Dashboard Health & Distribution Checklist

{ "Title": "Dashboard Health & Distribution Checklist", "IntroductionHtml": "

Purpose: Use this checklist to quickly evaluate whether a dashboard is useful, accurate, and reaching the right people. For each item, mark whether the dashboard meets the expectation, add notes for problems, and capture next steps or handoff details. This helps prevent dashboards from becoming ignored artifacts and makes next actions obvious.

How to use: Answer each check, add troubleshooting or handoff notes where needed, then save the checklist. Consider running this review on a regular cadence (weekly for high-impact dashboards, monthly for operational dashboards, quarterly for strategic dashboards).

", "SubmitLabel": "Save checklist", "SuccessMessage": "Dashboard checklist saved. Use the notes to assign fixes and follow up.", "DataType": "DashboardHealthChecklist", "SchemaVersion": "1.0", "Fields": [ { "Key": "decision_purpose_ok", "Label": "Clear decision purpose", "FieldType": "yesno", "HelpText": "Does the dashboard make the intended decision or action that users should take obvious?" }, { "Key": "single_page_prioritization_ok", "Label": "Single-page prioritization", "FieldType": "yesno", "HelpText": "Is the most important information visible without scrolling and clearly prioritized for the target role?" }, { "Key": "metric_definitions_ok", "Label": "Correct metric definitions & owners", "FieldType": "yesno", "HelpText": "Are every metric and calculation defined, and does each have a named owner responsible for accuracy?" }, { "Key": "data_freshness_ok", "Label": "Data freshness & latency", "FieldType": "yesno", "HelpText": "Is the data refreshed frequently enough to support the intended decision rhythm?" }, { "Key": "data_quality_checks_ok", "Label": "Data quality checks", "FieldType": "yesno", "HelpText": "Are there automated or documented checks for obvious errors, missing values, and anomalies?" }, { "Key": "alerting_thresholds_ok", "Label": "Alerting and thresholds", "FieldType": "yesno", "HelpText": "Are actionable alerts defined with owners and escalation steps (not just cosmetic color changes)?" }, { "Key": "user_access_patterns_ok", "Label": "User access & usage patterns", "FieldType": "yesno", "HelpText": "Is access appropriately restricted and do usage logs show the dashboard is being used by intended roles?" }, { "Key": "distribution_cadence_ok", "Label": "Distribution cadence & routing", "FieldType": "yesno", "HelpText": "Is there a documented distribution schedule (email, meetings, embedded links) aligned to decision rhythms?" }, { "Key": "usability_accessibility_ok", "Label": "Usability and accessibility checks", "FieldType": "yesno", "HelpText": "Is the dashboard readable (labels, colors, contrast), navigable, and accessible to people with common needs?" }, { "Key": "ownership_and_handoff_ok", "Label": "Ownership and handoff readiness", "FieldType": "yesno", "HelpText": "Is there a clear creator/maintainer, documented sources, and a handoff plan for when ownership changes?" }, { "Key": "overall_readiness", "Label": "Overall readiness (1=needs work, 5=ready for action)", "FieldType": "scale", "HelpText": "Quick subjective rating to capture overall confidence that this dashboard will drive reliable action.", "Min": 1, "Max": 5 }, { "Key": "troubleshooting_notes", "Label": "Troubleshooting notes (if any checks failed)", "FieldType": "textarea", "HelpText": "Describe observed problems, suspicious metrics, likely causes, and quick checks to validate issues. Include links to sample data or screenshots where helpful." }, { "Key": "recommended_fixes", "Label": "Recommended fixes and next actions", "FieldType": "textarea", "HelpText": "Capture concrete next steps, owners, and target dates for fixes (e.g., update metric definition, add data check, change distribution schedule)." }, { "Key": "handoff_notes", "Label": "Handoff / communication notes", "FieldType": "textarea", "HelpText": "Notes to share with consumers or the future owner: purpose summary, known limitations, and where to ask questions." }, { "Key": "screenshot_or_link", "Label": "Dashboard URL or screenshot link", "FieldType": "text", "HelpText": "Provide the dashboard link or a reference to a representative screenshot to help reviewers find the exact artifact." } ] }