05 Jul This week’s reading provides an introduction to data dashboards – what they are, how they work, how they are used in business intelligence and analytics, and the organizational benefi
This week's reading provides an introduction to data dashboards – what they are, how they work, how they are used in business intelligence and analytics, and the organizational benefits of using them.
Do you have experience using dashboards for either work or personal use? If so, share your experience. What types of KPI's and metrics do the dashboards you use track? How has the use of the dashboard impacted you and/or your organization's performance?
If you do not have extensive experience using dashboards, then what part(s) of the reading did you find most helpful in clarifying your understanding of dashboards and their uses? If you have additional questions, ask them here so that the class can respond.
4/1/20, 4(19 PMWhat is a data dashboard? Definition, examples and strategic tips!
Page 1 of 26https://www.klipfolio.com/resources/articles/what-is-data-dashboard
What is a data dashboard?
A data dashboard is an information management tool that visually tracks,
analyzes and displays key performance indicators (KPI), metrics and key
data points to monitor the health of a business, department or specific
process. They are customizable to meet the specific needs of a department
and company. Behind the scenes, a dashboard connects to your files,
attachments, services and API’s, but on the surface displays all this data in the
form of tables, line charts, bar charts and gauges. A data dashboard is the
most efficient way to track multiple data sources because it provides a central
4/1/20, 4(19 PMWhat is a data dashboard? Definition, examples and strategic tips!
Page 2 of 26https://www.klipfolio.com/resources/articles/what-is-data-dashboard
location for businesses to monitor and analyze performance. Real-time
monitoring reduces the hours of analyzing and long line of communication
that previously challenged businesses.
How do data dashboards work?
Firstly, users need to know that dashboard definition is dependent on the
role it plays within an organization. Everyone uses data dashboards
differently. Not all business dashboards serve the same purpose, which is
why it’s important users understand what KPIs to track and why. This section
will answer the following questions:
What kinds of business questions do dashboards answer?
What type of data are tracked on dashboards?
How are dashboards interactive?
Dashboards are fueled by Business Questions
4/1/20, 4(19 PMWhat is a data dashboard? Definition, examples and strategic tips!
Page 3 of 26https://www.klipfolio.com/resources/articles/what-is-data-dashboard
Dashboards can focus on presenting operational and analytical data
The best data dashboards answer important questions about your business.
Unlike advanced business intelligence tools, dashboards are designed for
quick analysis and informational awareness. The most common approach to
designing a business dashboard is to build it using a question-answer format.
What’s our Quick Ratio? Where is our Quick Ratio compared to where it
should be?
How many calls has the call center done this week? Was it more or less
then last week?
What are the top 5 products in Sales Revenue? Where are there
opportunities?
What are the traffic sources to the website? Has there been an increase
in search?
What does our marketing funnel look like? Is it on target?
4/1/20, 4(19 PMWhat is a data dashboard? Definition, examples and strategic tips!
Page 4 of 26https://www.klipfolio.com/resources/articles/what-is-data-dashboard
Dashboards present interactive data visualizations
The business questions a dashboard answers depends on industry,
department, process and position. Analytical dashboards are typically
designed to help decision makers, executives and senior leaders, establish
targets, set goals and understand what and why something happened with
the same information they can use to implement appropriate changes. An
analytical dashboard does this based on insights from data collected over a
period of time determined by the user (i.e. last month, quarter or year).
Data is visualized on a dashboard as tables, line charts, bar charts and gauges
so that users can track the health of their business against benchmarks and
goals. Data dashboards surface the necessary data to understand, monitor
4/1/20, 4(19 PMWhat is a data dashboard? Definition, examples and strategic tips!
Page 5 of 26https://www.klipfolio.com/resources/articles/what-is-data-dashboard
and improve your business through visual representations. Depending on
how you decide to design your dashboard, even straightforward numerical
data can be visually informative by utilizing intuitive symbols, such as a red
triangle facing downward to indicate a drop in revenue or a green triangle
facing up to indicate an increase in website traffic.
4/1/20, 4(19 PMWhat is a data dashboard? Definition, examples and strategic tips!
Page 6 of 26https://www.klipfolio.com/resources/articles/what-is-data-dashboard
Free 5 day course
Get smarter about your reporting with a free 5-day course on dashboards, in daily bite-sized emails.
“I loved the short straight-to-the-point emails about KPIs and dashboards. I read all of
them and I even kept some for later. Loved all the examples.”
– Audrey Hardou, Strategic IT Procurement Manager, Air Canada
Email Address START LEARNING
4/1/20, 4(19 PMWhat is a data dashboard? Definition, examples and strategic tips!
Page 7 of 26https://www.klipfolio.com/resources/articles/what-is-data-dashboard
How are data dashboards used in business intelligence and analytics?
According to Wikipedia: “Analytics is the discovery, interpretation, and
communication of meaningful patterns in data. Especially valuable in areas
rich with recorded information, analytics relies on the simultaneous
application of statistics,computer programming and operations research to
quantify performance. Analytics often favors data visualization to
communicate insight.”
Dashboards are a data visualization tool that allow all users to understand
the analytics that matter to their business, department or project. Even for
non-technical users, dashboards allow them to participate and understand
the analytics process by compiling data and visualizing trends and
occurrences. Data dashboards provide an objective view of performance
metrics and serve as an effective foundation for further dialogue. A
dashboard is a business intelligence tool used to display data visualizations
in a way that is immediately understood.
4/1/20, 4(19 PMWhat is a data dashboard? Definition, examples and strategic tips!
Page 8 of 26https://www.klipfolio.com/resources/articles/what-is-data-dashboard
Why should your business visualize data on a dashboard?
Most businesses use multiple services to track KPIs and metrics, which takes
up time and resources to properly monitor and analyze. Dashboards use raw
data from these sources, spreadsheets and databases to create tables, line
charts, bar charts and gauges in a central dashboard that users can look at
and immediately understand the key metrics they are looking for. Data
dashboards simplify end of month reporting by allowing users to
communicate information at any time without hours of preparation and
analyzing.
Monitor Multiple KPIs and Metrics at Once
4/1/20, 4(19 PMWhat is a data dashboard? Definition, examples and strategic tips!
Page 9 of 26https://www.klipfolio.com/resources/articles/what-is-data-dashboard
Changes to any aspect of a business, whether it be in marketing, sales,
support, or finance, has an impact on the business as a whole. People have
been monitoring their businesses without dashboards for ages, data
dashboards make it a heck of a lot easier. With dashboards, users are able to
dig deeper into the big picture to correlate this impact alongside specific KPIs
and metrics to understand what works and what doesn’t. Whether your
businesses data is stored on a web service, attachment or API, a dashboard
4/1/20, 4(19 PMWhat is a data dashboard? Definition, examples and strategic tips!
Page 10 of 26https://www.klipfolio.com/resources/articles/what-is-data-dashboard
Easy to Read
pulls this information and allows you to monitor all your data in one central
location. Additionally, dashboards are capable of correlate data from different
sources in a single visualization if the user so chooses. By monitoring multiple
KPIs and metrics on one central dashboard, users can make adjustments to
their business practices in real time.
4/1/20, 4(19 PMWhat is a data dashboard? Definition, examples and strategic tips!
Page 11 of 26https://www.klipfolio.com/resources/articles/what-is-data-dashboard
Dashboards display KPIs and metrics using visualizations like tables, line
charts, bar charts and gauges. Effective dashboard design utilizes colors,
symbols and visualizations to highlight important data points This allows
users to quickly scan a dashboard and get the information they need without
sifting through spreadsheets, emails, or signing into a web service. Data
dashboards are useful because they visualize information in a way that is
accessible to everyone. Even if you don't work in marketing, eg, you can
4/1/20, 4(19 PMWhat is a data dashboard? Definition, examples and strategic tips!
Page 12 of 26https://www.klipfolio.com/resources/articles/what-is-data-dashboard
Cloud Accessibility – Share you dashboard With Everyone
understand their numbers. This is key: You do not have to be an analyst to
use and understand a data dashboard.
A dashboard keeps every member of a business on the same page. Users can
4/1/20, 4(19 PMWhat is a data dashboard? Definition, examples and strategic tips!
Page 13 of 26https://www.klipfolio.com/resources/articles/what-is-data-dashboard
Dashboards make reporting more efficient
share dashboards in real-time and periodically. Dashboards bring a
business's data to the cloud, making key metrics and KPIs accessible to your
entire time on desktop, mobile and tablet. There are a number of ways to
share data dashboards: on wallboard tv's, email reports, printable reports or
direct access. Users can create a public link to their dashboard which gives
anyone access, or through private link that allows only those with the link to
access your data. It has become increasingly popular to display dashboards
on wallboard tv's in offices as a way to keep everyone on the same page
about performance and objectives. Data dashboards are becoming
increasingly common because they allow for virtual work environments and
make it easier for teams to collaborate.
4/1/20, 4(19 PMWhat is a data dashboard? Definition, examples and strategic tips!
Page 14 of 26https://www.klipfolio.com/resources/articles/what-is-data-dashboard
Data dashboards save time. Users no longer need to go to multiple,
disconnected, sources to track their data. Getting the data, creating a
spreadsheet, generating and designing the report, and sharing it —
dashboards do all this automatically. There are a number of reasons why
reporting is typically done at the end of the month, one being because it takes
up time and resources. All you need to do is invest a bit of time setting up
your dashboard, which is peanuts compared to what a typical manual
4/1/20, 4(19 PMWhat is a data dashboard? Definition, examples and strategic tips!
Page 15 of 26https://www.klipfolio.com/resources/articles/what-is-data-dashboard
In addition, dashboards allow for constant communication between all levels
of a business. Data dashboards can be accessed by as many users as a
business chooses, so need to know information is at everyone's fingertips. No
longer do executives and managers need to request data from analysts.
Analysts can work in the background to ensure a smooth operation, while
users access this information whenever they want.
reporting will take. Dashboards can automatically generate reports with it’s
data, at anytime, anywhere. No longer do users need to gather, analyze and
format data. You can create PDF, email and live reports using a dashboard:
choose the KPI you want to analyze, select your report format and present.
4/1/20, 4(19 PMWhat is a data dashboard? Definition, examples and strategic tips!
Page 16 of 26https://www.klipfolio.com/resources/articles/what-is-data-dashboard
What types of KPIs and metrics are tracked using a data dashboard?
Deciding which KPIs and metrics to track on a data dashboard is an important
part of designing a dashboard. It’s important to remember that dashboards
must be built as a direct response to the needs of your team and business.
The versatility of dashboards make them useful for any industry and
department, including, but not limited to: executives, sales, marketing, social
media, SaaS, development, supply, call centers and healthcare. Data
dashboards track the KPIs and metrics unique to these areas of business, but
ultimately the ones that meet your specific analytics needs.
Marketing Dashboards
Whether you are looking to track digital marketing performance, SEO traffic,
or your social media growth, having measurable marketing metrics and KPIs
set up can help your business reach targets month-over-month.
Marketing departments operate across multiple channels. From social media,
4/1/20, 4(19 PMWhat is a data dashboard? Definition, examples and strategic tips!
Page 17 of 26https://www.klipfolio.com/resources/articles/what-is-data-dashboard
to email marketing, to lead generation, your digital marketing strategy will
include a number of activities. With such a wide variety of channels being
used, it’s important for marketing teams to actively track progress and
performance in real-time with the right digital marketing KPIs. When
choosing the right marketing metrics, you should keep in mind which channel
you are using and who will be using the data to make business decisions. The
types of metrics you want to track will vary for different marketing roles.
Executives will want to see an overview for every marketing channel, while
managers will want to dive into the metrics for a deeper understanding of day
to day performance. In some cases however, KPIs are useful for all levels of
an organization. For example, return on marketing investment is an
important metric for everyone to track for a full understanding on where the
budget is paying off, and where it's not. This KPI would be useful to track on a
social media dashboard and a SEO performance dashboard. Learn more:
Marketing metrics and KPIs
4/1/20, 4(19 PMWhat is a data dashboard? Definition, examples and strategic tips!
Page 18 of 26https://www.klipfolio.com/resources/articles/what-is-data-dashboard
Sales Dashboards
In today's ultra competitive business ecosystem, only the strong survive. In
order to keep your sales team on top of their game, you need to cultivate a
data-driven culture by sharing the right performance indicators and business
metrics with your team. Learn more: Sales Metrics and KPIs
4/1/20, 4(19 PMWhat is a data dashboard? Definition, examples and strategic tips!
Page 19 of 26https://www.klipfolio.com/resources/articles/what-is-data-dashboard
Executive Dashboards
Data dashboards are a powerful tool for executives because they summarize
complex information and present it in an easily digestible way. For an
executive, a data dashboard allows them to track, monitor and manage the
most important metrics of the business. Learn more: Executive Dashboards
4/1/20, 4(19 PMWhat is a data dashboard? Definition, examples and strategic tips!
Page 20 of 26https://www.klipfolio.com/resources/articles/what-is-data-dashboard
4/1/20, 4(19 PMWhat is a data dashboard? Definition, examples and strategic tips!
Page 21 of 26https://www.klipfolio.com/resources/articles/what-is-data-dashboard
Pitch Deck
Educate your team about Klipfolio
Lay the groundwork with facts they don’t know using the Klipfolio pitch deck. Make
it your own, it’s completely customizable.
GET THE PITCH DECK
4/1/20, 4(19 PMWhat is a data dashboard? Definition, examples and strategic tips!
Page 22 of 26https://www.klipfolio.com/resources/articles/what-is-data-dashboard
How does data get into a dashboard?
Multiple ways. You can upload computer files the old fashioned way, pull in
data from web services like Facebook and Google Analytics, push in data from
API, or as an email attachment, and access data from databases and servers.
If the data dashboard you are using does not have a pre-built connector for
your data source, you can still connect to a dashboard. For example, you can
upload CSV or Excel files. Learn more about building an Excel dashboard.
Klipfolio has an open API connector that provides access to 100s of other
services for which we don’t currently have a pre-built connector. In fact, we're
aware of at least 439 services that customers have connected to. Learn more
about these data source integrations. If you have a question about a data
source you don't see listed here, drop us a line and we'd be happy to help.
Dashboards automate data collection
4/1/20, 4(19 PMWhat is a data dashboard? Definition, examples and strategic tips!
Page 23 of 26https://www.klipfolio.com/resources/articles/what-is-data-dashboard
Data dashboards enable users to choose a duration of time to track their
data. All dashboards track data, but there is a specific name given to a data
dashboard that is leveraged by managers and employees to assist in a
businesses everyday operations: an operational data dashboard.
Operational dashboards are helpful performance monitors for department
managers and front-line workers. Operational dashboards give the user the
power to drill through current information, get alerts, and identify potential
4/1/20, 4(19 PMWhat is a data dashboard? Definition, examples and strategic tips!
Page 24 of 26https://www.klipfolio.com/resources/articles/what-is-data-dashboard
Data Dashboard Examples Dashboards can visualize and surface virtually any type of information. Not
sure what a dashboard for your business would look like? The best way to see
how a dashboard can help is to explore interactive sample dashboards for
departments, services and special topics.
Ready to get started? Reach a whole new level of data-driven decision making
BUILD MY DASHBOARD
Free for 14 days ! No Credit Card Required
operational issues as they happen.
4/1/20, 4(19 PMWhat is a data dashboard? Definition, examples and strategic tips!
Page 25 of 26https://www.klipfolio.com/resources/articles/what-is-data-dashboard
Solutions
By Department
By Industry
By Integration Mashup
By Use Case
Templates and Examples
Live Dashboard Examples
Dashboard Templates
Dashboard Examples
Klip Templates
KPI Examples
Partner With Us
Become a Klipfolio Partner
Become an Integration Partner
Partners Directory
Get Klipfolio Certified
White-Label Reporting
Award Winning Support
Community Forum
About Us
Contact Us
Press
Resources
MetricHQ
Sitemap
Our website has a team of professional writers who can help you write any of your homework. They will write your papers from scratch. We also have a team of editors just to make sure all papers are of HIGH QUALITY & PLAGIARISM FREE. To make an Order you only need to click Ask A Question and we will direct you to our Order Page at WriteDemy. Then fill Our Order Form with all your assignment instructions. Select your deadline and pay for your paper. You will get it few hours before your set deadline.
Fill in all the assignment paper details that are required in the order form with the standard information being the page count, deadline, academic level and type of paper. It is advisable to have this information at hand so that you can quickly fill in the necessary information needed in the form for the essay writer to be immediately assigned to your writing project. Make payment for the custom essay order to enable us to assign a suitable writer to your order. Payments are made through Paypal on a secured billing page. Finally, sit back and relax.
About Wridemy
We are a professional paper writing website. If you have searched a question and bumped into our website just know you are in the right place to get help in your coursework. We offer HIGH QUALITY & PLAGIARISM FREE Papers.
How It Works
To make an Order you only need to click on “Order Now” and we will direct you to our Order Page. Fill Our Order Form with all your assignment instructions. Select your deadline and pay for your paper. You will get it few hours before your set deadline.
Are there Discounts?
All new clients are eligible for 20% off in their first Order. Our payment method is safe and secure.