Dashboard
Examples
Description
A dashboard is a user interface that presents consolidated and relevant information through graphical visualizations and summaries, designed to support a quick understanding of the state of processes, metrics, or key indicators. Its main function is to let authorized users monitor and make informed decisions, minimizing the time needed to understand what is happening. The effectiveness of a dashboard depends critically on selecting the right data to display and choosing the appropriate visualization techniques to communicate each type of information.
Mandatory capabilities
Mandatory capabilities
- Presents summarized and consolidated information from multiple sources in a single view
- Uses varied visual representations (line charts, bar charts, indicators, tables) to communicate the information quickly
- Is updated regularly, keeping the information current for present-day decisions
- Is designed for a specific audience and goal, showing only the information relevant to that context and role
- Requires calculation or aggregation processes that transform the raw data into the metrics and indicators presented
Additional capabilities
Additional capabilities
- Interactivity: lets the user filter, group, drill down, and explore the data presented according to their immediate needs, without generating a new document
- View export: lets the user download the current view or sections of the dashboard as files (PDF, image, or CSV of the underlying data)
- Threshold-based visual alerts: visually highlight metrics that exceed defined limits (colors, warning icons), drawing the user's attention to situations that require action
Boundaries
What it is not
- Is not a static, exportable report, but a continuously updated dynamic view
- Unlike a Report, the Dashboard allows the view to be reconfigured without generating a new document
- Is not Queries: a query answers a specific question by returning specific data; the dashboard presents a holistic view of multiple indicators at once
Information flow
Input
The user's request to view the dashboard; optionally, filters or groupings to customize the view
→
Output
Interactive, up-to-date on-screen visualization of metrics and indicators
Variants
- Strategic dashboard: aimed at senior management, it shows strategic KPIs and the overall health of the business, updated daily or weekly
- Operational dashboard: presents operational metrics and ongoing processes, updated in real time or frequently
- Analytical dashboard: for analysts and specialists, it includes complex visualizations, trends, and detailed comparisons
- Tactical dashboard: focused on medium-term and departmental goals, it combines operational and strategic elements, updated regularly
Typical dependencies
- Database that provides the data to be visualized
- Autonomous processes that calculate metrics, KPIs, or aggregations
- Authentication and Authorization that control which users can see which dashboards
Mapping to the Digital Board
Manual UpdateNo
Automatic UpdateNo
Data ConceptsAlways
On-Demand OutputsAlways
Automatic OutputsNo
Autonomous ProcessesAlways
| Section | Relationship | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Manual Update | No | — |
| Automatic Update | No | — |
| Data Concepts | Always | The concepts whose metrics and indicators are presented. |
| On-Demand Outputs | Always | The dashboard visualization itself. View export, when that capability is present. |
| Automatic Outputs | No | — |
| Autonomous Processes | Always | Calculation and aggregation of metrics and indicators. |
Digital Board example
Manual Update
—
Data Concepts
Products
Sales
On-Demand Outputs
Line chartSales per day/week/month
Bar chartProduct stock
Chart export
Automatic Update
—
Autonomous Processes
Sales metrics calculation
Product metrics calculation
Automatic Outputs
—