Dashboard Evolution and Retirement

Dashboards are not permanent installations. They are tools that serve specific decisions during specific business phases. When the decision changes, the dashboard must evolve. When the decision no longer exists, the dashboard should be retired. The quarterly dashboard review evaluates each dashboard on three criteria: usage (is it being viewed regularly?), action (are decisions being made from it?), and accuracy (is the data reliable and current?). A dashboard that fails any criterion gets investigated. Failing all three gets retired. The dashboard portfolio should grow and shrink with the business — adding new dashboards as new decisions emerge and retiring old ones as the business evolves. An organization with fifty dashboards and active usage of twelve is wasting maintenance effort on thirty-eight.