Goal
NovaCura is a fictional pharmaceutical company focused on large-scale medicine sales. Manufacturing managers struggled to quickly identify stock shortages and production bottlenecks because critical inventory data was spread across multiple reports. The challenge was to transform complex operational data into a clear and scannable dashboard, allowing users to access critical information at a glance and make faster decisions.
Solution
Prioritized inventory health metrics to help managers identify stock shortages and production bottlenecks at a glance.
Introduced filtering and sorting capabilities, enabling users to quickly isolate warehouses, product categories, and operational data relevant to their decisions.
Improved readability through a clear visual hierarchy, consistent alignment patterns, and optimized data presentation for faster comparison and analysis.
Information architecture
The dashboard was structured in three layers of information. Users first refine the dataset through filtering and sorting controls, then assess overall inventory health through summary metrics and charts, and finally analyze detailed product information within the table. This hierarchy supports both quick monitoring and deeper operational analysis.
Key design decisions
Prioritized inventory health KPIs above production metrics because they required more immediate attention.
Limited the number of colors to maintain focus on critical alerts.
Right-aligned numerical values to improve comparison speed and readability.
What I learned
This exercise reinforced that effective dashboard design is less about displaying more data and more about helping users make decisions. Prioritizing information hierarchy over feature density enabled a clearer experience and reduced the effort required to identify operational issues.
© Tais Brandao 2026