How to Use an Analytical Dashboard

Learn about the key dashboard analytics features in this step-by-step introduction, with detailed instructions on how to use the various interactive dashboard options available in Kyubit BI for deeper data insights.

Creating a New Dashboard

All users (except those with the Visitor role) can create new dashboards in the Kyubit BI application and optionally share them with other users or groups. To share a dashboard, move it to a folder that has the appropriate permissions.

  • Navigate to the 'Home' application section, click on the 'New' button and then choose the 'New Dashboard' menu option. A new dashboard will be opened in a 'Design Mode' with options to define dashboard details.

    New Dashboard New Dashboard
  • The dashboard visualization surface is always horizontally centered. In the 'Design mode', set the width (Size) of the dashboard visualization surface and click on 'Details' to define general dashboard properties.

    Dashboard Surface Dashboard Area
  • Set the dashboard Title and optionally define its Description, Header, Footer, Color Palette, Tile Border, and Background Style. These are the general dashboard properties that can be customized in Design Mode.

    Dashboard Generals Dashboard Generals

How to Add a Chart and Connect with Data

From the chart toolbar on the left, drag-and-drop appropriate dashboard charts and visualizations on the dashboard surface.

  • Resize and position each dashboard chart (tile) to create your preferred visual layout and improve data visibility. To adjust a tile’s dimensions, click and hold the small triangle at the bottom of the tile and drag to resize.

    Drag-and-Drop Dashboard Chart Drag-and-Drop Dashboard Chart
  • Connect the chart with the data. Click on the chart 'Edit' icon, search for the previously created analysis or a query, and set it as a data feed for the current chart. Test the chart appearance and customize the chart visual options if necessary.

    Connect the chart and the data Connect the chart and the data
  • The chart visualizes the data from the analysis or a query. Data rows are visualized as categories, while columns are visualized as series. Change the chart type to one of the many supported chart types that are best suited to present important insights.

    Choose appropriate charts Choose appropriate charts
  • Drag and drop other dashboard visualizations to form any visual structure of the dashboard you have in your mind. With the resizing and positioning of the dashboard tiles, you can quickly shape and organize any dashboard layout.

    Design your Dashboard Design your Dashboard
 Learn more about designing the dashboard

How to Filter and Slice Dashboard Data

There are several ways to filter/slice the data for detailed dashboard data analytics and narrow data insights to a particular point of interest.

  • Open 'Dashboard Filters Panel' and click on the dashboard add filter button. For analytic data, select the filtering dimension attribute and its members.

    Add Dashboard Filters Add Dashboard Filters
  • All the dashboard data based on the same analytic data source (OLAP or Analytic Model) is immediately sliced with the new filter values.

    Applied Filters Applied Filters
  • Toggle added dashboard filters to Quick slicers, so users could quickly change filter states and slice dashboard data to the point of interest with a single click. Click on the filter icon to toggle the quick slicer display. Resize and position a quick slicer anywhere on the dashboard. Selecting a value on a quick slicer with a single click will redraw all values on the dashboard that are related to the filter.

    Applied Filters Applied Filters
  • To filter dashboard charts based on the SQL queries. Add a filter input with the parameter name expected from the query definition. When creating SQL queries, there is an option to include filtering parameters that could be used from the dashboard filtering.

    SQL Query Filters SQL Query Filters
  • By default, when filtering, all dashboard charts that belong to the same data source (or parameter name) are automatically refreshed. Optionally, a dashboard designer could define explicitly for each chart which dashboard filters it will accept. (Chart > Edit > Data > Filtering Configuration)

    Explicit filter configuration Explicit filter configuration
  • If the dashboard is based on analytic data, a dashboard chart could be used as a slicer. In this mode, selecting chart points will immediately slice other charts and visualizations on the dashboard with selected values.

    Chart as Slicer Chart as Slicer
  • Dashboard filter values could be set using the URL query string parameters. The URL should be appended with the following QueryString parameters @FilterName=member1;member2 filtering definition.

    URL filtering URL filtering
 Learn more about dashboard filtering

Adding Charts for a Specific Purpose

When building a dashboard, you can add charts designed to serve a specific analytical or presentation purpose. Each chart should highlight key insights, trends, or comparisons that support decision-making and make data easier to interpret.

  • Display the data on the 'Geo maps' for the values that are geographically related. When data returns values for the countries, regions, cities, etc., the best way to present it to the end-user is to add one of the many available geo maps.

    Geo Maps Geo Maps
  • Display the data from two different data sets on the same chart using the 'Combo Chart' that will compare values and highlight differences (delta). Each data set values are displayed on a separate axis, optionally.

    Combo Chart Combo Chart
  • For the analysis that includes 2 or 3 measures, the best way to visualize the impact of each measure on a chart item is to use a 'Bubble/Scatter chart' that displays each measure on a different axis, while the 3rd measure is visualized as the bubble radius.

    Bubble/Scatter Chart Bubble/Scatter Chart
  • Hierarchical data is best displayed on the 'Sunburst chart' that at the same time shows the values from multiple dimension levels on the same chart. The 'Sunburst chart' is interactive, allowing end-users to further explore and analyze the data.

    Sunburst Chart Sunburst Chart
 Learn more about 'Geo map' charts
 Learn more about 'Table' charts

How to Create Dashboard KPIs

Create a KPI within the Kyubit BI application to quickly observe the success status of your important business goals on the dashboard. The KPI is based on your data that could be quickly evaluated with an analysis or an SQL/MDX query. To create a new KPI, navigate to the 'KPI & Scorecards' application section and click on the 'New KPI' button.

  • Create an SQL/MDX query or an analysis that would present the data for the new KPI. The first cell value from the analysis/query presents the value of your KPI. KPI thresholds could be defined as fixed values or also values from existing analysis/query.

    KPI data and thresholds KPI data and thresholds
  • Configure KPI visual details and test with the current values. Subsequent values from the KPI query/analysis are considered historical values and could be used to render a small line/column chart that describes the most recent previous values of the KPI.

    Configure and test KPI Configure and test KPI
 Learn more about creating KPIs

KPI Visualizations

Created KPIs could be displayed in different ways on the dashboard depending on the purpose and importance.

  • Typical KPI visualization is to display the KPI icon with the current value and an optional small chart that describes KPI behavior recently.


    KPI Icon KPI Icon
  • To focus on the single KPI performance related to defined thresholds, 'Gauge' visualization could be more useful as it visualizes how far or close the current KPI value is to defined success and failure thresholds.

    Gauge Meter Gauge Meter
  • A Scorecard displays multiple KPIs on a list with details about Target, Target %, Trend, etc., aggregating the most important KPIs on the dashboard. The scorecards can be created based on the existing KPIs in the 'KPI & Scorecards' application section.

    Scorecard Scorecard
  • 'Goal Meter' displays a single KPI with a circle that describes how far current KPI values is from its success status (Goal).



    Goal Meter Goal Meter

How to Set Chart Visual Options

Customize visual details of the chart that would help end-users notice important aspects of the visualized data.
To set visual options navigate to Chart > Edit > Options (tab).

  • Set appropriate 'Value Labels' display on the chart for a quick value insight of specific chart points. The 'Value Labels' could be displayed as whole values or shortened, for all values or specific categories/series.

    Value Labels Value Labels
  • Set the Min Y and Max Y values for a chart to help the end user focus on the most relevant value range. Min Y and Max Y can be configured for both Line Charts and Column Charts.


    Min-Y, Max-Y Min-Y, Max-Y
  • Set a 'Trend Line' or an 'Average Line' on the chart for a specific series of chart values. Optional on Column, Line, and Area charts.


    Trend, Average Line Trend, Average Line
  • Every dashboard chart and visualization can include the description text, which could be plain text or HTML and can include dynamic values from other queries or analyses.

    Description/HTML text Description/HTML text
 Learn more about chart visual options

Exporting Dashboard To PDF

  • At any time in the dashboard, click on the PDF button to open the PDF export dialog form.

    PDF Export PDF Export
  • Set PDF export preferences that set PDF export type, page orientation, margins, and font options.

    PDF Export Options PDF Export Options
  • 'Simple PDF export', creates a single-page PDF file. ('Table' charts could be spanned across several pages)


    Simple PDF Export Simple PDF Export
  • 'Detailed PDF export' creates a PDF file where each dashboard visualization is on a separate page with the index list on the first page.

    Detailed PDF Export Detailed PDF Export

Scheduling Dashboard Email Delivery

Subscribe and schedule to receive fresh dashboard data on your email at the scheduled time.

  • A new subscription could be created on the dashboard using the 'Subscribe' button or in the 'Schedule' application section. The subscription will send the dashboard as a PDF file at the scheduled time.

    New Subscription New Subscription
  • The subscription could be sent 'Weekly', 'Monthly', 'Quarterly' or only 'Once'. Optionally, include CC with additional emails. Set PDF export preferences. If it is a 'Recurring' subscription, define times and intervals.

    Subscription Options Subscription Options

How to Drill-Down Chart Data

Dashboard chart analytics support data drill-down features to quickly get insight into any other dimension related to a particular chart point.

  • Right-click on a chart point and select the dimension for data drill-down to a particular point of interest. If a 'User Hierarchy' is used, the drill-down to a lower level is automatically displayed.

    Drill-Down Drill-Down
  • The drill-down operation could be performed in any number of steps to get the final insight we are looking for. Use the back icon to drill up and revert back to the initial chart data display.

    Drill-Up Drill-Up

Chart Quick Explore Feature

A 'Quick Explore' is another feature to explore data utilizing dashboard analytics. Once you define a Quick Explore dimension/attribute and chart type, clicking any chart point opens a new window showing a small chart. This chart displays the same value drilled down to the selected Quick Explore dimension and chart type.

  • To set up a Quick Explore, select the desired dimension level or attribute and chart type. This can be done in Dashboard Design (Chart > Edit > Data), or in Production Mode by clicking the chart menu icon and defining the Quick Explore settings. Once configured, the chart will respond to clicks by drilling down into the selected dimension and displaying the chosen chart type.

    Quick Explore - Month Dimension Quick Explore - Month Dimension
  • A new analysis window is opened that presents the 'Quick Explore' dimension for the selected chart point value. Optionally, resize this small 'Quick Explore' window to the chart 'Expanded View' (using the whole screen) to additionally explore and analyze the data or export the displayed chart to an Excel/PDF file.


    Quick Explore - Country Dimension Quick Explore - Country Dimension
 More about analytical dashboards

Expanded Chart View

Chart Data Auto-Refresh

Optionally, set individual charts on the dashboard to automatically refresh data if the dashboard is opened for a longer time.

  • In Dashboard Design Mode, open the chart’s Edit form and specify the refresh interval in minutes, determining how often the chart updates its data and visualization.


    Quick Explore - Month Dimension Quick Explore - Month Dimension
  • 'Show Last Refresh Time' displays how long ago the chart’s data was updated, in minutes. This helps users quickly understand the freshness of the displayed data and ensures they are working with the most recent information.

    Quick Explore - Country Dimension Quick Explore - Country Dimension

Chart Data Caching

Open External Content URL

Open the external content when clicking on the chart point. External content could be opened with data describing a clicked point on the chart.

  • Set the URL that will be opened on the chart point-click (Chart > Edit > Open Custom URL ) and optionally set placeholders that will be replaced within the URL query string with actual clicked point metadata that will be useful when opening the external page.

    External Content URL External Content URL
  • Anytime clicking on the chart point will open the defined external content URL in a separate browser tab. If metadata placeholders are included, the URL will also contain the data about the clicked point (value).

    Opening External Content Opening External Content
    •  
    Use placeholders to add data about selected chart segments to the final URL, opening external content.
    Available placeholders:
    {CategoryDimensionLevelName} - Level name of the selected chart point on the category axis.
    {CategoryDimensionLevelUniqueName} - Level unique name of the selected chart point on the category axis.
    {CategoryMemberUniqueName} - Member unique name of the selected chart point on the category axis.
    {CategoryMemberName} - Member name of the selected chart point on the category axis.
    {SeriesDimensionLevelName} - Level name of the selected chart point on the series axis.
    {SeriesMemberUniqueName} - Member unique name of the selected chart point on the series axis.
    {SeriesMemberName} - Member name of the selected chart point on the series axis.
    {MeasureName} - Measure Name of the selected chart point.
    {PointValue} - Value of the selected chart point.

Dashboard Slide Show Mode

Run the created dashboard in the slideshow mode that will iterate each dashboard visualization in the fullscreen mode with a defined slide time duration.

  • Every created dashboard could be run in the slideshow mode by clicking on the 'Slides' icon on the dashboard toolbar.

    Slides Icon Slides Icon
  • One by one, charts are displayed in the fullscreen mode along with the counter displaying seconds until the next slide.

    Slideshow Slideshow
  • Go to 'Design Mode' > Details > Slides to define the delay time between the slides and optional caching of the slide data.

    Slideshow Options Slideshow Options

Dashboard Mobile View

Access dashboards with mobile view available on mobile devices. Browse available dashboards at http://yourkyubitapp/mobile/index.html.

 Learn more about Mobile BI

Embedded Dashboard

Dashboards created within Kyubit Business Intelligence could be easily embedded in any HTML page, allowing a number of configuration options to customize dashboard appearance to best fit visually into an existing HTML page. Learn more about Embedded BI and Embedded Analytics

  • HTML/Javascript embedded BI approach advantage is integration quality and fine-tuning of embedded analytics behavior options.

    IFRAME embedded BI approach advantage is speed and OLAP and Dashboard behavior exactly as within the Kyubit application. 

    <iframe id="dashFrame" 
src="http://YourKyubitSiteURL/Forms/Dashboard.aspx?DashboardID=3
&align=right&font=helvetica&fontColor=red
&tileFontSize=11px&hideDesignButton=1&hideCloseButton=1
&hideOpenPDFbutton=1&hideSubscribeButton=1&
hideToolbar=1&hideFilters=1" 
width="800px" height="1000px" frameborder="0" 
scrolling="no"></iframe>
  • Integrate the whole dashboard created in Kyubit BI using the IFRAME HTML element. Set the URL of the IFRAME to point to the Kyubit application with parameters for the specific dashboard and some parameters that will hide unnecessary items in the toolbar.

    Subscription Options Subscription Options
 Learn more about Embedded BI

Dashboard Analytics User Manual

Download and read the full Dashboards and KPI user manual documentation.

BI Dashboards User Manaul  Dashboards-Analytics-User-manual.pdf