High-level summaries. The information displayed in a dashboard should consist primarily of high-level summaries, including exceptions, to communicate at a glance. It quickly tells you what's happening, but not why it's happening, just like the gauges, meters, and indicator lights on a car. Diagnosis requires further investigation and detail. A dashboard can serve as the starting point for this investigation, letting you drill down into further detail to perform an analysis, but this feature isn't required for something to be called a dashboard.

Concise, clear, and intuitive display mechanisms. Display mechanisms that clearly state their message without taking up much space are required so the entire collection of information will fit into the limited real estate of a single screen. If a graphical representation that looks like a fuel gauge, traffic signal, or thermometer is relevant and appropriate for a particular piece of information, that's what you should use. However, insisting on sexy widgets or displays similar to those found in a car when other mechanisms would work better is counterproductive.

Customized. The information on a dashboard must be tailored specifically to the requirements of a given person, group, or function; otherwise, it won't serve its purpose to help achieve specific objectives.

Metrics or KPIs? In most cases, dashboards are all about measurements. Monitoring performance typically relies on metrics, but useful information isn't always quantitative, such as a list of new prospective sales leads or the imminent due dates of a project. If the job requires measures that have been officially defined as KPIs, you should include them, but not exclusively when other information is required as well.

Real-time information? If dashboard users need real-time information to achieve their objectives, then the dashboard should display it. Otherwise, periodic snapshots work fine.

Web browsers? If the best available infrastructure is the Internet or an intranet, the dashboard should be viewed through a Web browser. However, there is nothing about a dashboard that necessitates a specific architectural platform, like a Web browser.