Dashboards That Deliver: How to Design, Develop, and Deploy Dashboards That Work, the upcoming book by Andy Cotgreave, Amanda Makulec, Jeffrey Shaffer, and Steve Wexler, is a tour de force of data visualization and project management expertise. At nearly 500 pages, the book may seem intimidating, but inside, it provides an accessible guide to tackling the dashboard design process, augmented by breakdowns of real-world scenarios and some broader discussions of hot dashboard topics. With decades of experience between them, Cotgreave, Makulec, Shaffer, and Wexler expertly share their skills with readers through this unassuming book.
Part I: Process contains the first eleven chapters of the book. The first three chapters are primers for the following eight, describing why dashboards are important (Chapter 1), the authors’ Dashboards that Deliver framework (Chapter 2), and the roles often found on teams that create dashboards (Chapter 3). Each of the eight other chapters in Part I take a deep dive into the seven steps of the Dashboards That Deliver framework: spark (Chapter 4), discovery (Chapters 5 and 6), prototyping (Chapters 7 and 8), development and user testing (Chapter 9), release (Chapter 10), adoption (Chapter 10), and maintenance and enhancements (Chapter 11). The list of steps may seem overwhelming at first, but the chapters are conversational and broken down into short, labeled sections, making them easy to skim and find relevant sections at a glance.
After the reader has taken in the information in Part I, the authors move into Part II: Scenarios. In this section, fifteen dashboard projects are broken down, each in its own chapter. Breakdowns not only identify the dashboard designer, organization, audience, tools used, and creation timeline for each dashboard, but also go into the fine details of each project. Annotated still images of the final dashboards and photos and scans of the sketches and prototypes that preceded the final product make these scenarios come to life. Even more useful, the authors provide commentary on the dashboard at the end of each chapter, noting key takeaways and broadly applicable insights from each specific scenario. They even used an example from Outlier 2024—Michael Gethers’ Professional Racing Team Race Strategy Dashboard (Chapter 24)!
The book concludes with Part III: Succeeding in the Real World. This section has the fewest chapters—nine in total—that each address a debated issue or broadly applicable insight in dashboard design. The authors address the promises and pitfalls of software defaults, the actual definition of a dashboard, generative AI, and much more. This section feels the most broadly applicable, even to those who may not create dashboards specifically, but who still work on data analysis and design issues.
While reading Dashboards That Deliver, I found myself skipping around to different sections as I became interested or found them relevant to my work. I was pleased to find that when I later settled in to read the book cover to cover, it read just as well continuously as it did when used as a reference book. The accessible language, paired with many sidebars, well-labeled sections, and relevant graphics, makes the book feel more like an active discussion than a textbook and adds to its utility as a frequently referenced book on any data visualizer’s shelf.
Though the four authors write with a unified voice throughout the book, Dashboards That Deliver still showcases each of their individual personalities and areas of expertise. Some sidebars, end notes, and even entire chapters are written by individual authors or small groups and some parts of the book specifically showcase when two or more authors had contrasting ideas. Cotgreave, Makulec, Shaffer, and Wexler engage with each other on the pages of Dashboards That Deliver instead of flattening their opinions, proving there is always more than one solution to a problem. Their tactic encourages readers to formulate their own opinions and gives them the agency to apply their critical thinking to their own work, equipped with the Dashboards That Deliver framework.
Dashboards That Deliver is undoubtedly worth the 500-page read. The authors bring their expertise to the table and lay their process bare for all to benefit. The book is approachable, useful as a reference, and applicable beyond just dashboard design, even though it uses dashboards as a jumping off point for understanding the data analysis and visualization process. Cotgreave, Makulec, Shaffer, and Wexler have delivered a book that will be used by many data visualizers for years to come.
Dashboards That Deliver is currently available for preorder and will publish on September 23, 2025.
Emilia Ruzicka is a data journalist, researcher, and editor who recently completed their M.A. in Media, Culture, and Technology at University of Virginia. They are currently pursuing freelance projects, including a blog and travel newsletter, while they search for their next full-time position. Outside of data viz, Emilia loves to visit museums, make art, and talk about the USPS. If you have a project proposal, story tips, or want to find out more, visit emiliaruzicka.com.
- Emilia Ruzickahttps://nightingaledvs.com/author/emilia-ruzicka/
- Emilia Ruzickahttps://nightingaledvs.com/author/emilia-ruzicka/
- Emilia Ruzickahttps://nightingaledvs.com/author/emilia-ruzicka/
- Emilia Ruzickahttps://nightingaledvs.com/author/emilia-ruzicka/
