About Dashboards

We’re glad you asked. It’s not always an obvious concept. After all, today’s data management is largely abstract. So, to help explain what a data dashboard is, we’re going to rely heavily on a concept you’re probably already very familiar with: the dashboard in a car.

As you are driving along, your dashboard is one of your most valuable tools. It informs you at a glance of several key indicators on your vehicle’s status and conditions. In a moment, you know your speed, the remaining fuel level, the engine’s RPMs, the battery charge level, what gear you are in, any problems that may need immediate attention, and if you left your left turn signal on 25 miles ago when you changed lanes.

What you don’t see is the long string of measurements, computations, conversions, and processes to provide that valuable information. Think for a moment just about how the speed is determined and all the steps involved in the background process. Knowing those steps wouldn’t help you adjust your speed to an appropriate level when you see the white car in the median ahead; you just want to know the current status at a glance.

Much like your car’s dashboard, a data dashboard can provide instant valuable information in a moment’s notice. Instead of speed, perhaps you want to know how many students have enrolled in a course. Rather than fuel level, the funds remaining in your grant sources may be important to you. Faculty teaching commitments might be valuable key information as you plan your staffing and budget. Or maybe you want to know the trend for application processing time. Like your vehicle collects data from various sources and presents it to you in an easy-to-use manner, a well-designed data dashboard will keep you moving forward without taking your eyes off the road for very long.

For more examples and concepts, we invite you to explore this section of the website as we continue to expand it with valuable information and links to other resources. You might enjoy the Dashboard Overview (PDF) presentation. You may also find our About the Program section helpful and interesting as we seek to apply this technology in an academic setting. We invite you to contact us with any questions or ideas.

Finally, here’s another example of how a data dashboard might be useful for a new parent. You can almost feel the relaxation gained from this valuable tool!