Applying Design Thinking to Analytics and Internal Reporting.

Despite massive investments in business intelligence tools, many internal reports end up underused—or worse, completely ignored.

Why? Because they’re often built with data, not people, in mind. That’s where Design Thinking comes in. It gives teams a structured, empathetic approach to creating reports that people actually find helpful—and even enjoyable.

What’s Broken in Traditional Internal Reporting?

Let’s be honest: a lot of dashboards are built for analysts, by analysts. They prioritise data completeness over clarity and overlook the needs of real users, such as time-poor managers or operational staff.

A 2021 Deloitte study backs this up:

• 62% of executives feel overwhelmed by data

• Only 23% actually rely on dashboards to make decisions

How Design Thinking Changes the Games

Here’s how the five stages of Design Thinking can completely reshape your internal reporting approach:

1. Empathise: Understand People, Not Just Metrics

Start by talking to the people who use your reports. Not just what they want to see, but how they work.

• What reports do you actually use?

• Where do you get stuck or frustrated?

• What decisions are you trying to make?

Use journey mapping or empathy maps to visualise these pain points.

Example: A procurement team might be frustrated by logging into five separate systems to forecast supplier delays.

2. Define: Frame the Problem Clearly

Turn your user research into a clear, actionable challenge.

❌ “We need a banker dashboard.”

✅ “How might we help bankers and leaders forecast better without switching systems?”

The way you frame the problem determines the quality of your solution.

3. Ideate: Co-create with Stakeholders

Bring the team together—designers, analysts, and business users. Sketch out ideas. Run workshops. Use sticky notes, storyboards, or mock scenarios.

It’s not about pretty visuals yet—it’s about aligning on what actually matters.

4. Prototype: Start Simple

Don’t open Power BI just yet.

Instead, create:

• Paper mockups

• Clickable wireframes in Figma or PowerPoint

• Annotated screenshots showing proposed changes

Test these lightweight prototypes early and often to gather fast feedback.

5. Test: Validate Before You Scale

Roll your prototype out to a small group. Observe how they use it. Measure interaction time, track clicks, and ask for open feedback.

Then iterate. Design Thinking is all about learning and improving—not assuming you got it right the first time.

Real-World Impact

The Australian Department of Health adopted Design Thinking principles to redesign internal reporting on aged care metrics. The result was a simplified dashboard that improved data comprehension by 47%, according to internal surveys (2022).

• Deloitte Access Economics (2021). Data-Driven Decision-Making in Australian Enterprises.

• Norman, D. (2013). The Design of Everyday Things. MIT Press.