What is a dashboard and why do I want one?

Transcription

1 What is a dashbard and why d I want ne? QIQ Slutins Pty Ltd Suite G11, Bay 9, Lcmtive Wrkshp Australian Technlgy Park, Crnwallis Street Eveleigh NSW 1430 Australia Phne: Fax: inf@qiqslutins.cm Web:

2 Why reading this guide will imprve yur business! D yu really knw the state f yur business? D yu wish yu had reprts that culd answer specific questins? Questins like are we in truble r ding kay? In the maze f Business Intelligence prducts n the market tday, it s hard t srt thrugh the intelligent slutins frm the unintelligent nes. The majrity f businesses tday still make decisins based n paperwrk that is generally stale and utdated by the time it reaches its destinatin. Wuldn t yu rather have the infrmatin yu need delivered daily and rganized in a quick, easy and cst effective way? If s, yu need a dashbard! Dashbards will bst yur business perfrmance while making sense f yur data. Fast, visual and intuitive infrmatin can be right at yur fingertips. What is a dashbard? Screcards, KPIs, EIS applicatins, digital dashbards Sund familiar? These are all varius interpretatins f a visual infrmatin package that is cmmnly called a dashbard. The term dashbard has been cined t draw the analgy t the dashbard in yur car. Dashbards are similar and familiar n matter what car yu drive. Every dashbard will cntain a speedmeter, tachmeter, fuel, il and temperature gauges. Each ne f these is easy t find, read and cmprehend. A car dashbard gives up t the minute and accurate infrmatin n the status f yur car. Hw wuld yu knw hw much gas yu had left withut the fuel gauge? Hw wuld yu knw hw fast yu were ging withut the speedmeter? It s abslutely impssible t drive a car safely withut a dashbard! The same can be said fr yur business. Everything yu need t knw t drive yur business shuld be in yur business dashbard. Dashbards are valuable because they turn all yur business data int smething that s easy t cmprehend. Yu can then view this data in understandable frmats such as tables, charts and ther gauges. Cpyright 2002 QIQ Slutins Pty Ltd. All rights reserved. ESWP

3 Why d yu need a dashbard? Simple. Yu wuldn t drive a car withut a dashbard s why wuld yu drive a business withut ne? D yu get adequate infrmatin? D yu get it n time? A dashbard answers questins like. What is my revenue mnth t date? Is ur pipeline better r wrse than this time last year? What are ur tp 5 prducts? Are the receivables being paid n time? Are ur shipping times slipping? A gd dashbard shuld answer key questins like these, be easy t use and at the same time help yu accmplish yur jb. A dashbard can bring all yur key business data tgether in a familiar and easy-t-understand interface. It can then be custmized t suit the specific requirements f yur business. Dashbards let yu fcus n business pririties by filtering ut infrmatin that isn t relevant. Yu can spend mre time making better decisins rather than wasting time trying t understand what the reprt is telling yu. Why dn t mre businesses have dashbards? Unfrtunately, the plain and simple truth is mst cannt affrd them. This is because in the past dashbard sftware has been very expensive. If yu decide t create dashbards yurself it requires a prduct expert with specialized prgramming and design skills. It can take mnths befre yu see initial results. Hand cded dashbards take time, and time means mney! Here is a typical scenari: The prgrammer cmes in, thrws up a few lines f cde user is nt happy with what has been created, mre cde, nw getting clser but user wants t change clr, change charts, bigger fnts etc Three mnths dwn the track yu get smething that is almst there but nt quite what yu wanted, then requirements change, databases change and the way yu measure the business changes. Often it s nt even the same prgrammer wh s trying t finish the jb. Stp, stp, STOP!!! Take a breath. It shuld nt be this hard! Cpyright 2002 QIQ Slutins Pty Ltd. All rights reserved. ESWP

4 Hw ES Designer can help. QIQ Slutins has taken all the difficulty ut f building high quality dashbards. ES Designer is a wizard-driven applicatin that uses feature-packed templates as starting pints, drastically reducing develpment and maintenance time. Mst f the time it is really hard t knw what yu want until yu see it. ES Designer is built with this prcess in mind. Want t change yur lk and feel? Easy! Just chse anther frame style. Want different clrs? Just change yur style sheet and everything changes. Want t make the fnts bigger? Anther simple change. In prgramming terms, these srts f changes wuld nrmally take hurs. With ES Designer, if yu can pint and click, yu can build dashbards. And best f all, these dashbards prvide % f everything yu ll want in yur dashbard right ut-f-the-bx! Yu dn t have t be a prgrammer t create dashbards. Dashbards lk simple s they shuld be easy t create right? Yes! If yu have ES Designer, that is. Dashbards can be created with ES Designer by smene wh Has n prgramming skills Understands the business infrmatin needs f their custmer Can build queries, charts and pivts the drag and drp way Can fllw instructins, pint and click Hnestly, it is as easy as that! Yu can build a pwerful dashbard in a matter f hurs withut all the bld, sweat and tears f prgramming. Is it hype? N! ES Designer dashbards are built frm extensible templates that embdy decades f prgramming expertise. This expertise is nw unleashed and made available t the nn-prgrammer thrugh ES Designer. S what des this mean if yu are a prgrammer? It means yu get a jumpstart n building custm dashbards. ES Designer drastically reduces the time yu wuld usually spend n the building prcess. And when yu shw yur user what they asked fr and they want changes, it s a snap t make them. Cpyright 2002 QIQ Slutins Pty Ltd. All rights reserved. ESWP

5 But wait! Can I custmize it? Abslutely! We let yu custmize the templates fr thse special functins yu may require. If yu are a prgrammer, this is where yur JavaScript skills can be used t best advantage. Yu can cncentrate n the value-add, rather than spend all yur time changing labels, clrs and fnts. The best thing abut this is that value-adds can be implemented as cmpnents that plug int the templates rather than as ad hc cde patches. Cmpnents equal re-use. And re-use equals prductivity, cnsistency and reliability. What s mre, ES Designer s pen cmpnent mdel lets yu develp yur value-adds just plug them in and they re ready t play. Are Yu Cnvinced? Every business needs a cmpetitive edge. Just knwing what is ging n gives yu a decided advantage. Once yu knw what s what, yu can then decide what t d abut it. A gd dashbard will give yu this edge. Reading this guide will nly imprve yur business if yu act upn what yu have just read. Why wait any lnger! Cpyright 2002 QIQ Slutins Pty Ltd. All rights reserved. ESWP