Dashboards in business intelligence software refer to a set of indicators that tell you the current state of a process or business metric. They are business intelligence data visualizations. They work if their design and aesthetics help you understand the data better. It helps the decision-making process on a daily basis.
Let's say, you're driving down a road and you come across a speed-limit sign of 20 miles per hour. How will you know if you're driving safely within speed limits and avoid the consequences of speeding? You'll look at the speedometer on your dashboard, which will give you the current speed of your car. If it is over the 20 mile per hour limit, you'll use your brakes and accelerator to bring down the speed. Dashboards, in business intelligence tools, work the same way.
Whether you're steering your organization from a loss making year to a profit making year or from a profit making year to a larger profit making year, you need to have a road map. Your road map is your strategy. At each turn, crossroad or fork that your business presents, you need to know which direction to take. And if there is trouble on your route, you need to know which other route you can take to get where you want, ideally without losing time. That's the big picture. But while you're steering it, your guide is your dashboard. How you read it determines the fortunes of your company. Technology firms can help you set up your dashboard but what indicators you select is entirely up to you.
For example, if you're a travel website company, you'd probably want to know:
How many people visited your website today (till now)?
How did they find the navigation?
How of them did bookings at the website?
What did they book? How much?
Which of the important elements on your website is getting the least attention?
How did visitors respond to your promotional offers?
How your systems are are coping with the traffic?
These data sets become indicators on your dashboard.If you're selling cars, you'd probably want to know:
How many advertisements were published in dailies, television channels, and cable networks?
How many clients visited your dealers today (till now)?
How many cars have been sold today (till now)?
What are the numbers for each car model and variant?
How many cars did each dealer sell today (till now)?
How many inquiries have they received?
How many inquiries did your call centers get?
How many complaints did you get from prospective customers about inadequate dealer response?
These data sets become a part of your dashboard.Depending on the type, size, and location of your business, dashboard requirements will vary. Your choice of indicators will depend on:
The information that you need on a daily basis to help you guide your business
Its alignment to your organization's goals and objectives, strategy, and KPIs
The feasibility of implementation of various processes to collect the required data
The feasibility of the business intelligence software and the technology platform to get the required data across locations, in different systems in different forms.
