Define the decision
Choose the question, owner and action first. A dashboard should help someone decide what to do, with a clear period and a comparison that has meaning.
Dashboard improvement guide
Better dashboards.
Clearer decisions.
A practical improvement guide for the numbers, filters and workflows your team relies on.
White Rock pier · Semiahmoo Bay
A practical review
Improve the system
behind the screen.
A visual refresh works best when the measures, source data and operating responsibilities are sound.
Make the numbers agree
Confirm what one source row represents. Check keys, duplicates, units, currencies and dates. Compare KPI totals to the source before changing the visuals.
Simplify the reading order
Lead with the essential KPIs, then trends and exceptions. Keep filters consistent and provide a detail view so the reader can trace a flagged figure.
Make freshness visible
Distinguish a data timestamp from the time a page opened. Define what the viewer sees when refresh fails or a required source is incomplete.
Check access and mobile use
Plan who can view, edit and export. Test realistic roles and a focused mobile layout so permissions and small screens do not change the meaning of the report.
Validate the whole journey
Check default, selected, reset, empty and error states. Exported rows and totals should match the visible filters. Record the owner and repeatable handover steps.
A fictional validation example
Make the totals
and detail agree.
Suppose a sample period contains 18 work orders across three teams. A clear report should make the expected checks explicit.
Overview
The selected period shows 18 distinct work orders. Revenue and cost use the documented sample definitions.
Filters & reset
A team selection changes the KPIs, chart and detail rows together. Reset restores the full selected period.
Export
The export uses the same selected records. Its row count and relevant sums reconcile to the report view.
The numbers above are fictional. Our browser demonstrations also use fictional data and are not live connected Power BI reports.
The tools behind the work
Expertise for the
systems you use.
Explore what we can build, repair and improve across five Microsoft and data technologies.
Microsoft Power BI
Clear KPIs, reliable measures and reports your team can use.
Explore the serviceDynamics 365
Business Central reporting, reconciliation and approved integrations.
Explore the serviceMicrosoft Excel
Repeatable reporting, Power Query and workbooks with clear checks.
Explore the serviceSQL & data modelling
Traceable reporting views, cleaner joins and consistent definitions.
Explore the serviceMicrosoft Power Automate
Intake, approvals and reporting flows with visible exceptions.
Explore the service
A practical place to start
Bring the dashboard
that needs attention.
White Rock waterfront