Collaborative Workflow Step 3: Dashboard Design
Recommended role: BA, designer or any office-productivity software user
Purpose: To design the layout of the dashboard, implement common dashboard interactivity and publish the dashboard to the dashboard viewer.
The last step in the collaborative workflow is to design a dashboard. Dundas Dashboard provides a unique design interface specifically focused on the development of dashboards. In addition, the user interface is so easy to use that anyone who is comfortable with office productivity software will be able to create dashboards with it.
The Dundas Dashboard Designer facilitates the design and implementation of dashboards with the following key features:
The Drag-And-Drop Design Experience makes it easy to learn the design interface for laying out dashboard elements (data visualizations, images, buttons, labels, etc.).
KPI-Driven Design enables the designer to easily find the KPIs that are relevant to the dashboard. The KPIs defined in Step 2 appear in the toolbox, allowing the designer to quickly drag and drop the KPI onto the dashboard canvas.
A Rich Set Of Data Visualization Controls give the designer the tools necessary to effectively visualize KPIs:
| KPI Type |
Visualization provided by Dundas Dashboard |
| Trend |
line, bar and area charts |
| Category Comparisons |
bar and pie charts |
| Single Values vs. Targets |
linear and circular gauges and bullet graphs |
| List |
Grid |
| State Driven |
State indicator |
The Wizard-Driven Interactivity Implementation makes it easy for dashboard designers with no programming experience to include the following common dashboard functions:
- Filters (parameters) - the dashboard user can apply filters to the KPIs hooked up to the filter. For example, if there is a filter from which the user can select a list of products, and a KPI showing the number of units sold for a product, when the user selects a different product from the list, the KPI will update automatically.
- Hover overs - the dashboard user can put a mouse over a KPI or any other dashboard element and a dialog will appear. Generally, hover overs are used to allow the dashboard user to preview data. For example, if there is a KPI that shows the total revenue for the year, a hover over can be placed so that when the dashboard user puts the mouse over the KPI, it will show the monthly trend of the sales revenue.
- Drill downs - the dashboard user can click into a KPI and drill down into another dashboard that shows a more detailed view of that KPI. For example, if there is a KPI showing the total expenses for the year, the dashboard user can click on the KPI and it will drill down to another dashboard that displays the expense breakdown, the distribution of expenses by department, etc.
DundasScript™ provides a powerful way to customize a dashboard's behavior, including:
- Navigating to other dashboards using labels (creates a website feel).
- Changing the appearance of various elements; e.g., the dashboard designer may want to change the color of a bar depending on the value.
- Showing and hiding elements; this allows users to implement the concept of help boxes that can be used to describe a KPI by clicking on a help icon.
A Large Set Of Visualization Properties provides the ability to apply visual customizations and data visualization best practices to the various data visualization components available within Dundas Dashboard. This includes:
- Setting the colors to enhance the clarity of a visualization; e.g., apply contrasting colors to make key visualizations stand out.
- Custom label formatting to bring more meaning to labels; e.g., custom formats such as currency, dates and percentages can be done without having to do any programming.
- Positioning of data visualization elements (such as axes titles and labels) ensures no overlapping for maximum readability.
Styling Elements allow the designer to customize and enhance the look and feel of the dashboard. These elements consist of colors and images (to apply corporate branding elements) as well as lines and rectangles (which can be used to separate KPIs into logical groups within the dashboard).
Interactive Elements allow the dashboard designer to add common interactivity to dashboards, including:
- Drop downs for choosing from a list of items.
- Buttons to navigate to other dashboards or apply a user-defined change to the dashboard.
- Calendars to select a date.
- Text boxes for the user to input data.
Once the dashboard designer is satisfied with the dashboard, it can be published to the dashboard user with just one click.
In Conclusion
The features documented in this paper are just a few examples of the most common tools a designer might use and provide a glimpse of Dundas Dashboard’s vast array of functions and solutions.
This document provided insight into the workflow of building dashboards via Dundas Dashboard. While it is apparent that the workflow is logical, it is more important to note that this workflow has been proven countless times by Dundas’s extensive work in developing custom dashboard solutions. With this three-step process, a useful, functional dashboard will be developed quickly using Dundas Dashboard.
For more information on working with Dundas Dashboard, visit our tutorial section on our website at: www.dundas.com/Dashboard/Start/Tutorials/.