![\"Project](\"https:\/\/zenkit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Project-Tracking-and-Business-Intelligence-Dashboards-Header.jpg\"){kind=tracking}
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This blog post was written by a Zenkit partner<\/a>. If you have an app that you think would make a great integration with Zenkit, get in touch with our partnerships team.<\/em><\/p>\n A dashboard is a business intelligence tool (BI) that allows you to connect, aggregate, and visualize your data. One of the most valuable properties of a dashboard is its ability to build indicators based on how you want to aggregate your data. You can dig deep into your data and turn it into actionable insights, whether it\u2019s for your project team or for your stakeholders.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The best dashboards use data visualization indicators that keep users engaged, informs them quickly, and provide the metrics they’re seeking.<\/span><\/p>\n Data visualization graphics and indicators offer ways to present data in picture, graphic, or infographic form. Transforming raw data into easy-to-understand graphical representations helps you see patterns in your data you wouldn\u2019t otherwise see. They help you connect the dots from one metric to the next so you can make more-informed, more accurate, and more effective business decisions.<\/span><\/p>\n Of course, data visualization isn\u2019t a new concept. It has been around since someone sketched the first pie chart in the 1800s. If you consider the maps that have helped us navigate the world, data visualization has been around for a very long time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n But with the invention of the computer and the development of its profound ability to crunch large volumes of data, data visualization has become absolutely essential to make complex data easier to grasp, its trends more accessible, and its insights more valuable. From pie charts and bar charts to gauges, graphs, and pivot tables, visuals can deliver the bottom line of the data instantaneously.<\/span><\/p>\n Here are the principles behind building the most effective dashboards:<\/span><\/p>\n There\u2019s simply no point in spending time creating a dashboard if no one uses it. It\u2019s critical to the success of your dashboard project to start with a conversation with your audience to set clear goals and define requirements:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The human brain is a wonder, but it has its limits, especially when it comes to processing data. We can only process four information chunks at the same time, according to the data visualization expert,<\/span> Stephen Few<\/span><\/a>. For that reason, too many indicators on the same dashboard will sabotage the very purpose of the dashboard\u2014to get a clear understanding of project status, for example, or to monitor productivity. Bottom line: Limit the number of indicators to 10 or fewer per dashboard to maximize your results.<\/span><\/p>\n It is sometimes very valuable to add text to your dashboards\u2014beyond the legends below the charts\u2014to make things crystal clear for your users. Text can improve everyone\u2019s understanding of your dashboard, for example:<\/span><\/p>\n Let\u2019s say you want to track your project status and team productivity in a single dashboard, you’d need to import data from a project management tool such as Zenkit and data from your<\/span> time tracking tool<\/span><\/a> to your BI tool.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n \n The dashboard categorizes your data by the department to identify overload or underutilization of resources. You can compare goals against achievements to identify if your projects and workers are on course to meet their targets and how efficiently they\u2019re getting there.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Now, let\u2019s say you want to monitor your project status and costs. Here\u2019s an example of a dashboard that lets project managers<\/a> track monetary and resource budgets.<\/span><\/p>\n Data visualization indicators offer insight into the quickly and intuitively. They help people quickly compare actual performance metrics against pre-defined goals and compare demand and capacity over the timeline of a project. Gauge indicators provide clear and concise visualization of a metric\u2019s progress to an endpoint.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Cloud-based tools have proven themselves to be easier to use in both our personal and professional lives. Dashboards are no exception to this rule.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n When your dashboards are available online, important data and insights no longer need to be pushed by the product manager<\/a> to the team or stakeholders during meetings, calls or conference calls.\u00a0 You can distribute them to whom you want, when you want. Display them on your office television screen, check them on your browser, via a link or on your mobile, via an app, or even embed them into your own application.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Online dashboards make it possible for everyone to check in on the data whenever they need to. They can prepare action plans, questions, or remarks for the following meetings. With everyone empowered and informed, project teams are more efficient.<\/span><\/p>\n When a dashboard tool is automated, it saves everyone in project management precious time. Start by setting data refreshes at the frequency that works best for you. Don\u2019t spend any more time extracting data, creating static charts for PowerPoint decks, or doing manual data management in Excel. Besides,<\/span> Excel is error prone and can cost you big time!<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n By connecting your dashboard tool directly to your data sources, you can automate data refreshes. You\u2019ll never have to care about exporting the data, the version of the data, conflicted files, or errors in formulas again.<\/span><\/p>\n Automation will also help to keep you instantly informed whenever a critical threshold has been reached. You can set customized alerts for project spending, deadlines, resource benchmarks, underuse or overuse, etc. Stay informed like never before.<\/span><\/p>\n If you don\u2019t have an account with<\/span> Zenkit<\/span> or<\/span> ClicData<\/span>, you can sign up for free trials for both applications today.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n To get started with Zenkit, you can watch a short tutorial<\/span> here<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n Create your collection and add tasks to your to-do list<\/a>, as in the example below:<\/span><\/p>\n In ClicData, create a data connection with<\/span> Zenkit<\/span><\/a> using our WebService connector. You will be able to select which data from Zenkit that you want to import to build your dashboard.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Then, set up your data refreshes using the Schedule features.<\/span><\/p>\n Repeat these steps with any other data sources you want to incorporate into your dashboards.<\/span><\/p>\n Here\u2019s a quick tutorial to get started on<\/span> ClicData<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In conclusion, the data visualization capabilities of great business intelligence dashboards give you and your team the ability to leverage the insights your data offers you. ClicData lets you combine data from multiple data sources into a seamless data warehouse, so you get the big picture like never before. <\/span>With your Zenkit data, you can deepen, enhance, and streamline your project tracking and market reporting all at the same time. You\u2019ll wonder why you didn’t get started sooner!<\/span><\/p>\n Guest author: Axelle Seifert<\/a> is a Marketing Manager at ClicData<\/a>\u00a0where her job is to make sure every team makes smarter and data-driven decisions with their fully automated Business Intelligence platform.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A dashboard is a business intelligence tool (BI) that allows you to connect, aggregate, and visualize your data. You can dig deep into your data and turn it into actionable insights, whether it\u2019s for your project team or for your stakeholders.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":90660,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"yasr_overall_rating":0,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","sub_heading":"Use data visualization to help turn your data into actionable insights","time_to_read":0,"zenkit_blog_star_rating_disabled":false,"zenkit_blog_ad_has_sticky_bottom_bar":true,"zenkit_blog_ad_sticky_bottom_bar_text":"Connect your BI dashboard with Zenkit today!","zenkit_blog_ad_sticky_bottom_bar_link_text":"Create my free account","zenkit_blog_ad_sticky_bottom_bar_link_url":"https:\/\/app.zenkit.com\/register","zenkit_blog_ad_sticky_bottom_bar_custom_class":"","zenkit_blog_ad_has_sticky_top_bar":false,"zenkit_blog_ad_sticky_top_bar_text":"","zenkit_blog_ad_sticky_top_bar_link_text":"","zenkit_blog_ad_sticky_top_bar_link_url":"","zenkit_blog_ad_has_modal_popup":false,"zenkit_blog_ad_modal_popup_image":0,"zenkit_blog_ad_modal_popup_heading":"","zenkit_blog_ad_modal_popup_subheading":"","zenkit_blog_ad_modal_popup_link_text":"","zenkit_blog_ad_modal_popup_link_url":"","zenkit_blog_ad_modal_popup_close_text":"","zenkit_blog_ad_has_slidein":false,"zenkit_blog_ad_slidein_heading":"","zenkit_blog_ad_slidein_link_text":"","zenkit_blog_ad_slidein_link_url":"","zenkit_blog_ad_has_google_banner":false,"zenkit_blog_ad_google_banner_heading":"","zenkit_blog_ad_google_banner_subheading":"","zenkit_blog_ad_google_banner_button_text":"","zenkit_blog_ad_google_banner_button_link":"","zenkit_blog_ad_deactivate_global_ad":false,"super_override_sticky_bottom":false,"toc__deactivate":false,"toc__show_carets":false,"toc__expand_all":false,"zenkit_blog_override_update":"","de_activate_sitebar_cta_on_this_post":false,"zenkit_blog_sidebar_cta":"","super_override_sidebar_cta":false,"de_activate_end_cta_on_this_post":false,"zenkit_end_cta_type":"","zenkit_blog_exit_cta_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16661,16663],"tags":[93,65,149],"class_list":["post-161072","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-how-to","category-project-management","tag-data","tag-productivity","tag-visualization"],"yoast_head":"\n
\nWhy Dashboards?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\nPictures Tell the Story Best<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\nBest Practices to Get Started with Dashboards<\/strong><\/h2>\n
1. Know your audience<\/h4>\n
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2. Don\u2019t overdo the KPIs<\/h4>\n
3. Explain the indicators<\/h4>\n
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\nProject Management and Productivity Tracking<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\nProject Resources and Costs Tracking<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/zenkit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/project-status-dashboard.jpg\")
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\nCollaborate Better with Online Dashboards<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Accessible by anyone you choose, anytime<\/h4>\n
Real-time data reporting and faster decision-making<\/h4>\n
\nGetting Started with Zenkit and ClicData<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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