2009 Excel Dashboard Competition
Tuesday, September 29, 2009 - We are pleased to announce the winners of the 2009 Excel Dashboard competition.
Thanks to everyone who entered, and congratulations to our winners, below. Please click on the respective link for more detail on each of the winners:
1. Ajay V Singh - Operations Dashboard for a Debt Collections Company.
The target audience are the CXO level execs of the business, aiming to provide a view of all the nerve points of the organization in a single unified interface that is portable and yet comprehensive.
2. John Munoz - Insights into Unemployment in the United States.
Using data from the bureau of Labor statistics, the dashboard gives a deep glimpse into the unemployment situation in the US. A large volume of disparate and tabular information is brought together in a single concise view, which aids understanding and adds real insight. The trends and demographic splits come through very well, and make for easy comparison.
3) Lisa Cunningham - Anti-Social Behaviour Dashboard
The dashboard is produced by the Research and Information Team at Leicestershire County Council as part of a suite of dashboards produced for the Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships. It is available to the public through the local web portal, which makes readability, and also the contact information provided vital. The dashboard aims to provide an at a glance view of the level and trend of ASB, and does an excellent job.
** Note that all data has been obfuscated, and none of the screenshots contain actual data.
The Competition
Like last year, the competition is for real world solutions, we are not providing a sample data set, and we’re looking forward to seeing some great examples of reports, charts and dashboards.
The dashboards are judged on the clarity and effectiveness of their design, particularly
- Clean and clear organization
- Effective table and chart design
- A single-screen display, properly designed for the web, screen or print outs
We’ll also consider technical aspects of the dashboard, did it use effective techniques for
- The Dashboard layout
- Data management, data logic and calculation : YTD figures, variances, etc….
- Dashboard delivery: Sharing the dashboard via PDF, the web or as an Excel Workbook
There will be prizes for the top 3 entries, with the winner having first choice of prize from:
| 1st Prize Amazon gift certificate for $100 |
2nd Prize Stephen Few's New Book “Now You see it” |
3rd Prize Edward Tufte’s classic book “The Visual Display of Quantitative Information” |
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The Rules
We’ve kept the rules simple:
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The solution must be in Excel 2000 or more recent, and not require additional software other than Excel and Chart Tamer, MicroCharts and XLCubed.
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Entries can use any combination of tables, Excel charts, bullet graphs and MicroCharts (sparklines). Each have their strengths and role to play in an effective dashboard
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We will publish the top 3 dashboards on our website, so please ensure this is not problematic for any of your submissions.
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Please change names and data as appropriate in the dashboards to protect the innocent.
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If you are not an existing MicroCharts or Chart Tamer user, you can download your 30 day trial version at http://www.bonavistasystems.com/DownloadMicroCharts.html
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Final Entries by
19 July 200928 August, Judges decision final!
To get inspired have a look at last years winning entries.
Please send your entries to ExcelDashCompetition@XLCubed.com