With over 20 years of experience in the data and data operations arena, I’ve seen, created, and decommissioned my fair share of dashboards.
I know what you’re thinking: Didn’t ThoughtSpot say dashboards are dead?
And to that effect, you’d be correct. The static, inanimate, out-of-sync dashboard is antiquated and lifeless. That’s why we offer a Liveboard. It’s interactive, real time, and created for sharing, embedding, and data storytelling.
But regardless of what you call them, these data snapshots still play an important role in the modern business landscape.
Table of contents:
A BI dashboard is an information management and data visualization tool that tracks, analyzes, and visualizes KPIs and critical data points of an organization's performance. It is designed to help business users quickly analyze and understand complex data in a visually intuitive way.
For instance, consider your smartwatch—the data you see about your activity is a form of a dashboard, fit with KPIs and data visualizations.
Anyone reading this article has probably interacted with a dashboard at some point. Consider your smart watch—that data you see about your activity is a form of a dashboard, fit with KPIs and data visualizations.
A BI dashboard is a great way to convey an accurate representation of the business to an audience who doesn’t always have the time or know-how to sort through a data sheet and perform their own analysis. Traditionally, it has been the job of a data team or analyst to compile these dashboards for the business leader or business user to consume.
A BI dashboard may pull in data from disparate sources to create meaningful insights. For example, consider how a marketer might utilize Google Analytics to review their website performance. However, when you need to see how this data correlates with data from other sources, having a centralized data repository and business intelligence solution helps you unlock otherwise disparate data insights.
Let’s clear up some confusion. BI dashboards and BI reporting are often used interchangeably, but they’re not the same thing. While both are designed to make data more accessible, they each have their own strengths.
The value of a BI dashboard lies in its ability to present key metrics clearly and, in many cases, interactively. This gives you the flexibility to explore and analyze data dynamically, even if updates aren’t real-time. While some dashboards provide live data such as ThoughtSpot Liveboards, many are updated periodically, such as daily or weekly, depending on the data source.
Reports, on the other hand, are more static. Think of them as a snapshot in time, like a quarterly financial summary or a year-end performance review. They’re great for detailed analysis and documenting trends, especially when you need something polished to share with stakeholders.
So, when should you use each? Dashboards are perfect for fast-paced, dynamic situations where quick decisions matter. Reports come in handy when you need to go deep into the data or meet compliance requirements. It’s less about choosing one over the other and more about knowing which tool fits the job.
BI dashboards go beyond simple data visualization. They serve as a central hub for accessing critical business insights, giving teams the information they need when they need it most. Here are the key benefits:
1. Centralized insights:
Instead of jumping between tools, you get a single, unified view by pulling data from multiple sources. For example, a marketing dashboard might combine data from Salesforce, Google Analytics, and HubSpot to provide a complete picture of your campaigns.
2. Timely insights:
Dashboards provide timely insights by presenting key metrics and trends based on the most recent data available. Whether you're tracking weekly performance or reviewing monthly progress, dashboards ensure you have the latest information at your fingertips.
For more immediate visibility, ThoughtSpot Liveboards deliver real-time insights. Whether you’re tracking sales during a flash sale or monitoring for a sudden drop in website traffic, Liveboards provide up-to-the-minute data, enabling you to act quickly and decisively.
3. Improved decision-making:
Having key metrics at your fingertips allows you to make confident, data-driven decisions in real time. For instance, your sales team could spot low inventory on a top product and reallocate marketing spend accordingly.
4. Enhanced collaboration:
Sharing dashboards ensures everyone stays aligned. ThoughtSpot Liveboards take it even further by embedding insights directly into workflows, helping teams act on data more efficiently.
5. User engagement:
Dashboards aren’t limited to data experts. In fact, they are designed to be intuitive and accessible to a wide range of users. With interactive features, dashboards allow anyone from business leaders to operational teams to explore data on their own terms. Advanced dashboard tools, like ThoughtSpot offer interactive features such as drill paths, filters, and dynamic visualizations, making them approachable for anyone—from seasoned analysts to those new to analytics.
These features are all fairly standard for BI dashboards. Modern solutions like ThoughtSpot’s Liveboards also feature components that increase functionality for all types of users. Here’s a few examples:
Unlimited drill paths and data visualization filters to help users explore their data
Verified Liveboards for data governance, quality and trust across your organization
SpotIQ to provide AI-assisted insights from data visualizations or KPIs
Mobile monitor for real-time alerts on KPIs thresholds that matter to your business
Connectors to operationalize dashboard data through sharing and collaboration
But the true value of these tools is not how beautiful they are, how long it took you to build them, or how well-modeled the underlying data is. BI dashboards only have impact if they’re being utilized to make data-driven decisions.
Liveboards are designed to increase user engagement and adoption by meeting users where they are. Their level of data fluency, time restraints, and ability to view data in the applications that they’re already working on—all of this enhances data usability, exponentially increasing the value of your data (and your data team) to your business.
Creating a useful dashboard isn’t the same for every company or every team. That said, there are a few general steps you can follow to help ensure your dashboard provides business value.
Step 1. Understand the needs of your stakeholders
Start off with an intake. Here are some questions you might want to consider asking:
Who will be using this dashboard?
What insights are the most important to these users?
What does their current vs ideal workflow look like?
What data sources are they currently using?
Will they actually have time to log into the dashboard, or should you set up a KPI monitoring system?
If they are using the dashboard, what paths will they need to be able to drill down into?
What information should your users be able to access? And perhaps more importantly, what data should they not access?
Step 2. Clearly define and agree on your objectives
Once you’ve completed your discovery, you can draft the project objectives. This should be a collaborative process between you and your stakeholders. It isn’t complete until the objectives are clearly defined and agreed to by both the data team and the end consumers.
Step 3. Build your data pipeline
Now is the time to start building a pipeline for your data—funneling the information from disparate sources, mapping each data point back to your business data, and ensuring the necessary information is governed and accessible to relevant stakeholders.
Here’s more on how to build a data pipeline.
Step 4. Collaborate and iterate on layout and design
With your objectives in mind, you can start mocking up the dashboard layout. This is more important when using a static dashboard like PowerBI or Tableau.
ThoughtSpot is different. Our search-based, interactive data visualization experience allows you to easily pin, iterate on, and share your Liveboard design in real-time—I often do this during a team meeting or collaborative session.
Either way, it’s important to include your stakeholders in the design process.
Step 5. Prioritize performance and accuracy
In a Harvard Business Review survey, 66% of respondents said improving data quality and trust is the most important step to increasing data value. That’s because analytics adoption and use for decision making correlates with data trustworthiness.
The users’ ability to access that dashboard and speed to insight is also an important factor. If you want your team to actually utilize the dashboard, you’ll want to minimize the effort and time it takes to find the right data. That means prioritizing load speed and minimizing workflow interruptions.
Step 6. Tell a data story to your audience
Think about your audience and how this data applies to their role. Try to put the data into a format that fits into that workflow. For example, maybe they have a KPI that needs to be monitored very closely. If that’s the case, put said KPI at the top left-hand corner so it will be the first thing they see.
This is also an opportunity to provide contextual components to your data. For example, ThoughtSpot’s note tiles allow you to provide important directions for how to read or use a specific visualization.
Step 7. Show how to get the most value from the data and dashboard
You have to remember that your audience isn’t necessarily a data savant. Sure, most users have some level of data literacy, but it will vary in degrees depending on your audience.
When you launch a new dashboard for your team, this is your opportunity to show them the power of the dashboard you’ve built, and underline the value of using data in their day-to-day processes. If they see it in action, they are more likely to buy in and incorporate the new workstream into their current workflow.
Step 8. Monitor and iterate based on post-launch usage
Even if you follow all of these steps down to the letter, there will undoubtedly be changes to workflows, data that didn’t turn out to be useful, or new data sources that get introduced. That’s why it’s important for data teams to monitor dashboard usage and set regular check points with teams to understand areas for improvement.
As mentioned before, every team will have different dashboard requirements. However, here are a few examples and ideas to get you started:
Marketing KPI dashboard
Marketing covers a lot of different arenas, and everyone has different data sources they monitor—from website analytics and SEO to social media and paid advertising.
More reading: Mode + ThoughtSpot were recognized as Leaders in Snowflake’s 2023 Modern Marketing Data Stack awards
Sales dashboard
Your sales leaders need up-to-date, SKU-level insights so they can get the high-level overview or drill down to the most granular level.
More reading: See how Fabuwood decommission 50 manual reports with interactive Liveboards
HR dashboard
Your HR team can use analytics and measure HR KPIs to mitigate risks like employee turnover and forecast opportunities for your team and your business.
More reading: Discover 5 powerful ways to use people analytics in HR
Finance dashboard
Some might argue that finance professionals are one of the most data-driven teams in a company. The insights they draw from data can cause your business to sink or swim.
More reading: Here are the top 3 data visualizations for finance professionals
Customer service dashboard
Similarly, your interactions with customers can have a direct impact on your bottom line. It’s important to understand your rep availability, customer satisfaction, and handle time.
More reading: See how managers at Wellthy use Liveboards to support their 200+ member care team
IT dashboard
System availability, security, access control, data quality—the list goes on. Having visibility into data trends can improve your IT responsiveness, adding value to your business.
More reading: Here’s how Snowflake hit 99% of IT commit goals with ThoughtSpot for ServiceNow Analytics
A BI dashboard is like a personalized control center for your business data. It pulls key performance indicators (KPIs) and data visualizations from various sources, displaying them in a format that’s tailored to your role and company. Think of it as how your smartwatch consolidates your personal health data. It gathers your business data into one comprehensive view.
BI dashboards are packed with features that allow you to explore the data further, gain deeper insights, and share findings across your team. Here's a deeper look into the key features and components to consider while selecting a BI dashboard tool:
1. Customizable and interactive interface:
One of the biggest advantages of BI dashboards is that you can tailor them to meet your specific needs. Unlike static reports or spreadsheets, dashboards give you the flexibility to adjust the layout and choose the KPIs that matter most to you.
With ThoughtSpot’s Liveboards, you can interact with your data in real time and customize the layout to fit your team’s needs. Whether you’re focused on sales, marketing, or operations, you can personalize your liveboard to get the insights you need quickly and in the most useful format.
2. Data source connections:
A BI dashboard wouldn’t be very useful without access to your data. That’s why these dashboards are designed to connect to a variety of data sources, such as data lakes, warehouses, or data marts.
ThoughtSpot excels at this by offering native connectors to a range of data sources, including cloud platforms like Google BigQuery, and Snowflake. This allows you to consolidate information from multiple sources into one unified view, giving you a comprehensive understanding of your business performance.
3. Drill-down capabilities:
To make accurate, data-driven decisions, you can’t rely on surface-level insights alone. You need to dig deeper to reveal the full picture. That’s where drill-down capabilities come in. By clicking on a data point, you can access deeper layers of information, finding more detailed insights.
ThoughtSpot’s AI-powered search and analytics let you drill down into data hierarchies with ease. With Spotter, you can interact with your data more intelligently, as its agentic AI not only surfaces the next level of detail but also provides context and actionable recommendations.
4. AI-powered augmented insights:
Traditional dashboards often show raw data, but AI-powered augmented insights enhance this by providing actionable context-driven intelligence. These insights offer deeper context, automated recommendations, and predictive capabilities.
ThoughtSpot’s AI-powered engine constantly analyzes your data for anomalies, trends, and real-time insights that drive faster decision-making. You can act on AI-powered insights tailored to your business context, helping you respond quickly to changes.
5. Sharing capability:
One of the best things about BI dashboards is how easily they facilitate collaboration. Built-in sharing features allow you to quickly distribute dashboards, ensuring that your team stays aligned on the data-driving decisions. Whether it’s exporting reports, sharing links, or embedding visualizations into other platforms, these features make it simple to spread insights and keep everyone on the same page.
ThoughtSpot Liveboards allow you to present real-time data effortlessly. With the Present mode feature, you can integrate live data into presentations without worrying about manual updates, ensuring that everyone gets the latest insights when they need them.
BI dashboards are no longer just nice-to-have tools, they’re critical for enabling swift decision-making and fostering a data-centric culture. But while dashboards are essential, they need to go beyond just presenting data—they must enable users to understand and act on it immediately. That’s where ThoughtSpot shines.
With its powerful AI-driven search capabilities, ThoughtSpot Liveboards effortlessly convert raw data into meaningful insights.
See how Liveboards can supercharge your decision-making. Sign up for your free trial now.
