Dashboards are bringing visibility to consumers, by enriching the user experience. Not the dashboards in your car, even though those are improving as well. Software dashboards are what we are talking about. The front-end web development User Experience and Graphic Design folks, who create a visible tool where end users can view and interact with programs.
Dashboards are progressing quickly. Take UPS or FedEx, for example. Ten years ago, when buying online, one would have to visit the carrier website, and manually enter the tracking number to find out if their package had shipped, and where it was. Nowadays, shipment status is sent to you real-time in a variety of methods, including e-mail, text, and push notifications. Most major retailers like Amazon and Walmart have designed their own B2C custom user interfaces for supply chain management, so customers remain on the retailer website while viewing their order status.
Recently there has been a high demand for mobile dash boards. Smart businesses know this and invest in developing their online consumer experience, particularly the dashboard. The Dominos Pizza Tracker App is a great example. Their user interface makes ordering pizza as easy as pie, by offering a visually enticing image of a pizza, showing every time a topping selection is made. After placing an order on the app, customers are notified each time one of the five steps starts and finishes – order placed, prepping, bake, box, and delivery or pick up. An estimated delivery time is also displayed once the pizza is out for delivery.
Automation and transparency are what’s happening to dashboards. The days of having the opportunity to fix a botched order behind the scenes are long gone, and businesses now take accountability by sharing information with consumers. Did your order not leave the warehouse in time to meet the requirements for a scheduled arrival date? Well now you know the truth, and there’s no turning back. Kudos to companies out there who are making an effort to improve dashboard usability to achieve better customer service.
But what about corporate dashboards? Many small-to-medium businesses and firms are investing serious capital in building or enhancing pre-existing ERP systems. A crucial part of these systems are dashboards which optimize employee participation and effort. How so? Engaging screens that are intuitive to navigate, and simplify processes. Team members are informed faster, and productivity increases. In a nutshell, dashboards have the powerful ability to display inside processes. They improve communication for both internal and external environments during fulfillment, by presenting potential challenges which can be resolved before they cascade into a multitude of issues.
What to expect from dashboards in the future? Faster, better, and stronger for sure. Even easier to navigate, with more choices and options to click on to take the user experience to a whole new level. It’s possible to create a top-notch interface for all size businesses, with a reasonable budget. Dashboards don’t require all the bells and whistles in the world – they just need to get the job done while engaging the consumer. Next time you visit your favorite online retailer, consider how much effort they have put into building a dashboard that entices you to spend some of your hard-earned dough.
This article was originally published on LinkedIn: http://bit.ly/2vGbAWc
Robert Endo is the founder and Engagement Manager of Intrepid Data.
Intrepid Data is a full-service developer that builds platforms for web-based applications