Dashboard Reports

With the sudden surge of the internet in the late 1990s, digital dashboards began to appear in firms worldwide. At that time, in-house systems were developed to combine and display data being gathered in many information systems throughout firms. Now, digital dashboard technology can be purchased from a wide range of software providers. However, there are still some firms that prefer to use their own in-house versions.

Dashboard reports - like a car's dashboard - provide input that is necessary to "drive" a business. They provide a firm's senior management with an at-a-glance view on the status of a project in the preset metrics of the project. Metrics could include variables such as time, cost, risk, requirements, customer satisfaction, labor or other critical measurements that management would need to be made aware of in order to make crucial decisions. Additionally, the dashboard report offers a brief understanding of the current project makeup without a meticulous explanation of root causes or solutions. It can also be used to visually identify patterns, trends, and abnormalities. In firms where numerous projects hinder the involvement of management, simple dashboard reports allow senior management to quickly observe and assess the status of single or multiple projects. If done properly, the report will facilitate discussion by singling out the primary focus points, while also revealing discrepancies.

When creating dashboard reports, firms need to ensure they do not clutter them with unnecessary data and visual elements. A dashboard that looks too busy will fail to effectively communicate important information. One effective method of separating data is to categorize it into different tabs. Another way to make the viewing process easier is to refrain from putting objects on the far right, which causes the user to have to scroll horizontally. A dashboard design should scroll vertically since that is the default browsing behavior for most websites and applications. The way the dashboard looks is also important since a well-designed dashboard will communicate information in a clear manner. If the proper metrics are not presented in the correct form at the right time, it could negatively impact senior management's decision making, resulting in a negative impact on the business process.

As previously stated there are companies that provide dashboard technology and marketing resource management software to firms from all over the globe. A majority of the vendors are large software companies. When choosing the right dashboard software it is important to go through the list of available features such as graphs, charts, and maps. Additionally, the dashboard software must be capable of collecting and analyzing data as indicated by a preselected set of rules instead of simply recording. The financial dashboards must also be capable of acquiring information that can be useful immediately as opposed to a bunch of random data. The software should be easy to use and even easier to learn. If a firm purchases software that requires extensive training, it could not only end up being costly, but could require many training hours as well. Lastly, if the software is web based, then it is important to note that all data accessed by the program will be saved and stored on the internet; therefore, it is very important that the software company provide proper security measures.