Don’t start another dashboard without this
The safeguard that prevents painful rebuilds
P.S. I’ve started a second blog called Millennial Misfit, about overthinking work, life, and all the weird in-between moments. More on that below…
If you’ve ever been halfway through a dashboard build only to realize you have to tear it apart and start again, you know how frustrating it feels.
The deadlines don’t change, the expectations don’t shrink, and suddenly weeks of work vanish overnight.
I’ve been there too. And the painful truth is that most dashboards don’t fail because of messy data or bad visuals.
They fail long before the first chart is built.
Welcome, scope creep.
In this week’s blog post, I wrote about:
The story of my most expensive rebuild.
What actually causes scope creep in dashboards.
The process I now use to prevent wasted time and rework.
This is the one lesson that’s saved me more hours (and stress) than any SQL trick or Power BI shortcut.
Read the full post here →
The Most Expensive Dashboard Mistake You Can Make
🎁A Reward for my Newsletter Readers
Because you’re part of my readership, I want to give you something extra.
I’ve put together the exact Dashboard Scoping Toolkit I use to keep projects on track.
It’s a simple, fill-in-the-blanks doc (with examples), plus BONUS companion guide, that gets everyone aligned from day one and stops scope creep before it starts.
As a thank you for your support, you can grab it for 50% off with this code at checkout:
9SJRRGJ.
🎁 Claim your 50% off Dashboard Scoping Toolkit
If it saves you from even one rebuild, it’s already paid for itself.
👀 Something New
You already know Data With Sarah is my bread and butter, the blog that started it all. That’s where I write about SQL, dashboards, and making analytics easier.
However, I’ve been a writer longer than I have been a data analyst, and I recently launched a new blog called Millennial Misfit.
It’s where I write about everything outside of data, from corporate life to overthinking, to the everyday confusion of being a millennial in society.
If you’ve ever felt caught between ambition and burnout, drifted into nostalgia while rethinking your next move, or wondered if everyone else has it figured out while you’re still figuring it out, you’ll probably feel right at home.
👉 Subscribe to Millennial Misfit here
Check out my Digital Products:
📚 You Might Also Like...
Here are a few more blog posts you might be interested in:
30 Interview Questions to Prepare for Your Next Data Analyst Role
Learning New Data Skills While Working Full-Time: How to Make It Work
Building a Data Analytics Portfolio: What to Include and Where to Start
You Don’t Have to Be a Math Wizard to Work in Data Analytics
Let’s be LinkedIn buddies!
Want more data stuff between newsletters? I’m always on LinkedIn. Connect or follow me! I’m probably on there posting about something right now…
👀 What do You Want to See Next?
Want me to cover something in an upcoming post? Drop it in the comments. Always looking for good topics — SQL, dashboards, career stuff, anything!
☕ Want to Support My Work?
If something I wrote helped you out, made you laugh, or saved you from rewriting the same SQL query five times… and you feel like sending a coffee my way, here’s where you can do that.
Totally optional. Always appreciated. :)
If you’re looking for more tips like this, I share regularly on my socials. Come and say hi 👋:
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Thanks for reading!
—Sarah
“Do we want to adjust the timeline, or create a new request?”Love it. I've used this variation: "Do we want to extend the deadline, or make that part of release 2.0?" :)