Book cover of 'Dashboards That Deliver' by Steve Wexler, Jeffery Shaffer, Andy Cotgreave, and Amanda Makulec. The cover features a purple background with abstract text and design elements, focusing on how to design, develop, and deploy effective dashboards. Published by Wiley.

A new book to help you build dashboards that make an impact.

Available now!

What people are saying about Dashboards that Deliver

“You've designed a gorgeous dashboard that relies on well-chosen charts and intuitive interactivity, but if you didn't continuously involve your end-users during development, your dashboard is likely to fail.  

This book teaches a powerful and flexible process infused with critical themes from design thinking and agile development. It's illustrated with detailed examples, distilled from 50+ years of collective experience, and is written with humor and verve. It's my new textbook for my course at Kellogg.” 

Steve Franconeri, Professor of Management and Organizations, Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University

Want a peek into the book? Download three free chapters, including the Dashboards That Deliver framework overview.

“Steve, Jeff, Andy, and Amanda bring unmatched expertise to this guide. In Dashboards that Deliver, they’ve distilled years of experience into a thoughtful, usable framework—brought to life through a plethora of real-world examples.

It's full of ideas you can use to elevate both your dashboards and the conversations around them. A fantastic resource.” 

Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic, CEO and author of storytelling with data 

Dashboards That Deliver: How to Design, Develop, and Deploy Dashboards That Work teaches you a complete process of dashboard creation, from the initial spark, through discovery and prototyping, to release and maintenance.

Ever heard that you should '“design for your audience” when you’re making a dashboard, but not sure where to get started? Or have you been asked to measure the success of your dashboard, but quantifying its value feels abstract?

This new book addresses the human and social factors in making successful dashboards. You'll learn how to apply the process whether you're a sole data analyst, or the head of business intelligence in a large enterprise.

Also included are over a dozen detailed chapters featuring real-world dashboards from different industries (healthcare, transportation, etc.), departments (finance, marketing, human resources), and platforms (print, desktop, cellphone, etc.). There are dashboards designed for different audiences, including one that has had 2.5 billion views. Each one has a unique creation story you can learn from and apply.

The expert authors have a combined fifty-plus years of hands-on experience helping people in hundreds of organizations build effective dashboards. They have seen multiple successes and failures, bringing their own stories and empathy to help readers survive and thrive in a rapidly changing data landscape.

Abstract geometric design with two diamond shapes, a circle, a rounded rectangular strip, and a small light bulb icon.

An adaptable framework

Building on our combined 50+ years of experience, we’ve mapped out a framework anyone can use to build better dashboards, no matter what tool you’re using.

We use principles from UX design and Agile blended with best practices in data visualization to give you the roadmap you’ve been looking for. Even if you’re using AI as a collaborator in your design process, you’ll find the framework helps you better utilize AI tools in your workflow.

Collage of data dashboards including currency value analysis, healthcare metrics for Betzendahl Hospital, and climate data visualization with maps and charts.

Real World Scenarios

Learn how real organizations have built their own dashboards that deliver, highlighting parts of the DTD Framework put into practice. From a dashboard built for a high school bowling coach to a dashboard with more than 2.5 billion views around the world, you’ll find insight in each scenario that you can apply in your work.

Meet the Authors

  • Man wearing glasses, a dotted shirt, and a blazer, smiling in a black and white portrait.

    Andy Cotgreave

  • Black and white portrait of a woman smiling, wearing a long-sleeve top.

    Amanda Makulec

  • Black and white portrait of a man in a suit with a tie, smiling.

    Jeffrey Shaffer

  • Black and white portrait of a man in a suit and tie with hands clasped.

    Steve Wexler

“Years of experience coupled with practical advice and a touch of humor make Dashboards That Delivera go-to reference book that all dashboard practitioners should keep close at hand.” 

Jim Sterne, Author, Keynoter, Target Marketing of Santa Barbara 

"Dashboards that Deliver is the practical, end-to-end guide the data world has been missing. Written by leading experts, it's refreshingly real about what it takes to create dashboards that truly transform organizations. With a clear, actionable framework covering planning to post-launch, this book will help you make better decisions – and lasting impact.”

Dr. Morgan Depenbusch, People Analytics Leader (Google, Snowflake) 

Dashboards that Deliver Table of Contents

Get a glimpse into the inside of Dashboards that Deliver, from chapters on our design framework to chapters on AI and data visualization, in the Table of Contents below.

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