Dashboards and visual applications

A dashboard is an interface that integrates data from a variety of sources and provides a unified display of relevant contextual information. Visual applications extend the functionality of dashboards with concurrent development support and additional Flash-only objects that are not available with dashboards.

Unlike reports, which usually contain a fixed amount of information, dashboards and visual applications have the capability to deliver real-time information on demand, as needed by the user.

For example, an executive might need to see an operational summary across all business units. Real-time color coding of data (for example, red, yellow, and green) can be used to draw the executive's attention to areas of concern. Clicking on problematic areas immediately produces dynamic reports that reveal the information underlying each area of concern.

Dashboards can present both interactive and persistent data. They are typically designed to run interactively, but are not required to do so. The data that is presented in a dashboard can be obtained from querying multiple data sources across the enterprise and displaying it in a wide range of visual images, including graphs, maps, charts, and custom graphics.

You design dashboards using the visual designer in QMF for Workstation, which allows you to get started in a few simple steps:
  1. Drag a dashboard object from the graphical palette and arrange it on the dashboard canvas.
  2. Set appearance and font by using the Properties view.
  3. Add queries and graphical objects (such as date selectors and charts) to your dashboard and define relationships between these objects by graphically wiring the objects together and specifying their relationships.

All elements that can be used in visual reports can be used to create a dashboard as well. The following figure shows the dashboard design environment:

Figure 1. The dashboard design environment in QMF for Workstation
This figure depicts how a dashboard is designed in QMF for Workstation. The screen is divided into three main sections. The section on the left shows a Workspace pane on the top and a Project Explorer pane on the bottom. The Workspace pane shows the "Business Analyst" view of the data, with a folder called Dashboards open and a dashboard called Team Performance selected. The Project Explorer pane shows the Team Performance project, with a folder called Scenes open and a scene called Overview selected. The middle of the screen shows the TeamPerformance.Overview.Level1 scene and shows the visual palette on one side and the dashboard that is currently being developed on the other. The visual palette displays folders titled Primitives, Controls, Data Symbols, Layouts, Containers, Miscellaneous, Connectors, and Custom. The Layouts folder is open. Beneath the folder view are two tabs, titled Design and Runtime, which allow you to switch back and forth between the design tools and the developing dashboard. The section on the right of the screen displays a tab titled Property, which shows various visual design properties.
As you create your dashboard, QMF provides built-in ways to:
Display query results
You use layout objects or control objects such as the List and Combo controls to display query results. You can explore the different display options and decide which options best suit the kind of analysis you want to show.
Capture user input
You can capture user preferences by using standard user interface controls.
Pass information to and from the dashboard
You can use parameters to pass information that has been acquired from user actions. This information can then be used to tailor the information displayed within the dashboard.
Implement navigation features
You can use navigation features to allow users to move around the dashboard to get to new information.
Display and present information visually
You can drag and drop visual elements on the dashboard canvas and define relationships between them.
Point to data sources
As you create your dashboard, you specify the data sources that are referenced in the queries that your dashboard uses.
After you create a dashboard, it can be viewed in both QMF for Workstation and QMF for WebSphere® applications. The runtime view of a dashboard that is currently being designed is shown in the following figure:
Figure 2. Runtime view of a dashboard that is currently being designed in QMF for Workstation
This figure depicts the runtime view of the Team Performance dashboard. The screen is divided into two main sections. The section on the left shows a Workspace pane on the top and a Project Explorer pane on the bottom. The Workspace pane shows the "Business Analyst" view of the data, with a folder called Dashboards open and a dashboard called Team Performance selected. The Project Explorer pane shows the open TeamPerformance project. The right side of the screen shows the dashboard as the end user will see it. The top half of the dashboard is a mixture of graphics and charts. Moving left to right, there is a map of the United States with three colors used to shade various states. Next to the map is a key depicting different colors and sales performance data for Team A, Team B, and Team C. Next to the map key is a thermometer graphic that is titled "Service Level." The Service Level thermometer is labeled with a range from 0 to 100% and a level of 67% is depicted. To the lower right of the United States map is a bar chart labeled "Monthly Revenue: All Teams". The X-axis shows bars for July, August, and September, and the Y-axis shows revenue figures. Across the bottom of the dashboard are three dials depicting additional sales indicators.