A dashboard is a set of data visualizations (graphs, charts, charts, tables, etc.) obtained from third-party systems. Visualizations are grouped in such a way as to give the most visual answer to a business question.

Unlike a static report, the dashboard changes along with the changing data. It contains interactive elements with which this data can be filtered and grouped. Of course, if the dashboard is created taking into account all needs and trends.

Today, the main Dashboard Trends 2024 include flexibility, variability, and versatility. A well-designed dashboard does not just visualize numbers from reports, it helps solve a business problem, monitor the efficiency of business processes, find relationships between heterogeneous data, etc.

Dashboarding

Analysts use the term “dashboarding.” This is the name for an approach to building analytical systems, in which the developer provides data for analysis and a tool for their visualization. It is up to the user to decide how exactly the data will be grouped and visualized.

The problem of modern companies is a large amount of data

Modern companies are forced to collect large volumes of data on employee training, KPIs, sales levels, customer satisfaction, etc. All this is building material on the basis of which a company development strategy can be built. Analysis of these numbers will help you understand what processes are happening in the company, what influences what, and what steps to take for further growth.

However, in practice, data processing is a long, painstaking work, the result of which can only be understood by analysts. For companies that use traditional methods, data analysis takes weeks. While their competitors spend seconds obtaining important information and gaining advantages in the struggle for a place in the market.

Two solutions to the problem – fixed reports and dashboards

There are two solutions for data processing: fixed reports with a limited choice of settings and dashboards that provide access to data through an integration API.

Reports

One way to present data in an understandable way is to create a fixed set of reports that solve a clearly defined problem. This raises the question: who formulated this problem, whether the formulation is outdated, and what to do when new data appears or the interpretation of existing data changes?

In practice, even well-thought-out fixed reports become outdated very quickly. As the business operates, new questions arise, the answers to which can be found in the data. However, to do this you need to look at them from the right angle. You have to upload the data to Excel and process it manually. The process of manual data processing is always difficult and time-consuming.

Dashboards

Dashboards appeared in response to users’ need for visual and understandable analytics tools.

Managers don’t have time to study raw numbers or customize pre-configured reports. Instead, we need a business interpretation of the data, identifying relationships and patterns. At the same time, information should be presented simply and clearly.

If a company is launching product training, it wants to know how the rate of entry into the market for new products has changed. Launches an onboarding and preboarding system – we need data on how the speed of adaptation of newcomers has changed. There can be an infinite number of such situations, so a ready-made system cannot provide answers to all business questions.

Three main differences between a dashboard and a report

  • A report is a pre-configured document with a limited number of parameters. A dashboard is an information panel with highly customizable logic for collecting and visualizing data, which can be easily changed by the user when the task changes;

  • To extract useful information from a report, you need to study tables and analyze data. At the same time, there is a risk of error due to the analyst’s banal inattention. The dashboard visualizes the necessary information in terms that the user already understands. You don’t need an analyst or developer to work with it. As a bonus, the dashboard data is always up-to-date, and not collected by someone a week ago, and even corrected manually for some reason;

  • Customizing reports is expensive and time-consuming. The dashboard is offered as a ready-made solution that can be relatively easily customized without having the skills of an analyst or developer.

Conclusion

Over time, dashboards began to replace regular reports. No wonder. A properly created dashboard allows you to process a huge amount of data and analyze it, which speeds up processes and makes business results more visual for further adjustments.

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This Post was Last Updated On: January 16, 2024