WebFOCUS Dashboards
Dan Grady
Information Builders
Your business. No barriers.
Agenda
 Why should I deploy a Dashboard?
 What approach would be best for my target audience?
 Dashboard Demonstrations
 Dashboard Best Practices
 Upcoming Events
Copyright 2007, Information Builders. Slide 2
The Value Of A Picture
A man with a broom is
standing sideways on the
wall of a brownish-orange
building. There are potted
trees and plants near by.
Several windows can be
seen – one at street level,
one approximately 6 feet
from the ground the other
at ten feet. Each of the
windows are guarded by
black wrought-iron
fencing. A Lamp post is
seen directly behind the
horizontal man.
Copyright 2007, Information Builders. Slide 3
Dashboard
The Goal
The Goal:
o to effectively communicate information
o to provide a gateway to all of your
information assets
WebFOCUS
Dashboard Flexibility for Target Audience
Custom
Dashboards
Analytical
Dashboards
Active
Dashboards
Executive
Analyst
Flex
Dashboards
Real
Time
Dashboards
Unknown
Performance
Management
Dashboards
Employee
Geographic
Dashboards
Copyright 2007, Information Builders. Slide 5
WebFOCUS
Custom Dashboards/Mashup
Characteristics:
• Provides a snapshot of your business at a glance
• Multiple data sources and visualization techniques
 No training required
 Potential Audience: All
Copyright 2007, Information Builders. Slide 6
WebFOCUS
Analytical Dashboards
Characteristics:
• Uncovers anomalies in large amounts of data
• Helps you focus in on problems not otherwise detectable
 Color, isolation, and detailed visualizations
 In Memory Data Discovery
 Target Audience: Analysts and Back Office(most of the time)
Copyright 2007, Information Builders. Slide 7
WebFOCUS
Active Dashboards – Portable Dashboards
Characteristics:
 Ideal for mobile applications or employees on-the-go
 No connection required
 Empowers users with self-contained analytical capabilities
 Target Audience: All (Particularly, users that spend the majority of their
time in the field.)
Copyright 2007, Information Builders. Slide 8
WebFOCUS
Flex Dashboards
Characteristics:
 Access any data, anywhere via Flex graphics
 Rich, visual graphics, dynamic “tweens”. High level of “stickiness”
 Target Audience: Customer/Public Facing Applications
Copyright 2007, Information Builders. Slide 9
WebFOCUS
Geographic Dashboards
Characteristics:
• Bi-directional interactivity between reports and maps (ESRI, Google
Maps, Bing)
 Recognize opportunities by layering content on a map.
 Target Audience: All, ESRI tends to be more Back Office and Analyst
Copyright 2007, Information Builders. Slide 10
WebFOCUS
Performance Management Dashboards
Characteristics:
• Communicate organizational strategy and performance
 Most effective display of performance metrics
 Helps users convert lagging into leading indicators
 Target Audience: Entire Organization(eventually)
Copyright 2007, Information Builders. Slide 11
WebFOCUS
Real Time Dashboards
Characteristics:
• Designed to support more immediate decisions
• Target Audience: Operational Employees, Call Centers, Hospitals
Copyright 2007, Information Builders. Slide 12
WebFOCUS
Dashboards in Action
Demonstration
Copyright 2007, Information Builders. Slide 13
Dashboards
“Top Five” Common Mistakes in Dashboard Design
 Exceeding the boundaries of a single screen
 If you have to scroll, it’s time to re-design
 Supplying inadequate context for data
 A “chart” shows sales are at $57,863, but is the value
good? bad? Are we on track? Are we doing better than we
have in the past?
 Displaying excessive detail or precision
 $3,687,359.61 vs 3.7M
 Choosing inappropriate display media
 Don’t be afraid to experiment
 Pie chart, Line chart, Bar chart, etc…
 Not planning for the users next move
 Now that they can see more they’ll want to know why
Copyright 2007, Information Builders. Slide 14
Dashboards
Best Practices
 It’s all about communication
 Dashboard users want to understand simply,
clearly and quickly
 Understand your audience
 How sophisticated are they?
 Too much complexity can lead to low usability
 Less is more
 Include only what you absolutely need
 Don’t deliver information in fragments
 Answering “What” is fine, but being empowered to
answer “Why” is so much better
Copyright 2007, Information Builders. Slide 15
Dashboards
Best Practices
Copyright 2007, Information Builders. Slide 16