Dashboards

When we fly, we now expect not only a pilot's loudspeaker announcements (akin to authoritative websites) but also TV displays of where we are on the planned route. Dashboards are meant to be a level more informative, letting us see the pilot's instrument panel. Ideally, this builds our trust when the TV display shows we are off the planned route. A good pilot understands passengers should be informed if turbulence or other factors make her change the route enough to concern informed passengers consulting dashboards. No one can get off the flight mid-air but passengers who lose trust in an airline's pilots are less likely to take it on the next flight. That is why game theory and such are now a major 'new' feature of decision support systems.

OconEco uses Dashboards to clarify stakeholder's Perspectives in Ansoff Matrix terms. Stakeholders may be offering, or seeking, (a) a competitor for something already available, (b) a local application of something proven elsewhere, (c) a local change in something known, (d) a local application of something novel in both senses. Unlike the flying metaphor, passengers haven't agreed on where they are going. Dashboards are then more like checking tickets before boarding--except flights will go where a critical mass of stakeholders agree they wish to go, as long as the pilot (our client) agrees. 

Some stakeholders may get exactly where they wanted. Others may settle for close enough and make their own ways to where they want to be, or look for another airline (workspace). A client's goal is to get enough engage stakeholders (passengers) to justify the flight. Dashboards are a means to that end.