Designing dashboards non-technical teams actually use

Teams ignore dashboards when they cannot see themselves in the data. For a consulting firm juggling simultaneous engagements, we needed a way to surface project health without expecting every partner to learn SQL.

Align language before visuals

We started with vocabulary. Every metric had to match how the business already spoke about deliverables, approvals, and risks. By running naming workshops, we eliminated jargon and made sure the nomenclature worked in both English and Spanish.

Ship slices, not monoliths

Instead of building a single massive dashboard, we released focused slices: sales pipeline health, active delivery status, and post-engagement outcomes. Each slice shipped with success criteria and a feedback loop.

Automate the upkeep

To keep the system sustainable, we automated data ingestion using a lightweight ETL pipeline running on scheduled serverless functions. Front-end updates were driven by Astro partial hydration, so the UI stayed fast without sacrificing interactivity.

The result: teams adopted the dashboard because it spoke their language, answered specific questions, and stayed accurate without additional toil.