An ITSM dashboard is your de-facto control center for everything related to service management. It should be clear, detailed, versatile, and offer a single-glance way to get the information you need. Otherwise, you risk mismanaging your IT assets and operations because you missed valuable data points.
However, it’s not easy to design a dashboard that allows everyone — from upper management to rank-and-file employees — to access strategically important, actionable information on a dime. Yet, the endeavor not being easy doesn’t make it any less necessary for decisions that have a positive impact.
Also, we know you don’t want to be coding your way into a competent dashboard. You may have a dedicated coding team, but trust us when we say that you don’t want to waste their time (and your money) when any good ITSM tool should come with certain features ready to go.
At InvGate, we created our 
dashboards with this in mind to provide you with versatile, easy-to-configure, and easy-to-share tools to make your daily job easier.
Let's take a look!
Why does your dashboard need clear metrics?
We’re neck-deep in data all the time. It’s pretty much a constant data tsunami. In fact, SeedScientific revealed that we create roughly 2.5 quintillion bytes of data every day. And as if that wasn't enough, with the growing popularity of IoT, this data creation rate will become even more significant.
Impressive, right? Now, it becomes obvious why you need to organize your data in an effective-yet-easy way. Finding a single spot to view clear, actionable information is necessary to make sense of the chaos.
Information is going to be the keyword here. It’s often said that we’re data-rich and information-poor, and that’s not something you want to be the case when it comes to your dashboard.
So, what do you need your ITSM dashboard to do for you?
- Present information in a way that’s as clear and concise as possible.
- Collect and present data in real-time.
- Allow you to monitor and analyze information so you can be proactive and predictive rather than reactive.
- Let you assess situations as they happen.
Now, let's look at what a good dashboard design looks like.
ITSM dashboard must-haves
A good dashboard design will give you visibility and control over whatever ITSM metrics you require. For us, these are the six things your tool must provide you with.
1. View incident spikes
An efficient ITSM dashboard will immediately let you know if something is suddenly going amiss or there’s a surge of incidents. Even if a service is unavailable at the time, your dashboard should allow you to liaise with third-party apps to create tickets on the go.
Any changes in CI statuses should also be immediately visible on your dashboard so managers can stay on top of things.
2. Measure quality and performance
Now, if there’s something that should come with any good dashboard, it’s this. Look elsewhere if you require additional coding to stay abreast of quality and performance metrics. But, with a good dashboard, you can implement the metrics you desire, such as:
- Change implemented by X department
- Successful amount of tickets resolved
- Ticket response time
- The number of service outages in the past quarter
3. Let you know about trends
If, for instance, you need to know about overdue tickets, then that report should be generated automatically and sent to the appropriate stakeholders so they can get a move on. Your service desk solution must include reports that make nipping issues in the bud easy. Otherwise, you’re waiting for stuff to pile up on you.
4. Set goals and timelines
If you have accurate reporting, then you can also assess whether you’ve moved ahead with completing your goals or you’re lagging behind schedule. Also, you can create project portfolios to track progress more efficiently (and not have to juggle a million different projects on the same screen).
5. Allow users to have their customized dashboard with their tasks
This is important, so employees don’t lose themselves in the big picture. Your service desk dashboard should let users track their projects and tasks independently.
6. Automate notifications
Automated messages will probably vary by user, and they are a huge time-saver for regular employees and managers. They also allow them to carry on with their daily tasks knowing that nothing will slip by them while they’re busy.
Of course, you must still follow the 8ws of dashboard design. Let’s dive in.
The 8 Ws of ITSM dashboard design
No matter what your organization deigns essential, the same principles apply to designing your dashboard. The underlying principles (or the 8 Ws) are:
- What role?: Or, in other words, who will this dashboard help? It will guide you in delimiting the information they need on their dashboard and what questions the dashboard needs to answer.
- What to push?: This refers to organizational mandates, goals, or policies. It’s about the must-see information each agent needs to fulfill their role according to the trade rules.
- What to pull?: This is information that’s not immediately available, but that can be drawn from a data source on demand. This information is, by necessity, obtained and created in real-time.
- What is prior?: This information about previous cases can help identify trends and patterns. Historical reporting supplements the real-time data on a dashboard; it’s up to each user and manager to determine how these two are divided.
- What is visual?: Information needs to be understood and found easily. Some information can’t be accurately represented without gross oversimplification. Charts, graphs, bubble charts, etc. should be conveyed through them. It’s not just about looking good but about making things user-friendly.
- What placement?: This is about screen positioning. Research has shown that patterns make things easier to read and digest visually. You should follow design principles that help you place items according to visual hierarchies.
- What’s related?: Layered design helps you connect dashboards, allowing you to “zoom in” or “zoom out” depending on the information the user needs to access.
- What’s optional?: It is the information you can re-configure or leave out entirely depending on the available space on the dashboard. As a rule, some information stays in, and some can go away depending on needs.
InvGate Service Desk, a streamlined dashboard solution
At InvGate, we’ve made sure to follow the 8Ws, and the latest ITSM trends, to the letter. is the optimal solution if you need dashboard design done right.
What do we offer?
- An intuitive ticketing solution with a clear view of your service desk allows you to track relevant metrics (the ones you decide) and take action when needed.
- A way to make your agents’ lives easier, avoiding unnecessary complications and a “data deluge.” No bottlenecks or draconian visuals bog things down and over-burden their job.
- To work smarter, not harder, with automated solutions that optimize workflows and leave humans to perform the tasks they do best.
- 24/7 support to create the tailor-made service desk you need, not the one we think is right.
And hey, you don’t have to jump in and take our word for it. You can opt for our 
and let the results speak for themselves.
In conclusion
Clear, intelligent ITSM dashboard design is a service management must. You can’t work smart if you’re trying to decipher unintelligible metrics or coding your way out of a jam because your chosen solution offers more problems.
As you know, data drives decisions, and you need the right data to make the correct choices. Therefore, it’s connecting the dots to understand why an ITSM dashboard needs to show you the most relevant information for every given scenario.
Choose right, and things become more accessible down the road. Choose wrong, and your workflow will suffer for it. We’ll be there when you need us.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do we need clear ITSM dashboard metrics?
To present information in a way that’s as clear as possible, with real-time data. The idea is to monitor and collate information that leads to proactive instead of reactive actions.
What do you need in a good ITSM dashboard?
Precise, real-time metrics to track incidents, measure quality and performance, set goals, and let users have the information they need on-demand.
