ericrisco) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/ericrisco/dashboard --- # dashboard A dashboard is read in **5 seconds by someone who will not scroll**. If a busy reader cannot grasp business status that fast, the design failed — no matter how accurate the numbers are. Your job here is **arrangement, framing, and chart choice**, producing a checkable artifact: - `dashboard.yaml` — a tile manifest (each tile: metric, chart, comparison, owner, refresh, decision). - a one-screen layout sketch placing the north-star top-left. You do **not** decide which metrics matter (that is [kpi-framework](../kpi-framework/SKILL.md)) and you do **not** wire the data source (that is [analytics](../analytics/SKILL.md)). You take a metric set that already exists and make it readable at a glance. Run `scripts/verify.sh dashboard.yaml` before you hand off. It checks shape and discipline — tile count 1-9, exactly one `north_star: true`, the required keys on every tile, no banned charts — never whether the numbers are correct. ## The Decision Test gate No tile exists until its metric names the **action it drives**. Ask: *what does someone do differently based on this number?* If the answer is vague ("good to know", "shows we're growing"), the metric is vanity — cut it or convert it. A tile that changes no decision is decoration. | Vanity metric (Bad) | Actionable conversion (Good) | Decision it drives | | --- | --- | --- | | Total followers | Follower-growth rate WoW | Double down or change content cadence | | Total page views | Conversion rate by source | Reallocate spend to the converting channel | | Cumulative signups | Activation rate (signup → key action) | Fix onboarding if activation drops | | Total revenue (all-time) | MRR + net revenue retention | Whether to hire / extend runway | | App downloads | 7-day retention | Kill or scale the acquisition channel | Rule: an always-up counter ("total X") is almost always vanity. Convert it to a **rate or ratio** that can go down. Why: a number that only ever rises never triggers an action. ## Tile budget: 5-9, exactly one north-star Executive dashboards carry roughly **5 to 9 KPIs**. Human working memory caps near ~7 items; more tiles cause analysis paralysis and the screen stops being a glance. - Exactly **one** tile flagged `north_star: true`. Why: a glance needs a single first read. - 4-8 supporting tiles around it. Total ≤ 9. When a stakeholder demands 20 metrics, do not cram them — **tier**: - [ ] Does this metric drive a decision the leadership team makes weekly? → main screen. - [ ] Is it a diagnostic you only check *after* a main tile turns red? → drill-down view, linked from the parent tile. - [ ] Is it commentary / context that needs prose? → route to [reporting](../reporting/SKILL.md), not a tile. - [ ] Is it a projection of a metric forward? → [forecasting](../forecasting/SKILL.md), not the live screen. - [ ] Does the user want to slice it freely by dimension? → [business-intelligence](../business-intelligence/SKILL.md), not a fixed tile. ## Framing every tile The minimum viable tile is **not** a number. It is a number plus the context that makes it actionable: ```text value + comparison(target | prior | benchmark) + delta + units + date range + RYG status + owner + refresh cadence ``` Bad → Good: ```text Bad: Churn: 4.1% Good: Monthly logo churn — 4.1% ▲0.6pp vs prior month (target ≤3.0%) 🔴 Owner: Head of CS · Refresh: daily · Range: May 2026 ``` Why each field earns its place: - **comparison** — a number alone has no "is this good?"; target/prior/benchmark supplies it. - **delta** — direction and magnitude of change is the second thing the eye wants. - **units + date range** — "4.1%" of what, over what window; ambiguity kills trust. - **RYG status** — lets the reader triage in the 5-second glance without reading the number. - **owner** — every red tile needs an accountable human, or nothing happens. - **refresh cadence** — tells the reader how stale the number can be; a "real-time" label on a weekly metric is a lie. ## Chart per metric: pick by shape Choose the chart from the **shape of the question**, not from what looks impressive. Full matrix and edge cases in `references/chart-selection.md`. | Metric shape | Chart | Why | | --- | --- | --- | | Single headline number | Big-number tile + delta | Fastest read; the north-star usually lives here | | Trend over time | Line | Slope shows direction instantly | | Category comparison | Sorted horizontal bar | Length is easy to compare; sorting answers "who's worst" | | Target vs actual | **Bullet chart** | Compact, comparable; replaces gauges/dials | | Part-to-whole (≤5 parts) | Stacked bar or treemap | Pie only legible to 3-5 slices | | Correlation | Scatter | Shows relationship between two measures | | Distribution | Histogram | Shape of spread, not just average | Kill-list: no `pie` beyond 5 categories (sorted bar instead) and no `gauge` / `dial` (bullet chart instead) — verify.sh rejects both; no dual-axis, which invents correlations that aren't there; no 3D and no donut-with-center-number gimmicks. ## Layout & data-ink Lay tiles out for the **Z / F scan pattern**: the eye starts top-left, sweeps right, drops down. Put the north-star top-left; group related KPIs together (acquisition cluster, revenue cluster, health cluster). Apply the **data-ink ratio**: if a pixel shows no new information, remove it. Strip heavy borders, drop shadows, gradients, 3D, background textures — they raise cognitive load without adding meaning. **Color is meaning, not decoration.** Use a status palette (red/yellow/green) only for status. A rainbow of tile colors with no semantic meaning makes the screen harder, not friendlier. ```text Before: 9 boxed-and-shadowed tiles, each a different bright color, 3 pie charts, two gauges, no clear starting point. After: north-star top-left (big number + sparkline); flat tiles, hairline separators, neutral palette; RYG reserved for status; bullets replace gauges; sorted bar replaces the pies. ``` ## The artifact: `dashboard.yaml` Emit a manifest a BI tool, a web app, or a human can build from. Short schema here; full field reference in `references/tile-schema.md`. ```yaml # dashboard.yaml — one screen, one north-star title: SaaS Exec Dashboard date_range: "2026-05" tiles: - id: waa north_star: true metric: Weekly Active Accounts chart: big_number # + sparkline trend value_source: warehouse.fct_active_accounts units: accounts comparison: { type: target, value: 1200 } delta: vs_prior_week status_logic: "green ≥ target; yellow ≥ 90%; red < 90%" owner: VP Product refresh: daily decision: "If below 90% of target two weeks running, escalate activation work." - id: nrr metric: Net Revenue Retention chart: big_number comparison: { type: benchmark, value: 110 } # % units: percent owner: VP Sales refresh: monthly decision: "Below 100% triggers a save/expansion review." - id: churn metric: Monthly Logo Churn chart: line comparison: { type: target, value: 3.0 } units: percent owner: Head of CS refresh: daily decision: "Above target investigates cohort + reason codes." - id: runway metric: Cash Runway chart: bullet # actual vs target months comparison: { type: target, value: 18 } units: months owner: CFO refresh: monthly decision: "Under 12 months opens fundraise / cost review." - id: pipeline metric: New Pipeline by Source chart: sorted_bar comparison: { type: prior, value: last_month } units: currency owner: Head of Marketing refresh: weekly decision: "Shift spend toward the top-converting source." layout: north_star: top_left scan: Z groups: [growth, revenue, health] ``` The keys verify.sh requires on every tile: `metric`, `chart`, `comparison`, `owner`, `refresh`, `decision`. ## Anti-patterns | Anti-pattern | Why it fails | Do instead | | --- | --- | --- | | 20 tiles on one screen | Past ~7, no one can read it in 5 seconds | Cut to 5-9; tier the rest to a drill-down | | Vanity metrics (totals, followers) | Never trigger an action | Apply the Decision Test; convert to rates | | Bare numbers, no comparison | No "is this good?" signal | Add target / prior / benchmark + delta | | Pie chart with 8 slices | Slices become unreadable | Sorted horizontal bar | | Gauges and dials | Waste space, resist comparison | Bullet chart | | Rainbow tile colors | Color reads as meaning when it isn't | Neutral tiles; RYG for status only | | "Real-time" on everything | False precision; refresh-cost theater | Match refresh to decision cadence | | It's actually a report | Prose + commentary isn't a glance | Move narrative to reporting | | No north-star | Reader has no entry point | One `north_star: true` tile, top-left | ## Handoff Beyond the routes named above: reading out an experiment or variant significance → [ab-testing](../ab-testing/SKILL.md); visual polish, spacing and type scale of the rendered screen → [design](../design/SKILL.md); pulling or joining the underlying numbers in a sheet → [spreadsheet-ops](../spreadsheet-ops/SKILL.md).