Introduction
A business intelligence dashboard is very useful for QlikView. QlikView is a tool of business intelligence. A business intelligence dashboard is a data visualization tool. It provides essential information for a specific objective. It is single display data model. A dashboard represents the current status of the business data and shows the status of metrics and the performance of the organization. A dashboard displays the performance of a business organization, consolidation and arranges numbers on a single screen. A business dashboard is also known as an enterprise dashboard.
In my previous article I discussed, How to create dashboard in QlikView.
What is executive dashboard?
An executive dashboard displays the important information. It is a computer interface that runs on the enterprise.
The main and essential features of business intelligence is that a dashboard has the ability to show real-time data from multiple internal and external sources. A business intelligence dashboard shows multiple business applications on a single screen. A business dashboard contains data of various business applications through Excel and CSV file and database table also.
There are mainly the following two vendors of business intelligence dashboards:
Difference between Dashboard and Scoreboard
Sometime a dashboard is referred to as a scorecard because a scorecard also displays the current status of the business data. But the measure difference is that a dashboard displays the status and performance at a specific time. A scorecard displays the status and performance over time toward specified goals. The design of business dashboard and score board are mostly similar.
Types of dashboard
There are the following three types of business dashboards:
- Analytical dashboard
- Operational dashboard
- Strategic dashboard
What is analytical dashboard?
An analytical dashboard displays users with the specified data. An analytical dashboard displays information per square (inch) in comparison of strategic and operational dashboard. An analytical dashboard referred interaction with the data. Analytical dashboard is more complex rather than strategic and operational dashboard. An analytical dashboard includes the data in detail. It has ability to comparing data with multiple variables and time. If business organizer and user lost this ability then analytical dashboard not display longer data.
What is operational dashboard?
An operational dashboard is also known as a "Key performance indicator". An operational dashboard are for real-time operations. An operational dashboard does not contain a big data. An important issue with an operational dashboard is that it is updated frequently. Basically it contains business operations. It provides alerts to the business users and also provides exact information rather than full details.
What is strategic dashboard?
A strategic dashboard is an important type of business intelligence dashboard. A strategic dashboard provides information about all the levels of a business organization. A strategic dashboard has the rights to understand the performance of the organization. It does not provide information about the complex decisions. It is very simple and the most widely used dashboard because it contains aggregate functions.
Functionality of dashboard
There are various and major functionalities of dashboards.
Good cooperation with data
The main functionality of a dashboard is that it has good cooperation with business data that comes from various external sources.
Provides less complicated calculations
Using charts, straight tables and pivot tables it always provides less calculation of data.
Quick data processing
It is the main and important functionality of a dashboard because it provides quick data processing in case of data flow across business organizations.
Design of dashboard
There are important key factors of designing a dashboard.
Good communication with data
It is the main part of the design of a dashboard. The business users and organizer also has good knowledge with data and the right information also. Users must have the ability to clearly communicate with the right information.
Modern era dashboard must be web based
A modern era dashboard must be web-based because every business user and analyzer accesses it anywhere, like CRM, ERP or Dataware house accesses it anywhere.
Displays only single screen
It is the measure part of the design of a dashboard because when the dashboard displays only a single screen then users can easily access meaningful information and also with better accuracy.
Ensures logical order of charts
The business users consider the order of charts because the charts provide the easiest, fastest and most logical information. A logical order of charts and alignment gives a better look to the dashboard so it is important for a dashboard.
Always highlight effective and most important information
The business users ensures that effective and most important information is always highlighted because the user determines where the attention goes for only the specific information rather than wastes information.
Improves quality of data
The business users improve the quality of data and does not contain the unnecessary business data in the dashboard.
Consider the requirements
The main and effective idea of the design of the dashboard is that it always considers what the requirements of users are. Always prepare an effective dashboard depending on the user's unique and informational requirements.
Benefits of dashboard
There are the following basic benefits of dashboards:
- By using a dashboard, the business organizer gives critical information to the users at the right time whenever the user wants.
- A Dashboard has better flexibility.
- A Dashboard saves time and cost of training.
- A Dashboard reduces the workload of IT professionals because a web-based application is developed quickly for end users.
- A Dashboard gives fast and effective decision making to the executives and business managers.
- A Dashboard considers the performance of a business organization.
- A Dashboard is always focused on problems of identification.
Selection of dashboard
There are the following list of questions for when a dashboard is selected.
In the user's mind are the following two types of questions:
- Business question
- Technical question
Business question list
The following types of questions arise on the business user's mind:
- What is the business problem?
- Who will be using the dashboard?
- What is the performance of the dashboard?
- What are the specified goals of the business?
Technical question list
The following types of questions arise on the IT professionals minds:
- What is the data infrastructure?
- What is the procrastination of data?
- Where does the data reside?
The user may select a dashboard for business data based on these types of questions.
Summary
The main purpose of this article is to provide a better understanding of the use of a dashboard in business intelligence and also describes the introduction and benefits of a dashboard.