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337 posts from: Dashboards by Example
InetSoft Construction Management Dashboard
(Indexed 2012-10-19):
A new Dashboard Spy friend, Michael Schiff, at InetSoft submitted this dashboard example. Click on the image to enlarge it. Interactive version available here. As explained by Michael: This display is a perfect example of why we need dashboards in … Continue reading →
The TopGear Infographic
(Indexed 2012-06-20):
Studying interesting infographics can have a broadening effect on the way you think of portraying data and information. A really cool infographic can really take some time to study. Take a look at the TopGear Test Track Infographic that summarizes … Continue reading →
What They Do Not Teach About Entrepreneurship
(Indexed 2012-06-20):
This excellent panel discussion focuses on what they DON'T teach you about entrepreneurship in business school. This group of successful entrepreneurs reveal what they learned in real life business that they never could have been taught in school. They also … Continue reading →
Strategy Maps Guide for Managers
(Indexed 2012-06-20):
This excellent video discusses the use of strategy maps by individual managers in an organization. It gives examples of strategy maps, explains what a strategy maps is, and offers potential pitfalls as well as best practice pointers. A strategy map … Continue reading →
A Quick Course in Balanced Scorecards
(Indexed 2012-06-20):
Here's a quick tutorial on Balanced Scorecards. It's absolutely free and you can use this link for a direct download of the pdf version of the course: The Balanced Scorecard: Step by Step Guide to Build a Balanced Scorecard. Here's … Continue reading →
Build an Executive Dashboard with Google Analytics
(Indexed 2012-06-20):
This video explains how to create a high level view for executives to use to understand traffic patterns on a company website. The video show how to set up various widgets and reports that allow drill down examination of the … Continue reading →
Really Big Bar Charts
(Indexed 2012-06-12):
Sometimes a very straight forward approach in data visualization is all you need. Let's take a look at this comparison of the cost of having lunch at the best restaurants in Great Britain as ranked by Michelin. Well, maybe all … Continue reading →
A Roundup of Business Analytics Commercials
(Indexed 2012-06-12):
Business intelligence and business analytics platform marketing is getting slicker and slicker. We are seeing a rash of high production value commercials for various BI software and analytics platforms from the major vendors. We also see service offerings being advertised … Continue reading →
Excellent Whitepaper on Databases
(Indexed 2012-06-06):
Dashboard Spy readers are encouraged to read this excellent whitepaper: The Database Revolution, A Perspective on the Database: Where We Came From and Where We're Going. (This is a direct link to the pdf.) It's a great review of the … Continue reading →
Demo of MicroStrategy Cloud Personal
(Indexed 2012-06-06):
In an earlier post, I showed an example of a sales dashboard built using MicroStrategy's Cloud Personal. It's a dashboarding platform that leverages the power of the cloud. This video show a demonstration of Microstrategy Cloud Personal. First, you browse … Continue reading →
Free Chart Icons for Your Business Intelligence Dashboard
(Indexed 2012-06-06):
Click here for some very attractive (and free) icons for use in your business intelligence applications. There's nothing like cheesy icons and graphics to spoil the professional look of your dashboard. Give the icons some thought and use well. Here's … Continue reading →
Dashboard Design Elements: Buttons
(Indexed 2012-05-23):
Need a button graphic for your dashboard design? This excellent resource has TONS of buttons and other graphics you might want to check out. These downloads are free and can come in pretty handy. Button Pack for Dashboard Design Here's … Continue reading →
Medicare Enrollment Dashboard
(Indexed 2012-05-23):
Dashboard Spy Example of Business Dashboard The United States Federal Government continues its adoption of business intelligence dashboards as a data dissemination and management transparency technique with its rollout of the Medicare Enrollment Dashboard BETA version on its Centers for … Continue reading →
Conditional Formatting in Excel
(Indexed 2012-05-23):
I was working in Microsoft Excel and got a bit stuck on an issue with a formula, so I immediately went in search of the answer from my favorite Excel teaching resource, chandoo.org. I did find the answer, but while … Continue reading →
USA Immigration Infographic
(Indexed 2012-05-23):
A Dashboard Spy reader was working on the creation of an infographic and called me for help. He's not ready to show his work on this blog yet, but I wanted to share some inspiration I shared with him. He … Continue reading →
iDashboard Healthcare Dashboard
(Indexed 2012-05-23):
This excellent healthcare dashboard example demonstates how powerful an executive dashboard can be for healthcare management. Please pay close attention to the corner of this dashboard for an unusual twist. What you see in the video is an executive scorecard … Continue reading →
Google Analytics Easy Dashboard
(Indexed 2012-05-15):
Google Analytics Dashboards have become push button simple to produce. Instead of needing to program against the Google Analytics API and having to learn its intricacies, developers can now log into the Analytics Easy Dashboard Library, register to access the … Continue reading →
Trends in Business Analytics
(Indexed 2012-05-15):
Watch this video to see how Colin White explores the impact that trends such as analytic RDBMSes, Hadoop and MapReduce, the NoSQL movement, smarter and real-time analytics, and self-service business intelligence will have on businesses. These trends can be used … Continue reading →
Is Business Analytics Replacing Business Intelligence?
(Indexed 2012-05-15):
What's in a name? Or should I ask, "What's in an acronym?". We all know and love "BI" or "Business Intelligence". But have you noticed the movement from the major vendors in the industry shift to the use of "Business … Continue reading →
Microsoft Business Intelligence with SharePoint
(Indexed 2012-05-08):
Good video on how Microsoft Business Intelligence works. BI solution architect Clint Carr discusses the technology and approach behind Microsoft BI. He start off with the concept that data does NOT equal information. Rather, data plus context gives you the … Continue reading →
Getting Acquainted with a Data Set
(Indexed 2012-05-08):
The other day my team was just kicking off a new business intelligence dashboard project and the client's data modeler and DBA led us through a through of the data landscape. We were knee deep in entity relationship diagrams, data … Continue reading →
Make the Logo Bigger
(Indexed 2012-05-08):
I just HAD to share this again. Recently, a client literally asked me to "Make my logo bigger". I almost cracked up when he gave me the change request. Watch this video and you'll see why. How many times have … Continue reading →
Identifying Fonts
(Indexed 2012-05-08):
Sometimes during the design of dashboards and other business intelligence systems we find ourselves puzzling over what a certain type font is. Perhaps a client gives us an existing logo or graphic and we need to update something in it. … Continue reading →
Mobile Health Infographic
(Indexed 2012-05-02):
Thanks goes to Dashboard Spy reader Thrse for alerting me to this interesting infographic on the booming mobile health field. The concept of mobile health revolves around using the now ubiquitous mobile toolset (cell phones, tablets, and other such devices) … Continue reading →
Excel Dashboard Classes in Australia
(Indexed 2012-04-04):
Calling all Dashboard Spy readers in Australia: Chandoo, master excel dashboarder and guru, will be conducting a series of Advanced Excel Dashboard Masterclasses in Australia this coming May and June. If you are close to Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra or … Continue reading →
Data Visualization Student Challenge
(Indexed 2012-04-03):
I just came across this data visualization contest held by the U.S. Department of Transportation. I missed the whole thing. Did any of you hear about this? The idea was very interesting. Too bad it didn't receive more publicity. Check … Continue reading →
Free Chart Icons for Your Business Dashboard
(Indexed 2012-04-03):
Dashboard designers and anyone who is mocking up business intelligence dashboards should avail themselves of the many free chart and graph icons that exist. Take a look at this screenshot and I think you'll agree that these icons would work … Continue reading →
Design Elements for Dashboard Applications
(Indexed 2012-04-03):
Available as a free download for a limited time, the "Inspire" Backend Admin Template is presented as a PSD (photoshop) file. Even if you can't personally open a PSD file, you should download this very helpful template for your development … Continue reading →
2012 Information Technology Salary Guide
(Indexed 2012-04-03):
Dashboard Spy readers are always interested in knowing how their salaries stack up against others. How much does their knowledge of business intelligence and enterprise dashboards translate to in terms of a salary difference? Here's a direct link to the … Continue reading →
Using Excel to Create Slick Infographics
(Indexed 2012-03-28):
A Dashboard Spy reader recently pinged me to ask for that cricket infographic done entirely in Excel. I featured it a while back. It comes from our friend and long time Dashboard Spy supporter, Chandoo. Here's what it looks like: … Continue reading →
Salesforce.com Mobile Dashboards for the iPad
(Indexed 2012-03-28):
Mobile dashboards for the iPad have steadily grown in popularity. Here's a quick look at Salesforce.com's mobile dashboards. The sales force, of course, is constantly on the run and, subsequently, being able to pull up relevant dashboards quickly on mobile … Continue reading →
GOP Primary Dashboards
(Indexed 2012-03-28):
Metrics dashboards are playing a role in keeping the public informed about the progress of the various Republican candidates during the 2012 GOP primary elections. Socialmatica has released data dashboards powered by their social media metrics collection technology. Here's a … Continue reading →
iDashboards NCAA Basketball Dashboards
(Indexed 2012-03-23):
Fans of both business intelligence dashboards and March Madness basketball are thrilled that for the third consecutive year iDashboards is offering a free dashboard for tracking the 2012 NCAA Basketball Tournament. Basketball enthusiasts have been be able to follow their … Continue reading →
NCAA Basketball Dashboard
(Indexed 2012-03-23):
Update: Here is the iDashboards NCAA dashboard updated with the final four: Fans of both business intelligence dashboards and March Madness basketball are thrilled that for the third consecutive year iDashboards is offering a free dashboard for tracking the 2012 … Continue reading →
Beware Fake Infographics
(Indexed 2012-02-29):
People, I'm going to speak a bit harshly in this post. You MUST watch out for crappy infographics and STOP worshipping them blindly. Just because something is being presented with graphics in a splashy way does NOT mean that it's … Continue reading →
SEO Dashboard Metrics
(Indexed 2012-02-29):
So I figured nobody would be interested in SEO Dashboard KPIs. And, lol and behold, I get a notice about an extensive write up about SEO dashboards and the metrics they use. I kid you not. I was speaking to … Continue reading →
BusinessQ Hotel Dashboards
(Indexed 2012-02-29):
Dashboard Spy reader Hrvoje Smoli is the CEO of Qualia (www.qualia.hr), a Croatian business intelligence company specializing in information dashboards. He's submitting this series of hotel dashboards for our study: We start with the Executive Dashboard focusing on the revenue … Continue reading →
Powerpoint Dashboard Mockup
(Indexed 2012-02-29):
A Dashboard Spy reader wrote me asking about a powerpoint template I created for the purpose of creating quick business dashboard mockups. I sent it to him, but thought to share it again with all the readers here. Use this … Continue reading →
What Are Enterprise Dashboards and Why Should I Care?
(Indexed 2012-02-28):
What are enterprise dashboards? Well, dashboards are simple-to-understand, visually-oriented depictions of the current state of the metrics and key performance indicators of most importance to your business. Of course, they borrow from the "cockpit" or "dashboard" metaphors that are so … Continue reading →
A Look At Dashboard Reporting Time Frames
(Indexed 2011-11-30):
Our friends at Klipfolio provided the following look at Dashboard Reporting Time Frames An essay on time frame comparison metrics. We take an close, in-depth examination of 3 common ways of applying time frames and comparative values with an organization'skey performance indicators (KPIs). Once your organization has adopted aKPI dashboard, the next steps to [...]
Groupsite Enterprise Dashboard
(Indexed 2011-11-29):
Dashboard Spies love it when I show them business intelligence dashboard project artifacts. Here's a look at a high fidelity mockup of the recently developed enterprise dashboard for Groupsite. It allows an enterprise to have a bird's eye view of the digital communities spread across an organization. This description is from the internal document that [...]
School District Dashboard
(Indexed 2011-11-22):
This performance dashboard example features metrics and key performance indicators relevant to the measurement of school district performance. As you can see from the screenshot of the dashboard example, it shows student achievement in the areas of State Performance, National Performance, ACT Test Performance, Graduation Rate, Academic Rigor and AP Class Enrollments. The "Climate" metrics [...]
The Selling Out of Infographics
(Indexed 2011-11-09):
For quite a while now, Dashboard Spy readers know that I've been warning people about the "dark side" of infographics. I had a long conversation with someone who took me to task for being so cynical. Here's basically how the conversation went. This person LOVES INFOGRAPHICS. I asked him to show me the kinds of [...]
Dashboard Whitepaper on Agile BI
(Indexed 2011-11-08):
Here's an interesting white paper on "self-service" business intelligence. Here's the link: "Agile BI: Power to the People" About 175 IT leaders were surveyed about their business intelligence agility and implementations. It defined the 20 percent of users as best-in-class, 50 percent as average, and the remaining as laggards. The authors, White and Castellina, suggested [...]
Add Economic Data to Your Excel Dashboards
(Indexed 2011-11-02):
All Excel users should take note of this new product. It's really, really cool. You can easily add data and calculations from more than 40 million data series about the economy and public companies. Use this link to learn more: KydWeb Watch this video to see how. var so1 = new SWFObject('http://exceluser.com/jwplayer/player.swf','mpl','...(truncated)... so1.addParam('allowfullscreen','false'); so1.addParam('allowscriptaccess','always'); so1.addParam('wmode','opaque'); [...]
Business Intelligence Analogy to Human Anatomy
(Indexed 2011-11-01):
Business Dashboard Topic: Can business intelligence be compared to human anatomy? Here's a video from SAP that compares business intelligence to human anatomy. That's right, watch the video and you'll see that the parallels can indeed be made. The "foot" is equivalent to Enterprise Information Management; the "legs" and "arms" are Collaboration; the "torso" is [...]
RMM Dashboard for Remote Monitoring and Management
(Indexed 2011-10-26):
I was recently tasked with the mission of finding the state of the art in RMM (Remote Monitoring and Management) and wanted to check in and report some of the very cool findings I've made. Long time Dashboard Spy readers know that I'm fond of the data visualization and dashboard work that the infrastructure side [...]
Youtube embraces dashboard layout in videos
(Indexed 2011-10-19):
Enterprise Dashboard Digest readers know how I like to point out the ever-increasing adoption by the public of the dashboard layout as a design pattern. I'm always pointing out examples of dashboard-like layouts in popular software applications. I believe that the prevalence of the dashboard design is what makes today's business intelligence dashboards so easy [...]
Solegi Dashboard
(Indexed 2011-10-18):
This video shows a desktop dashboard for marketers created in Solegi from http://www.stratigent.com. The marketing dashboard examples deals with a multiple channel scenario that crosses both online and offline efforts. Take a look. Good background on marketing dashboard approach (case study is of a health insurance company marketing across multiple channels interested in tracking conversion [...]
Dashboard Spy Demo of Klipfolio Dashboard for Web and Mobile
(Indexed 2011-10-05):
I had the pleasure of being shown the ins and outs of the latest dashboard software product, Klipfolio Dashboard for Web and Mobile. Freshly launched, this dashboard system is a model of clarity in design and usability. Klipfolio President and CEO, Allan Wille, personally takes us through the Klipfolio screens in this video: Klipfolio Dashboards [...]
Project Dashboards for SCRUM and Agile Development
(Indexed 2011-10-05):
This excellent article on Scrum best practices focuses on the use of project dashboards in an agile environment. Titled Agile Project Dashboards, this article focuses on providing a solid approach to Agile Project Dashboards. The main indicators suggested for the project dashboard are: Project Progress Schedule Delivered Business Value Product Release Burn Up Chart Team [...]
New Dashboard Product: Klipfolio Dashboard for Web and Mobile Version 1.0
(Indexed 2011-09-28):
New KPI Dashboard Supports all Smartphone and Tablets: Klipfolio Dashboard for Web and Mobile Launches Successful beta program and industry trends spur the release of version 1.0 for Klipfolio Dashboard for web and mobile. Klipfolio News Release Ottawa, Canada September 27, 2011 Klipfolio Inc, the leading provider of KPI dashboards for the enterprise, today launched [...]
Manufacturing Operations Dashboard
(Indexed 2011-09-28):
A reader sent me these pictures of a manufacturing dashboard to post. Take a look. The first shot shows an executive dashboard mounted on the wall of a conference room. I'm pretty sure that dashboard is fake (photoshopped) unless it's a poster on the wall. Here's a close up of the data. It's hard to [...]
CTO Twitter Dashboard
(Indexed 2011-09-28):
Check out this simple yet engaging dashboard comprised of a panel of the latest tweets from CTOs from across a range of companies. A couple of factors that I find compelling: The tweets are all from Chief Technical Officers, the CTOs are arranged by market niche of the companies that they work for, and sometimes [...]
How to Build a Project Management Template in Excel
(Indexed 2011-09-20):
Excellent tutorial and templates on using Microsoft Excel for project management. Yes, it's a paid resource, but not very costly and well worth it. What am I talking about? The Chandoo Project Management Templates. Here's the scoop. Go to this link: Project Management Templates and you'll see that the first section is entirely about project [...]
Infographic on Teen Opinion on Email
(Indexed 2011-09-15):
Dashboard Spy on Infographic Example: What do teens think of email? Aweber has done an infographic on the future of email use as seen through the teenager viewpoint. Here is the infographic: Here is the synopsis of the infographic. Note that the data is based on a survey distributed to the teenagers: The majority of [...]
Special Excel Training Closes This Week
(Indexed 2011-09-14):
The critically acclaimed Chandoo Excel training on VBA closes this week. If you want to learn how to automate Excel tasks or use Excel better for dashboards, please click on this link and learn about the Excel training: Excel Dashboard and VBA Classes
The Problem with Dashboards
(Indexed 2011-09-14):
Your company dashboard is only as good as the data it pulls and successfully interprets. Many dashboards are misleading because of flawed data or simply not useful because of the lack of good metrics. Here is an excellent whitepaper on this subject: Why Use Dashboard Metrics? (direct link to pdf) An excerpt: The major problem [...]
Windows 8 Server Manager Dashboard
(Indexed 2011-09-11):
Dashboard Spy readers have long heard me say that the dashboard is the new homepage. Every application and operating system I can think of would benefit from a homepage that shows status, metrics and is laid out in an easy-to-understand user interface. That leads to the dashboard, naturally. It is here to stay as the [...]
Hurricane Tracker Dashboard
(Indexed 2011-09-07):
Take a look at this excellent example of a dashboard that effectively combines various business intelligence dashboard graphics and GIS interface elements to provide a data rich yet highly usable experience. It's a Hurricane Tracking Dashboard. Depending on when you are viewing this dashboard, of course, it will show different storms. Here's a screenshot right [...]
When Dashboards Can Mean Life or Death
(Indexed 2011-09-07):
How critical is the data on your business intelligence dashboard? Yes, we all say that our data is important – but can your data mean the difference between life and death? I'm not kidding – I mean that literally. Take a look at the data dashboard hanging on the wall of this operating room: Read [...]
Northeastern Earthquake Infographic
(Indexed 2011-08-23):
Dashboard Topic: Infographic on Virginia Earthquake / NorthEastern Earthquake. Yes, I did feel the northeastern earthquake. It was a magnitude 5.8 earthquake with an epicenter in Mineral, VA. I'm going to collect the infographics related to this quake on this post. We start with this one from Our Amazing Planet: By the way, please look [...]
Samples of Healthcare Dashboards
(Indexed 2011-08-16):
A big Dashboard Spy hello to the reader working on healthcare dashboards for the U.S. Army – you know who you are – thanks again for your service. Here's a listing of healthcare related dashboards featured in past posts here on The Dashboard Spy. KPIs for a Healthcare Provider Dashboard Healthcare Facility Management Enterprise Dashboard [...]
Magic Quadrant for Business Intelligence Platforms
(Indexed 2011-08-16):
This was covered earlier this year, but is being provided again at the request of a Dashboard Spy reader looking for this again. It's the most recent Gartner Magic Quadrant for Business Intelligence Platforms report. Here is the link to the reprint from Gartner: Magic Quadrant for Business Intelligence Platforms Here's the famous Magic Quadrant [...]
Sales Representative Performance Dashboard
(Indexed 2011-08-09):
A Dashboard Spy reader found a paper detailing specific problems when applying business intelligence solutions to sales force field performance management. First, let's cut to the chase by showing what they feel makes for a good solution. Take a look at these two dashboard screenshots: Now, here's what they say many people make in terms [...]
PACU Nurse Dashboard
(Indexed 2011-08-03):
Medical operations dashboards always make for excellent case studies because mistakes can mean the difference between life and death. You know those stories about people that write "wrong arm" or "wrong leg" so as to keep medical errors from happening to them? Well, it's an understatement to say that medical dashboards have to get the [...]
Michigan Government Performance Dashboard
(Indexed 2011-07-27):
Dashboard Spy readers know that I'm a big fan of providing government spending transparency by surfacing the data to the public via business intelligence dashboards. I've covered most of the government dashboards in use right now and I'm trying to "complete the set" by examining the efforts of each state. Today, we look at the [...]
When Down is Up and Up is Down
(Indexed 2011-07-27):
As a user interface and usability professional, I'm always excited when major shifts in software applications and operating systems happen. I always jump in as an early adopter just to experience the differences. Yesterday, I upgraded to Apple Lion and I must admit that my mind has been bent into a pretzel over the change [...]
Better Life Index
(Indexed 2011-07-20):
Can quality of life be quantified and displayed as an interactive dashboard? Well, take a look at the delightful work being done at the OECD Better Life Initiative. Take in these fantastic screenshots and then visit the live interactive site here: Better Life Initiative Dashboard. The flowers represent various quality of life measure across the [...]
Features of Real Time Dashboards
(Indexed 2011-07-13):
A couple of years ago, Juice Analytics ran a picture that I featured on The Dashboard Spy of a large Network Operations Center dashboard. Here's the photo as seen on their blog: It's worth reviewing the features that real time dashboards must have to offer real value to their users: A summary status that indicates [...]
Federal Government Using Dashboards to Cut Waste and Boost Performance
(Indexed 2011-07-06):
This hour long video features a panel discussion on how public sector productivity has simply been awful – it's been climbing at only a third of that of the private sector. In fact, they simply stopped tracking the data (to try and cut costs, believe it or not!). Watch this video in which Jeffrey Zients, [...]
Investor Risk Dashboard
(Indexed 2011-07-06):
Dashboard designers take note! The "text-only" dashboard is alive and well. Just released by the well respected UK newspaper, Financial Times, The Investor Risk Dashboard is an all text dashboard with valuable data. Take a look at the screen shot of the investor dashboard and then I'll share the extensive explanation of the data given [...]
How to Pick a Chart for Your Dashboard
(Indexed 2011-06-29):
As Dashboard Spy readers know, dashboard chart selection is fraught with peril and the subject of many books and blogs. I've written at length about the relative merits of different chart types and stress how the decision of which chart to use should not be made frivolously nor at random. To help you (or perhaps [...]
Dashboard Explorer Used on Recovery.gov Dashboards
(Indexed 2011-06-29):
A long time Dashboard Spy reader shared his enthusiasm for the way the federal Recovery.gov site presents its transparency dashboards. They use a nicely laid out navigation page at their Recovery Explorer. Here's the note I got from GP: I have enjoyed reading your BI news site for new information on data, visualizations and dashboards [...]
Using Sharepoint to Create an Absence Management Dashboard
(Indexed 2011-06-29):
SharePoint is an easy way to give dashboard type functionality to a portal. In this example, we look at some webparts that can quickly power an absence management dashboard. Take a look at this little vacation and absence planner: You can set the colors of the chart by this little admin panel: If you want [...]
Free Excel Dashboard Templates from L3 Analytics
(Indexed 2011-06-22):
Excel dashboard expert and long time Dashboard Spy reader Peter O'Neill is the founder of London based business consultancy L3 Analytics. Peter is thrilled to share with fellow Dashboard Spy readers his collection of free EXCEL DASHBOARD TEMPLATES. Take a look at this screenshot and then look for the links below to the excel dashboards. [...]
Training Dashboard Users
(Indexed 2011-06-21):
Is your user documentation up to par? Or, rather, is it what it really should be to give your users the degree of help and support they need? As most of you will probably admit, the amount of attention given to user documentation and help pages is not at all commensurate with the effort placed [...]
Have You Downloaded These Dashboard Templates?
(Indexed 2011-06-14):
Many Dashboard Spy readers write me asking about an open source business intelligence dashboard template. I always refer them to a series of HTML templates for dashboards that I've put together. Take a look at this page to see if you have these already. If not, sign up using the form on that page and [...]
Dashboard Approaches – KPIs versus Operational Lists
(Indexed 2011-06-08):
This article was contributed by Klipfolio, the business dashboard software company that is focusing on KPI Dashboards and the topic of my previous article about the cool opportunity to be a beta tester for their new dashboard version. KPIs or lists? Chances are your dashboards need both. by Allan Wille, President and CEO. At Klipfolio, [...]
Nasa Mission Control Dashboard
(Indexed 2011-06-08):
What would you think an enterprise dashboard would look like if it was built by rocket scientists? Well, here at The Dashboard Spy, we have all sorts of dashboard examples – including this mission control dashboard from NASA. Built for monitoring a satellite, this mission dashboard followed the lifecycle of an entire mission. Take a [...]
Keys to a Successful Balanced Scorecard Project
(Indexed 2011-06-06):
A reader recently shared with me an incredibly helpful article on ensuring a successful scorecard effort. I found it so solidly written that I thought I'd share it you all you business dashboard project implementers. It's from a 2007 university paper. Here's the abstract: The Balanced Scorecard concept has been adopted by all types of [...]
Be the First to Try the Beta of Klipfolio Dashboard
(Indexed 2011-06-01):
First! Ahh, the Dashboard Spy loves to scoop the big business intelligence news outlets! Stick that in your content management systems, you big publishers – this little ole blogger's got ya beat! Here's the story – Klipfolio Dashboard is going to be releasing a new version that let's you build, share and monitor your real-time [...]
Client Scorecard
(Indexed 2011-06-01):
This example of a scorecard is very very interesting. I call it a typical dashboard rather than a scorecard because of its layout and lack of balanced scorecard orientation. However, I understand why it's called the scorecard, because it literally allows people to score or rank their clients. So actually this "Client Scorecard" is literally [...]
Creating a Business Dashboard on Facebook
(Indexed 2011-05-25):
Take a look at this screenshot of a homepage dashboard created in Facebook. The creator wanted to has a page on Facebook that he used as a launch point for all the different tools that he used on a regular basis. It saves him time by having it all in one spot. Look closely and [...]
Displaying Dashboard Screenshots with Lightbox Popups
(Indexed 2011-05-24):
Screenshots of business dashboards are heavily used in dashboard documentation such as help files and user documentation. Especially with business intelligence dashboards, a picture is worth 1000 words of description. With all that goes on with complex dashboard layouts and screen regions, there is simply no way to describe a dashboard screen without the use [...]
Learn Microsoft Excel VBA Macros
(Indexed 2011-05-18):
A lot of you Dashboard Spy by readers out there use Microsoft Excel heavily as part of your everyday work activities. I know that there is some real power users out there but also many of you who have never taken Excel to that truly advanced level. Dashboard spy reader Chandoo has announced that he'll [...]
USA Education Dashboard
(Indexed 2011-05-18):
Dashboard spy readers know how much I hate the explicit reference of a business dashboard to the metaphor of an automobile dashboard. It's a hackneyed story that seems to always be trotted out when trying to introduce the concept of a business intelligence dashboard to an audience of new users. When the United States government [...]
Social Media Conversations Dashboard
(Indexed 2011-05-10):
This dashboard example features a social media conversation dashboard. It's basically a brand monitoring dashboard that crawls social media platforms such as Facebook or twitter as well as user forums of various kinds. The intent of the dashboard is to provide marketers with a synopsis of the discussions occurring as well as the tone of [...]
How Late is Your Dashboard Project?
(Indexed 2011-05-10):
I hate to amended, but I must say that every dashboard project I've been on has been late. Whether it's because these projects are often first time forays into business intelligence projects for the clients, or because these organizations were just not ready for the governance and project management issues involved, The fact remains that [...]
Geckoboard Dashboard
(Indexed 2011-05-05):
In this dashboard example post, we look at the realtime business analytics dashboard called Geckoboard. It just officially launched, but we've been watching this widget-driven dashboard closely it while it's been in beta. Businesses these days have quite an extraordinary amount of data to look at. Most companies track web analytics, marketing metrics, e-mail statistics, [...]
Business Intelligence White Paper Resource
(Indexed 2011-05-03):
Did you know that The Dashboard Spy has a direct pipeline into all the leading business intelligence white papers published by the major software vendors? Those readers in the know have been using this resource to score all sorts of helpful materials. In fact, it's not just business intelligence white papers but rather a collection [...]
Example of an Excel Executive Dashboard
(Indexed 2011-05-03):
While I've been focusing on using recent versions of Microsoft Excel to produce dashboards, I do have examples of older Excel dashboards as well. To the dashboard spy reader who asked me for such an example, here is an executive dashboard software application developed in Excel for a large global financial company. The driver behind [...]
Dashboard Reporting Process Flow
(Indexed 2011-05-02):
Dashboard Spy Post on Dashboard Reporting: Corporate governance is a major part of any dashboard project. Involvement of corporate governance groups such as executive oversight committees and project management offices are critical parts of visible enterprise dashboard projects. A dashboard spy reader asked me for help in structuring the workflow and oversight processes of his [...]
Analytics Dashboard Design Case Study
(Indexed 2011-04-27):
Case studies of dashboard designs are incredibly valuable and very hard to come by. When you find such treasures, read them and revisit them again and again. As your own dashboard design skills get honed over time, you'll see the information with new appreciation. Here's a really good article on "Building your App Dashboard". It [...]
Dashboard Graphics in Microsoft Access
(Indexed 2011-04-26):
In recent Dashboard Spy posts, we've looked at the power of Microsoft Excel for business dashboards. We've shown you how simple it can be to embed icons and graphics into Excel dashboards. We've seen some pretty slick business intelligence dashboards with gauges, dials, bar charts and pie graphs. My favorite excel dashboards seem to be [...]
Excel Dashboard Celebrates Indian Cricket Worldcup Win
(Indexed 2011-04-20):
Want to see how you can use a tool you already own to create a compelling business dashboard? Download this file of an Excel Dashboard to see how Microsoft Excel can provide interactivity and out-of-the-box design capabilities for a complete modern business intelligence dashboard. First, have a look a the screenshot: Now download the excel [...]
Is Managing by Historical Data a Myth?
(Indexed 2011-04-20):
Today's guest post on The Dashboard Spy is by Allan Wille, President and CEO of Klipfolio. Myth: Managing by historical data is like driving while looking in the rear view mirror. Catch Quote: Managing through the rear view mirror. A dangerous practice for any business! Youd never drive only looking backwards. You've heard lines like [...]
Apple Uses Dashboard Layout for Discussion Forums Redesign
(Indexed 2011-04-19):
Dashboard Spy topic: Dashboard Layout Design, a new example from Apple – the Apple Support Communities Dashboard. When Apple rolls out a redesign, it behooves us to sit up and pay attention. Especially if the new design includes a dashboard layout. The recent revamp by Apple for its discussion forums in the Apple Support Communities [...]
What Kind of a Business Dashboard Do You Have?
(Indexed 2011-04-13):
Is your dashboard an Operational, Tactical, or Strategic Dashboard? This excellent article by Allan Wille of Klipfolio KPI Dashboards reminds us of how Wayne Eckerson's Book "Performance Dashboards: Measuring, Monitoring, and Managing Your Business " (now in it's second edition), categorizes performance dashboards into the 3 types of Operational, Tactical and Strategic dashboards. This from [...]
Stephen Few Judges Infographics
(Indexed 2011-04-13):
Business intelligence visualization expert Stephen Few was one of the judges of an international competition for journalistic infographics. He and 9 other brilliant judges spent over 3 days poring over the merits of 1300 examples. They awarded 7 gold medals, 25 silver medals and 70 bronze medals for infographic excellence. Alas, they did not produce [...]
Stephen Few Judges Infographics Contest
(Indexed 2011-04-13):
Business intelligence visualization expert Stephen Few was one of the judges of an international competition for journalistic infographics. He and 9 other brilliant judges spent over 3 days poring over the merits of 1300 examples. They awarded 7 gold medals, 25 silver medals and 70 bronze medals for infographic excellence. Alas, they did not produce [...]
About the Enterprise Dashboard Digest
(Indexed 2011-04-05):
Several of you Dashboard Spy readers have asked me how to refer readers to my new business intelligence dashboard newsletter. The newsletter is called The Enterprise Dashboard Digest and is a weekly compilation of dashboard examples, business intelligence posts and interesting videos about related topics. You can sign up here if you are not currently [...]
Business Intelligence Best Practices Benchmark Report
(Indexed 2011-04-05):
Dashboard Spy resource: Business Intelligence Best Practices Benchmark Report A new business intelligence white paper has come out that's worth getting. It features detailed examples of ROI from business intelligence projects, a summary of the drivers and obstacles of BI projects and metrics for tracking and measuring the success of BI implementations. What's different about [...]
Metrics for Measuring Afghanistan War
(Indexed 2011-04-05):
From the Dashboard Spy: Metrics and KPI analysis was and still is a big part of the U.S. involvement in Afghanistan. Statistics and intelligence is often subject to bias depending on one's view in any situation but is especially common in politically charged scenarios. It's my observation that Here is President Obama talking about 50 [...]
Public Health Performance Benchmarking Dashboard
(Indexed 2011-03-29):
As dashboard design professionals, we should all "get our hands dirty" in each other's dashboard projects when possible. Here's access to the world of public health dashboard projects. Think you have stringent documentation requirements in your organization? Try layering on the accountability that comes from spending public dollars on public health programs. This pdf shows [...]
KPI Dashboards in Excel
(Indexed 2011-03-29):
This KPI Dashboard is created using Microsoft Excel 2007 by Chandoo as part of his Dashboard Week series. Note that this exact dashboard is featured as a lesson in the dashboard training module of Excel School, so if you want a detailed step-by-step account of its design and construction, click on this link: Excel Dashboard [...]
Google Panda Algorithm Update
(Indexed 2011-03-29):
Several Dashboard Spy readers wrote in asking about a drop in their site visitor stats from the Google search engine late last month. It turns out that with some digging through their Google Analytics stats, we found that they were in fact hurt by the recent Google Panda/Farmer algorithm update. Take a look at this [...]
Excel Dashboard for Customer Service Metrics
(Indexed 2011-03-22):
Chandoo and his Excel Dashboard programmers are having a great time during their "Dashboard Week". They are building and sharing Excel-based dashboards and I'll be sure to report to you some of the great work they are doing. (Chandoo runs the Excel School which includes modules for Excel Dashboard Training – click the link to [...]
Green Building Studio Dashboard
(Indexed 2011-03-22):
Architects and building designers use a web-based energy analysis software called Green Building Studio to calculate carbon footprint costs, compare the carbon neutrality benefits of different design choices, perform whole building analysis and optimize energy efficiency. The product is made by Autodesk and just a few months ago, the added a Green Building Studio dashboard [...]
Are Federal Data Dashboards Inaccurate?
(Indexed 2011-03-17):
The Dashboard Spy welcomed with much fanfare the Federal IT Dashboard and the USASpending.gov sites. Now, in a stunning development, the accuracy of the data on these federal dashboards is in question. Accusations are being made that the information is faulty. As all of us business intelligence dashboard project implementors know, the question of data [...]
Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Infographics
(Indexed 2011-03-16):
Our thoughts and prayers go out to all affected by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Please, we encourage all Dashboard Spy readers to help the relief effort if possible. Visit http://www.redcrossphilly.org to find out how or text REDCROSS to 90999 to send $10 to support disaster relief efforts in Japan. The disaster spawned many [...]
Apple Home Energy Management Dashboard
(Indexed 2011-03-16):
The Dashboard Spy has been reporting the emergence of home energy dashboards (see Home Energy Dashboard and Home Energy Monitoring Dashboards). Well, it's being reported that Apple has an upcoming Smart Home Energy Management Dashboard System. Take a look at these images and then I'll send you a link to the report. Here is the [...]
Name Your Software Application
(Indexed 2011-03-09):
I've had my share of fun naming business intelligence applications for major companies. You'd be amazed at the lengths I've gone to in creating the right kind of brainstorming environment for these exercises. I've named huge products at companies like MetLife, Pfizer and a host of others. Let me share a couple of tips and [...]
No Nonsense Color Guide
(Indexed 2011-03-09):
Dashboard Spy Resource Tip: The No Nonsense Guide to Using The Right Colors. (Via Kajabi) This handy guide to color usage comes from the folks at Kajabi. They claim that research reveals that 93% of our decision-making comes from how something looks. 85% of that group say that "color" is the reason they chose a [...]
Dashboard Design Reference
(Indexed 2011-02-27):
Dashboard Spy Readers: This excellent design reference makes a great crash course in user interface design for business dashboard applications. I'll show you where to download it but first let me share the table of contents: Human Factors: The Theory Behind Interface Design Design Principles Advance Organizers Affordances Chunking Aesthetic – Usability Effect Physical Constraints [...]
Dentist Dashboard
(Indexed 2011-02-26):
Dentist Dashboard Example: Screenshots of Dental Practice Performance Metrics and KPIs. Dentists can track the performance of their practices with Dentist Dashboards. Here are some typical practice metrics: Total Office Gross Production, Doctors Gross Production, Doctors Net Production, Doctors Hours Worked, Hygiene Hours Worked / Gross / Net Production, New Patients, New Patients to Patient [...]
Guess this Dashboard
(Indexed 2011-02-26):
Yes, I've railed against Dashboard Designers taking the Dashboard Metaphor too literally. (See this steering wheel dashboard for a really bad example!) But that doesn't mean I don't appreciate the complexities behind a physical, real-world dashboard design. I'm speaking specifically about cockpits (the original inspiration behind all these digital dashboards we keep discussing. I want [...]
What is a Dashboard
(Indexed 2011-02-23):
Dashboard Spy Post: Business Dashboard Definition Yes, it's a basic question but let's answer the fundamental question of "What is a Dashboard?". Better yet, let's have Stephen Few, author of Information Dashboard Design: The Effective Visual Communication of Data, answer the question. He has a one line definition that just about sums it up: A [...]
The Dashboard Blueprint
(Indexed 2011-02-22):
Dashboard Spy Topic: Dashboard Blueprint: The 5 Questions Your Dashboard MUST Answer. This excellent diagram comes from a great article from Quantisense.com titled: The Retail Business Intelligence Dashboard According to them, they've found that the "best" dashboards have their screen real estate dedicated to answering the following 5 questions: What's Going On? (The Operating Summary) [...]
IBM System 360 Film from 1965
(Indexed 2011-02-22):
Time for a Dashboard Spy time wrap. This is one is a real classic. Made in 1965 by IBM, this film promotes the use of computers in business. I love the segment on pseudo code: store N in slot X add nos. in X and Y, and store in Z. subtract nos. in X from [...]
Excel Keyboard Shortcuts
(Indexed 2011-02-16):
Download this excellent free Excel resource from Charley Kyd. It's an excel worksheet with a listing of keyboard shortcuts for Microsoft Excel. You can sign up for this helpful resource at no cost here: Excel Keyboard Shortcuts (a new browser window will open. Follow the instructions in the top yellow box. It will also lead [...]
10 Guidelines for KPI Dashboard Design
(Indexed 2011-02-15):
KPI Dashboard Designers must read this excellent guide to ensuring successful KPI and dashboard design from Klipfolio. 1: Make sure they are important and related to the business – KPIs should be linked to strategic goals and be supported from the executive level through to departmental managers and individual employees. The KPIs have to drive [...]
Guess this Data Set
(Indexed 2011-02-15):
Let's play a Dashboard Spy game! Can you guess what this data set is? What rises twice a year – once in Easter and once two weeks before Christmas? Has a mini peak every Monday and then flattens out over the summer? I'm going to extend this page vertically so that you don't see the [...]
Oracle Interactive Dashboards
(Indexed 2011-02-11):
Looking for a demo of Oracle Dashboards? Take a look at this video featuring a walk-through of a Complete Projects Reconciliation Dashboard (CPR Dashboard). It's for identifying reconciliation issues. It's created in a Oracle Interactive Dashboards environment. It's meant for real hardcore finance types, so if numbers isn't your thing, just study the user interface [...]
Simon Sinek on WHY
(Indexed 2011-02-09):
Dashboard Spy email newsletter readers responded very favorably when I sent them this video by Simon Sinek. It's a TED Talks presentation on "The Golden Circle". It's an amazing explanation of the WHAT-HOW-WHY of why some people or organizations are so purposeful and innovative. Take a look. The Apply explanation is incredible. After the video [...]
Dashboard Template
(Indexed 2011-02-09):
The Dashboard Spy Newsletter starts off with the delivery of a ready-to-use html dashboard template. It's a pure html, cross-browser compatible web front end that will save your front end coders weeks of time. While not rocket science, business intelligence web front ends require precision and exact attention to detail. The CSS is enough to [...]
Introduction to Enterprise Dashboards
(Indexed 2011-02-01):
Dashboard Spy Video Resource: Here's a good introduction to the topic of Enterprise Dashboards. This youtube video features Shadan Malik of iDashboards. By the way, speaking of iDashboards, be sure to check out their new cloud-based excel dashboard solution at this link:iDashboards in Cloud.So back to our primer on Enterprise Dashboards:Enterprise Dashboards
Microstrategy Mobile BI App
(Indexed 2011-01-31):
Microstrategy Dashboard iPhone App: While surfing the Apple App Store, I noticed this description for the Microstrategy Mobile for iPhone app.Put business reports, KPIs, documents and Mobile BI Apps in the hands of your employees and customers using the MicroStrategy Mobile for iPhone application. MicroStrategy Mobile lets decision makers run the organization wherever they are. [...]
In-home Energy Monitoring Dashboards
(Indexed 2011-01-31):
On the Dashboard Spy, I posted an article titled "Home Energy Dashboard". Since that posting, I've come across more coverage of in-home energy dashboards. Here's a snippet from a Business Week article covering the topic:Interestingly, the U.S. economic stimulus package has given a boom to these energy dashboards. There are around 6 companies working on [...]
Forrester Wave Enterprise Business Intelligence Platforms
(Indexed 2011-01-26):
Dashboard Spy readers know how I pore over the business intelligence platform reports from the big consulting companies. I can't resist reading every "bake-off" report that compares the big business intelligence vendors.A reader asked me about the latest Forrester report on the BI landscape, so I thought I'd share the report.First off, here's the link:The [...]
Microsoft Access Dashboard
(Indexed 2011-01-26):
A Dashboard Spy reader asked me for a Microsoft Access Dashboard. I haven't tried it yet, but I came across a product by OpenGate Software called Dashboard Builder for Microsoft Access.Will update you if I learn more about the product.This from their site:Visual Insight to Your Access DataA key challenge every business faces is making [...]
Performance Dashboards Book
(Indexed 2011-01-26):
Performance Dashboard practitioners know that Wayne W. Eckerson's book Performance Dashboards: Measuring, Monitoring, and Managing Your Business was one of the first books on performance dashboards.Well, do you know that it's been rewritten?This updated book, which is 75% rewritten, provides a foundation for understanding performance dashboards, business intelligence, and performance management to optimize performance and [...]
IT Portfolio Dashboard Metrics
(Indexed 2011-01-19):
Dashboard Topic: Information Technology Project and Portfolio Management Dashboard Metrics.This excellent list of the types of PPM metrics appears on CIO Dashboards:I found one of the comments helpful:Here is the list of PPM metrics I share with folks. They are a combination of PMI PPM metrics and others I have picked up over the years. [...]
Excel School
(Indexed 2011-01-19):
Dashboard Spy guest appearance! I'll be doing an interview with Chandoo as part of his Excel School course. Let me know what dashboard topics you might want me to cover.Check it out at this link: http://budurl.com/exceltutorialHere's what Chandoo had to say in his announcement.Excel School an online Excel & Dashboards training program. It is designed [...]
KPI Mega Library
(Indexed 2011-01-19):
Dashboard Spy readers know that I love lists - especially of metrics. Rachad Baroudi has done an amazing amount of legwork in the book KPI Mega Library: 17,000 Key Performance Indicators.Here's just a tiny sample of some banking metrics.Note: I read a review from someone who was disappointed that it was just a bunch of [...]
Microstrategy Dashboard Demo
(Indexed 2011-01-11):
http://www.enterprise-dashboard.com Business Intelligence Topic: Online Demo of Microstrategy DashboardsDashboard team members looking for implementation ideas can try the online interactive Microstrategy Dashboards.This one is a Purchase Volume Dashboard from the Bank of Montreal. (click on that link to try it):It features line charts and has a "toggle" paradigm to shift between views.Other demos to follow. [...]
Deployment Dashboard
(Indexed 2011-01-11):
Example Dashboard: User Adoption / Software Deployment DashboardThis Deployment Dashboard tracks the success of the global deployment of a major software project.The software deployment dashboard provides the information and control required to manage the successful deployment of enterprise systems. Clear and concise real-time feedback on training effectiveness, users intention to adopt and license roll-out is [...]
Womens New Year Resolutions Infographic
(Indexed 2011-01-07):
Dashboards / Infographic Topic: Survey of Women's 2010 New Year's Resolution.What new year's resolutions did women make in 2010? This infographic reveals the results of a survey taken to find out.Presented as a simple array of 3D pie charts and bar graphs, this pseudo "dashboard" presents some very interesting survey results. This is a good [...]
Energy Dashboard
(Indexed 2011-01-05):
Dashboard Example: Real Time Energy Consumption Tracking Dashboard at University of California at San Diego.This view of the University of California San Diego Energy Dashboard shows the total campus power consumption. This view is an aggregate of the last year's energy use. Look how the campus shut down at Christmas!The energy dashboard can even [...]
BP Daily Dashboard for Gulf of Mexico Incident
(Indexed 2011-01-05):
Dashboard Spy: Raw File EditionLong time Dashboard Spy fans know that I can turn up some pretty amazing finds now and then. How would you like to see some internal dashboards that British Petroleum used to track their oil spill clean up activities?Don't have much to go on here except for some very interesting [...]
Sales Dashboard Excel Template
(Indexed 2011-01-04):
Executive Dashboards Template Example: Excel Template for Sales DashboardA Dashboard Spy reader shared with me his find on the web of this sales dashboard example created in Microsoft Excel 2007:Here's the description:This sales dashboard is a professional excel template complete with graphics (excel generated bar and pie charts). It allows you to quickly evaluate the [...]
11 Elements for HR Dashboards
(Indexed 2010-12-29):
Dashboard Spy Topic: KPIs for Human Resources Dashboards. An interesting list of HR Key Performance Indicators comes from this pdf document titled The HR Dashboard: People Fuel Your Company's Success.Company LeadershipManager EffectivenessFlexibility & Control Over WorkCompensation & BenefitsCareer AdvancementWork-Life SupportTeamwork & QualityDiversity, Inclusion & ParticipationCommunicationEmployee ResilienceEmployee CommitmentA typical listing of Human Capital metrics. The [...]
Data Connections
(Indexed 2010-12-29):
The data flow diagram is a time-honored project artifact. Here's a look at possibly the most interesting data flow diagram I've ever seen. Click on the diagram below to see the original post from Diagrams: Everything is connected to everything else.This just cracks me up. I love how the "Girls" spot is in red! Hubert [...]
SCRUM in Under 10 Minutes
(Indexed 2010-12-29):
Dashboard Spy Topic: SCRUM Basics in Under 10 Minutes: SCRUM is one of the best agile development methodologies being used today. This video is one of the best introductions I have seen on SCRUM. Take a look:User representative, SCRUM Master, developers, testers, customers, executives, release planning, sprints are just some of the topics covered [...]
Dashboard Design 101
(Indexed 2010-12-29):
Dashboard Spy Topic: Dashboard DesignTake a look at the excellent primer on UX Matters titled Dashboard Design 101. Thanks goes to Dashboard Spy reader AJ Kock of The Catalyst Blog for finding this and recommending it to me. It's a solid primer on the basics of dashboard design. It starts off with an introduction to [...]
The Hierarchy of Visual Understanding
(Indexed 2010-12-13):
From The Dashboard Spy. We business intelligence dashboard practitioners and project sponsors often hear (and use) the phrase "from data to knowledge" when evangelizing the business intelligence projects we undertake.Take a look at this diagram called the Hierachy of Visual Understanding:David McCandless over at InformationIsBeautiful.net presents this "thinkpiece". See Data, Information, Knowledge, Wisdom. Visit [...]
Excel Tag Clouds
(Indexed 2010-12-13):
Here's a pointer to an excellent Microsoft Excel tutorial that discusses how to create word tag clouds in excel. Specifically, it shows you how to insert Wordle tag clouds in your excel dashboards.What is a tag cloud? It's an information visualization device that represents the weight, frequency and overall relevance of certain terms in a [...]
Build This Flex Dashboard
(Indexed 2010-12-08):
Excellent Dashboard Programming Resource via The Dashboard Spy. This 10 minute video from AdobeTV walks you through the construction of a Flex Dashboard connected to PHP services. The charting components communicate with data in a mysql database.The downloadable assets that accompany this tutorial are available here:Adobe's Build My First DashboardYoull be able to download [...]
The Marketmesa Dashboard Story
(Indexed 2010-12-08):
Dashboard Spy fans know that I love a good story. Nothing thrills me more than when a reader tells me the "story behind the dashboard".Here's the tale behind the Marketmesa 3D Charting dashboard as told to me by Charlie Rosendorf:The idea for Marketmesa came about some years ago when I was trying to compare the [...]
Dashboard Best Practices
(Indexed 2010-12-08):
Many dashboards are built, but how many dashboard projects are really truly successful?Here are some Dashboard Project Best Practices from the article "How a Dashboard Transformed Technical Leads".It's a very thoughtful writeup about the success of a dashboarding project.Here's an excerpt:The dashboard enables the Project Review Team in this organization to help PMs to focus [...]
Resizing Dashboards to Fit Data
(Indexed 2010-11-30):
Dashboard Topic: Sizing of Dashboard Portlets. Gone are the days of goofy looking dashboards that look like sparse matrices. Do you remember those ugly dashboards with acres of blank space and tiny little bits of content?Today we have the design sensibility and technological savvy to enjoy gorgeously designed data tables and charts.Let's take a [...]
Excel Dashboard Tutorial
(Indexed 2010-11-30):
This step-by-step Excel Dashboard Tutorial shows you how to design and implement an excel dashboard. Using a real-life case study, Chandoo walks you through the business requirement, data analysis, dashboard design and layout, pivot table construction and other aspects of the construction of this excel dashboard.Click on this dashboard image to enlarge it:Do yourself a [...]
The Click to Play Dashboard
(Indexed 2010-11-29):
Dashboard Example: Unemployment Data Dashboard. Thanks to Dashboard Spy reader and project management ace Mike Piche of Honeywell Ltd. for spotting this innovative data visualization. I agree with you, Mike - this is one cool dashboard. Something in particular is catching my eye. Take a quick look at this "History of Unemployment in Canada" [...]a
Amazon Web Services System Health Dashboard
(Indexed 2010-11-24):
A few posts ago on The Dashboard Spy, we looked at a Microsoft Systems Health Dashboard. Now we look at a similar dashboard from Amazon.Click here to see the live version of this dashboard:AWS Service Health Dashboardaa
Sharepoint Dashboard for IT System Management
(Indexed 2010-11-24):
Sharepoint Dashboard Example from http://dashboardsbyexample.com : Information technology System Management Dashboard.The IT ChallengeInformation technology administrators and IT support staff need easier access to key information about incident and problem resolution, change control, and its configuration management database. System Center Service Manager orchestrates activities and connects knowledge from System Center Operations Manager, System Center [...]a
Pick a Dashboard, Any Dashboard!
(Indexed 2010-11-23):
A dashboard a day keeps the doctor away, right? Are you involved with designing, implementing or using a business dashboard? Try this link for fun:http://www.enterprise-dashboard.com/?randomClick on that enterprise dashboard, check it out and then try the link again for another enterprise dashboard example.Warmly,Hubert LeeThe Dashboard Spyaa
Tour de Flex Dashboard
(Indexed 2010-11-16):
Some business dashboard partners of mine were discussing RIA style applications and how very "dashboard-like" many of them can be. Our discussion branched out to flex dashboards and applications in general and the Tour de Flex project itself in particular.For those of you who aren't familiar with Tour de Flex, it's a cool collaboration [...]a
Microsoft Online Services Health Dashboard
(Indexed 2010-11-16):
Users of Microsoft's BPOS - Business Productivity Online Suite (basically a web-based version of Office, email and Sharepoint style collaboration services) can monitor the health of the online services via a dedicated Services Health Dashboard.Upon logging into the Service Health Dashboard, administrators are presented with the status of the current day and week for [...]a
Layout of Business Dashboards
(Indexed 2010-11-14):
When it comes to the layout of business dashboards, consistency is the key to an effective design. Take the time to think about the underlying page grid and the relationship between the dashboard parts. What elements exist on your dashboard? Define items such as portlets and gutters and horizontal dividers.Lay out the elements, measure [...]a
Klipfolio Dashboard Developer Edition
(Indexed 2010-09-14):
Dashboard developers recognize the value of solid IDEs and graphic component libraries. These elements make the difference between the dashboard development project from hell and a smooth development and deployment cycle. If you build your own dashboards, you should check out the latest Klipfolio Dashboard Developer Edition. The new product makes it fast [...]a[Image][Image][Image]
Business Intelligence Documentation and User Guides
(Indexed 2010-09-10):
Business Intelligence Dashboards are supposed to be inituitive, at-a-glance solutions. The best dashboard design solutions take away end-user confusion and questions. But does that mean you don't need user manuals, guides and end-user training?Unfortunately, the answer is no. Unless you have a simple, 1-page, read-only type of dashboard, you will need to document things [...]a[Image][Image][Image]
Pie Chart Runs Amok
(Indexed 2010-09-09):
As business intelligence professionals, we often present our observations and findings in front of an audience. As I rule, I am seldom nervous about the content, but I am often worried about the technology. How many times have you had technical difficulties in your presentations? But have you ever had it happen in front [...]a[Image][Image][Image]
Excel Infographics
(Indexed 2010-03-03):
Dashboard Spy Topic: Excel Dashboard Example.Excel dashboard guru Chandoo offers a download of an excellent infographic he created using Excel 2010. Did you know that Excel 2010 has sparklines? Take a look at this awesome excel dashboard done in an infographic poster style.Visit his post to download the excel file: Sachin Tendulkar Statistics [...]a[Image][Image][Image]
iDashboards Winter Olympics Dashboard
(Indexed 2010-02-22):
Dashboard Spy Topic: 2010 Winter Olympics Scorecard from iDashboards.The dashboard gurus at business intelligencedashboard software vendor, iDashboards, are continuing their tradition of helping fans of the Olympic Games track the medal counts of the competing countries.Take a look at this dashboard screenshot. Use this link totry out the interactive iDashboards Winter Olympics Dashboard for [...]a[Image][Image][Image]
Go Back to School for Excel
(Indexed 2010-02-14):
Dashboard Topic: Excel SchoolThe dirty little secret in business intelligence dashboards is that sometimes (and actually more often than you think!), Microsoft Excel is a perfectly fine choice of platform for a business dashboard.And the even dirtier secret is that we business intelligence gurus are less adept at Excel than we should be.Is it [...]a[Image][Image][Image]
7 Ways to Remain Relevant for Business Intelligence in 2010
(Indexed 2010-01-11):
This year, while saying "Happy New Year!", I was also thinking "Good riddance!". Face it, the year was a really rough one for many of you Dashboard Spy readers. Corporate earnings were horrible, revenues fell off a cliff, I.T. budgets got slashed, and many, many smart, hardworking people were downsized.I personally attended goodbye lunch [...]a[Image][Image][Image]
Dashboard Data Table Navigation
(Indexed 2009-12-11):
Dashboard Spy Topic: Business Intelligence Dashboard Navigation (dashboard example: Oracle Interactive Dashboards)By their nature, business dashboards encourage users to adopt a "smorgasbord" approach to navigation. Since a dashboard lays out details, summaries and graphs all at the same time, user is invited to use a browsing style of search rather than the traditional "known [...]a[Image][Image][Image]
Dashboard Metrics Status Indicators
(Indexed 2009-12-02):
Every dashboard needs to display the status of various KPIs and metrics, right? We're all familiar with the red, green, yellow statuses as indicated by little icons.Here are some of my favorites. Maybe they'll be useful to you:Be careful to think through what the colors mean. You may think that the meaning of green [...]a[Image][Image][Image]
Communicating Through Business Dashboards
(Indexed 2009-11-30):
Many companies are still just getting into business intelligence dashboards, so it probably is a bit premature to talk about Dashboards 2.0. But, we as a community have certainly learned a thing or two about the best practices of presenting business information through digital dashboards.Let's look at the cutting edge of dashboarding and see [...]a[Image][Image][Image]
Building a Flex Dashboard
(Indexed 2009-10-05):
"How to create interactive gauges in Adobe Flex Dashboards and connect them to dynamic data sources" is the name of an article by Pallav Nadhani of FusionCharts.In the article, he demonstrates how to build the following Flex-based Weather Dashboard:As explained in the article, the following architecture was used for this Flex dashboard:Fusion Charts for [...]a[Image][Image][Image]
Retail Store Scorecard
(Indexed 2009-08-18):
Business Dashboard Topic: Tracking KPIs and Metrics for Retail StoresWalking along Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, I noticed through one of the store windows this dashboard. Titled Retail Scorecard, it's a pen and paper (ok, erasable marker and plastic poster) dashboard used by the retailer to track store performance metrics.I won't name the retailer as [...]a[Image][Image][Image]
Google Analytics Marketing Dashboard
(Indexed 2009-07-24):
From the Desk of The Dashboard Spy (dashboardspy.com) - Long time readers know that I always approach business dashboard design with a fierce user-centric focus. My background as a user experience director and information architect just doesn't allow me to do otherwise. (In fact, I'm the originator of a user-centric approach called Users FIRST [...]aGoogle Analytics Marketing Dashboard[Image][Image][Image]
Seth Godin on Dashboards
(Indexed 2009-07-22):
Dashboards are getting lots of great press this month. First, we had that picture of President Obama using the Federal IT Dashboard (which identified 45 projects to shut down right away because of cost overruns and schedule concerns).Now we have marketing guru and possibly the world's smartest man, Seth Godin, giving dashboards some focus [...]aSeth Godin on Dashboards[Image][Image][Image]
Using Dashboards to Cut Bad Projects
(Indexed 2009-07-20):
Business dashboards enable management transparency which in turn allows the entire user base to "call out" unacceptable levels of performance. We are seeing this in a major way with the Federal IT Dashboard. Since the launch, there has been quite a bit of focus on the "red" indicators showing up on the dashboard charts [...]aUsing Dashboards to Cut Bad Projects[Image][Image][Image]
Federal Dashboard Reaches 20 Million Hits in 2 Weeks
(Indexed 2009-07-14):
In a recent Dashboard Spy post about the Federal Dashboard (see http://www.enterprise-dashboard.com), I lauded the efforts of Federal CIO Vivek Kundra, especially his recent work with the IT Dashboard. Some of you probably thought I was a bit over the top with all my gushing praise about the dashboard and my claim that this [...]aFederal Dashboard Reaches 20 Million Hits in 2 Weeks[Image][Image][Image]
Federal IT Dashboard
(Indexed 2009-07-01):
Exciting Dashboard News from The Dashboard Spy: New Federal IT Portfolio Spending Dashboard Set to Usher in New Level of Business Dashboard Adoption. Forgive my excitement, but in the course of carefully studying thousands of business intelligence dashboards for the Dashboards By Example blog and various Dashboard Spy publications, I've become very confident in [...]aFederal IT Dashboard[Image][Image][Image]
Financial Crisis Dashboard
(Indexed 2009-06-30):
Business Dashboard coverage from The Dashboard Spy: Crisis Dashboard - Coverage of Financial Market KPIs by thedeal.com.A couple of posts ago, we examined a dashboard meant as a tool for financial intermediaries (see Economic Recovery Dashboard for Financial Advisors). The point I was trying to make in that post was that some dashboards are [...]aFinancial Crisis Dashboard[Image][Image][Image]
GIS Dashboards
(Indexed 2009-06-26):
A reader of the Dashboard Spy newsletter wrote asking about the current state-of-the-art practices on incorporating GIS (Geographic Information Systems) and Geospatial techniques into business dashboards. The reader was concerned about the complexity of doing so because she remembered how clunky (and expensive!) GIS systems were when she last looked into them 20 years [...]aGIS Dashboards[Image][Image][Image]
Economic Recovery Dashboard for Financial Advisors
(Indexed 2009-06-25):
Dashboard Spy Topic: Business Intelligence Dashboards as Tools for Advisors and Other Intermediaries.When we think of the target audience for our business dashboards, we typically think of end users within the enterprise. For example, an overall executive dashboard would be viewed by top-level executives, a financial dashboard's audience would be the CFO and others [...]aEconomic Recovery Dashboard for Financial Advisors[Image][Image][Image]
Impact of Gaming on Business Dashboard Design
(Indexed 2009-06-23):
Today's Dashboards By Example post examines the influence that video games may be having on data visualizations used on digital dashboards. Advances in the design of business intelligence dashboards can come from many different places and reflect many different interests. When the Ford Motor Company and one of its design firms, Smart Design, studied [...]aImpact of Gaming on Business Dashboard Design[Image][Image][Image]
SAS Graph iPhone Dashboard
(Indexed 2009-06-19):
A lot of Dashboard Spy readers have Apple iPhones on their brains these days. With the release of the new iPhone models (3G S) and the price drop of the older 8 gb iPhone to $99, there's a lot of buzz right now. Personally, I've been having an adventure with a "detected but not [...]aSAS Graph iPhone Dashboard[Image][Image][Image]
Switching Dashboards
(Indexed 2009-06-17):
The title of today's Dashboards By Example post, "Switching Dashboards" has a double meaning. It's true that many business intelligence users are switching to desktop dashboards because of the benefits of the "immediacy" of data when it's on your personal desktop. I've posted in the past about the use of the desktop dashboard by [...]aSwitching Dashboards[Image][Image][Image]
Effective Dashboard Design Presentation
(Indexed 2009-06-17):
Dashboard Spy reader and veteran dashboard designer, Aaron Hursman, has an awesome presentation titled Effective Dashboard Design in which he not only presents his approach to designing effective dashboards, but also illustrates best practices with his own dashboard designs.This is one of my favorite presentations on dashboard design. I'm presenting it because of a [...]aEffective Dashboard Design Presentation[Image][Image][Image]
Donation Portfolio Dashboard
(Indexed 2009-06-15):
The Donation Dashboard is a project run by the Berkeley Center for New Media at berkeley.edu that uses a dashboard approach to help users choose charitable giving opportunities. Did you know that, in the Unitied States, there are over a million registered non-profit organizations? This dashboard helps you select the right mix of charitable [...]aDonation Portfolio Dashboard[Image][Image][Image]
Google Local Search Dashboard
(Indexed 2009-06-02):
Dashboards By Example readers will recall the sneak peek of the new upcoming search engine, Microsoft Bing, and it's use of a dashboard/scorecard to present reviews of certain local search results such as restaurants. See Microsoft Bing Scorecard. In a similar vein, Google has rolled out today (June 1, 2009) a dashboard layout for [...]aGoogle Local Search Dashboard[Image][Image][Image]
Microsoft Bing Scorecard
(Indexed 2009-05-29):
Dashboard Topic: A Sneak Peek at Microsoft Bing Search Engine's ScorecardMicrosoft CEO Steve Ballmer unveiled Bing.com to the public yesterday at a conference. It's the replacement to the Live search engine that will go live by June 3, 2009.Upon hearing of the announcement I put out a call to my Dashboard Spy network to [...]aMicrosoft Bing Scorecard[Image][Image][Image]
New Klipfolio Dashboard Release Incorporates Improvements for Enterprise Dashboard Reporting
(Indexed 2009-05-26):
Dashboards by Example will now provide coverage of news releases related to business intelligence dashboard products, vendors and news. Thanks to the suggestions by Dashboard Spy readers who want their business intelligence news collected in one place - the Dashboards by Example blog!I forsee typical news coverage taking the following form: First a reprint [...]aNew Klipfolio Dashboard Release Incorporates Improvements for Enterprise Dashboard Reporting[Image][Image][Image]
Swine Flu Dashboards
(Indexed 2009-05-20):
The dashboard design pattern has not only been fully adopted by practitioners and users in the fields of business intelligence and corporate management, but is now considered the "go-to" design solution by a multitude of people across myriad industry verticals. Anyone in any industry with a need for communicating information seems to benefit from [...]aSwine Flu Dashboards[Image][Image][Image]
8 Step Approach to Developing Clinical Dashboards
(Indexed 2009-05-18):
Dashboard Spy post: 8 Step Approach to Developing BI Dashboards. The CTO of a healthcare company shares his 8 step dashboard methodology in the Computerworld article Developing Clinical Dashboards.Hospitals, medical centers and other health systems are increasingly using digital dashboard technology to provide relevant, up-to-the-minute information to clinicians in a visually rich format to [...]a8 Step Approach to Developing Clinical Dashboards[Image][Image][Image]
2009 Excel Dashboard Contest
(Indexed 2009-05-12):
Excel Dashboard designers get another chance to show off their skills in the BonaVista Systems 2009 Excel Dashboard Competition.Dashboard Spy readers will recall that last year's winners included an International Bank Dashboard, an Outpatient Surgery Center Dashboard, and a Pharmaceutical Sales Dashboard. See Best Excel Dashboards of 2008.In addition to bragging rights to having [...]a2009 Excel Dashboard Contest[Image][Image][Image]
Using a Dashboard to Pitch your Company to Investors
(Indexed 2009-05-08):
Business Week has published a Small Business FInancing article that recommends using a business dashboard as a tool for use while pitching a company to investors. Titled "Pitching? Let Your Dashboard Do the Work: The dashboarda single screen of key metrics and infocan give investors a better understanding of your company than slide shows [...]aUsing a Dashboard to Pitch your Company to Investors[Image][Image][Image]
Business Dashboards: A Visual Catalog for Design and Deployment
(Indexed 2009-05-05):
Business Dashboard books are growing in number. Here's a first look at a newly available dashboard book titled, Business Dashboards: A Visual Catalog for Design and DeploymentI bring it to your attention because it seems that the authors love dashboard screenshots as much as I do. The description for the book promises lots of [...]aBusiness Dashboards: A Visual Catalog for Design and Deployment[Image][Image][Image]
Percent Mobile Dashboard
(Indexed 2009-05-01):
Here's an interesting web analytics dashboard spotted by Pointy Haired Dilbert (Thanks for the discovery of this dashboard, Chandoo!). This mobile analytics dashboard from percent mobile displays usage metrics for visitors coming to your site on mobile devices. The summary information is displayed prominently at the top: Percentage of visitors from mobile traffic, [...]aPercent Mobile Dashboard[Image][Image][Image]
Recovery Act Data Dashboard from MicroStrategy
(Indexed 2009-04-28):
Dashboard topic: Recovery Act Dashboard from Microstrategy. The Recovery Act (The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009) was signed into law on 2/17/2009 by President Obama and is an unprecedented effort to jumpstart the economy. Recovery.gov was set up to provide transparency for Recovery Act spending.This week, the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board [...]aRecovery Act Data Dashboard from MicroStrategy[Image][Image][Image]
Visual Design Guidelines for Geographical Data Visualization Dashboards
(Indexed 2009-04-18):
We business intelligence dashboarders have been taken advantage of the relative ease of incorporating maps and geographic location information into our business dashboards more than ever. Remember how expensive geographic information systems used to be and how arcane a science it was? Well, now there are plenty of free APIs that you can incorporate into [...]aVisual Design Guidelines for Geographical Data Visualization Dashboards[Image][Image]
Taking Data Chart Minimalism Too Far
(Indexed 2009-04-15):
In the recent issue of his Visual Business Intelligence Newsletter: Sometimes We Must Raise Our Voices, Stephen Few explains what he calls a "rare disagreement" with the principles of graph design as espoused by Edward Tufte (See The Visual Display of Quantitative Information).Few begins with an explanation of the title of this issue:When we create [...]aTaking Data Chart Minimalism Too Far[Image][Image]
A Dashboard Blog of Your Own
(Indexed 2009-04-14):
Dashboard Spy readers are invited to start their very own blog. It's an easy and fun way to connect with the business intelligence community and promote your company or your self. Whether you want to blog about dashboards, business intelligence, metrics, management or anything else you'd like to rant about, you're welcome to claim your [...]aA Dashboard Blog of Your Own[Image][Image]
Yellow Boxy Dashboard HTML Template
(Indexed 2009-04-06):
The last two Dashboard Spy templates have been very popular. Thanks for the positive comments! I'm glad you're using them to mock up your business dashboard projects. A Dashboard Spy newsletter subscriber wrote me asking if I would provide a dashboard template that dealt with thebrowser size issue. Typically, in a corporate environment, we have [...]aYellow Boxy Dashboard HTML Template[Image][Image]
SAS Dashboards on Nintendo Wii
(Indexed 2009-04-02):
Think you can get away from the pressures of business intelligence dashboards by hiding in your den and playing video games on the Nintendo Wii? Think again because SAS announced today that they are bringing SAS Dashboards to the Nintendo Wii platform. It seems that the product team at SAS feels that the Wii's innovative [...]aSAS Dashboards on Nintendo Wii[Image][Image]
Church Dashboard Measures More Than Attendance
(Indexed 2009-03-30):
No matter what business niche we measure with our information dashboards, the success of our effort depends on selecting the right metrics and indicators. When attempting to truly understand the health of our business, we are challenged to look beyond the usual and obvious KPIs and incorporate the "you're right, we have to take that [...]aChurch Dashboard Measures More Than Attendance[Image][Image]
NCAA Tournament Dashboard
(Indexed 2009-03-26):
So how is March Madness going for you Dashboard Spies? Did you predict the Sweet 16 successfully? What? Don't tell me you didn't apply all that analytical skill and business intelligence savvy you have to your pool picks? You can model sales forecasts in the face of the worst economy since the Great Depression, but [...]aNCAA Tournament Dashboard[Image][Image]
Network Operation Center Nimsoft Dashboards
(Indexed 2009-03-23):
Service Level Management (SLM) is the process of ensuring that IT services are linked to business processes and providing detailed visibility of service. By monitoring SLAs (service level agreements) and operating level agreements (OLAs), business and technology units can talk in terms that represent a common denominator in departments that used to be world's apart. [...]aNetwork Operation Center Nimsoft Dashboards[Image][Image]
Reputation Management Dashboard Built with iGoogle
(Indexed 2009-03-18):
Dashboard Spy readers from the marketing side of the house will find fascinating the post by Marty Weintraub titled "How to Build a Reputation Management Dashboard". Marty offers comprehensive, step-by-step instructions in his post on assembling a robust dashboard that allows a company to track your business keywords such as brand, products, company executives intent [...]aReputation Management Dashboard Built with iGoogle[Image][Image]
Simple Grey Metrics Dashboard HTML Template
(Indexed 2009-03-18):
Dashboard Spy readers: Here's another HTML dashboard template for your mockup and project implementation purposes. It was created in response to some feedback from the previous Dashboard Spy HTML Dashboard template. For those readers catching up, I recently sent an HTML dashboard template out to people signing up for the Dashboard Spy email list. [...]aSimple Grey Metrics Dashboard HTML Template[Image][Image]
Dashboard HTML Template
(Indexed 2009-03-12):
Announcing a New Dashboard Template from The Dashboard Spy!HTML coding for digital dashboard projects is not rocket science but does require an incredible attention to detail. When you are dealing with a complicated layout with multiple portlets and nested scroll bars, the HTML details can be tricky to say the least.The latest Dashboard Template from [...]aDashboard HTML Template[Image][Image]
Mobile Dashboard
(Indexed 2009-03-06):
As you browse the archive of dashboard screenshots on the Dashboards by Example blog, you'll find information dashboard projects spanning an incredibly diverse range of needs and interests. Dashboards fit the business intelligence presentation needs of every industry I can think of and we've seen examples from bottle filling lines to the situation awareness dashboard [...]aMobile Dashboard[Image][Image]
Google Apps Status Dashboard
(Indexed 2009-02-27):
Dashboard Spy Design Topic: No Eye Candy for the Google Apps Dashboard.Google's latest dashboard allows users to monitor the availability of the various Google Apps services such as Gmail, Google Docs, Google Sites, Google Calendar, Google Video and Google Talk. The application health status dashboard was launched on February 26, 2009 as part of Google's [...]aGoogle Apps Status Dashboard[Image][Image]
Open Dashboard Methodology
(Indexed 2009-02-19):
As we gain hands-on experience with the design, implementation, launch and maintenance of business intelligence dashboards, we accumulate best practices and design patterns that we can rely upon and toss aside activities that lead us astray. After several dashboard projects, we come to realize the value of a dashboarding methodology. Of course, when discussing business [...]aOpen Dashboard Methodology[Image][Image]
Interaction Design Principles
(Indexed 2009-02-16):
Dashboard Design Topic: Principles of Interaction Design for Dashboard Designers.Dashboard designers and builders often back into the disciples of user interface and interaction design through necessity after a few business intelligence projects. Once they get a few dashboard projects under their belt, they realize that there are quite a few subtleties in a dashboard project [...]aInteraction Design Principles[Image][Image]
When Dashboards Are Not Enough
(Indexed 2009-02-13):
As much as digital dashboards rock my world, I have to keep in mind that business intelligence is much more than a dashboard. In terms of that old tired metaphor, if a dashboard shows me the metrics of my vehicle in a small location right in front of me, then business intelligence is everything else [...]aWhen Dashboards Are Not Enough[Image][Image]
Quiz Results Dashboard
(Indexed 2009-02-11):
Business intelligence dashboards are usually serious affairs, with plenty of ominous red lights, tons of squiggly lines and stuffy disclaimers in tiny text. So, it's always nice when a Dashboard Spy reader sends in a dashboard with a bit of whimsy. Aaron Lyon (monkeymatic.com) is a skilled designer that was tasked to provide a leaderboard [...]aQuiz Results Dashboard[Image][Image]
Lightbox Images on Excel Dashboards
(Indexed 2009-02-10):
Today's Dashboard Design Tip from the Dashboard Spy: Showing Images in Excel with a Web 2.0 Flair!Excel dashboards can use the Lightbox image technique so popular with blogs and websites these days. Thanks to the always innovative dashboard experts at Juice Analytics who wrote the post, Lightboxing Images in Excel, we get this Excel Dashboard [...]aLightbox Images on Excel Dashboards[Image][Image]
Dashboard Overload
(Indexed 2009-02-02):
Hello, my name is the Dashboard Spy and I'm a dashboard-aholic. Yes, I've looked at thousands of dashboards and I think they're all wonderful. And, if you're like most of my readers and involved in the design, implementationor management of business dashboards, I bet you alsothink that they are the best thing since thepie chart.BUT, [...]aDashboard Overload[Image][Image]
Intuition through Business Intelligence
(Indexed 2009-01-27):
Dashboards: Business intelligence tools, Business intuition enablers, or both?The role of intuition in the business place has certainly grown in the "softer", more people-focused areas of the enterprise. Note the number of books available on topics such as emotional quotients, consumer desire and team building. Decisions are made based not only on the cold hard [...]aIntuition through Business Intelligence[Image][Image]
Sales Throughput Dashboard with LED Meters
(Indexed 2009-01-23):
Dashboard designer and SAS/GRAPH expert Robert Allison walks us through the thinking behind his latest dashboard - a sales throughput dashboard complete with LED meters. Thank you Robert!Dashboard Spy, a while back, you featured a sales dashboard with LED-meters . It measured sales order throughput and was accompanied by some negative commentary from Stephen Few.Your [...]aSales Throughput Dashboard with LED Meters
Manufacturing Dashboard using SAS/GRAPH
(Indexed 2009-01-20):
"SAS/GRAPH for great dashboards - Can SAS really do that?" Yes. If you license BASE SAS and SAS/GRAPH, you may already own the most powerful dashboard software in the world. You would never know it from the examples published by the SAS Institute, but SAS/GRAPH can render virtually any graphical display with high resolution and [...]aManufacturing Dashboard using SAS/GRAPH[Image][Image]
Banking Widgets Dashboard
(Indexed 2009-01-19):
Personal finance widgets and calculators are commonplace on web applications, but are sometimes awkwardly presented in terms of layout on a page. Typically, they are relegated to page sidebars, collected vertically on a resources page, or displayed by themselves on a single page. How about considering the dashboard design pattern as a solution?By grouping [...]aBanking Widgets Dashboard[Image][Image]
Mashup Dashboard Configuration
(Indexed 2009-01-16):
By their nature and design, some business dashboards are "set and forget". That is, the dashboard user configures the dashboard settings at some point when they start using it and hardly ever fiddles with it again going forward. Or, they never change it from the default settings. In fact, many dashboards don't offer any user [...]aMashup Dashboard Configuration[Image][Image]
5 Hot Business Intelligence Dashboard Topics in 2009
(Indexed 2009-01-13):
Even before the hectic events in the financial markets, 2008 was an eventful year for those of us in business intelligence. We saw adoption of the dashboard design paradigm accelerate, interesting developments in the dashboard product space and the growing sophistication of business dashboard user interface design. What we can be assured of in 2009 [...]a5 Hot Business Intelligence Dashboard Topics in 2009[Image][Image]
2009 Year of the Mashup Dashboard
(Indexed 2008-12-31):
If poring over another year's worth of business intelligence dashboards has taught me anything, it's that the very form and structure of a digital dashboard is what gives it such value and utility. We've heard it said over and over from many a dashboard design guru that a dashboard should be a single page, easy-to-absorb, [...]a2009 Year of the Mashup Dashboard[Image][Image]
Copyright Infringement Dashboard
(Indexed 2008-12-30):
Depending on your philosophy and business model, information may or may not be freely copied and shared. Like it or not, however, mass copying and distribution of practically any web content is occurring at blindingly fast speeds. You wouldn't believe how far and wide the Dashboard Spy commentary on business intelligence dashboards goes because of [...]aCopyright Infringement Dashboard[Image][Image]
Web Analytics Dashboard for Tracking Premium Service Conversions
(Indexed 2008-12-22):
The "freemium" business model - now common among Web 2.0 services (where thebasic service is free because ofthe subsidy from the premium features) - calls for careful tracking of the numbers. Grabbing eyeballs via the free content is easy. Converting them to paying customers for your premium service is the challenge.Today's Dashboards by Example case [...]aWeb Analytics Dashboard for Tracking Premium Service Conversions[Image][Image]
Santa Claus Dashboard
(Indexed 2008-12-17):
Tis the season to make your lists and check them twice, isn't it? Business intelligence practitioners among the Dashboard Spy readership know that the right business analytics and dashboards make all the difference between a smooth holiday season and one full of fulfillment mishaps. It turns out that Santa implemented several new business intelligence systems [...]aSanta Claus Dashboard[Image][Image]
OEE Overall Equipment Effectiveness Dashboards
(Indexed 2008-12-16):
Manufacturing systems look to optimize flows within the production lines. OEE or Overall Equipment Effectiveness is the study of production assets (machinery) in order to eliminate bottlenecks and identify areas of poor performance or excess capacity. The underlying idea is that you can create a combined measurement of equipment availability, performance rate and quality rate [...]aOEE Overall Equipment Effectiveness Dashboards[Image][Image]
Internal Communications Dashboard from Klipfolio
(Indexed 2008-12-11):
Business dashboards communicate information to various stakeholders across the enterprise. The challenge has been to make sure that the message gets through to the intended audience. I've posted in the past of how one company, Serence (now Klipfolio - more on that in a moment.) has tackled the idea of "the unvoidable dashboard", by developing [...][Image][Image]
Big Dashboard Alerts
(Indexed 2008-12-09):
How prominent should alerts be on our business intelligence dashboards? One might be tempted to say right away that alerts and alarms should always be as big as possible. Well, keep in mind that digital dashboards are challenged to reflect the shades of grey that exist in the business and political environments in which they [...][Image][Image]
Conducting Brainstorming Sessions
(Indexed 2008-12-08):
All software development projects demand high degrees of collaboration but Business Dashboards in particular span so many domains within an organization that strong group vision is an absolute must. Dashboards are so user-centric that without contribution by members of the various intended audiences during the design phase, the resulting software is an annoyance at best [...][Image][Image]
Mortgage Loan Process Dashboard
(Indexed 2008-12-05):
A Dashboard Spy reader and I were commiserating about the economy and the impact on I.T. budgets recently. Feeling curmudgeonly, we decided that we were all at fault. When house prices were high and mortgage credit was easy, not too many of us complained. But, now of course, we are all paying a steep price [...][Image][Image]
Real Time Operational Dashboard Case Study
(Indexed 2008-12-03):
The Dashboard Spy is pleased to be cited as a enterprise digital dashboard resource in the fine whitepaper by Sidney Shek titled Enterprise Digital Dashboards as Rich Internet Applications. This CSC paper was added to the CSC Leading Edge Forum Knowledge Library a while back, but came back to mind recently as I helped a [...][Image][Image]
Marketing Dashboard for Measuring Fan Reach
(Indexed 2008-12-02):
Marketing Dashboard Example: The ReverbNation Dashboard. Bands and musicians have revolutionized the marketing of their music through their eager adoption of social networking technologies. Even the largest labels now realize that the independent artists and garage bands were really onto something with their myspace pages and blogs. Today, marketing to music fans and communities is [...][Image][Image]
E-Zone Dashboard
(Indexed 2008-12-01):
A Dashboard Spy's job is never done, it seems. Even while doing some traveling and shopping for the holidays, I came across some very interesting data visualizations such as this Spanish language diagram about e-zones of all things. It was in a book I was flipping through at Saks on Fifth Avenue titled Latin American [...][Image][Image]
Project Gemini and Excel Dashboards
(Indexed 2008-11-17):
One of the highlights of Microsoft's Business Intelligence 2008 Conference in October was the announcement of "Project Gemini". As Forrester reported, "With its just-announced Project Gemini, Microsoft aims to bring an Excel-based user analytics mashup tool into the core of Microsoft's BI and data warehousing product portfolio. What is now only in the hands of [...][Image][Image]
Bling My Dashboard
(Indexed 2008-11-13):
Here's a proposal for a new dashboarding technique that lets your dashboard users control the amount of "eye candy" that they see on thier dashboards and scorecards. How about a "bling" button that you can use to "turn up" the graphic volume of your business dashboards? Imagine being able to toggle back and forth between [...][Image][Image]
Direct Marketing Metrics Dashboard
(Indexed 2008-11-10):
A Dashboard Spy reader wrote me to ask what the abbreviation UAA stood for. It seems that she is a designer who just joined a marketing metrics dashboard project team and was reviewing some wireframes that a business analyst created. On the top of a couple of columns of numbers were the letters "UAA" and [...][Image][Image]
Pop-Up Dashboard for 2008 Election Results
(Indexed 2008-11-04):
Topic: The Times Uses a Pop-Up Dashboard for its Election 2008 Dashboard.The New York Times site is known for its strength with information visualization and use of the information dashboard paradigm. It goes without saying that The Dashboard Spy constantly monitors them for new uses and presentations of business intelligence dashboards.Today, Election Day 2008, we [...][Image][Image]
Synchronized Presidential Debates Dashboard-Style
(Indexed 2008-10-30):
Sychronized Presidental Debates on a dashboard. Digital Dashboard watchers must immediately watch this video. If you are like me, you think that every information asset would benefit from being displayed on a dashboard. This video takes the dashboard design pattern to an extreme. Video clips of the three presidential debates of 2008 are displayed [...][Image][Image]
2008 Political Dashboards for the Election Home Stretch
(Indexed 2008-10-27):
This has been a banner year for political dashboards and visualizations. The "At-a-Glance Political Dashboard" zeitgeist of this election year is evidenced by the appearance of all manners of interactive maps, information visualizations and calculators. Gone are the days of the simple static diagrams of the red and blue states. Turn on any news channel [...][Image][Image]
Intranets, Portals and Dashboards, Oh My!
(Indexed 2008-10-22):
A couple of posts ago, Dashboard Spy readers debated the definition of a dashboard. Some stated that the dashboard metaphor as a layout pattern or navigation device makes for a perfectly fine dashboard - even if it didn't contain business intelligence artifacts such as metrics or charts. Others insisted that dashboards as we study them [...][Image][Image]
Real Time Excel Dashboard Tracks Gas Prices
(Indexed 2008-10-20):
Dashboard Topic: Excel Gas DashboardWeb queries have been part of the Microsoft Excel object model for quite a while now, but are not often seen on Excel dashboards. Talented Xcelsius and Excel developer Kalyan Verma (author of the fabulous myxcelsius.com blog), has posted an example of using Excel Web Queries to power an Excel dashboard [...][Image][Image]
CERN Collider Dashboard
(Indexed 2008-10-17):
Digital Dashboards have been implemented to measure and track an unimaginably wide range of business activity. A Dashboard Spy reader asked me how I keep up my interest in the subject of business intelligence dashboards. After viewing thousands of dashboards, don't they all blur into a swirl of graphs and blinking lights? I replied that [...][Image][Image]
Dashboards As Navigation
(Indexed 2008-10-14):
When is a dashboard a dashboard? Recently we looked at the Dell IdeaStorm Dashboard and one of the comments was "How is this a dashboard? It might be a portal, but all it does is list links of other things to go look at. It actually contains precious little real information." If you bring [...][Image][Image]
Dow Jones Sparklines
(Indexed 2008-10-13):
Every meeting in the office these days seems to start with talk about the economic crisis. Many people are quite worried about the stock market and check quotes all day long. I thought I'd try and keep your mind at least somewhat involved with data visualization while you check the Dow Jones.Visit the Sparkline Stock [...][Image][Image]
Business Graphics from Apple Computer
(Indexed 2008-10-09):
Business Intelligence - "You've come a long way, baby." Sorry, I couldn't help but think of that slogan from the old Virginia Slim ads when I saw this short film from Apple Computer. It's on the advantages of business graphics.Yes, Apple business graphics can help you do the following:Turn a lot of numbers into a [...][Image][Image]
Carbon Footprint Dashboard
(Indexed 2008-10-07):
When Dashboard Spy reader Jonathan Nell said that the dashboard screenshot he just sent over was really "cool", I didn't think he meant it literally. Well, he did. The Carbon Footprint Calculator is a data visualization example featured at CoolCalifornia.org, the portal for a consortium of California agencies and organizations. The California Air Resources Board, [...][Image][Image]
Glanceable Dashboard Monitors Physician Performance
(Indexed 2008-10-03):
Dashboard Topic: Patient Feedback Dashboard Allows Doctors to Measure Communication Skills.Today's physicians and health care facilities make use of the latest advances in technology to aid in their diagnoses, manage their practices and even assist in surgery. Have you noticed, however, that there has been a decline in the quality of a doctor's bedside manner? [...][Image][Image]
The Dashboard in the Lobby
(Indexed 2008-10-02):
Information architecture uses the idea of architecture as a metaphor. But what if we information dashboard designers and data visualization professionals took our ideas out into the architecture of the physical world?Long-time Dashboard Spy readers will remember my fondness for real-world dashboards such as:Dashboard on an EaselAmbient Orbs & Dial DashboardsRest Room Stall DashboardWell, here [...][Image][Image]
Stock Market Dashboard
(Indexed 2008-09-30):
Every time I post a business dashboard that makes use of dial gauges, I get lots of feedback from data visualization experts about why the gauges don't add much value to the dashboard. OK, my infoviz specialists, try my latest thinking on for size: So, if a particular dial gauge only adds a little value [...][Image][Image]
Animating Dashboard Charts with Flash
(Indexed 2008-09-29):
The previous post detailing a Lotus Notes Dashboard showed some good looking charts and graphs. What the screenshots did not show, however, was the fact that those graphs were animated. Today we give you a flavor of the animation of the graphs, as well as dig into the technology behind the dashboard charts.The metrics [...][Image][Image]
Dashboards in Lotus Notes
(Indexed 2008-09-25):
Thanks goes to the Dashboard Spy reader who sent in material regarding creating dashboard reports in the Lotus Notes client. My quick research leads me to agree with your opinion that the "buy" option is better than the "build" option. Let's share with the other readers what you found for creating dashboards against a Notes [...][Image][Image]
A Beautiful Dashboard Journey
(Indexed 2008-09-23):
Business dashboard projects are often journeys rather than simple implementations. It's a journey through a world of choices between the right metrics, the technologies, the data collection challenges and data visualization techniques. Sometimes it feels to us dashboard designers that BI is an exotic land in which our challenge is to find (or create) the [...][Image][Image]
Difference Between BI and BAM
(Indexed 2008-09-22):
A Dashboard Spy reader wanted to know the difference between BAM (Business Activity Monitoring) and BI (Business Intelligence). He caught part of a BAM software presentation from an enterprise software vendor and was hard-pressed to see the difference between what he saw and what BI systems as he knew them offered.Let's do a little research [...][Image][Image]
Business Intelligence Data Mashups with Jay-Z and The Beatles
(Indexed 2008-09-18):
What do The Beatles and Jay-Z have to do with business intelligence dashboards? Welcome to the world of the data mashup!As we have seen in the last few business intelligence dashboard examples, there is definitely a trend towards the use of data mashups on enterprise dashboards. Components such as Google Maps are valuable contributions on [...][Image][Image]
GMaps Plugin for Xcelsius Dashboards
(Indexed 2008-09-16):
The ComputerWorld Best Places toWork Dashboard was a mashup that featured a Google Maps component. I particularly liked seeing that on the dashboard, so I decided delve into the details of how Google Maps was incorporated into the Xcelsius 2008 dashboard.It turns out that the functionality is achieved through Xcelsius plugins from Centigon Solutions. Ryan [...][Image][Image]
Best Places to Live Dashboard
(Indexed 2008-09-15):
In light of some recent negative reviews of Xcelsius 2008 (see Xcelsius Dashboards Bashed), the Dashboard Spy recently sent out a call for Business Objects Xcelsius 2008 dashboards so as to see how the product is being used out in the field. Today we start our brief visit of some Xcelsius 2008 dashboards by looking [...][Image][Image]
Best Places to Work Dashboard
(Indexed 2008-09-15):
In light of some recent negative reviews of Xcelsius 2008 (see Xcelsius Dashboards Bashed), the Dashboard Spy recently sent out a call for Business Objects Xcelsius 2008 dashboards so as to see how the product is being used out in the field. Today we start our brief visit of some Xcelsius 2008 dashboards by [...][Image][Image]
Building Dashboards
(Indexed 2008-09-09):
Building dashboards, of course, is the topic of discussion here at Dashboards by Example, The Dashboard Spy and Dashboards.TV, where we bring you real-life examples of business intelligence visualizations. Today, however, let's take the term "building dashboards" literally, and look at dashboards for buildings (i.e. "Building Dashboards"). Yes, there are dashboards being used for monitoring [...][Image][Image]
SLA Dashboard
(Indexed 2008-09-08):
This SLA Dashboard comes courtesy of a Dashboard Spy in the IBM Service Management organization who has worked on multiple projects in the area of Process Management. Process Managers are applications that implement and manage procss flows involving people, information and technology components. The goals of PM applications are to improve organizational productivity and also [...][Image][Image]
Xcelsius Present Dashboards Bashed
(Indexed 2008-09-04):
The battle regarding the value of business dashboard glitz continues with the introduction of the latest BusinessObjects Xcelsius 2008 offering. It's now easier than ever to create business dashboards with slick visual interfaces complete with shiny reflections and flash interaction.Is this business charting bling a good thing or a bad thing? It depends on who [...][Image][Image]
Hospital Financial Management Dashboard
(Indexed 2008-08-27):
Keane Practice Management Dashboards are part of their H.I.S. (Hospital Information Systems) offerings and are designed to allow MSOs (Management Services Organizations), PHOs (Physician Hospital Organizations), IDNs (Integrated Delivery Networks), large multi-specialty group practices and even large physician practices to track profitability and minimize risk within their practices.Here we see an example of an executive [...][Image][Image]
Business Intelligence Architectural Stack
(Indexed 2008-08-26):
Topic: The BI Stack. Here is an excellent depiction of the business intelligence architectural stack as envisioned by the analysts at Forrester.Here at the Dashboard Spy's Dashboards by Example, we have been focusing on Dashboards (of course!) but are fully aware that they are but a portion of the business intelligence landscape. This excellent diagram [...][Image][Image]
Restaurant Performance Dashboard
(Indexed 2008-08-26):
BI for Breakfast? Here's a look at how a restaurant might monitor their business via a performance dashboard. Thanks goes to Robert Allison who created this restaurant dashboard in SAS/GRAPH leveraging a design by Charley Kyd of ExcelUser dashboards.Here is the restaurant performance dashboard. It's titled "Performance for the Month".I'm particularly intrigued by the commentary:Sales [...][Image][Image]
3 Steps for Performance Improvement
(Indexed 2008-08-24):
Performance improvement is both amazingly simple and frustratingly difficult. I say "amazingly simple" because of the effect where simply focusing attention on an area will lead to improvements. And of course, in terms of "frustratingly difficult", we are all aware of the wall we run into where no matter what further actions we take, we [...][Image][Image]
More on the Pie Chart
(Indexed 2008-08-22):
The question of whether pie charts are as good as they would appear to be (judging by their popularity with business users), continues to be examined. The excellent statistical visualization / infographics blog, flowingdata.com, recently discussed alternatives to the pie chart when reviewing the results of a reader survey. Here is a brief screengrab from [...]ShareThis[Image][Image]
Dell IdeaStorm Dashboard
(Indexed 2008-08-21):
Dell's IdeaStorm project embraces their customer's ideas and input in a serious manner. Customers have contributed over 9700 ideas through the program. Dell management is committed to reviewing submissions and identifying trends in customer ideas and wishes - "to gauge which ideas are most important and relevant to the public".Once you sign up, you may [...]ShareThis[Image][Image]
Excel Tool Tips
(Indexed 2008-08-19):
A Dashboard Spy reader wrote me to ask about adding comments to his Excel worksheets so that his users would be prompted to take certain input actions. He's building a series of excel dashboards complete with data input screens.I directed him to Michael Alexander's latest Excel Tip: Adding Tool Tips to Cells, a quick but [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Excel Tool Tips", url: "http://www.enterprise-dashboard.com/2008/08/19/excel-tool-tips/" });[Image][Image]
Rube Goldberg Dashboard
(Indexed 2008-08-18):
Take a look at this business dashboard. Forgive me for saying so, but upon viewing this dashboard, I couldn't help but think of Rube Goldberg Machines, those convoluted devices that take incredibly complicated paths to perform a simple task.I'll let you decide for yourself. Here's the video of the dashboard. It is titled "Visual Communication [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Rube Goldberg Dashboard", url: "http://www.enterprise-dashboard.com/2008/08/18/rube-goldber...(tr...(truncated)...
Dashboard Spy White Paper Collection Launches
(Indexed 2008-08-14):
The Dashboard Spy Collection of Business Intelligence White Papers is now live. You can easily preview and select white papers from multiple vendors across industry categorizations. Case studies and free business trade magazines are also available.Some of the most interesting BI white papers on the site are:Business Intelligence Best Practices for Dashboard DesignBusiness Intelligence for [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Dashboard Spy White Paper Collection Launches", url: "http://www.enterpris...(truncated)...
Excel Visualization of Olympic Medal Count
(Indexed 2008-08-12):
In keeping with the spirit of the 2008 Summer Olympics, I've been posting some data visualizations and dashboards related to the Beijing Games. On Dashboards by Example we saw the Olympics Dashboard done in Adobe Flex by iDashboards and, on The Dashboard Spy, we saw the New York Times Olympic Medal Count Infographic.As a reminder, [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Excel Visualization of Olympic Medal Count", url: "http://www.enterprise-dashboard.com/2008/08/12/excel-visual...(truncated)......(truncated)...
Executive Dashboards for Wholesale Distributors
(Indexed 2008-08-12):
The beauty of the executive dashboard as a paradigm is that it applies equally well to a wide range of commerical activity. Yes, business intelligence dashboard implementors do specialize in industry verticals, but so many best practices and KPI/metrics apply horizontally, that they eventually move into related industries.For example, I recently received a dashboard [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Executive Dashboards for Wholesale Distributors", url: "http://www.enterprise-dashboard.com/2008/...(truncated)...
Focus on Priorities with Desktop Dashboards
(Indexed 2008-08-08):
"A list of 90 Key Performance Indicators is a contradiction in terms." insists Allan Wille, long-time Dashboard Spy contributor and President/CEO of Serence, the desktop dashboard company. He went on to explain that today's business users are hard pressed to monitor what really matters (business progress) in a world where the most precious commodity seems [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Focus on Priorities with Desktop Dashboards", url: "http://www.enterprise-dashboard.com/20...(truncated)...
3rd Place Excel Dashboard is for Pharmaceutical Sales
(Indexed 2008-08-05):
Executive dashboards are hot IT projects at Bristol-Myers Squibb this year. The sales operations management area at the company has already developed 10 business intelligence dashboards (and 100 operational reports) so far in 2008.This particular sales forcedashboard, developed inMicrosoft Excelby Hitesh Patel and Mike Askew of Data Intelligence, was entered into the Microcharts Best Excel [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "3rd Place Excel Dashboard is for Pharmaceutical Sales", url: "http://www....(truncated)...
Diversity Dashboard
(Indexed 2008-07-28):
The Arizona State University Office of Diversity Dashboardallows the human resources department of the university to demonstrate the school's compliance with federal and state laws regarding affirmative action in employment and educational programs. This employment monitoring dashboard is presented on the ASU Office of Diversity websitewith the navigational link "Dashboard Graphs".This dashboard isconsidered a valuable [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Diversity Dashboard", url...(truncated)...
Second Best Excel Dashboard of 2008
(Indexed 2008-07-25):
The Excel Dashboard that placed second best in the MicroCharts 2008 Excel Dashboard Competition was created by Jim Uden. His Outpatient Surgery Center Dashboardshows the metrics for the operations of a health care facility. Owned by a partnership that demands comprehensive reporting, the ambulatory center operations generate large volumes of data that must be digested [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Second Best Excel Dashboard of 2008", url: "http://www.enterprise-dashboard.com/2008/07/25/seco...(truncated)...
Provost Dashboard
(Indexed 2008-07-24):
For those Dashboard Spy readers out there who may be unfamiliar with the finer points of titles within the world of academia, "Provost" is usually the senior academic administrator. Think of him or her as the "Chief Academic Officer" of the university or college. The provost would report to the "CEO" of the college, usually [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Provost Dashboard", url: "http://www.enterprise-dashboard.com/2008/07/24/provost-dashboard/" });
Flex Dashboard Tracks Olympics Medal Results
(Indexed 2008-07-23):
Dashboard Topic: Olympic DashboardThe dashboard design paradigm will be making frequent appearances on the public stage from now until the end of the year. I'm thinking in particular of two events that drive heavy news coverage:2008 Summer Olympics2008 Presidential ElectionI'm confident that we'll be seeing quite a few data visualizations based on business intelligence dashboard [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Flex Dashboard Tracks Olympics Medal Results", url: "http://www.en...(truncated)...
4 BI Worst Practices
(Indexed 2008-07-17):
Business Intelligence Worst Practices as listed inthe Information Builders white paper, Worst Practices in Business Intelligence | Why BI Applications Succeed Where BI Tools Fail:Assuming the Average Business User Has the Know-How or Time to Use BI ToolsAllowing Excel to Become the Default BI "Platform"Assuming a Data Warehouse Will Solve All Information Access and DeliveryRequirementsSelecting [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "4 BI Worst Practices", url: "http://www.enterprise-dashb...(truncated)...
2008 Best Excel Dashboard
(Indexed 2008-07-16):
Excel dashboards submitted as candidates for the best 2008Excel dashboard design contest run by BonaVista Systems have been evaluated.Wade Stokesis the winner of the best excel dashboard with his entry ofthis International Bank Dashboard. Click on the dashboard screenshot to enlarge the image and you'll see a dashboard that make efficient use of screen real [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "2008 Best Excel Dashboard", url: "http://www.enterprise-dashboard.com/2008/07/16/best-excel-dashboar...(truncated)...
Performance Benchmarking Dashboards
(Indexed 2008-07-14):
Topic: PerformanceBenchmarking Dashboard Example: Medical Practice Costs Dashboard.Executive Dashboards display metrics from across an enterprise. We, as business managers and information technology professionals, work hard at compiling, cleaning and delivering the correct data from sources distribution across corporate systems and data stores. Of course, you say, "That's what we're trying to accomplish with our enterprise [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Performance Benchmark...(truncated)...
Heat Maps for Data Visualization
(Indexed 2008-07-08):
Dashboard Spy readers will recall that we have discussed the use of heat map techiques for data visualization. We looked at Google Eye Tracking heatmaps for marketing optimization and the ever popular heat maps for stock market dashboards. We even looked at this ridiculously simple size and color sensitive heatmap dashboard.Today we look at how [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Heat Maps for Data Visualization", url: "http://www.enterprise-dashboard.com/2008/07/08/heat-maps-fo...(truncated)... }...(truncated)...
Xcelsius 2008 Dashboard - Gas Price Data
(Indexed 2008-07-01):
Flash-based dashboards provide great interaction between the user and the data. Technologies such as Xcelsius easily allow us dashboard designers to mix view (read only) modes with what-if analysismodes. In today's dashboard example by Ryan Goodman of the Interactive Data Visualization Blog, we see this to great effect.I've always liked Xcelsius for dashboarding and the [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Xcelsius 2008 Dashboard - Gas Price Data", url: "http://www.enterprise-dashboard....(truncated)...
Small Business Dashboards
(Indexed 2008-06-30):
Several readers of Dashboards By Example have reminded me that the objective of the blog, as the name suggests, is to show actual examples of dashboards. It's nice to see the cutting edge visualizations and hear about the theories behind software usability, but they want to see more real business dashboards from the trenches. "Let's [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Small Business Dashboards", url: "http://www.enterprise-dashboard.com/2008/06/30/small-busine...(truncated)... })...(truncated)...
The Horizon Graph
(Indexed 2008-06-19):
When a new information visualization technique is invented, it's interesting news. The ones that are worthwhile find themselves in our mental toolboxes and eventually on our dashboards. Sparklines, bullet graphs, treemaps come to mind as recent inventions of note.When a new infomation visualization technique comes out and is lauded by Stephen Few, however, then it [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "The Horizon Graph", url: "http://www.enterprise-dashboard.com/2008/06/19/the-horizon-graph/" ...(truncated)...
Who is on your list of Dashboard Experts?
(Indexed 2008-06-17):
The design, implementation and maintenance of business dashboards spans a range of disciplines. Because dashboard design truely sits at the junction of business and technology, these disciplines are often not the areas of expertise found in the typical dashboard application team. A dashboard project is a learning process for team members encountering new subjects. Wading [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Who is on your list of Dashboard Experts?", url: "http://www.enterprise-dashboard.com/2008/0...(truncated)...
Flex Dashboard at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
(Indexed 2008-06-16):
The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston,aka the "Boston Fed", is one of the 12 regional Federal Reserve Banks that make up the central banking system of the United States. Headquarteredin Boston, Massachusetts, the Boston Fed serves the First Reserve District (a grouping of 6 New England states).Enough of playing tour guide - what does the [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Flex Dashboard at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston", url: "http://www.enterprise-dashboard.com/2008/06/16/flex-dash...(truncated)...
4 Principles for Dashboard Gauges
(Indexed 2008-06-13):
In a recent Dashboards by Example post titled Dashboard Eye Candy, we poked fun at the usage of big honking dashboard gauges. Like them or not, however, they do indeed have their place on business intelligence applications.One of the example gauges used in the article came from the folks at Perpetuum Software, maker of .NET [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "4 Principles for Dashboard Gauges", url: "http://www.enterprise-dashboard.com/2008/06/13/dashboard-ga...(truncated)... });
Flash Dashboard Example - Information Visualization about Oil Production
(Indexed 2008-06-10):
Flash-powered dashboards continue to accelerate in their adoption. By the way, I use the term "Flash-based Dashboards" to include all swf-based dashboard technologies such as Adobe FLEX, Business Objects Crystal Xcelsius, etc - anything that requires Flash formats such as swf/flv. Flash technology has made big inroads in video media delivery and is building huge [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Flash Dashboard Example - Information Visualization about Oil Production", url: "http://w...(truncated)...
Making Dashboards More Productive - Google Analytics Dashboard Case Study
(Indexed 2008-06-02):
In making the ROI case for any IT project or application development project, we like to talk about the productivity that the new system will bring. The usual case was to count up how many hours a task or workflow takes if done manually and compare it to the drastically reduced number of hours it [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Making Dashboards More Productive - Google Analytics Dashboard Case Study", url: "http://www.enterprise-dashboard.com/2008/06/02/more-product...(truncated)... });
Dashboard Eye Candy
(Indexed 2008-05-29):
Yes, I know that good information visualization practice and dashboard design calls for effective use of screen real estate with clear and simple devices such as sparklines and bullet graphs. Easy to read and interpret, these charts, combined with a monotone color scheme (after all, we have to keep the mind on the data and [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Dashboard Eye Candy", url: "http://www.enterprise-dashboard.com/2008/05/29/dashboard-eye-candy/" });
So Where are the Excel 2007 Dashboards?
(Indexed 2008-05-23):
Are less dashboards being built using Excel 2007 than I thought? The recent post about customizing the Ribbon navigation panel elements for Excel 2007 dashboards brought out a couple of comments from Dashboard Spy readers that basically said that Office 2007 upgrades were not yet in sight for them. Yes, it's true that there's a [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "So Where are the Excel 2007 Dashboards?", url: "http://www.enterprise-dashboard.com/2008/05/23/excel-2007-d...(truncated)......(truncated)...
Customizing Ribbon Buttons for Excel 2007 Dashboards
(Indexed 2008-05-22):
Building a dashboard with Excel 2007? Don't forget to make use of the Excel 2007 ribbon. You can add your own custom tabs and buttons to the Excel ribbon using XML or RibbonX code. Thanks to Mike Alexander, author of Excel 2007 Dashboards & Reports For Dummies, there is a freeware Custom Button Builder for [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Customizing Ribbon Buttons for Excel 2007 Dashboards", url: "http://www.enterprise-dashboard.com/2008/05/22/excel-custom...(truncated)... });
First Spreadsheet Dashboard
(Indexed 2008-05-21):
In the past, we've noted that the first computer-based business dashboard was generated by a computer named LEO. It printed out a dashboard report showing payroll statistics for the Lyons Tea Shops in the 1940s. The computer was room-sized and contained over 3000 vacuum tubes. For the full story, see the book A Computer Called [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "First Spreadsheet Dashboard", url: "http://www.enterprise-dashboard.com/2008/05/21/first-spread...(truncated)... });
Dashboard or Scorecard
(Indexed 2008-05-14):
A couple of Dashboard Spy readers and I were going back and forth about some of the various terms used to describe these dashboardy things that we do. There are plenty of terms used interchangeably: Dashboard Reports, Executive Dashboards, Scorecards, Balanced Scorecards, Enterprise Dashboards, Digital Dashboards, Business Cockpits, Dashboard Widgets, Desktop Dashboards, Information Dashboard, Performance [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Dashboard or Scorecard", url: "http://www.enterprise-dash...(truncated)...
Management Transparency through Dashboards
(Indexed 2008-05-09):
Unless we're careful, we dashboard designers may fall into the trap of becoming ivory tower theorists. Isolated from the nitty gritty of real life, we would be unable to tie our dashboards to the real wants and needs of our users. How so? Well, in designing a dashboard, we explore several fields that rely heavily [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Management Transparency through Dashboards", url: "http://www.enterprise-dashboard.com/2008/05/09/management-t...(truncated)... });
The Square Pie Chart
(Indexed 2008-05-06):
Do you have pie chart graphs on your business dashboard? Everyone loves the pie chart. Business users love to casually use (and abuse) it as it's the first graph that comes to mind. And as for you data visualization experts out there among the Dashboard Spy readers, admit it - you just love to hate [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "The Square Pie Chart", url: "http://www.enterprise-dashboard.com/2008/05/06/the-square-pie-chart/" });
The Future of Excel Dashboards
(Indexed 2008-05-05):
In past Dashboard Spy posts, we've discussed the growing importance of Microsoft Excel as a serious business intelligence dashboard tool. Because of its ubiquity and role as lingua franca between business units in the enterprise, the recent expansion of Excel's dashboard capabilities has an importance to us BI dashboarders for years to come. Of particular [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "The Future of Excel Dashboards", url: "http://www.enterprise-dashboard.com/2008/05/05/the-future...(truncated)...
Subway System Operational Management Dashboard
(Indexed 2008-05-02):
"Actual KPIs and metrics from real business cases! Real operations dashboards - That's what we want examples of." says a long-time reader of The Dashboard Spy who reminded me that I've gotten away from showing the nitty gritty details of business intelligence dashboards. She said that it's all well and good that I've been pointing [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Subway System Operational Management Dashboard", url: "http://www.enterprise-dashboard.com/2008/0...(truncated)...
Microsoft Silverlight for Dashboards
(Indexed 2008-04-28):
Continuing our examination of cutting-edge business dashboards using RIA (Rich Internet Application) technologies, we now look at the state of the art of Microsoft Silverlight dashboards. Never heard of a Silverlight dashboard? Well, it's no wonder. By comparison, business intelligence dashboards using Flash, Flex, AJAX and other RIA approaches are commonplace. Working silverlight dashboards, however, [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Microsoft Silverlight for Dashboards", url: "http://www...(truncated)...
2008 Election Dashboard using Adobe Flex
(Indexed 2008-04-24):
We've highlighted some 2008 election dashboards in past posts on Dashboards By Example and have seen some pretty nifty work. Let's continue that theme and look at an Adobe Flex dashboard coded by a long time Dashboard Spy reader and fellow BI blogger, Doug Marttila from forestandthetrees.com fame.As you may know, Flex 3, the latest [...]
The Uber Art of Dashboards
(Indexed 2008-04-11):
The "art of dashboards"? Sounds trite and a stretch, but let the Dashboard Spy explain. We've heard it said that art is the expression of ideas, right? That it is a form of communication between people. One in which the artist understands and uses to his or her advantage the sensibilities of the audience to [...]
The Unavoidable Dashboard - Driving KPI Adoption and Performance Management from the Desktop
(Indexed 2008-04-07):
Dashboard Spy readers know that I have one particular worry that always keeps me up during a business intelligence dashboard project. What if I built a dashboard and no one cared? I mean that literally. What if the only ones who ever visited the dashboard, or clicked on the data drilldowns, or looked at the [...]
World's Easiest Dashboard?
(Indexed 2008-03-26):
Here at The Dashboard Spy, we've been keenly tracking the increasing adoption by business intelligence applications, dashboards, and database reporting tools of RIA (Rich Internet Application) technologies. The promise of RIA to provide enriched user interaction and the concurrent trend towards usability and user-centric design bodes well for intuitive, easy-to-use interfaces for business applications in [...]
When a Dashboard Goes Red
(Indexed 2008-03-13):
Dashboard Design Topic: Using Colors for Business Dashboard AlertsYou hear about a problem so you log on to your business dashboard looking for red alerts among your KPIs and metrics. Not an uncommon use case, right? Your dashboard should clearly alert you to the conditions most requiring attention. Well, let's spend this post talking about [...]
(Indexed 2008-03-10):
Dashboard Topic: Excel Dashboards - A Report from the Trenches.Every once in a while, I get a submission of a business dashboard from a Dashboard Spy reader that makes me stop and really think about what dashboarding really is. I'm not trying to get philosophical on you, but we all live in a day and [...]
Citywide Performance Reporting Dashboard for NYC
(Indexed 2008-03-09):
Dashboard Topic: Municipal Performance Management DashboardsA city as large as New York City certainly has a large task ahead of it when it comes to reporting performance. Of course, city officials can produce key performance metrics (KPIs), that's not the problem. In fact, thousands of such metrics flood the city management offices every day. The [...]
Drag and Drop Dashboard Configuration
(Indexed 2008-03-08):
Business Intelligence Dashboards show a smorgashboard of metrics and KPIs. Business users can peruse a range of statistics and pick out areas that warrant attention. Sometimes the metrics span across various business areas (common among CEO Dashboards), but more commonly, users can configure their metrics. There may be a "configure reports" or similarly named button [...]
PerformancePoint Server Dashboards - BI or BS?
(Indexed 2008-03-07):
Dashboards at any price? We take as gospel the value of Business Intelligence. No one doubts the value of actionable intelligence or the guidance that a good decision support system brings. We let the fat cats up top dictate a direction and we hustle to implement a business intelligence system. We check the Gartner BI [...]
8 Steps Towards a CIO Dashboard
(Indexed 2008-03-06):
CIO Dashboards can wind up helping or hindering the management of an IT organization. On the whole however, a CIO Dashboard project is well worth doing if you do it right. That's basically the summary of a great article from Information Week titled Hunting the Elusive CIO Dashboard. The article stresses the importance of selecting [...]
Sparkline Generator for your Dashboard Graphs
(Indexed 2008-03-05):
Sparklines and dashboards are perfect together because they both embrace the "more information in less space" approach. In the past, we've featured the use of sparklines on some very innovative business intelligence interfaces, including this award-winning dashboard. Thankfully, we are seeing more business intelligence reporting and charting products offer sparklines as a graphing option. For [...]
CapitalOne CardLab Dashboard
(Indexed 2008-03-04):
The Digital Dashboardas a design paradigm has now reached the public consciousness. The digital dashboard is ready for prime time. How do I know? I happened to come across a television commercial today that actually featured a digital dashboard! CapitalOne is running a series of spots to promote their CardLab service where you can create [...]
Google Sites Dashboards - Project Management Dashboard Example
(Indexed 2008-03-01):
Is Google planning to become a viable choice for business dashboards? Google has just made available a compelling, no cost, product of great interest to the business intelligence dashboard community. Google Sites is a "suite of products for improving communication and collaboration". It's basically a wiki-type of Web 2.0 application that has several page layouts [...]
Mobile BI Dashboards from Business Objects
(Indexed 2008-02-28):
Dashboards by Example recently focused on mobile business intelligence dashboards with the post on Cognos Mobile Dashboards. We looked at Cognos Report access via Window Mobile, RIM Blackberry and Symbian devices. Today we continue our examination of the state of the art in Mobile BI by looking at how Business Objects offers mobile access to [...]
2008 BI Magic Quadrant Diagram
(Indexed 2008-02-25):
The recently released 2008 Gartner BI Magic Quadrant analysis focuses on the consolidation that is underway in the BI reporting and dashboarding space. The diagram below seems straight-forward, but you must realize that with the speed of acquisitions in our space, it was already obsolete when released. The Gartner analysis missed the late breaking news [...]
Cognos Mobile Dashboards & Scorecards
(Indexed 2008-02-24):
The idea of "Business Intelligence On the Go" relies squarely on the business dashboard. The ability to convey big ideas in a small space makes the dashboard, specifically the small portlets or widgets contained in dashboards, the perfect vehicle to provide business metrics to people on the go. The problem has been the platforms that [...]
9 Rules for Using Color in Business Intelligence Dashboards
(Indexed 2008-02-21):
A truly effective business dashboard makes good use of color to display business intelligence in an easily understood manner. Color theory and the cognitive effects of color are subjects close to the hearts of visual artists, but seldom appreciated by BI practitioners. Many a time have a come across business dashboards, data charts and other [...]
Best Political Dashboard of 2008
(Indexed 2008-02-14):
An unofficial poll by The Dashboard Spy of this election's crop of political dashboards shows that Yahoo's entry, Election 08 Political Dashboard, is the run-away winner. Based on a flash interface, the UI uses typically slick effects such as mouseovers. A nice design incorporating tabs, panesand popups makes this dashboard intuitive to use. The real [...]
Klipfolio Enterprise Desktop Dashboards - Sales Dashboard Example
(Indexed 2008-02-12):
Lately we've been discussing the Principle of Placement, one of the rules underlying business intelligence dashboard design. Remember the post about the 3Rulesof Dashboarding in which we discussed the great article in CIOToday - The End Game for BusinessIntelligence. We've focused on various incarnations of getting at-a-glance dashboard information out of the browser and client [...]
Mashup Dashboards with Websphere Portal and Google Gadgets
(Indexed 2008-02-06):
Since we've been talking about the design ofBusiness Intelligence Dashboards and the influence of Web 2.0, I want to make sure to stress that Web 2.o is NOT about the shiny look of the big buttons. Web 2.0 is not about what the page looks like. Yes, we studied some examples of a common design [...]
Balanced Scorecard Meets Web 2.0
(Indexed 2008-02-04):
As mentioned in the Dashboard Spy post "Evolution of Dashboard Design Aesthetics", there has been a trend of business intelligence dashboards and Balanced Scorecard Designsadopting the Web 2.0 look. Recently we've seen a lot of positive feedback on Web 2.0 inspired designs such as the Museum Dashboard. Web 2.0 design elements include the reflection of [...]
Optimizing BI Dashboard Data Tables
(Indexed 2008-01-30):
Business Intelligence Dashboards are often lavishly illustrated with bar graphs, pie charts and other graphics of metrics and KPIs. However, as you know, the plain old data table often makes an appearance on our dashboard interfaces.How do we make these data tables intuitive to read?Take a look at our post on the main Dashboard Spy [...]
Dashboard Desktop Business Widgets for the Salesforce
(Indexed 2008-01-29):
Enterprise Dashboard Topic: Where to place the executive dashboard - in the browser (rich internet application), in a fat client (.NET windows software) or on the PC desktop itself (Desktop Widget)?In a recent Dashboard Spy discussion, we looked at some BI Desktop Widgets from the dashboarding lab over at Business Objects. This is a very [...]
Excel 2007 Dashboards are NOT for Dummies
(Indexed 2008-01-28):
Dashboard Spy readers know how much I am convinced that Microsoft Excel 2007 will be leading a new wave of dashboards across the corporate world. The new version ofMS Excel is built from the ground up with tools for dashboarding. Remember this UI designer sketch I featured in a past post (How Microsoft Designed Excel [...]
175 Top Data Visualization Resources
(Indexed 2008-01-24):
Dashboard Spy readers are constantly sending me links to their favorite dashboarding, business intelligence and data visualization resources. I've been meaning to compile a Dashboard Spy Favorites List of these valuable sites, but have been holding off until I accumulate a large enough list. Imagine my delight when I came across the post 175+ Data [...]
Dashboard Implementation Process Improvement
(Indexed 2008-01-22):
Over at the main Dashboard Spy site, we featured a look at the topic of performance improvement in general and the role of performance dashboards in particular. Among other things, we looked at the following diagram from the process improvement and operational performance gurus over at mydials.com.In this dashboarding forum, I wanted to show how [...]
Lazy Man Guide to Dashboards
(Indexed 2008-01-17):
Dashboard Topic: A quick 2 page brief that effectively serves as a "lazy man's guide" to dashboarding courtesy of the U.S. Navy IT Department.For a while now, I've noticed that The Dashboard Spy is avidly read by military IT staffers. Our log files show plenty of interest from .mil domains. Let's hope it's because our [...]
Oracle JD Edwards Plant Management Dashboard
(Indexed 2008-01-13):
Dashboard Topic: Operational Management Dashboards, Manufacturing Plant DashboardThanks goes to the Dashboard Spy Reader who sent me the link to the pdf from Oracle titled Plant Manager's Dashboard. This really helps out another Dashboard Spy reader who was recently assigned to a manufacturing plant analytics project.The Oracle JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Plant Management Dashboard leverages data [...]
3 Rules of Dashboarding
(Indexed 2008-01-10):
In the past, The Dashboard Spy has reported on various "Rules of Dashboards". As best practices evolve in this space, we see articles promoting the latest set of rules to follow. We are happy to track and collect them for you. Let's take a look at the latest such advice.According to a recent article in [...]
Architecting FLEX Dashboards with Cairngorm Design Patterns
(Indexed 2008-01-10):
Here is a quick post for the Dashboard Spy reader who contacted me about the FLEX2 dashboard project they are working on. I look forward to displaying your dashboards in this forum. Here is the dashboard code example we spoke about using the Cairngorm microarchitecture.Cairngorm is an architecture or design pattern framework for RIA [...]
A Museum Dashboard
(Indexed 2007-12-07):
Why does The Dashboard Spy think this museum dashboard so important?Click on the dashboard screenshot to find out:As you see, this is a business intelligence dashboard in use at an art museum to track metrics such as visitor statistics and social media metrics. It's a real "opening of the kimono" for the museum constituents. Talk [...]
Business Intelligence Dashboard Widgets
(Indexed 2007-11-27):
Newcomers to the Business Intelligence Dashboard space sometimes get caught up in the nomenclature of the topic. In fact, even regular practioners have trouble with the terms. What exactly makes something an enterprise dashboard, an executive dashboard, a business scorecard, a performance measurement summary, a BI application, or an enterprise reporting system? As you've [...]
Overwatch Dashboard for Situation Awareness
(Indexed 2007-11-15):
Dashboard Spy readers will have to forgive the obvious cliche when it comes to selecting spy agency dashboards to highlight on this forum. Several posts ago, we featured a very interesting situation awareness and security threat management system created by some former Isreali Air Force members that drew some interest in this dashboarding community. So, [...]
Dashboard Examples using Oracle Portal
(Indexed 2007-11-13):
"I have a hard time telling what a dashboard is these days. For example, what's the difference between a portal and a dashboard? Even the terms are the same - "Portlet", for example, is used in both paradigms to describe a little container of like subject matter."This recent comment by a Dashboard Spy reader rings [...]
The 5 Billion Dollar Dashboard
(Indexed 2007-11-12):
How much would you pay for a dashboard?Dashboard Spy readers have heard me saying that Dashboards will become the ubiquitous face of Business Intelligence. Now, I'm more sure than ever.IBM announced today a $5 billion bid for Cognos, the enterprise reporting company, whose executive dashboards I've featured on this blog. Of course, Cognos is not [...]
Microsoft SharePoint 2007 Hard to Skin?
(Indexed 2007-11-10):
SharePoint Dashboard designers used to struggle quite a bit when using the earlier versions of Microsoft Sharepoint for their projects. While SharePoint offered collaboration and document management functionality quite easily, it was not a simple matter to customize the look and feel.It was hoped that the latest version SharePoint 2007 would be much easier to [...]
Sparklines in Business Scorecard Manager and PerformancePoint Server Dashboards
(Indexed 2007-11-09):
Dashboard designers, actually information visualization gurus in particular, love the use of sparklines, those little trendlines created by Edward Tufte. But popular dashboarding packages have not caught up with the designer demand for sparkline graphing and so when dashboard practitioners experiment with the integration of specialty products such as MicroCharts into major offerrings such as [...]
Situation Awareness and Incident Management Dashboards
(Indexed 2007-11-08):
Dashboard Spy readers are everywhere - even within groups of ex-military. Thanks for these exciting dashboard screenshots from Isreal!Dashboards add a lot of value to Situation Awareness and Incident Management systems. We are now seeing them appear more and more. Traditionally, security incident type systems are based on video only, but now the latest technologies [...]
Red Green Yellow Indicator Icons Used at Google
(Indexed 2007-11-07):
A Dashboard Spy reader liberated these little red/green/yellow color icons. He says that they are used by Google for various state indicators. Just thought I'd pass them along.And this is an animated gif with the balls moving around in a "please wait" type of holding pattern.Tags: Dashboard Icons, Red/Green/Yellow Indicators
The Dashboard Spy Theme Song
(Indexed 2007-11-07):
Dashboard Spy readers know that I'm always trying to push the envelope when it comes to publishing dashboard examples and business intelligence commentary and news. By posting on the web his massive collection of business dashboards and KPIs, the Dashboard Spy has opened the door for BI interface designers and developers to see what each [...]