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The laws of shitty dashboards

attackwithnumbers.com

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Re: The laws of shitty dashboards

#111

Post by opendais »

CCs wrote: post #71
userbinator wrote: post #44

There seems to be an attitude throughout the article of "users are too stupid to understand dashboards", and maybe this is true to some extent, but that's really not a good reason to dumb-down interfaces (which seems to be what it's calling for.) E.g. You have no idea what your users will decide based on the data you are showing them. But you somehow assume your users will know. My eternal gratitude to anyone who can…

My understanding is, that the attitude was "throwing numbers together and calling it a dashboard is bad, ask the users what they actually want".

Heh. I built a dashboard and included everything my coworkers asked for.

Oddly enough, I'm the only one that uses it and I've dropped everything they've asked for from it to declutter.

Re: The laws of shitty dashboards

#113

Post by Gigablah »

coldtea wrote: post #88
pbreit wrote: post #84

I suspect the author is probably right but didn't glean much actionable from the post.

Perhaps you didn't read it enough? 1) Don't just throw all the numbers you have a page. 2) Talk to the users to find what they need measuring 3) Don't multiply controls and options, show fewer specific things 4) Consider what displays will lead to specific actionable insight 4) Don't use specific ranges just so data will change 5) Real time data are mostly gimmicky, don't add it unless it serves a specific purpose 6)…

I like your summary much better. I tried reading the article and all I saw was "shitty", "shitty" and "shitty". The author needs to learn how to present information, ironically.

Re: The laws of shitty dashboards

#114

Post by X-Istence »

jschwartzi wrote: post #27
aunty_helen wrote: post #19

>They also employ UX techniques that dates from a time where the only UI component you can use was a light bulb. If that red thing is critical, can’t you tell me right away what it means? This annoyed me a little bit. A check engine light is the perfect component for what it does. If it's on it means that something may be seriously wrong and that you're probably too stupid or ill-equipped to fix it. If it was somethi…

It's also a great design because it needs to be highly reliable, and lights are probably the simplest things you can apply power to to generate a notification. Also the note about the tachometer struck me as a little odd. The tachometer can tell you if your vehicle is running at a high idle, if the bumps you're feeling are misfires or the road, and it can also tell you whether you've accidentally left your vehicle in…

I used to own a 2001 Hyundai Accent, with a 5 speed manual. It didn't have a tachometer. You learned what the car sounded like, and learned the shift points based upon the engine noise.

I could tell when it was idling high (for example on cold days) simply because I had driven it a lot. I didn't need a tachometer for that.

If your car is misfiring the check engine light should come on. These days a car misfiring can have serious consequences...

Re: The laws of shitty dashboards

#116

Post by mwetzler »

Data Scientist here. Can confirm, most dashboards are shitty. Usually you don't need a dashboard, you need a human who knows how to analyze data to get useful information out of it. A dashboard is not an end goal, an informed decision is.

Re: The laws of shitty dashboards

#117

Post by Someone1234 »

devicenull wrote: post #59
ams6110 wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It can also come on for no apparent reason. Mine is on right now. Gas cap is tight, car is running fine. Starts right up, runs smooth, power is good, fuel economy normal. So I'm not going to take it into the shop. In this day and age we can have something more informative than a check engine light. Tell me what's wrong, or at least have a "verbose" option I can enable that will let me see WTF it thinks the problem is…

You can buy an OBD-II reader for $8. It's cheap enough that the first time it tells you your gas cap was loose, it's paid for itself. So, for a trivial cost you can get your verbose option. Most people are not going to have any knowledge or desire to have this information, so it's a silly feature to include.

I purchased a Bluetooth one from Amazon ($10.99) and an Android app (Torque Pro, $5). Great tool for $16 all in. Plus the ODB-II adapter can be used to configure some "quality of life" stuff in newer cars (e.g. the constant cabin backup beep sound on the 2014 Prius).

You will need an Android phone already, but these days that is pretty common (particularly for technical people). Just get the error code and Google it, it becomes pretty obvious what it is.

Re: The laws of shitty dashboards

#118

Post by ToastyMallows »

ams6110 wrote: post #47
cvburgess wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is not true. The check engine light can come on in some cars if the gas cap is not screwed on tight enough - easily fixed yet treated as serious as a major engine malfunction.

It can also come on for no apparent reason. Mine is on right now. Gas cap is tight, car is running fine. Starts right up, runs smooth, power is good, fuel economy normal. So I'm not going to take it into the shop. In this day and age we can have something more informative than a check engine light. Tell me what's wrong, or at least have a "verbose" option I can enable that will let me see WTF it thinks the problem is…

Not sure about your make/model/year, but my Check Engine light most likely means that I need an oil change.

Re: The laws of shitty dashboards

#119

Post by vonmoltke »

zobzu wrote: post #74
aunty_helen wrote: post #19

>They also employ UX techniques that dates from a time where the only UI component you can use was a light bulb. If that red thing is critical, can’t you tell me right away what it means? This annoyed me a little bit. A check engine light is the perfect component for what it does. If it's on it means that something may be seriously wrong and that you're probably too stupid or ill-equipped to fix it. If it was somethi…

The engine warning light is actually the shittiest thing on the dashboard. It can mean anywhere from 10 to 500 things, and nobody knows. Result? Manufacturer manuals ALL OF THEM will tell you: "Just keep on driving, if it doesn't go off after a few days/a few drives bring the car to a mechanic." Seriously, go get your manual and check what it says. I mean, what the fuck? How the hell is that good in ANY way, shape or…

Manuals instruct you to to wait for the light to appear on multiple driving cycles because the light can trip during a particular drive due to spurious sensor readings or malfunctions. That does not make the light useless.

Re: The laws of shitty dashboards

#120

Post by throwaway234 »

Someone1234 wrote: post #117
devicenull wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can buy an OBD-II reader for $8. It's cheap enough that the first time it tells you your gas cap was loose, it's paid for itself. So, for a trivial cost you can get your verbose option. Most people are not going to have any knowledge or desire to have this information, so it's a silly feature to include.

I purchased a Bluetooth one from Amazon ($10.99) and an Android app (Torque Pro, $5). Great tool for $16 all in. Plus the ODB-II adapter can be used to configure some "quality of life" stuff in newer cars (e.g. the constant cabin backup beep sound on the 2014 Prius). You will need an Android phone already, but these days that is pretty common (particularly for technical people). Just get the error code and Google it,…

What tool do you use to change configurations?

I know my 2007 Lexus has those programmable options like beep durations and such, but I have only found two solutions - paying the dealership $60 to change them, or buying a $15 android app that changes them. I could do it myself, but the codes (Lexus Personalized Settings) are secret. Did you find a free alternative to modify your Prius settings?

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