Configurable dashboards
Configurable dashboards let users choose which metrics and lists appear first. The design work lies in deciding what users may change and what stays fixed.
Redbrix provides a useful initial dashboard and measures which configurations users actually need.
Key facts
- Each figure should open the filtered list of records behind it.
- Metric definitions, permissions and cross-site totals stay fixed. Users change layout and filters.
- Extensive configuration leads to several versions of the same metric.
- Fixed dashboards keep one version, and users who need more start exporting.
What it covers
- Widgets for metrics, lists and charts
- Defaults per role
- Layout, filters and date ranges that users can change
- The path from each figure to the records behind it
Who uses it
| Role | What they look for |
|---|---|
| Owner or general manager | Business performance at a glance |
| Manager of a function | Exceptions in their area: late orders, low stock, idle equipment |
| Analyst or controller | The definitions behind each figure and the records that make it up |
What makes it hard to design
Defaults per role. A useful default helps people begin work before they configure the dashboard. Redbrix validates it with each intended role.
Numbers with a path. A figure without a path to its records invites an export to check it.
Fixed definitions. Redbrix governs metric definitions and shows filters, permitted data scope and refresh time. Matching inputs and context should produce matching results; different scopes can legitimately produce different totals.
When each widget has its own date range and filters, the dashboard can show figures from different periods side by side. The active filters have to be visible on every widget.
Trade-offs
- Extensive configuration serves power users, and soon the company has several versions of the same metric. With fixed dashboards there is one version, and users who need more start exporting.
Common mistakes
- Two people bring differently configured on-time delivery figures to the same meeting. Both are correct by their own settings.
- An empty dashboard on the first day, waiting to be configured
- Figures that cannot be opened
- Metric definitions that users can change
Where Redbrix has worked on this