If you find yourself at meetings and are still asking yourself “What is a dashboard?”, then don’t be embarrassed! The majority of business professionals in today’s data-driven environment are in that same position. This article answers that exact question, and gives you some great tips on how to get started building one for yourself.
What is a dashboard?
To be fully honest, when I first entered the world of business analytics, I also had no idea about the meaning of the word “dashboard”. Frankly, the only thing that came to mind for me was the front casing of a car. And in fact, there is some link between the two uses of the word.
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You know the gauges you see on your dashboard? The ones that tell you how much fuel you have left, how fast you’re driving, and how hot your car is running? You rely on those to provide you important information about your car when you’re driving it, right? Well, business dashboards function in much the same way.
In the business world, dashboards are data visualization tools that provide high-level decision-makers the information they need to make data-informed decisions about their respective businesses.
They usually look something like this:
Or like this:
Dashboards are usually interactive data products, but you can design them for many types of audiences, and to meet many types of objectives. I included a chapter on dashboard design in my book, Data Science for Dummies. It looks like ZingChart liked that chapter so much that they chose to feature it in a recent presentation!!!
4 Steps to Better Dashboard Design
Want to know more?
If so, you’re in luck!! Now that you’ve got the answer to the question, “What is a dashboard?”…
I will also show you a free, IBM application that you can use to begin creating dashboards for yourself. It’s called Watson Analytics. I will be giving an overview on “What is Watson Analytics?”, and showing a demonstration on how to use this application.
This will all be provided in a free webinar event next week, on March 11, 2016 at 8:30 am CST. Mark your calendars and then pre-register for the event here!
