concept,description,category,reference,example,implementation_tips,related_concepts
"Cognitive Load Theory","Theory that suggests minimizing extraneous load to improve user understanding.","Stage 1","Sweller (1988)","Reducing clutter in dashboards","Use tabs or collapsible sections to organize complex information.","Progressive Disclosure, Miller's Law, Visual Hierarchies"
"Hick's Law","Principle stating that increasing number of choices increases decision time.","Stage 1","Hick (1952)","Simplifying dropdown menus","Reduce dropdown options or use hierarchical menus for better organization.","Decision Theory, Cognitive Load Theory, Default Effect"
"Visual Hierarchies","Design principle that uses layout and whitespace to guide attention.","Stage 1","Tufte (1983)","Emphasizing key metrics through layout","Use size, color, and position to indicate importance of elements.","Information Hierarchy, Pre-attentive Processing, Visual Hierarchy"
"Data Storytelling Framework","Framework for crafting a narrative with data to emphasize insights.","Stage 2","Matei & Hunter (2021)","Highlighting a data narrative","Start with a clear headline insight before showing supporting details.","Processing Fluency, Emotion & Fluency Effects, Peak-End Rule"
"Processing Fluency","The ease with which information is processed, affecting comprehension and trust.","Stage 2","Alter & Oppenheimer (2009)","Using simple visuals for clarity","Use clean, consistent typography and simple chart types.","Data Storytelling Framework, Pre-attentive Processing, Aesthetic-Usability"
"Emotion & Fluency Effects","How emotional resonance influences interpretation of data.","Stage 2","Song & Schwarz (2009)","Applying subtle color cues for emotional impact","Consider subtle color cues that match the message appropriately.","Processing Fluency, Data Storytelling Framework, Beautiful-Is-Good Stereotype"
"Principle of Proximity","Grouping related elements to create a coherent visual structure.","Stage 3","Gestalt Principles","Grouping related controls","Place related controls and visualizations in proximity to each other.","Gestalt Principles, Visual Hierarchy, Information Hierarchy"
"Dual-Processing Theory","Model distinguishing between fast (System 1) and slow (System 2) thinking.","Stage 3","Tversky & Kahneman (1979)","Providing quick overviews and detailed views","Provide both KPI summary cards and detailed data tables.","Processing Fluency, Cognitive Load Theory, Progressive Disclosure"
"Default Effect","How default selections can nudge user behavior.","Stage 3","Johnson & Goldstein (2003)","Pre-selecting best practice options","Pre-select the most useful timeframe or metrics for initial view.","Anchoring Effect, Framing & Loss Aversion, Nudge Theory"
"Aesthetic-Usability","The effect where aesthetically pleasing designs are perceived as more usable.","Stage 3","Norman (2002)","Creating visually appealing interfaces","Ensure visual cohesion with consistent colors, spacing, and alignment.","Beautiful-Is-Good Stereotype, Processing Fluency, Visual Feedback"
"Beautiful-Is-Good Stereotype","The assumption that attractive things are inherently good.","Stage 3","Dion et al. (1972)","Designing attractive summary cards","Pay attention to polish in summary cards with clear typography and spacing.","Aesthetic-Usability, Emotion & Fluency Effects, Visual Hierarchy"
"Anchoring Effect","Bias where initial values influence subsequent judgments.","Stage 4","Tversky & Kahneman (1974)","Using baseline comparisons","Always show reference points like previous period, budget, or industry average.","Default Effect, Framing & Loss Aversion, Confirmation Bias"
"Framing & Loss Aversion","Bias in decision-making influenced by how choices are framed.","Stage 4","Tversky & Kahneman (1981)","Presenting data with gain-framed messaging","Toggle between progress (65% complete) and gap (35% remaining) framing.","Anchoring Effect, Risk Perception, Default Effect"
"Confirmation Bias","Tendency to favor information that confirms pre-existing beliefs.","Stage 4","Nickerson (1998)","Including alternative scenarios","Include alternative views that might challenge the main narrative.","Belief Perseverance, Framing & Loss Aversion, Risk Perception"
"Belief Perseverance","Clinging to initial beliefs even when faced with contradictory evidence.","Stage 4","Ross & Lepper (1980)","Showing counter-evidence","Proactively show content that might disprove initial assumptions.","Confirmation Bias, Anchoring Effect, Information Scent"
"Risk Perception","Perception of risk that is often influenced by emotional reactions.","Stage 4","Slovic (1987)","Visualizing risk probabilities","Use appropriate visual encodings for uncertainty and risk.","Framing & Loss Aversion, Confirmation Bias, Emotion & Fluency Effects"
"Peak-End Rule","Rule stating that people judge experiences by their peak and end moments.","Stage 5","Kahneman et al. (1993)","Ending with a compelling summary","End dashboards with clear summary insights or next step recommendations.","Data Storytelling Framework, Emotion & Fluency Effects, Cooperation & Coordination"
"Cooperation & Coordination","Collaborative processes that enhance group decision-making.","Stage 5","Tindale & Kluwe (2015)","Enabling team annotations","Include comment/annotation features in dashboards for team input.","Peak-End Rule, Visual Feedback, User-Centric Design"
"Progressive Disclosure","Technique of showing only necessary information to reduce cognitive load.","Stage 1","Krug (2014)","Expanding details only when needed through accordion panels","Use shiny::actionButton with shinyjs to reveal additional content.","Cognitive Load Theory, Information Hierarchy, Visual Hierarchy"
"Fitts's Law","Law predicting that interaction time is based on distance and target size.","Stage 1","Fitts (1954)","Making important action buttons larger and more accessible","Make clickable elements at least 44x44 pixels for touch interfaces.","Affordance, Norman's Stages of Action, Interaction Hints"
"Miller's Law","Principle that humans can hold 7 (plus or minus 2) items in working memory.","Stage 1","Miller (1956)","Limiting navigation options to 5-9 main categories","Group dashboard sections into logical chunks of 5-9 items.","Cognitive Load Theory, Information Hierarchy, Progressive Disclosure"
"Information Scent","Signals that guide users toward relevant information.","Stage 2","Pirolli & Card (1999)","Providing clear pathways to deeper analysis through visual cues","Use tooltips, highlights, and breadcrumbs to enhance navigation.","Information Hierarchy, Affordance, Visual Hierarchy"
"Affordance","Quality of an object that suggests how it should be used.","Stage 3","Norman (1988)","Using familiar UI patterns that suggest their function","Follow standard dashboard patterns that users already understand.","Fitts's Law, Visual Feedback, Interaction Hints"
"Gestalt Principles","Visual perception principles governing how we group similar elements.","Stage 3","Wertheimer (1923)","Arranging related filters side by side to indicate relationship","Use layout_column_wrap() to group related metrics visually.","Principle of Proximity, Visual Hierarchy, Pre-attentive Processing"
"Pre-attentive Processing","Visual properties processed before conscious attention.","Stage 2","Healey (1996)","Using color, size, and shape to highlight key metrics before text","Leverage reactable's conditional formatting for instant pattern recognition.","Visual Hierarchy, Gestalt Principles, Visual Feedback"
"Shneiderman's Mantra","Overview first, zoom and filter, then details-on-demand.","Stage 2","Shneiderman (1996)","Starting with overview charts before detailed data tables","Implement drill-down functionality from summary to detail views.","Progressive Disclosure, Information Hierarchy, Cognitive Load Theory"
"Norman's Stages of Action","Seven-stage model of how users interact with systems.","Stage 1","Norman (1986)","Reducing steps needed to complete common dashboard actions","Minimize the steps required to perform common dashboard interactions.","Affordance, Fitts's Law, Cognitive Dimensions Framework"
"Information Hierarchy","Organization of information by importance and relationships.","Stage 3","Djamasbi et al. (2010)","Making primary metrics visually dominant over secondary ones","Use font size, weight, and color to establish visual hierarchy.","Visual Hierarchy, Principle of Proximity, Pre-attentive Processing"
"Cognitive Dimensions Framework","Framework for analyzing notation systems and user interfaces.","Stage 1","Green & Petre (1996)","Evaluating dashboard complexity across multiple dimensions","Evaluate your UI across visibility, abstraction, and consistency dimensions.","Norman's Stages of Action, Cognitive Load Theory, Affordance"
"Change Blindness","Failure to notice visual changes when they occur gradually.","Stage 4","Rensink et al. (1997)","Using animation to highlight data changes between states","Use transitions or animations when filtering or changing data views.","Pre-attentive Processing, Visual Feedback, Visual Hierarchy"
"Visual Hierarchy","Organizing visual elements by importance to guide the user's attention.","Stage 1","Djamasbi et al. (2010)","Creating clear visual hierarchy with primary KPIs at top","Apply different font sizes and weights to create clear information hierarchy.","Visual Hierarchies, Information Hierarchy, Principle of Proximity"
"Breathable Layouts","Using whitespace effectively to create visual rhythm and reduce cognitive load.","Stage 3","White (2011)","Using whitespace between sections with consistent margins","Use bslib::card_body(padding = 4) to add consistent padding and whitespace.","Visual Hierarchy, Information Hierarchy, Aesthetic-Usability"
"Gherkin Method","Structured format for creating user stories with Given-When-Then syntax.","Stage 2","North (2006)","Structuring user stories with Given-When-Then syntax","Structure user stories as 'As a [user], I want to [action] so that [benefit]'.","User Personas, User-Centric Design, Data Storytelling Framework"
"Interaction Hints","Visual cues that suggest possible interactions to users.","Stage 4","Norman (1988)","Adding hover effects and cursor changes for interactive elements","Add CSS hover states to clickable elements using the :hover pseudo-class.","Affordance, Visual Feedback, Fitts's Law"
"Visual Feedback","Immediate visual response to user actions to confirm their effect.","Stage 4","Shneiderman (2016)","Highlighting active states and providing loading feedback","Use shinyFeedback to provide immediate validation feedback on inputs.","Interaction Hints, Affordance, Change Blindness"
"Accessibility Contrast","Ensuring sufficient color contrast for users with visual impairments.","Stage 3","WCAG 2.1","Ensuring text has 4.5:1 contrast ratio against background","Test color combinations with WebAIM's contrast checker to meet WCAG standards.","Keyboard Navigation, Screen Reader Compatibility, User-Centric Design"
"Keyboard Navigation","Supporting navigation and interaction without requiring a mouse.","Stage 3","WCAG 2.1","Making all interactive elements focusable with Tab key","Use tabindex attributes to ensure logical keyboard navigation flow.","Accessibility Contrast, Screen Reader Compatibility, Fitts's Law"
"Screen Reader Compatibility","Making content accessible to users with screen readers.","Stage 3","WCAG 2.1","Adding descriptive alt text to charts and visuals","Add aria-label attributes to interactive elements and charts.","Accessibility Contrast, Keyboard Navigation, User-Centric Design"
"User Personas","Fictional representations of user types to guide design decisions.","Stage 2","Cooper (1999)","Creating design personas representing different user types","Create 3-5 distinct personas representing your dashboard's primary users.","User-Centric Design, Gherkin Method, Data Storytelling Framework"
"User-Centric Design","Design approach that prioritizes user needs and goals throughout the process.","All Stages","Winget & Eckhoff (2025)","Conducting user interviews before and during design process","Conduct user interviews and usability testing throughout the development process.","User-Centric Design, Gherkin Method, Cooperation & Coordination"
"Nudge Theory","Framework for designing choices that guide people toward beneficial decisions.","Stage 4","Thaler & Sunstein (2008)","Setting beneficial defaults like automatic savings enrollment","Design choice architecture that makes good choices easy and bad choices harder.","Default Effect, Anchoring Effect, Framing & Loss Aversion"