Imagine this.
Your dashboard gets opened in a meeting.
You’re not there.
But it is.
And it has to speak for you.
In that moment, your build isn’t just a tool. It’s your representative.
So the real question is: Can it steer the decisions without you?
If it can’t – it’s not finished. Not yet anyway.
That’s the Self-Steering Dashboard Principle.
(But don’t let that stop you getting it out there and being used in the real world…just make sure you follow up on how its being used in your launch plan.)
🚘 Why This Principle Matters More Than Ever
Most dashboards are built with the original users in mind.
They know where the data came from.
They know what each number means.
They can fill in the blanks if something looks off.
But what happens when:
- They’re off sick?
- Someone else presents their dashboard?
- The decision-maker is two layers removed from the analyst?
That’s when most dashboards collapse.
You built it to support decisions – but without you or the initial user in the room, it becomes a wall of charts.
Self-Steering Dashboards are different.
They’re designed for decisions to happen confidently without explanation.
Think of them like a car’s lane assist – built-in guardrails that keep people moving forward safely, even if they’re not fully in control.
Because in most organisations, dashboards don’t live in the hands of analysts.
They live in SharePoint folders or collaboration portals.
They get screen-shared in meetings.
They become part of a deck.
And if you’re not in that room, your dashboard either adds clarity – or causes chaos, arguments and embarrassment…
🧠 What Makes a Dashboard “Self-Steering”?
It’s not just interactivity.
And it’s definitely not more charts.
A self-steering dashboard does three things well:
- Guides users toward the right questions
- Reduces ambiguity at every step
- Anticipates decisions and helps shape them
This isn’t just design polish. It’s business-critical. One NHS Trust dashboard Steve worked on was being misread for months – because the date filters were counter-intuitive. Once redesigned using a “self-steering” approach, usage went up and duplicate investigations dropped by 20%.
📐 How to Build One
We recommend using the Powerful Dashboards Framework.
1. Turbocharged Build
Scope Agreed
Design the dashboard as if it won’t be presented live.
Ask:
- What questions does this dashboard need to answer without presenter guidance?
- Where are people likely to misunderstand the data?
If you don’t scope that in, you scope in confusion.
Templates Selected
Consistency isn’t just visual – it’s functional memory.
Think of your dashboard like a hire car: if the indicators are where you expect them to be, you’re safer. Templates do that for your charts and dashboards.
2. Fast-Track Learning
Great Charts
Every chart should pull its weight. And its job is to move the conversation forward.
Use labels, annotations, and intentional ordering to do the talking. Think: What does this say before someone clicks anything?
As Nancy Duarte writes in Slide:ology, “Design isn’t decoration. It’s communication.” Your chart has 5 seconds to speak – or it’s lost.
Interactive Dashboard
A self-steering dashboard isn’t a playground. It’s a guided journey.
Design interactions like decision-paths. If a stakeholder clicks a filter, what are they hoping to uncover next? Build for that, not for “every possible combination.”
3. Quality Confidence
Peer Reviewed
Run usability tests. Literally.
Put someone unfamiliar in front of the dashboard and ask them to answer real-world questions.
Where do they hesitate? Misread? Skip? That’s where steering is broken.
MVP Published
Don’t wait for perfection.
Ship a clean draft. Observe usage.
Track what needs clarification – then bake that into the design, not the documentation.
As one VizDJ client said after reviewing their team’s Tableau rollout:
“We didn’t realise how much of our dashboard’s ‘clarity’ was actually just us remembering what we meant by each chart.”
That’s the point. Memory shouldn’t be a requirement.
🔚 Want to Learn This by Doing?
The best dashboards don’t just look good.
They work when you’re not around.
That’s why we’re building…
✅ A community where dashboards get used
✅ Coming soon…A pilot course (co-led with Tableau Visionary Dawn Harrington)
…designed to help you build dashboards that steer real decisions – even when you’re not in the room.
🟡 Join the waitlist for the Tableau Insights Community
🟣 Ping me (on LinkedIn or email) to get on the waitlist for our pilot course
…and let your dashboards do the talking.
🧪 Related Concepts
Cognitive Load Theory (Sweller, 1988)
The more unfamiliar elements users have to process, the harder it is to act. A self-steering dashboard reduces mental clutter – making decisions easier and faster.
Krug’s Law of Usability
“Don’t make me think.” If your dashboard raises more questions than it answers, you’ve added data – not value.
Full-Spectrum Thinking (Think_DigitalBook)
The best dashboards speak to logic and intuition. They offer data, patterns, and stories – all in one interface.
