Empathising with Users – The First Step Towards Human-Centred Business Intelligence in Power BI.
Before diving into DAX formulas or building stunning dashboards, there is one critical question every data and analytics professional should ask:
Who am I designing this for, and why?
A simple truth lies at the heart of any successful business intelligence (BI) solution — it must be designed with people in mind. The first phase of the design thinking methodology, Empathise, is crucial.
Why Empathy Matters in Power BI Projects
Power BI is a powerful tool, but power without purpose can quickly become overwhelming. A common pitfall in analytics development is building reports based on available data rather than real user needs. The result? Beautiful dashboards that rarely get used.
Empathy changes that. It encourages us to set aside our assumptions and deeply understand the people behind the numbers. Who are the users? What decisions do they need to make? What frustrations are they experiencing with existing reports? These insights do not come from guesswork — they come from genuine engagement.
Start by Listening
Begin every Power BI project with structured discovery:
Stakeholder Interviews: Talk to executives, managers, analysts — anyone who will interact with or benefit from the report.
Contextual Enquiry: If you can, observe users as they complete tasks. What tools are they using now? Where are the bottlenecks?
Surveys and Polls: When working with a broader audience, gather quantitative feedback on current reporting effectiveness.
These sessions are not just about gathering requirements — they are about building relationships and trust.
Create Personas That Reflect Reality
From these conversations, build personas — archetypes representing your key user groups. For example:
Amelia, the Sales Director: Wants weekly summaries of pipeline health, wins/losses, and forecast vs actual.
Jacob, the Operations Analyst: Needs detailed daily tables with drill-down capabilities by region and team.
Farah, the CFO: Prioritises financial KPIs, wants everything exportable to Excel, and hates clutter.
These personas become your design anchor points, helping your team avoid one-size-fits-all dashboards.
Map the User Journey
Use journey maps to visualise how users interact with data today — and where you can improve it. Plot out:
What triggers their need for insight?
What steps do they take to get it?
What are the moments of frustration or friction?
For example, maybe sales managers are pulling data manually into spreadsheets every week. That’s a clear opportunity to automate and visualise.
Strategic Impact: Why Empathy Pays Off
Empathy is not soft or indulgent — it’s strategic. A report built with user needs at its core:
Improves adoption rates
Drives better decision-making
Reduces training and support overhead
Encourages collaboration between IT and business
And ultimately, it ensures your data work aligns with organisational goals rather than sitting in silos.