Dashboard

A dashboard is a visual interface that consolidates and presents key information needed to monitor the state of a system, process, or business at a glance. It typically aggregates data from multiple sources and presents it through charts, gauges, and tables to enable quick assessment and decision making.

Dashboards are often real-time or near real-time, support interactivity such as filtering and drill-down, and focus on KPIs and metrics. They distinguish between strategic, operational, and analytical dashboards.

Common components include a layout grid, widgets, charts, tables, maps, and alert indicators. Users can customize views, set thresholds, and configure alerts when metrics exceed limits.

Design emphasizes clarity, consistency, and accessibility. Data sourcing, data quality, latency, and transformation are important, as is governance and security for who can view or modify the dashboard.

Used across enterprises and disciplines, including business, IT, marketing, healthcare, and manufacturing. Examples: a sales dashboard displaying revenue, pipeline, and conversion; an IT operations dashboard tracking uptime and incidents; a marketing dashboard monitoring campaign performance.

The term derives from aircraft cockpit instrument panels. Dashboards are for monitoring and situational awareness; they do not replace in-depth analysis, and can contribute to information overload if poorly designed.