I want one!
Recently Simpleology.com released a new function on their already awesome platform, Dashboard. And if you haven't seen their blog series about the power of "The Dashboard", definitely check it out here: "The Complexity Gap"! Simply put, it's about putting relevant info in front of you to help you move in the desired direction. "Relevant info" is subjective. Certainly information about the Sun Coronal Hole activity today would make for some awesome images on your dashboard, certainly not relevant to the average entrepreneur.
A ship's engine control room contains hundreds of gauges critical to the propulsion of the ship, yet only a percentage of that information is relayed to the bridge and used for navigation. You'll find a gauge listing the hours an engine has on its service life. Though important, the number of hours is not as relevant as let's say....depth of water. Depth of water may not be as relevant as speed of travel and so on. All of those examples of tracked data represent important info, otherwise it wouldn't be tracked. So it is all important and must be called on when the time is appropriate.
As an entrepreneur I find there are so many bits of information competing for my attention, each with valid reason for attention. Admittedly my RSS feed for lolcatz may not be relevant. I guess in a way, the computer itself is a dashboard already. I'm mainly paperless already, and with most information available online, it is pretty impressive to think about. Schedules, communication, financial, inventory, intellectual property, education, and so much more all at the finger tips. We need less not more...
With all the information available, maybe the key is a smart filter:
- A system that can pipe as much "important" data into a database.
- Of that important data, layers of priority should be automatically assigned. Critical areas need higher priority.
- Since we humans can only process about 7 bits in memory at a time, I guess we need 7 or less key Critical components maximum as a CORE dashboard.
- From there the hierarchy would follow a logical path to least critical is additional layers.
- The dashboard should be interactive to allow the user to dive into each area if necessary
At the end of the day, I already have a functioning dashboard. It works and helps me on a daily basis to keep this ship on course. This desktop computer is the backbone of the operations. I may have to jump from this site, or that site, this folder, or that file, but it is all in an organized chaos that works. I am working on a new dashboard now and I'll save the details about it another day soon... Ok I'll share a small part of it: If you want to get your creative juicing flowing, try to imagine how you can use this to evolve "the dashboard": Engine to power dashboards of tomorrow!
What about you? Are you using a Kanban board to track tasks, projects, revenue generation? Excel spreadsheets for databases? Quickbooks? Google Drive? iCloud? Etche a sketch?
Stay thoughtful! FAP
That video is amazing!
ReplyDeleteIn a way any human interface becomes a dashboard in some sense. Watching that video obviously reminds me of video games - first person shooters for instance, they always have a HUD or a menu system for note, inventory, etc. In fact any game you play where you aren't presented a "dashboard" in a sense probably wouldn't go over well - I mean there are games where its not relevant, but so often it is.
But in a game - the world is compressed and simplified so that any particular HUD or menu system can give you any and all pertinent information at will. I remember one of the 'challenges' of game of 'old' was that bits of information were ONLY available in certain places (like Dragon Warrior NES - oh yeah) while in other game it might be a bit of dialog that you weren't able to 'replay' and you found yourself wondering for what seemed like ages totally lost on what you were supposed to go do or accomplish (again... probably another RPG)!
Without some sense of organizing the information that comes into our world - don't you typically get the same result?
What am I suppose to do or go accomplish? - But with SO much varying media and sources of information - 'on' and 'off' line...
"Where do you find this ultimate dashboard?" - might not be the actual question.
Even when you have it, how do you use it?
Without discipline, training, and a team of individuals to man that engine room - it serves absolutely no purpose.
So what is a 'Dashboard'?
DeleteA anchor for your brain to find harbor in reality? Or an sail for 'reality' to navigate your mind?
Reality is interpreted by our minds, it's up to our minds to determine if we will navigate reality by the stars or gps :)
DeleteHmm, well I just wrote a length reply, and it didn't stick when pressing publish, bummer.
ReplyDeleteFast recap/republish: Yes HUDs are great, they provide info relevant to the specific task and are great in Aircraft and video games. The Taskbar/Dock on computers are a kind of HUD *I hide mine until necessary*. HUDs are like dashboards with slightly different tasks. HUDs put limited but critical info in the line of sight, while the pilot keeps their eyes on the horizon, while a dashboard is out of the line of sight yet is convenient to glance to for the same info. In the same way you "start your car" the dash gives you all the signals to indicate the car's status, I'd like a "start my day" dashboard for life's signals and indications. The most difficult challenge I foresee at the moment is automating this information collection. As you said, a staff in the engine room is key, and hiring the right code for the job will be important.