How to Create a Dashboard
Transform your data into stories with customizable dashboards.
Jacqueline S. avatar
Written by Jacqueline S.
Updated this week

Make it easy for stakeholders to consume surveys and report insights with detailed, custom dashboards.

With the Dashboard Builder, you can:

  • Add a description to your dashboard to provide the context needed to make sense of the data

  • Create multiple charts that visualize different subsets of the same underlying data

  • Name charts and organize them into sections to integrate multiple storylines that together tell one powerful narrative.

  • Display different aggregates and customize chart colors to help identify patterns and trends.

Table of contents:


What Is a Dashboard

A dashboard consists of a title, an optional description, headings (if needed), and charts that can display either report or survey data.

You can select different chart types to display your data depending on the selected data source (report or survey data). Additionally, you can display different aggregates depending on the selected chart type.

Learn more about:

  • The different data sources you can select on a chart in the “Chart Data Sources” section

  • Which chart types are available for each type of data source in the “Available charts per data source” section.

  • Which aggregates are available per chart type in the “Available Aggregates per Chart Type” section.

How to Create a Dashboard

Watch the Ardoq Dashboard Builder demo video to learn how to create a dashboard from scratch or follow the steps below.

1. Open the Dashboard Builder

You can open the Dashboard Builder from:

  • The Home page > Create new > Dashboard

  • The Analytics module > Dashboard Builder

2. Give your dashboard a name and a description

Name and describe your dashboard from the sidebar to provide the necessary context for your data. The description box supports text formatting, data table insertion, links, and inline code.

Closing the sidebar won’t cause you to lose any of your edits in your chart. However, your edits won’t be save until you save your dashboard.

3. Add a new heading (optional)

You have the option to create an unlimited number of sections in your dashboard by adding headings and naming them from the sidebar. However, it's not mandatory and you can add charts directly without adding sections.

To add a new heading simply click on the "Add new heading" button on the dashboard

4. Add a new chart

To add a new chart, click on the "Add new chart" button on the dashboard. The sidebar will pop up to the right side of your screen. Here, you can configure your chart and customize how you want to present your data.

  • Data selection

Clicking on the “Add new chart” button will instantly create a new chart in your dashboard and open up the sidebar on the “Data selection” section. Here, you can select a report or survey and the field you want to display. Please note, it is currently possible to display component fields only. If you edit a chart and select a different report or survey, it will result in the chart being reset to a blank state. Learn more about the types of data sources for charts in the section below.

Next, you can give a name to your chart by typing a custom name in the "Chart title" box.

  • Data presentation

Next, you can select the chart type you want to present your data in and the aggregate to display from the “Data presentation” section.

Chart types:

The chart types we support are:

  • Table chart

  • Number chart

  • Line chart

  • Pie chart

  • Stacked bar chart

  • Bar chart

The availability of certain chart types differs depending on whether you selected a survey or a report in the “Data selection” step. Find out which chart types are available for surveys and reports by referring to the “Available chart types” section below.

Aggregates:

The aggregates we support are:

  • Minimum

  • Maximum

  • Average (including unset values)

  • Average (only set values)

  • Sum

  • Count

The availability of certain aggregates varies according to the selected chart type. To know which aggregates are applicable per chart type, refer to the “Available aggregates per chart”' section below.

Date range:

You can display data for a specific period of time on the Line and Stacked Bar charts. To do so:

  1. Navigate to the Data presentation section on the sidebar.

  2. Select the Line or Stacked Bar chart on the Chart type dropdown.

  3. Choose between “All time, 1 year, 6 months, 3 months, or 1 month” from the Date range dropdown.

  4. Depending on the selected field, you can choose the type of aggregate you want to display on the Line or Stacked Bar chart.

  • Data colors

A color is automatically assigned to each field value (variable) in your chart. You cannot delete auto-assigned colors as they correspond to the fields returned by the selected report or survey. You can, however, customize them.

It is possible to customize the colors of your charts for Pie and Stacked Bar charts. To customize them:

  1. Expand the "Data colors" section on the sidebar

  2. Click on the color box next to the name of the field value you want to edit

  3. Select a new color from the “Color theme” section. Alternatively, click on “Advanced” to open the color picker and select a custom color.

If a color is already assigned to one data field and is then selected for another data field, the color will be applied to the second field and both fields will have the same color applied.

Changing the color of a field affects all charts that use that field.

5. Add conditional formatting rules (optional)

You can add conditional formatting to charts of type “Number” only. Conditional formatting helps highlight data points that meet specific criteria, making it easier to quickly identify important trends and patterns in your data.

Currently, we only support the "Greater than" operator. You can use it to define:

  • Negative limits

  • Neutral limits

  • Positive limits

To create a custom conditional formatting rule, scroll down and:

  1. Select “+Add new limit”

  2. Click on the color box and select a new color

  3. Give a name to your custom limit

  4. Define a limit value

Conditional formatting is applied per chart. However, you can duplicate a chart to avoid replicating the same conditional formatting limits. Simply click the three dots menu on the chart and select “Copy”. The duplicate will retain the conditional formatting limits of the original chart.

6. Customize your dashboard

You’ve now created your first chart. Closing the sidebar won’t cause you to lose any of your edits in your chart. However, your edits won’t be save until you save your dashboard.

From here, you can add a new section, create a new chart or duplicate it to continue creating your dashboard. You can also rearrange your charts by clicking on the six dots icon on the top left corner of a chart and dragging it to its new position.

7. Save your dashboard

Click on the “Save” button at the top right corner of the screen to save all your edits and create your dashboard.

8. Share your dashboard with your stakeholders

Click on the “View” button at the top right corner of the screen to open the Dashboard Reader and see how your finalized dashboard looks like. From here you can add your dashboard as a slide in a presentation by clicking on the “Add to a presentation” button in the top right corner of the screen.

To define who can access your dashboard in the Ardoq app:

  1. Head over to the Home page or Dashboard overview page

  2. Click on the three dot menu next to the name of your dashboard

  3. Select “Permissions”

  4. Assign a dashborad permission to all users in your organization from the “All organization members” dropdown and “All contributors” dropdown. Alternatively, grant access to specific users by typing their name or the name of group from the “Add a user or group” dropdown at the top of the modal.

To learn more about the available permissions per user role, refer to the “Assigning users access to assets and functionality” KB article.

Chart Data Sources

Data Source Type: Advanced Search Report

Once you have created an Advanced Search report, the results can be displayed in a chart and used to make calculations on number field values and on list fields. You can also track how the data changes over time. The same search can be used in multiple charts to show different fields.

For an Advanced Search chart, you can select either number fields which you can aggregate using minimum, maximum, average, median, sum, count, or you can select a list field that can be shown in any of the chart types.

Data Source Type: Gremlin Graph Search Report

To find more complex relations in your data, you can create Gremlin Graph Search reports. Next, the results can be displayed in a dashboard chart, where you can track the progress over time.

Gremlin supports aggregation directly in the query or you can calculate aggregated data straight from the Report Builder.

Data Source Type: Surveys

Survey charts can be used to track the progress of a survey. You can have charts showing how many of the responses are valid or invalid. The valid/invalid field indicates the survey statistics where the sections are set as mandatory. In the image below, you can see the overall validation of responses to a survey and also statistics on the responses to the survey.

Once you have saved and created a survey chart, you can also open the corresponding survey by clicking on the bottom right side of the chart.

Available charts per data source

Data source

Available charts

Advanced Search

  • Table chart

  • Number chart

  • Pie chart

  • Line chart

  • Stacked Bar

  • Bar chart

Gremlin Graph Search

  • Number chart

  • Line chart

  • Pie chart (list fields only)

  • Table chart

  • Stacked Bar

  • Bar chart

Survey

  • Pie chart

  • Line chart

Available Aggregates per Chart Type

Chart type

Available aggregates

Number chart

Line chart

The following aggregates are available per type of selected field:

Number field:

  • Min

  • Max

  • Average

  • Sum

  • Count

Other fields:

  • Count

Table chart

The following aggregates are available per type of selected field:

Number field:

  • None

  • Minimum

  • Maximum

  • Average

  • Sum

  • Count

Other fields:

  • None

  • Count

Pie chart

Stacked bar chart

Bar chart

N/A

FAQ

  • Why can’t I select one of the available chart types?

The chart type depends on the data source chosen. See the “Available charts per data source” section to see a full list of the charts you can select for Advanced Search charts, Gremlin Graph Search charts, and Survey charts.

  • How far back does the timeline go?

When you save a report or search or create a survey, we start capturing daily snapshots of the data.

  • Why don’t I see any changes in the Line chart after changing the underlying data?

The Line chart only shows results from up to yesterday. Any changes you make today will be seen in the chart tomorrow.

  • Where do the available fields in a chart come from? They are not my survey questions.

The fields available in a chart are not dependent on the survey question but on the component fields.

  • Can the Pie chart show more than 5 values?

This is currently not possible.

  • Is it possible to display reference fields in a chart?

It is currently possible to display component fields in a chart only.

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