What does your ideal dashboard or intranet look like?
Amanda Brown, our Head of Strategy & Projects talks about different ways we use APIs and integrations to create custom dashboards or intranets so clients can pull together all the digital information their staff, decision-making teams and customers need in one place.
Some call it a dashboard, intranet, extranet or a single pane of glass
Imagine logging in to your computer and using a dashboard where all the information you need is in one place. One login could get you into all the systems you use, with important information updated live and summarised where you need it.
Some people call a dashboard an intranet, extranet, nerve centre, nerd centre or a single pane of glass. Others call it ‘a relief’, ‘remarkable’ or ‘a huge time-saver’.
Whatever you call it, a secure dashboard brings all the data sources you need together in one place so you can make better decisions.
APIs and integrations can pull information together into one place
We use APIs and integrations to build custom dashboards to fit your staff, your decision-makers and even your customers, using all the information you have available to you (plus some you might not have realised you can get).
Three examples of how dashboards make life easier in different sectors
Here are three examples of how different roles benefit from seeing data within their organisation in an integrated way.
Council dashboard allowing ratepayers to self-serve and see a range of essential information
Manager’s dashboard enabling a manager of a manufacturing company to see all key business indicators and issues, drawn from various databases and systems and displayed on a single screen
Board dashboard for company board directors to keep their eye on strategy and key indicators rather than drowning in details
Giving locals the information they need: how a council could use integration to provide customisable info, services and notifications
Major focus: relevant information for end users and fast access to important accounts, payments and submissions
Their dashboard: a landing page that directs site visitors to the priority information they need, and a customer dashboard that gets smarter as more user data is gathered to continuously improve their experience
Dashboard for anonymous users
relevant news and alerts based on browsing behaviour (if they allow cookies)
most-visited content from previous visits can be displayed first on the page
location data can deliver information relevant to where the visitor is browsing from
Dashboard for logged-in users
ability to manage their account information, pay bills, register for events and contribute their feedback on council consultations
customised site setup to show the information they most want to view
specific updates that are most relevant to their locations or interests
Benefits
customisation of the site to show information each site visitor thinks is most important to them
access to follow up on queries or submissions online
offers of new information that might also interest the site visitor, based on their location or previous searches
alerts and notifications based on the user’s current geographic location or other location data they’ve entered, e.g. their residence or business location
This mock-up of a fictional council dashboard (presented as a webpage) has customisable components that allow people to show all the information, common tasks and notifications that interest them. They can pay bills, update information and interact with council functions like library services in one place.
Keeping an eagle eye on business indicators: how the manager of a manufacturing company might use a dashboard
Major focus: oversight of key business indicators and problems so they can respond quickly
Their dashboard: a single, customisable screen that integrates and displays information from these sources:
staffing
orders: current vs predicted
freight delays
rate of throughput
team performance
maintenance issues raised/resolved
customer service queries raised/resolved
progress of major projects
Benefits
fewer meetings
no emails to sift through to get updates
display of trends with ability to drill down into detailed information
oversight over the operations to enable quick responses to problems
This mock-up of a dashboard for the manager of a manufacturing company shows all the key indicators and metrics they need on one screen. Integrations would draw data from all the company’s systems and output them as graphs or graphics so they’re quickly understood – providing context for the information and enabling fast and meaningful actions and reporting – all with one secure login.
Up-levelling board performance: how company directors and a CEO could use a strategic dashboard
Their major focus: strategy-level updates, key indicators of the health of the organisation, early notice of issues/trends, streamlined board meetings and focused actions.
Their dashboard:
board governance: ability to securely manage the constitution, minutes of past meetings, board calendar, strategic planning documents, agenda for upcoming meeting and briefing papers
online messaging feature to talk to CEO and other board members
key indicators from across the organisation, as defined by the strategic plan, board and/or CEO. These might include current vs predicted sales, accidents/incidents rate, cash flow and balance sheets, etc
media releases and stories
progress of major projects
Benefits
secure, confidential location for all board information
easy onboarding of new board members
constant oversight by the board via up-to-the-minute information about the organisation’s key indicators
each user can customise the dashboard to prioritise their areas of interest or specialisation
efficient board meeting preparation, with meeting notices, attendance and task reminders
fast online prompts for minutes and decisions to be captured on the spot, and to assign tasks to people within the system
quick and secure conversations via the online message system, rather than by emails or texts
significant time saving for CEO and staff who prepare reports and summaries for board meetings and answer questions between meetings
This mock-up for a company board director has customisable modules showing key indicators displayed in graphical formats, such as total revenue graphs, progress towards goals, project progress and a secure chat feature.