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Identifying Stakeholders and Developing Key Questions

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WORKSHOP TOOL_Strategic Evaluation Plan Profile

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However, reading Caroline's post Is Relevance still Relevant? made me realized: the representation (fortunately, only the representation) of my Relevance analysis had been totally equity-blind!! (the analysis in the report had included all the groups, but I forgot to represent the other groups in the visual).

In the original one, I was just presenting the relevance of the program objectives compared to two (powerful) groups: the national priorities of the government and the priorities of the agency's headquarters. But I totally skipped displaying the analysis of other stakeholders' priorities!

So I decided to improve this visualization, by making it more inclusive and equity-focused. How? Of course, by including other groups such as local communities, and potentially all the other groups that usually have less voice (young people, inmigrants, ocasionally women, elderly, mentally or physically challenged), whoever turns out as relevant after an inclusive stakeholders' analysis.

So here are the results, presenting a generic data mock-up for a generic Education program focused in girls:

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More inclusive (Sankey) diagrams to analyze Relevance

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However, reading Caroline's post Is Relevance still Relevant? made me realized: the representation (fortunately, only the representation) of my Relevance analysis had been totally equity-blind!! (the analysis in the report had included all the groups, but I forgot to represent the other groups in the visual).

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WHAT'S NEW?

We just added a checklist on Effective Communication Strategies for Interviews and Focus Groups to the collection. Since the authors were working on this checklist when COVID-19 struck, they wrote a companion blog on Strategies for Communicating in Virtual Settings .

An evaluation checklist distills and clarifies relevant elements of practitioner experience, theory, principles and research to support evaluators in their work. The Evaluation Center at Western Michigan University, through their checklist project, seeks to advance excellence in evaluation by providing high-quality checklists to guide practice.

The checklists are organized below by evaluation tasks area. We are working to expand and improve the collection, so some task areas have more checklists than others.

Please note that some older checklists have been retired, see Legacy Checklists.
Join our mailing list to receive updates about new checklists and field testing opportunities! JOIN MAILING LIST
Evaluation Task Areas

Managing Evaluation

Plan and manage use of resources involved in conducting an evaluation, including people, time and money.

Engaging Stakeholders

Identify stakeholders who should be informed about and involved in the evaluation and engage them accordingly in the evaluation.

Situating the Evaluation in Context

Identify the key characteristics of the program being evaluated and tailor the evaluation activities to the conditions in which the program operates.

Applying Specific Evaluation Approaches

Draw on established evaluation approaches, theories and models to guide the evaluation process.

Designing the Evaluation

Determine what aspects of the program the evaluation will focus on and make decisions about how to structure the inquiry to serve intended purposes.

Collecting and Analyzing Data

Obtain and describe data to generate credible findings.

Interpreting Evidence

Combine findings from data sources and use agreed-upon procedures and values to reach conclusions and judgments about the program.
Criteria for evaluating specific types of programs:
Reporting Results and Promoting Use

Describe and communicate the evaluation's processes and results in a way that encourages understanding and use of results by stakeholders.

Evaluating the Evaluation (Metaevaluation)

Assess the quality of the evaluation.

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We just added a checklist on Effective Communication Strategies for Interviews and Focus Groups to the collection. Since the authors were working on this checklist when COVID-19 struck, they wrote a companion blog on Strategies for Communicating in Virtual Settings .

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Evaluation Flashcards

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Journey maps are some of the most bad-ass visuals. With origins in customer experience and human-centered design, a journey map shows how a client moves through your organization.

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Evaluation Blog - Utilizaton-Focused Evaluation

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This blog offers insights from Michael Quinn Patton, Charmagne Elise Campbell-Patton and other members of Utilization-Focused Evaluation and the Blue Marble Evaluation network. It covers topics such as Blue Mable Evaluation, Developmental Evaluation, Principles-Focused Evaluation and Utilization-Focused Evaluation.

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Getting started!

(To close this window, click anywhere outside it.)

Try typing something in the text window to the left.

Or get some inspiration from the Examples at the bottom of the main page. Click on one you like and try editing it. Don't worry, you aren't editing the original.

Or try copying the examples below in this help window and pasting them into the text window.

Click Download to get your diagram as a picture or a PDF.

Remember to save your text somewhere, or type a Title and click Save a version to get a bookmark you can return to later.

Variable names

Theory Maker understands most of the lines you will type as the names of "Variables" - the basic building blocks which you will use to build up your theory.

This is a variable name.

You can type almost any text for the names of your variables. Most languages are fine. Each line becomes a variable in the diagram. Be careful with numbers at the beginning of lines, they may get used for auto decimal numbering, e.g. a line starting 1.1 will get joined to a line starting with 1.

Line breaks

Theory Maker breaks lines at around 30 characters, but you can force a line break if you want, by using two slashes// or two spaces, like this:

This ridiculously long line // will be broken into two.

If you use three slashes or three spaces, a line-break will be inserted and also, Theory Maker's normal automatic line-breaking will be switched off for that line.

This line will break here

or

This line will break///here

So in particular, if you want to a line not to break at all, do this:

This line will not be broken even if it is very long///

To change the automatic line-breaking, type a line like this:

Also, if you use ((double brackets)) to specify the Levels of a Variable, like this:

Percentage of people voting ((0-100))

the part in double brackets will go on its own line, and automatic line-breaking will be switched off for that line.

Formatting variables

Colours

Type the name of the colour you want after the name of the variable like this:

My variable; color=blue

You can use all the HTML colour names like black, white, skyblue etc. You can use transparent too.

These colours: red, orange, blue, green, grey, purple are special because if you put a number from 1 to 9 straight after these names, like orange3, you get nice shades which all fit together.

... whereas white and black can be made variously transparent in the same way, by adding a number from 1 to 9. So white1 is a very transparent white, black7 is a fairly opaque black.

If you want a colour which fades from left to right, try something like blue2:red3 or white:snow. Please don't even try anything like red:blue. You have been warned.

You can even use HTML colours:

color=#eeefff

... and you can add two additional digits for transparency:

color=#eeefff50

Fills and borders

color= refers to the colour of the whole shape (variable or grouping box) - the main body as well as the edge. If you want to have the main body coloured differently from the edges, you have to put this:

color=red; fillcolor=green

... and you can adjust the thickness of the "pen" which draws the border with something like penwidth=4.

Other formatting

You can tweak the appearance in other ways too like this:

My variable; fontcolor=green2; fontname=Courier; fontsize=22

Some possibilities:

shape=oval # also none, circle, diamond, square style=dotted,filled # also dashed,filled etc height=.2;fontsize=8 # height and width can be larger but not # smaller than required by the text, unless you # set fixedsize=true style=striped,filled;fillcolor=red2:red3:red4 #amazing!

Fontnames

You can use any fontnames installed on your computer, but they might not look the same on another computer.

Fonts which work everywhere:

AvantGarde-Book AvantGarde-BookOblique AvantGarde-Demi
AvantGarde-DemiOblique Bookman-Demi Bookman-DemiItalic
Bookman-Light Bookman-LightItalic Courier Courier-Bold
Courier-BoldOblique Courier-Oblique Helvetica
Helvetica-Bold Helvetica-BoldOblique Helvetica-Narrow
Helvetica-Narrow-Bold Helvetica-Narrow-BoldOblique
Helvetica-Narrow-Oblique Helvetica-Oblique NewCenturySchlbk-Bold
NewCenturySchlbk-BoldItalic NewCenturySchlbk-Italic
NewCenturySchlbk-Roman Palatino-Bold Palatino-BoldItalic
Palatino-Italic Palatino-Roman Symbol Times-Bold Times-BoldItalic
Times-Italic Times-Roman ZapfChancery-MediumItalic ZapfDingbats

Other fonts which work nearly everywhere include these:

Arrows

Making arrows by indenting lines with spaces

Indent lines to show what contributes to what.

A, gets the arrowhead B, indented, so contributes to A C, contributes to B D, also contributes to B

Listing several variables at once with "; "

You can make links between lists of variables.

This links X to A and B:

This links X and Y to A:

And this links X, Y and Z to A and B:

You can also format several variables at once with the same trick:

A; B; C; colour=orange

Making arrows with decimal numbering

1 Outcome 1.a gets arrow to 1 1.b also gets an arrow to 1

To use decimal numbering, Theory Maker looks at the first "word" in the line. If one line has, say, G.12.a at the start and another line has G.12, Theory Maker will draw a line from G.12.a to G.12. If you also have a line beginning G, Theory Maker will also draw a line to it from G.12.

Repeats

You can repeat a variable. This pattern makes an arrow from B to A and back to B:

Outcome A Outcome B Outcome A

If you want to draw a large network, you can try to do it all at once, like this:

Outcome A Outcome B Outcome C Sub-outcome C1 Sub-outcome C2

... or you can break it up into pieces, like this:

Outcome A Outcome B Outcome B Outcome C Outcome C Sub-outcome C1 Sub-outcome C2

Theory Maker will treat this exactly the same as the previous example.

Aliases

If you have long variable names but want to repeat the variable like in the examples above, you can use labels like this to save you typing:

A B C A; label= Some variable with a very very long name.

Grouping your variables

Use one or more hyphens - to group your variables, i.e. to put a grouping box around them. Start with just one - for the first group or groups, then put -- for groups inside them, and so on.

(If there are no variables inside a group, the grouping box does not appear).

-This is group A A variable which is just in group A --This is B, inside A A variable inside both groups Another variable inside both groups

You can "stop" a group by using a row with just hyphens.

-Box A This variable is inside group A - This variable is outside Box A

Formatting groups: almost the same as formatting variables

-My group; fontcolor=green2; fontname=Courier; fontsize=22 Some variable inside the box

Groups can have coloured insides too. color affects the insides as well as the border; if you add fillcolor= as well, you can colour the insides differently:

-My group; color=green2; fillcolor=red2; penwidth=4 Some variable inside the box

And groups can have styles:

-My group; style=dashed Some variable inside the box `style` can = `rounded`, `dashed`, `dotted`, `filled` and combinations of these, as well as `invisible`. labelloc=t # `t` to put label at the top, `b` at the bottom labeljust=l # `l` to put label at the left, `r` at the right

Formatting arrows: put the label and the styling inside brackets.

If you want to prettify your arrows, put the information inside brackets just in front of the variable name where the arrow begins, and after the space or spaces:

Variable B (A label on the arrow from A to B) Variable A

You can style your arrows too:

Variable B (My arrow; width=8; color=blue; style=dotted)Variable A

You can also try these:

direction=both (back, forwards, both or none) font=Georgia fontsize=7 taillabel= my tail label headlabel= my head label constraint=false #very useful; tells Theory Maker to ignore this arrow when calculating the layout

Telling the arrow what side of the variable to attach itself:

attach=n (i.e. north; can also be s, e, w, nw, ne, se, sw)

... and the same for the tail of the arrow

tailattach=n

Global formatting for variables, groups and arrows

Put a line like this at the end of the diagram to change all the variables at once:

variable; colour=red; font=Courier; shape=diamond

... and the same for arrows and groups

group; colour=white; fillcolour=green; labelloc=bottom; labeljust= right arrow; colour=blue; arrowsize=2

Any formatting you can apply to an individual variable, group or arrow can also be applied globally with lines like these.

Other tweaks to the whole diagram

Standard graphviz tweaks

Lines like these below only apply to the diagram itself, like the background colour etc. You can precede them with diagram; like this:

diagram; colour=white

or you can do without, as in these examples:

colour=white # whole diagram background colour. Alias for `bgcolor`. proportion=1 # tall and thin or short and fat diagrams. `.1` is very short, `2` is very tall. Alias for `ratio`. direction=TB # top-down. Also, BT, LR or RL label=My title # adds a title to the whole diagram nodesep=.1 # moves variables closer or further apart ranksep=2 # try it and see! orientation=L # flips the diagram 90 degrees splines=false # keeps the arrows straight. Also try: `polyline` layout=neato # if you don't want a hierarchical diagram, try this! Also: circo dot fdp neato nop nop1 nop2 osage patchwork sfdp twopi

Hardcore

If you really want, you can tweak any part of your diagram with almost the entire range of Graphviz attributes from label positioning to URLs.

Special Theory Maker tweaks

wrap=20 # changes the line wrapping in labels rowfontsize=12 # change the font size of the info rows

Themes

To apply a theme to the whole diagram, try:

theme=winter

You can also try theme=night, summer, comic, and drama. More themes are coming! You can still continue to add formatting as usual, e.g. adding fontsize=10 will change the font and leave the rest of the theme the same.

Getting things in the right order

rank=same; Variable A; Variable B

This line lines up the listed variables (Variable A and Variable B) and also puts them in the order you specify. So if you want your variables X, Y and Z for some reason in the order X, Z, Y, write

rank=same; X; Z, Y

(So if you are a Graphviz expert, note that rank=same does a bit more in Theory Maker than it does in Graphviz.)

Improving readability

Proportion

Drag the Proportion slider to the left or right. If you want to make the changes permanent, e.g. because you want to save a permanent link to the diagram, type a line like:

proportion=.5

Direction

Use the Direction button to choose top-to-bottom, left-to-right etc. Or write a line like:

direction=TB

Variable separation

Moves variables further apart: nodesep=2. Closer together: nodesep=.01.

Features

Often your variables and groups of variables have special information like "Indicator" or "Timepoint" which need to be specified. You can easily add them like this:

-Group A; timepoint=endline Teacher satisfaction, instrument=questionnaire, target = score above 5 Student satisfaction, instrument=interview

Theory Maker will add corresponding rows and coordinate the colours automatically. Try it and see!

If you just want notes, try this:

Teacher satisfaction, note=should be improved

If you happen to have a variable which has an = in its name, you have to be careful that Theory Maker doesn't think you are using the = to specify formatting or info rows as mentioned above. In this case, make sure that you specify the variable name before anything else in the line, like this:

Performance = improved

Shortcuts

There are a few shortcuts and aliases to save your typing fingers and to enable compatibility with earlier versions of Theory Maker.

... makes these blocks: ▇ ▆ ▅ ▃ ▂.

Also, !321 is the same as !3!2!1 (but quicker to type).

A variable [blue3]

This is the same as:

A variable; colour=blue3

...

a::A variable with an alias

This is the same as:

a; label=A variable with an alias

This ...

adds an intervention arrow. !control works similarly.

This ...

makes dotted lines

This ...

makes dashed lines

This ...

Or this ...

A; Definition=some definition B C

makes dashed lines, indicating that A is defined by B and C.

This ...

A !incomplete B C

Adds a half-circle to say A is not completely defined or influenced by B and C.

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(To close this window, click anywhere outside it.) Try typing something in the text window to the left. Or get some inspiration from the Examples at the bottom of the main page. Click on one you like and try editing it. Don't worry, you aren't editing the original.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
However, reading Caroline's post Is Relevance still Relevant? made me realized: the representation (fortunately, only the representation) of my Relevance analysis had been totally equity-blind!! (the analysis in the report had included all the groups, but I forgot to represent the other groups in the visual).

In the original one, I was just presenting the relevance of the program objectives compared to two (powerful) groups: the national priorities of the government and the priorities of the agency's headquarters. But I totally skipped displaying the analysis of other stakeholders' priorities!

So I decided to improve this visualization, by making it more inclusive and equity-focused. How? Of course, by including other groups such as local communities, and potentially all the other groups that usually have less voice (young people, inmigrants, ocasionally women, elderly, mentally or physically challenged), whoever turns out as relevant after an inclusive stakeholders' analysis.

So here are the results, presenting a generic data mock-up for a generic Education program focused in girls:

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More inclusive (Sankey) diagrams to analyze Relevance

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
However, reading Caroline's post Is Relevance still Relevant? made me realized: the representation (fortunately, only the representation) of my Relevance analysis had been totally equity-blind!! (the analysis in the report had included all the groups, but I forgot to represent the other groups in the visual).

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Best Practices for Simultaneous Interpretation- Handout

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BI Blog | Data Visualization & Analytics Blog | datapine

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If you want to convey crucial information to decision-makers in the easiest and most effective way possible, you need to embrace the power of interactive dashboards.

A business dashboard offers at-a-glance insights based on key performance indicators (KPIs) and is an intuitive and visually pleasing way to consume data. Unlike early predecessors, they give presenters the ability to engage audiences with real-time data. They also offer a more dynamic approach to presenting data compared to the rigid, linear nature of Powerpoint or the numbers-without-a-story approach of Excel. At datapine, we believe the goal of each interactive dashboard you create should be better, faster, and stronger decision making while telling a story.

In other words: how to tell the best possible story and how to create a dashboard to support your narrative?

Here, we're going to discuss how to create a dashboard that speaks to your target audience while exploring some inspiring dashboard creation examples. We'll even cover the dos and don'ts of creating a dashboard.

Without further ado, let's get going.

How To Create A Dashboard - 6 Best Practices

The dashboard creation process will only prove effective if everything you do is geared towards connecting with your audience.

When you tell a story, you must consider the audience and adapt your narrative accordingly. The same applies to creating a dashboard, which means that before you do anything else, you should outline the needs of your users.

So, before you start, you should consider:

What decisions the end-user will make based on the data.

How familiar they are with the data or KPIs.

How much context they already have.

For instance, a live dashboard for your stakeholders who want a monthly report is bound to look different from an in-depth sales performance dashboard that your sales team needs to access on the fly. And if you're looking to make a dashboard to outline return on marketing investment (ROMI), your visualizations, design, and metrics would be very different from those featured in a marketing channel engagement report.

Now we will focus on 6 essential tips and best practices to follow when creating dashboards, starting with defining your audience.

1. Define Your Dashboard Audience And Objective

Sit down and take some time to complete answers to the following 6 questions. Trust us - any energy that you invest up-front in your creation process will be richly rewarded later on. Whoever will use it will greatly appreciate the time and effort you put in to make it relevant to their lives and focused on the essentials. Even if you're just creating this dashboard for your own use, answering the following questions will give you the foundation you need to make it truly valuable.
a) Who are you trying to help?
Remember that the ultimate, meta goal is to make your life or the life of someone in your organization easier. With that in mind, it's wise to base all of your decisions on your audience so that you can truly know how to create a dashboard that is useful for them.

So - who is the person, or group of people that will be actively using is? If it's yourself (and only you), then you can skip the rest of this step. However, if more people than just yourself are going to use it, write down their roles in the company now. Ideally, write down a specific person that you personally know so that you can picture them in your mind as you go through the rest of this process. Don't go any further in the creation process until you have written down the person (either in name, job title, or both) who you will be helping with your dashboard.
b) What do they do on a daily basis?
Another way to think of this question is: what are the daily tasks that this person performs that are essential to their job?

This is a more concrete way of defining someone's role within your organization. You want to be super specific here - the daily life of a sales agent who has to get all of their own leads is quite different from the daily work of a sales agent who has all of their leads supplied to them. And the daily life of the sales manager who is in charge of all the sales agents is more different still. These differences in daily tasks will result in different goals and KPIs.

Don't go any further in the creation process until you have written down at least 2-3 (if not more) of the daily tasks that the users absolutely must do in order to fulfill their role.
c) What goals are they trying to reach?
Do they care about making more sales and getting new leads? Do they care about helping their staff get more sales and leads? Are they hoping to manage customer support calls more effectively? Do they want to get more social reach on the blog posts your company is putting out?

These are just a small set of the many, many goals that a dashboard can help your team reach. If it is intended more for a C-suite or shareholder audience, they might have goals like:

Being able to look at the company's cash flow situation at a glance.

Examining how the company's revenue numbers are doing this quarter compared to last year's quarter.

Looking at total digital advertising spent and the revenue.

Don't go any further in the creation process until you have defined 1-3 goals that your user really cares about. Obviously, you can't peer into their head - just make your best guess. Or, if you want to upgrade your approach a bit, reach out to the person whom you are creating the dashboard for and ask them what their goals are.
d) What KPIs, if measured, will help them reach their goals?
Now that you know your user's role, their daily essential tasks, and their goals, we can look at some KPIs that will help them. This step can be much easier if you simply ask your user, or if you have intimate knowledge of their job. If you don't, you run the risk of creating a dashboard that nobody actually uses, wasting your time. If you don't have the ability (or desire) to ask your end-user what KPIs are valuable to them, our KPI examples and templates will give you a pretty good idea of what metrics you can use.
e) How are they currently viewing these KPIs?
Now, the final question: how is your user viewing his KPIs right now, and what are the pain points associated with that way of seeing them?

Maybe they are using an Excel doc, and it's getting way too big and unwieldy. Maybe they are using their CRM software but it's not really designed for that purpose. Whatever the case, you want to know this - because if you don't know how to make a dashboard that is better than their existing KPI measurement method, you'll have wasted your time. Ideally, you create a dashboard that is easier to use and more focused (less cluttered) than their current approach. In the rest of this post, you'll learn how to do just that.
f) How can I use storytelling to put my KPIs into context?
When it comes to creating dashboards that not only speak to your audience but also help to develop your business in a number of vital areas, telling a compelling story (or giving your user the tools to tell others a compelling story) with your data is essential. Yes, to get results, storytelling should become a primary focus.

With better access to data than ever before, and improved data mining tools, we're able to recover A LOT of types of data. However, even though we love data, we can't (and shouldn't) display all of these types.

The goal should be to avoid drowning the user in a data tsunami while providing the best information available to aid in getting the actionable insights they need. And, your KPIs will help you develop a narrative with your insights - one that helps to improve the decision-making process while streamlining the business.

If you have the capability, consider building an interactive KPI dashboard, using your KPIs to guide your storytelling design efforts. In doing so, you'll empower your audience to explore the data for themselves, through filtering or other controls, can add value by providing deeper context.

Interactive visualizations are especially relevant when you have a broad target audience. Newcomers to the topic can still spot trends and learn the basics, while experts in the field can drill down deeper into the data for more insight.

2. Select The Right Chart Type For Your Data

How to build a dashboard that has the right data visualization types for your KPIs? This question is another essential one that cannot be avoided. Hereafter you can read a quick recap of the most common types of charts used, and when to use each one:

Bar Charts - Perhaps the most common misconception about charts is that more is better. Bar Charts are a simple and effective way to look at cohort analyses, comparisons, and trends.

Pie Charts - These charts are often the subject of controversy. Data visualization guru Edward Tufte writes, "pie charts are bad and that the only thing worse than one pie chart is lots of them." No matter how you feel about pie charts, the only time you should use them is when you need a graph representing proportions of a whole, when the total of your numbers is 100%. Use sparingly.

Line Charts - A Line Chart is an effective graph formed from a series of data points connected by the eponymous line. They are often used to show developments over time and identify trends.

Tables - Tables are great for detailed information with different units of measure, which may be difficult to represent easily in a graph or chart.

Gauges - This type of graphic typically displays one or more values using indicators and appropriate metrics. They are often used to highlight a specific KPI that needs attention.

Area Charts - Area charts are awesome for multiple data series with part to whole relationships, or for individual series representing a physically countable set.

For a more detailed look at chart types and to understand which are the most appropriate for what you are trying to convey, you can check out this chart suggestion guide:
**click to enlarge**
If we want to look at chart types in action, let's go over how to make a dashboard that includes a chart that looks at the number of transactions per hour and see what works and what doesn't.

When using a bar chart, the data is presented in comparable groups which makes more sense to the human eye, and the use of only one color doesn't distract from the data:

Now let's take a look at the same transactions per hour through the lens of a pie chart. With this chart, we are unable to glean any useful insights. Not only are there too many values in the dimension, but these numbers do not make up parts of a whole:

We can see in these examples above how choosing the right chart can make a huge difference in presenting data, therefore, you should keep this in mind all the time.

3. Don't Forget About Color Theory

We could write books on color theory, but luckily, that has already been done. For a great resource for which colors work together best, and which emotions they convey, check out this comprehensive guide on color for designers.

One thing to take into consideration when selecting your colors is that roughly 8% of men and 0.5% of women are colorblind. The vast majority of people who fall into this category are what is called color impaired. This means that they can perceive a color, but cannot distinguish different shades of that color.

Colorblind readers can perceive changes in brightness, for the most part, just like you can. For example, you can switch from a dark brown to a bright green, just not from a dark brown to dark green.

Avoid overlapping shades of colors that have similar brightness value. For an example of what not to do, take a look at the example below: the reds and pinks totally clash, making it not only ugly, but unusable for color-blind readers:

You have to be careful when choosing the best colors for your dashboard, but the rule of thumb is to select 2, maximum 3, and stick to them across the board.

4. Build a Balanced Perspective

When we say " build a balanced perspective," what we mean is: when you create a dashboard, you should present a mix of past, predictive, and real-time data to communicate your message.

By now, you have a solid understanding of how to pick the best visualizations for your dashboard and how to approach selecting the best KPIs to tell your story. To bring everything together and create a panoramic view with your dashboard, you should present critical data that offers a clear-cut snapshot of past trends, insights that offer a projection of future outcomes, and real-time data that shows what's happening at the moment.

Having a balanced mix of data-driven insights will significantly improve your decision-making in a host of key areas, empowering your users to develop key initiatives that will drive the business forward while helping you to get ahead of the competition.

Adding filters and functionality to your dashboard will make it easy for your users to analyze, arrange, and view your balanced mix of data while maintaining the integrity of the design. The right data dashboard software will also allow you to make these types of customization without any technical knowledge.

5. Make Sure Your Dashboard Is Mobile-Optimized

We live in a hyper-connected digital age where we have access to information 24/7. Mobile technology means that we're free to connect, campaign, analyze, and produce wherever we may be in the world. If you create dashboard designs that aren't optimized across devices, you're not using them to their fullest potential.

When you create dashboard designs, you must remember to optimize the end results for mobile devices. Mobile dashboard design greatly differentiates from a bigger screen such as a desktop or TV dashboard as you have much smaller space and different screen dimensions, but professional dashboard tools will help you to adjust your desktop designs quickly and seamlessly.

Fortunately, in our tech-driven times, any professional dashboard creator will allow you to scale your dashboards to mobile screens-and tweak the functionality accordingly-with ease, in comparison to Excel or PowerPoint where you don't have that option.
"Everything is designed. Few things are designed well." - Brian Reed, front-end developer, and musician
6. Follow These Essential Design Basics

Next, we'll look at how to make dashboard design work for you. Digital dashboards are only effective if you get the design just right. Let's examine the practices that will cement your success time after time.

When understanding how to make a dashboard, it is critical to strategically place the charts. The goal is to arrange the data in a manner that fits the way it's used. The most important data including the takeaways and main KPIs should be prominently displayed at the top. Data that needs to be compared must be arranged with that comparison in mind.

A good example is where the KPIs are prominently displayed at the top of the page, followed by the supporting data. Your eye automatically travels to the most important information. Below you see a really basic dashboard just to demonstrate it:
**click to enlarge**
Now, let's look at a bad example. This one below starts with a table of data, and the most important numbers are hidden at the very bottom. The KPIs aren't presented in a way that shows a logical flow:
**click to enlarge**
This information on design is just scratching the surface, however. If you want to dive deeper, be sure to check out our post on dashboard design principles.

Now, to ensure you create dashboard designs that work for you, let's summarize with some general rules of thumb of what to do and avoid when considering how to create dashboards:
DO'S

DO build dashboards that focus on the needs of your audience.

DO keep your dashboards as simple, clean, and minimalist as you can while also including all of the most important KPIs necessary.

DO make sure that your final dashboard is better than your audience's previous method of viewing their KPIs.

DO tell a story, as stories are easily understood by the human mind.

DON'Ts

DON'T clutter your dashboard with too much data. This is the number one rule to follow! Too much data = too hard to use = waste of time.

DON'T use colors that are very similar in brightness as your main colors - color blind people won't be able to use your dashboard.

DON'T make a "one size fits all" dashboard. Make it with specific people and needs in mind.

DON'T use pie charts except in cases where you are showing parts of a whole.

These are just some general rules of thumb - for more information on the best practices you should use, make sure to check out our post on BI dashboard best practices.

How To Create Dashboard Designs That Get Results - See Examples From Various Industries

Now that we've explored the essential elements of dazzling data dashboards (and examined our NFL project), let's consider how to make a dashboard by looking at five real-world examples.

These data-driven examples will provide additional context while demonstrating the importance of customizing your efforts to your audiences' or users' needs when considering to build a dashboard that gets results.

1. Logistics Example

When looking at this logistics analytics dashboard, two KPIs immediately stand out: average loading time and average loading weight:
**click to open the dashboard in full-screen mode**
While there is plenty of other information, it avoids too much clutter by using large images and by not cramming a bunch of stats on the page. Revenue, cost, and profit numbers are easily seen due to their upper left corner positioning and their large size, along with green and red numbers to show trends. The fleet status and delivery status metrics are very easily seen as well. Finally, there is more detailed information available in the "profit by country", "deliveries by country", and "average delivery time (hours and route)". This is a great example of a well-executed dashboard with all relevant logistics KPIs, but our next one is even better.

2. Media Example

This digital media dashboard is clean and well designed. It's clearly optimized to show three of the most important metrics for the web traffic of a media company:

Unique Visitors

The top viewed articles by visitors

Total email subscribers

**click to open the dashboard in full-screen mode**
In terms of white space, clean layout, and providing useful data without overwhelming the user, this is one you want to learn from.

3. Financial example

If you're mulling over how to create dashboard designs to represent your business's core financial activities, our financial dashboard is an excellent example.

For any organization, regardless of sector or industry, that needs a stable snapshot of its ongoing financial health, this particular dashboard makes a powerful tool. Operating with financial KPIs such as working capital, quick ratio, and budget variation, this dynamic tool is a masterclass in how to build a dashboard for your finance department.
**click to open the dashboard in full-screen mode**
In our example above, you can gain quick access to insights that will help you streamline your financial processes and ultimately boost your bottom line. As you can see, color-coded bar charts offer a swift snapshot of your cash conversion cycle while tables and line charts offer the perfect balance of trends, data, and insights that encourage improved decision-making as well as improved business intelligence.

You can see more tips and tricks for building a financially healthy environment also in our financial graphs article.

4. Marketing CMO example

The next example in our 'how to make a dashboard' guide comes in the form of our CMO template. In today's increasingly competitive digital age, marketing intelligence has never been more critical. If you're a CMO, you're likely to come under enormous pressure to push your business's promotional efforts forward.
**click to open the dashboard in full-screen mode**
Our dedicated marketing dashboard above features a balanced mix of KPIs that will help you make your campaigns more efficient while boosting your marketing return on investment (ROI) exponentially.

Here, you can drill down into insights such as your average cost per lead, sales performance trends based on your targets, traffic, MQL & SQL ratios, and more.

The digestible design of our CMO dashboard means that extracting marketing KPIs and key insights at a glance is more than feasible. Plus, the series of focused line charts on the right side of the page coupled with the clear-cut numeric information to the left means that comparing metrics, spotting trends, and communicating figures with your team will take minimal time. It will also prove to be a stress-free experience.

5. Retail example

The rise of eCommerce has opened up the realm of retail to a world of possibilities, empowering brands to sell their products to prospects across channels and touchpoints. But more opportunity means more data to handle.

For retailers of all shapes and sizes, our retail dashboard is designed to improve internal processes while maximizing sales on a sustainable basis:
**click to open the dashboard in full-screen mode**
Retail is an incredibly fast-paced sector, and if you want to know how to create a dashboard that gets results, this template is the answer. Here, you can break down your retail analytics according to different regions, examine order status at a quick glance, and even curate the reasons items are returned to make necessary improvements to your service and fulfillment strategy.

With an optimal color scheme, a logical layout, and the perfect mix visualization including pue charts to represent order return reasons and bar charts to communicate order trends over specific time periods-plus easy to absorb image-based information-this is the essential toolkit for any ambitious retailer looking to make their mark in the digital age.
"Data scientists are involved with gathering data, massaging it into a tractable form, making it tell its story, and presenting that story to others." - Mike Loukides, editor, O'Reilly Media
Throughout our guide on how to develop a dashboard from a concept into a living, breathing, business-boosting reality, we've mentioned the importance of considering your audience, telling a story, and following best design practices, whether you need to visualize supply chain metrics or present comprehensive financial data to the relevant stakeholders.

By following these essential dashboard design tips and elements while taking inspiration from our practical examples, you'll be able to create dashboards that not only help you gain more comprehensive access to your most important data but also boost internal communications and initiatives. Getting help from modern online BI tools that empower even non-technical users to manage large volumes of data will ensure a substantial increment in productivity, all presented in beautiful dashboards.

In the age of information, dipping your toes into your data or shooting in the dark isn't enough. To win tomorrow's commercial battlefield, you must squeeze every last drop of value from your business data-and effective digital dashboards are the way to do just that. Now's the time to start building your future.

With stunning visuals, advanced chart options, interactive functionality, and real-time data, modern dashboard design software like datapine has revolutionized the way you can report data.

Our interactive dashboards combine the level power and flexibility that will pull your key metrics together, empowering you to run a better, more data-driven business. Don't miss your chance and try datapine for a 14-day trial, completely for free!

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How to Create a Dashboard that Leads to Better Decisions

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If you want to convey crucial information to decision-makers in the easiest and most effective way possible, you need to embrace the power of interactive dashboards. A business dashboard offers at-a-glance insights based on key performance indicators (KPIs) and is an intuitive and visually pleasing way to consume data.

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The second KPI best practice is the six A´s (Aligned, Attainable, Acute, Accurate, Actionable, Alive). The six A´s mean that the indicators are aligned with your specific targets, the data, which are used for the indicators, can be easily attained, the indicators keep everyone informed (acute) about the current situation, the data used to obtain the KPIs are accurate, the insights in the business given by the indicator is actionable and the indicator should evolve with the business (alive).

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The most responsive, intuitive mind mapping software for students of all learning styles!

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The most responsive, intuitive mind mapping software for students of all learning styles! ideamapper is a visual mind mapping tool. It combines next-gen mind mapping with word processing functionality, resulting in software that enhances creativity, productivity and information retention. It works because the brain can process visual clues much faster & easier than written ones.

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Create captivating dashboards in minutes with our easy-to-use dashboard creator, featuring a wide range of templates No design or coding skills required. Easy to use. A variety of designed templates.

Try Infogram for free

Whenever you need to monitor your company's overall health, it's best to use a dashboard to monitor all the key performance indicators (KPIs) and data points. They make it easy to visualize and understand your data and often measure performance data in tables, charts, and maps.

Dashboards can help answer key questions like:

Are your sales on target?

Is your spending in line with the marketing budget?

What is the employee turnover rate?

Learn more about the basics of where to use interactive dashboards, the types of dashboards Infogram offers, how to get started, and frequently asked questions. Don't worry, we're handling the complicated technical parts, so you can focus on creating engaging, exciting, and educational content that will delight your customers.

Discover different types of dashboards

Once you've researched and come up with a great data-driven story, you'll need to present it. Infogram offers endless ways to create captivating dashboards in minutes to tell your story more effectively than words or photos. Here you will find a guide that briefly explains when to use what.

Everybody Infogram

Many of our clients are excited by the service that we deliver.
Read about what some have said about us.

" With Infogram we turned our service reporting into the cutting-edge category and receive amazing feedback from the user community. "

Andreas Igler
Director of IT & Operations

" I'm a data nerd, so I love tools that help readers better visualize information. We use a tool called Infogram at TechCrunch for data visualization. It's super-easy to use, and you don't have to be a data analyst or graphic designer to use it. "

Travis Bernard
Director of Audience Development

" Infogram has taken our stats to the next level. It's great to be able to upload a spreadsheet and turn it into a beautiful interactive piece for our clients to enjoy. "

Kris Carpenter
Director of Marketing

Browse all dashboards templates

Ready to make your own interactive dashboard? Infogram has over 200 customizable templates. We recommend browsing this selection for inspiration; you'll be amazed by the options.

Get inspired by dashboard examples

Trying to find inspiration for creative new ideas? Check out this wonderful collection of impressive dashboards created by Infogram users.

Frequently asked questions

Where to use interactive dashboards?

Dashboards are useful across most industries, as all companies have specific metrics and key goals they care about. From retail and education to big business and personal goals, dashboards can help anyone.
Here's how dashboards can make your life easier:
2. Easy to understand at a glance. Dashboards effectively take complex data and visualize them in bite-sized charts, tables, or maps. Data visualizations are crucial for understanding and readability.

4. Quickly share data with executives and team members. Dashboards give other people access to important data. Team members can share KPIs with others from desktop and mobile devices, and managers can grant public and private access to view different levels of information.

How do I create a dashboard with Infogram?

1. Log in to Infogram.

2. Select " Dashboard templates".

What are the best practices for creating dashboards?

1. Keep the design of your dashboard simple. Make it easy to read so viewers will understand the data quickly. Compare your performance to previous periods. This helps viewers understand what performance metrics are exceeding expectations and what needs to be improved.

5. Choose the right charts for your dashboard. Learn more about how to pick the right chart here.

How do I add pages to my project?

To add a page:

3. Delete a page by selecting it in the editor or in the settings panel on the right and by clicking the backspace key on your keyboard. To reuse a page, make a copy with the Duplicate button.

There are other ways you can upgrade pages in your project:

1. For more on adding transitions to pages, head over to the article about adding and editing page transitions.

2. For more on creating aclickable summary for easier navigation within pages, head over to the article about page linking.

3. For more on how to add page numbers, head over to the article about customizing the footer.
View more

How do I use guides and the layout tool?

Structured content is so much easier to navigate. Before starting a project, try to imagine what you want the end result to look like. Ask yourself: What page size do I want to choose for my project? How do I want to structure my page? Answers to these questions will set you up for success and a beautifully structured visualization.
To enable guides:
2. Enable the Show guides option.

3. Move objects around the page to adjust their position with respect to each other.
To use the layout tool: View more

How do I register an account?

3. Provide some basic information about yourself. Enter your first and last name, indicate what kind of organization you belong to, and specify your role. You will then be able to continue with the Basic plan or choose from any of the available paid plans. View more

How do I add images to my project?

To upload an image to the project:
3. Click Upload and choose a file from your computer, or alternatively drag and drop the image file from your computer right into Infogram's editor. The file will automatically be uploaded to the graphics gallery.
View more

How do I insert an image from a clipboard?

2. Use the keyboard shortcut CTRL+C (Windows) or CMD+C (Mac) to copy.
View more

How do I add an image to the background?

How do I add an image to the background of several pages at once?

1. Click out of any selected objects.

For other ways on how to change your project's background, please read the article about Changing the background.
View more

The mask option allows you to place an icon over the image and mask everything around its edges. Use a circle, an arrow, a heart, or any other icon from the search bar.
View more

4. Hit ENTER on your keyboard and watch the image resize.
View more

How do I add tooltip text to an image?

Infogram has everything you need to create captivating visuals that impress and inform your audience. Join Infogram now

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Create interactive dashboards 📋| Infogram

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Create captivating dashboards in minutes with our easy-to-use dashboard creator, featuring a wide range of templates No design or coding skills required. Easy to use. A variety of designed templates. Try Infogram for free Whenever you need to monitor your company's overall health, it's best to use a dashboard to monitor all the key performance indicators (KPIs) and data points.

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As a methodology, the 'Logical Framework Approach' (LFA) is a systematic, visual approach to designing, executing and assessing projects which encourages users to consider the relationships between available resources, planned activities, and desired changes or results. At its core is a theory of change management which presents the logical flow of causal outcomes between achievement of a project/programme's activity targets, and the delivery of intended results. Logframes, to this end, enable planners to establish a hierarchy of objective or result statements - i.e. a development pathway - which articulate their best understanding of how change can be achieved.

A logframe matrix (often simply called the 'logframe') serves to translate this broader LFA theory into action, and as a document forms the basis of an actionable work plan to guide implementation through the project/programme lifecycle. Logframe matrices assist directly in establishing the development pathway by which objectives will be reached, identifying the potential risks to achieving the objectives, establishing how outputs and outcomes might best be monitored and evaluated, presenting a summary of the activity in a standard format, and suggesting M&E activities during implementation.

A wide range of logframe formats exist, varying between donors and organisations - as such, there is no standardised template (Levine, 2007:Annex 1). A generic logframe matrix is typically one formed around a 4 x 4 table. At minimum, four central categories, arranged horizontally by column, or vertically by rows, contain information on the project/programme's Goal, Purpose, Activities, and Output.

Goal: Here, an overall project/programme goal - the broader issue(i.e. at the national or sectoral level) that the project seeks to contribute to- is defined. (Ex: "Country-wide reduction of infant mortality rates.")

The project's central purpose or outcome - a localised result that the intervention seeks to achieve in support of the above goal - is next identified. This statement should clarify what will be changed, and who will benefit. In some formats, this category is sub-divided between 'strategic objectives' and 'intermediate results'. (Ex: Increased access to paediatric healthcare for all infants in project's area of operation.)

Project outputs: Listed here are those observable, measurable change, and tangible products/services to be delivered by the intervention, which serve to achieve the above goal and purpose. (: Demonstrably increased access to paediatric healthcare through the area, a minimum 10% reduction in child mortality.)

Activities: Finally, supporting activities - the main tasks that need to be completed in order for the output to be achieved - are defined. (: Project staff will establish four new clinics and provide specialised training to health care providers in region.)

Each of these central components are, in turn, accompanied by at least four rows (if arranged vertically) or columns (if horizontally) displaying the following supporting information:

A Narrative Summary describing the event.

Indicators which will be measured to indicate if the events taking place have been achieved. (Often referred to as 'objectively verifiable indicators')

Means of Verification(or 'verification sources') - the location of those sources of data required of the above indicators.

A list of critical risks and Assumptions ( 'hypotheses') - those external factors which the evaluators believe may positively or negatively influence the events described by the narrative summary, including any external phenomena beyond the project/programme manager's control. Only those concerns or anticipated opportunities which can actually be substantiated should be included.

Additionally, baseline date, measurable milestones in the progress of an eventand/or target year/date are also commonly included.

Example of two basic logframes (Levine, 2007):

While an integral option within international development, LFA has also generated specific criticisms, most notably for a perceived rigidity in its approach as well as for its potential incompatibility with participatory assessments (wherein the priorities of vulnerable groups can often be overlooked by the external actors or local elites who take part in the logframe construction). In response, multiple variations on the core LFA option exist which seek to redress these weaknesses. For example, Goal Oriented Project Planning (GOPP), an instrument developed by the GTZ, seeks to strengthen the LFA's participative dimension by placing emphasis on steps such as participation analysis, problems analysis and goals analysis. The Social Framework (SF) likewise provides additional space in its matrix for consideration of the range of different agents involved in the development intervention, while Outcome Mapping similarly places intentional emphasis on a pre-planning phase used to consider existing relationships and organisational processes relevant to the project/programme.

Example

The UK Department for International Development's (DfID) Global Poverty Action Fund (GPAF) is a fund supporting projects focused on poverty reduction and pursuit of the MDGs through tangible changes to poor people's lives. DfID requires all applicants to the fund to complete a logframe template as part of their application, and projects are selected on the basis of demonstrable impact on poverty, clarity of outputs and outcomes and value for money

The Catholic Agency For Overseas Development (CAFOD) DfID Logframe Template

In 2009 CAFOD successfully used DFID's logframe template to apply for £610,000 to fund a project in Kenya and Zimbabwe called 'Mitigating the impact of the economic downturn on vulnerable groups'. CAFOD and DFID subsequently used the logframe to monitor and evaluate the success of the project.

The full logframe matrix used by CAFOD, which can be viewed in the referenced report, represents an example of a fully-developed logframe, and is organised by the categories of goal, purpose, inputs, outputs, and impact weighting (arranged vertically), and as supporting information, entries for baseline, indicator, milestones, target and year, and assumption (arranged horizontally)

Source: CAFOD (2011)

Advice

Advice for CHOOSING this option (tips and traps)

Do not confuse logframes with 'results frameworks' - while the two tools share many similarities, the latter is more focused on articulating results than the former.

Logframes are best used at an early stage in programme or project design. It is more difficult to use a logframe to review and/or restructure ongoing activities which were not designed using logframe principles and practices.

Drafting logframes is also an 'aid to thinking' and a good way to involve an entire team at the design stage of a project. Adequate opportunity should be given to colleagues and key stakeholders to provide input to the process and production of a logframe.

The logframe drafting process is an ideal opportunity to invite the entire team to take part in the project design stage, and time should be allocated to both staff and key stakeholders to provide input.

Advice for USING this option (tips and traps)

In drafting a logframe, evaluators should first understand the context within which the project/programme will be implemented, take steps to ensure the perspectives of all stakeholders are addresses, and seek to balance any competing demands from donors and stakeholders.

In considering the full range of assumptions and potential risks to include in the logframe matrix, a number of additional strategic tools, such as Problem and Objective Trees, SWOT and Stakeholder Analyses, and a Risk Matrix, can be particularly useful.

Ensure that once the logframe is written, it does not simply just 'sit on a shelf' but is frequently reviewed and referred to during project implementation. It should be used to manage activities, drive work plans, assess progress, keep stakeholders aware of your plans and to monitor the overall progress of the project.

A logframe must be tested to ensure the consistency of its logic. A simple test is to ask if your logframe satisfies the following: [1] IF these activities are undertaken AND the assumptions hold true, THEN the intended outputs will be created. [2] IF these outputs are delivered AND the assumptions hold true, THEN the purpose will be achieved. [3] IF the purpose is achieved AND the assumptions hold true, THEN the intervention will have contributed to the goal (adapted from DFID 2011)

Resources

Example

Terms of Reference - End of Programme Independent Evaluation of DFID GPAF007 Programme: "Mitigating the impact of the economic downturn on vulnerable groups".

Guides

Websites and Publications

Aid Delivery Options PCM - Project Approach Guidelines - Project Cycle Management Guidelines (Vol. 1, pp. 158). Brussels: EuropeAid Cooperation Office, European Commission.

Making a difference: M&E of policy research - ODI Working Paper 281. London: Overseas Development Institute. This paper aims to advance understanding on how to monitor and evaluate policy research, i.e. research that is undertaken in order to inform and influence public policy. Policy is defined very broadly to encompass both policy decisions and processes, including implementation.

Sources

The Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD) (2011). Mitigating the impact of the economic downturn on vulnerable groups. London, UK : Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance in Humanitarian Action (ALNAP).

Chambers, R., & Pettit, J. (n.d.). Logframe - A Critique.

DFID. (2011). Guidance on Using the Revised Logical Framework. How to note. A DFID practice paper: Department for International Development (DFID).

ECODE. (2011). Critical Study of the Logical Framework Approach in the Basque Country. Estudo de Cooperacion al Desarollo.

Levine, C. J. (2007). Catholic Relief Services' (CRS) Guidance for Developing Logical and Results Frameworks. Baltimore: Catholic Relief Services.

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As a methodology, the 'Logical Framework Approach' (LFA) is a systematic, visual approach to designing, executing and assessing projects which encourages users to consider the relationships between available resources, planned activities, and desired changes or results.

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Love them or loathe them, logframes - the logical framework matrix - are a vital part of the aid worker's skill set. Many humanitarians swear by them for project planning, and increasingly many donors ask for a logframe as part of a funding application.
What can soccer tactics tell us about the limitations of planning?
So, what is a logframe?

Logframes originated from a planning approach used by the US military (maybe this is why they're seen as a bit rigid) and was later adopted by USAid in the 1960s for development projects. It has since become a standard approach required by donors for any grant applications.

The simplest form of a logframe is a 4x4 table with 16 cells, although this isn't a strict format. In the table you note down what you want to achieve and how you'll get there. In theory, writing a logframe should make it easier to plan and manage a project as you can see the sequence in which the actions lead to your overall goal.

Planning

Putting together a logframe is just one part of a project-planning process for development, but many criticise its fixed approach and see it as a top-down imposition from donors. Josiah Kaplan, a researcher from Oxford University, suggests you need to write the logframe with everyone who might be involved in the project. He says: "Greater inclusivity leads to better and more nuanced project planning. It can be a good opportunity to bring different actors around the table - within a single organisation, and with external partners and stakeholders - to communicate and develop shared objectives."

Before you start, get a load of stationery together - ideally a big sheet of paper with a lot of Post-it notes. Then, work out what your project actually is: Who are the key people involved and how might they be affected by the problem? You can do this with a problem tree analysis - in the middle of your page write down the problem your project will tackle, and then "branch off" possible causes of the problem until you're satisfied that you've found an overall cause and effect narrative. Hopefully at this point your notes will look a bit like a tree.

Make sure you involve everyone in the project planning process. Photograph: Greta Jensen

Then change the wording into positive terms. For example, "lack of sufficient water" would then become an aim to "improve water supply". Once you've done that you'll have an objective tree, and you'll be able to transfer those notes into the logframe.

Now you should have gathered answers to the following questions and be ready to write the logframe: What is the project is going to achieve? What activities will be carried out? What resources, people, equipment will you need? What potential problems might you come across? And how will the progress and ultimate success of the project be measured?

The structure of a logframe

A standard logframe is divided into four rows, which are your long- to short-term objectives ranging from top to bottom:

Goal (overall aim).

Outcome/Purpose (what will be achieved, who will benefit, and by when).

Outputs (specific results the project will generate).

Activities (what tasks need to be done in order for the output to be achieved).

These are achieved and measured by the headings from left to right:

Project summary (explaining the objectives).

Objectively verifiable indicators (how you'll measure the achievements).

Means of verification (how you'll collect the information for the indicators).

Risks and assumptions (external conditions needed to get results).

An example logframe by Tools4dev. Photograph: Piroska Bisits Bullen/Tools4dev

Writing a logframe

There's no set way to complete the table but here's how you might think about filling it in.

Start by writing your overall goal in the top left hand box of the table (between Goal and Project summary). Ask yourself: What do we intend to do? How does this sit with the country development strategy, and are they compatible?

A guide from Bond (pdf) suggests you start filling in the table from the top with your objectives and then work down. But while you're doing this think "upwards", as development consultant Greta Jensen suggests (try not to get too dizzy).

Jensen says the logframe is about setting your goals first and then getting into the grassroots - what you actually need to do. You have to look at all the boxes in the table as a sequence using an "if and then" logic.

As an example (pdf), if our goal is to create a community of happy children and adults in a village the "if and then" logic would be like this:

If we establish a community committee (activity) and people are enthusiastic (assumption) then we'll have the capacity to build and manage a playground (output). If we have a playground (output) and it's easy to maintain (assumption) then children will have fun (purpose). If children are having fun (purpose) and families continue to grow in the village (assumption) then we'll reach the goal of a happy community.

When outlining your activities ask yourself: What can we actually do? What have we already got that we can use to reach the overall goal? Then, what are we missing and what might we need?

Remember to think about what work you're going to do with each of the target groups. For example, what work will need to be done with local leaders as part of the project.

See the different levels of the logframe as a sequence, from Tools4dev. Photograph: Piroska Bisits Bullen/Tools4dev

How to make infographics: a beginner's guide to data visualisation

Once you've got your all objectives down on the table think laterally: how can you measure the progress of the project against the aims you've set out? (You write these in the "Objectively verifiable indicators" and "Means of verification" boxes.) Choose indicators that will let you measure whether the different levels in your project have been achieved. Keep these at a reasonable cost and give them a deadline. Set out the information required for the indicators in the "Means of verification" column. These could be sourced from documents, field surveys, training reports, among others.

The fourth column is called "Assumptions" - which essentially means a risk analysis. This is about being prepared for external circumstances and how you'll reduce the severity of those risks, so you must budget for that.

Jensen recommends understanding assumptions in three stages: risk analysis + mitigation = assumptions. She gives the following example: If the risk is hurricanes, what can the project do to reduce the severity of this risk? One option is to ensure staff are trained in emergency procedures. So in the assumption cell you put: "staff training and disaster management to minimise the impact of hurricanes".

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Logframes need to be flexible planning tools. Photograph: Greta Jensen

But remember, a logframe doesn't mean the plans are set in stone (or wood). See this tool as flexible to the project's needs, and responsive to everyone involved. As Jensen says, it has to be adaptable to reflect any changes on the ground.
For further resources on project planning and the logical framework approach, see Greta Jensen's blog who offers in-house training and mentoring, advice from DfID, Tools4dev, and the blog BetterEvaluation. Join our community of development professionals and humanitarians. Follow @GuardianGDP on Twitter. Topics

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How to write a logframe: a beginner's guide

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Love them or loathe them, logframes - the logical framework matrix - are a vital part of the aid worker's skill set. Many humanitarians swear by them for project planning, and increasingly many donors ask for a logframe as part of a funding application.

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With version 1.3 of Inkscape, you'll find improved performance, several new features, and a solid set of improvements to a few existing ones.

This version is squarely focused on helping users get organized and work more efficiently with our free and open source vector-editing software.

A week with The GIMP project at Blender HQ, Amsterdam

I was really excited to have the opportunity to meet some of the GIMP developers in-person after many conversations with them over IRC in the past, and Wilberweek presented not only a great opportunity to do just that, but also to visit the Headquarters of another of my favourite FOSS projects, the unstoppable freedom-centric software juggernaut that is the Blender project.

From shapes and patterns to documents and fonts, Inkscape's 1.3 beta release offers you some new features, alongside a basket full of improvements large and small. Let's dig into a few of the bells and whistles this new version has to offer.

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Inkscape is professional quality vector graphics software which runs on Linux, Mac OS X and Windows desktop computers.

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Books I have written.

Evaluation Illustrated
This is not an evaluation textbook. [Find it on Amazon]
114 evaluation cartoon favorites in a book that you can hold in your hands. It makes a great gift for clients, students, and family members who are still not quite clear as to what you do for a living.

Paperback Version

United States - US
Canada - CA
United Kingdom - UK
Germany - DE
France - FR
Spain - ES
Italy - IT
Japan - JP

eBook Version
United States - US
Canada - CA
United Kingdom - UK
Germany - DE
France - FR
Spain - ES
Italy - IT
Netherlands - NL
Japan - JP
Brazil - BR
Mexico - MX
Australia - AU
India - IN

Some of the books where you will find my illustrations.

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This is not an evaluation textbook. [Find it on Amazon] 114 evaluation cartoon favorites in a book that you can hold in your hands. It makes a great gift for clients, students, and family members who are still not quite clear as to what you do for a living.

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Grim Castillo AEA 2020 3DLM session 28 Oct 2020

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Lummi SOC Digital Story-July 8 2014-FINAL

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design discussions
no-schedule meetings
professional development
collaborate with clients
sales and marketing

replace text-only discussions
interactive lectures
support UDL principles
no-schedule office hours
professional development

student presentations
conversational practice
professional development
rich assessment
safe and accountable

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Transforming media into collaborative spaces with video, voice, and text commenting.

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This presentation wasn't shared at AEA; but the authors presented and I think we should be curious about disrupting the logic model.

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Photo by Justin Lawrence, Unsplash: https://unsplash.com/photos/CJr_tPKpieA

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/58eb972e414fb5fae517f552/t/59cd121af9a61e43a95191c6/1506611739652/Medicine_Wheel_Evaluation_Framework.pdf

http://www.communitybasedresearch.ca/Page/View/Logic_Modeling_Innovation

Menu of options for youth. Within each department, different type of programs that often build on each other

Today's example: LAYC's housing programs. Programs work together to form a continuum of care. CoC is essentially a theory of change that creating linkages between these programs will help youth achieve better outcomes down the line by minimizing disruption/trauma. They work at the local/regional level and at LAYC we have one within our housing programs

This flow chart is not a logic model.

https://endhomelessness.org/resource/what-is-a-continuum-of-care/

It would be tough to fit these two next to each other on a sheet of paper

It would be tough to fit these two next to each other on a sheet of paper

Connection from TLP to STAGE as well

Each program's outputs or outcomes are another program's inputs. Youth likely can't move to the next part of the continuum without reaching the outcome in the previous program (i.e. youth might not be ready for independent living if haven't attained certain life skills)

Use manipulatives. Will have sheets of paper to show the programs and how they link

Whether or not a youth is able to be placed in transitional housing often depends on various contextual factors - including the coordinated entry system (coordination amongst housing providers in a jurisdiction to get as many youth housed in available beds as possible). Sometimes there are not enough beds and youth aren't able to get into transitional housing.

Add to 3D logic model

The Drop-In Center's main purpose is to get youth connected to housing services they may need, but what if youth continue to use Drop-In Services?

Stack manipulatives on top of each other

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The Logic Model Repair Shop: An Introduction to 3D Logic Models.