Category Archives: Dashboards

Adding Maturity Modeling To Your Visual Communications Toolkit

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Maturity Models Introduction

Maturity models are powerful visual tools that should be part of every smart professional’s toolkit. Maturity models are the most used tool in my own practice. I find that maturity models:

  • provide a complete survey of the entire range of levels of a particular area, all on one page
  • form the basis for assessing where an organization or project is on a continuum
  • help organizations or project teams envision what their ultimate goal or level looks like, and what their most productive next step is that aligns with their plans to progress to that level

You’d be surprised at how prevalent maturity models are in our professional lives, although they may not go by that name. For example, a job ladder is a powerful maturity modeling tool for employees and managers alike but is seldom, if ever, viewed as such. Once you learn the key characteristics and benefits of using maturity models you’ll be able to:

  • more readily recognize a maturity model when you see one
  • better utilize the models using principles we’ll be discussing
  • construct models of your own and increase your effectiveness many times over as a result!

Stay tuned as this discussion continues in the post series designed to help you increase your effectiveness by adding maturity modeling to your toolkit.

Related Posts:

Maturity Modeling 101: What All Maturity Models Have In Common

3 Steps To Creating Your Own Maturity Model – Part 1

3 Steps To Creating Your Own Maturity Model – Part 2

3 Steps To Creating Your Own Maturity Model – Part 3

Dashboards: A Close Relative to the One-Page Diagram

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Are you struggling to create an effective dashboard? Don’t reinvent the wheel, use the design principles of the one-page diagram!

You’ll remember from prior posts that one-page diagrams have the following attributes:

  • All pertinent information is condensed and displayed on a single page
  • The diagram has a very specific purpose or message, not just a collection of lines and shapes
  • The diagram is created with a very specific audience in mind
  • The diagram leads the audience to a definite conclusion

In the same way that a one-page diagram is more than a well-drawn model, an effective dashboard is more than spreadsheet report. Effective dashboards are built to highlight specific, critical areas of a business or process and show only what is necessary to support that purpose. It should enable the viewer to quickly answer a few specific questions about the health of the subject at hand and not be cluttered with extra distractions.

Here are a few posts that talk to effective one-page diagrams. Reading them again with the goal of applying the concepts to building effective dashbaords may inspire you with ways to improve your dashboard and overcome any struggles you may be experiencing in the design phase of your work!

The Power of One-page Diagrams

Effective One-Page Diagrams: Where Creation and Delivery Meet

Prior Knowedge: The Prerequisite of One-page Diagram

Dashboards: The Ultimate One-Page Diagram

Modeling Tool: Organization at a Glance

I’d be interested to hear about the similarities and differences you see between one-page diagrams and effective dashboards. Please leave me a comment below and tell us what you think.

Dashboards: The Ultimate One-Page Diagram

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A good metaphor for understanding the concept of a One-page Diagram is the dashboard in our vehicle. A good dashboard is "status at a glance." Every important function we need to monitor about our vehicle is found on the dashboard. Likewise, I find that a good one-page diagram enables my clients to view:

  • the most important concepts,
  • all in one place,
  • quickly see what is fine,
  • and what needs attention.

For this reason, One-page diagrams are popular with busy managers and executives. They can help you win their support and funding for the important projects your company needs to stay competitive.

One-page diagrams also assist these same executives and managers communicate to their employees. They can help them to create a shared vision. They help win the trust and support of those that do the hard work to make that vision happen. In this post we'll analyze a common dashboard and apply what we've learned to designing effective One-page diagrams. Who knows, maybe we'll even learn a few things we can do for our personal and professional lives at the same time!

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