Dashboards & Reporting

1 – Finding Our Way Home (Defining the Goal)

Before we start skipping, we have to know exactly where we’re going! We don’t want to accidentally land in the Wicked Witch of the West’s data center!

The Wonderful Audience: Who is this report for? Is it for the Munchkins (who only need the basics) or the Wizard (who needs the big picture)? Knowing your audience helps you choose the right level of detail and the perfect look!

Ask the Tin Man: What does the user need? We have to figure out the key questions or decisions that the dashboard must answer. Every beautiful chart should have a purpose, just like every friend in Oz!

Ask the Scarecrow: What are the most important numbers? Identify the crucial Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). These are the bright, shiny measurements that tell us if we’re doing a good job! If you measure everything, you measure nothing, my dear!

2 – Polishing the Ruby Slippers (Data Preparation)

Oh, this part can sometimes feel like a whirlwind, but we must make sure our data is clean and ready for the journey!

• Cleaning the Mess: Data can be a bit messy, like the farm after a cyclone! We need to make sure there are no typos, duplicate entries, or missing pieces. Clean data is happy data!
• The Emerald City Transformation: Sometimes we have to combine different bits of data together, like linking up the different roads in the forest. We join, aggregate, and calculate new metrics so they are perfect for our charts.
• Knowing your audience helps you choose the right level of detail and the perfect look!

3 – Painting the World in Color (Design and Visualization)

Now for the truly fun part! This is where we make the magic happen and turn black-and-white numbers into a beautiful, vibrant land!

• Keep it Simple, Sweetheart: Don’t try to use every color in the rainbow! Use a consistent color palette that’s easy on the eyes. Too many charts on one page can be confusing, like trying to talk to the Lollipop Guild all at once!
• Choose the Right Picture:
  • For showing change over time, we use a Line Chart! (Like a long road!)
  • For comparing different groups, a Bar Chart works wonderfully! (Like comparing heights!)
  • For showing percentages of a whole, a Pie Chart can be sweet, but only use a few slices!
• Clarity, My Dear: Every chart needs a clear title and labels so everyone understands what they are looking at. No mysterious flying monkeys here!

4 – Making it Interactive (Giving the Cowardly Lion Courage)

A wonderful dashboard should be a joy to use! Let the users explore and find their own answers—it gives them so much courage!

• Filters and Friends: Add beautiful little filters and date selectors so users can change the view without bothering you! It’s like giving them their own little pair of magic spectacles.
• Drill-Down Details: Sometimes, they need to look closer! Allow users to click on a high-level number to see the underlying details. It’s like peeking behind the curtain to see what the Great and Powerful Wizard is really doing!

5 – Sharing the Joy (Distribution and Feedback)

You found the beautiful land of insight, now you have to share it!

• Delivery: Make sure your final report is delivered right where they need it—on a screen, in an email, or maybe even in a little automated presentation!
• The Wonderful Check-in: Ask for feedback! Was the dashboard helpful? Is it missing something? We need to keep improving our wonderful work so everyone stays happy!

Now, go on! You have everything you need for a truly marvelous data adventure!