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Charles Sutton

User Interviews Results in Better Power BI Reports


The Importance of User Interviews


Understanding User Needs

A comprehensive understanding of user needs upfront results in a superior final product. User interviews help capture detailed requirements, ensuring that the product meets user expectations and business goals.


Focusing on Outcomes

An extensive user interview prompts requesters to think deeply about the expected outcomes of the final deliverable. This clarity helps in designing a dashboard that meets specific business needs and offers actionable insights.


Continuous Reference Point

Feedback from user interviews serves as a reference throughout multiple stages of development. It is more efficient to include necessary features in the first development phase than to add them later, which can be costly and time-consuming.


Aligning with Business Goals

The true purpose of a dashboard is to align with business goals and deliver a coherent narrative. User interviews help in understanding these goals and the necessary metrics to watch, ensuring the dashboard provides relevant and impactful insights.


Setting Expectations

Starting with a series of user interviews sets the tone that the goal is to build a data product designed to affect business outcomes. It also sets upfront expectations about what is possible and finds any potential issues that need to be resolved during development.


User Interviews Can Significantly Enhance Power BI Reports by:


Staying Focused on Building a Business Improvement Tool

The primary goal of a dashboard is to check critical business processes for best performance. If a simple data output is needed, a spreadsheet might be more proper. Overloading with dashboards can lead to low-quality outputs and slow down insights. A well-conducted user interview helps clarify which business processes need monitoring and what details are essential for in-depth analysis. This ensures the dashboard delivers a clear visual narrative that supports business decisions.


Keeping Stakeholders Engaged to Drive Adoption

Engaging stakeholders from the start can prevent issues that lead to underutilized dashboards. Involving them in the development process ensures that the final product aligns with their expectations. Regular feedback sessions on aspects like visuals, navigation, filtering, and interactivity help stakeholders feel invested and reduce the likelihood of confusion or frustration upon delivery. This engagement fosters excitement and willingness to use the final product.


Providing a Vision of What Will Be Created and How the Process Will Work

Starting with user interviews helps set clear expectations, reducing anxiety and confusion among stakeholders. Transparency about what will be delivered, how, and when, mitigates frustration often caused by a lack of communication. By outlining the project roadmap and highlighting key milestones, stakeholders stay informed and assured about the progress, reducing the anxiety of wondering about the status of their project.


** All the info in this blog are based my own experience, but ChatGPT did help with formatting

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