Using storyboards

Storyboards are visual aids to a design and a design process. Acting as a graphical organizer, storyboards help all members of your team pre-visualize the dashboard that you intend to design.

The information in this section is intended as a general guideline to using storyboards.

Proper use of storyboards during the planning phase facilitates the design process by clearly illustrating how the dashboard will look and function.

Storyboards help take the guesswork out of the actual design phase and can minimize potential development missteps and help you deploy the dashboard more efficiently. Additionally, a well designed dashboard has a higher likelihood for reuse in other areas of the enterprise.

You use a storyboard to design the basic features, functionality and presentation flow of the scenes and objects to be included in your visual dashboard.

A storyboard for a visual dashboard should specify the following:

• Data for each scene
• Scenes, drawn roughly
• Layouts for each scene
• Sequence of presentation
• Points where users can access further information
• Actions that result from user events
• Jumps between scenes

There are many types of tools, with varying level of complexity, that you can use to create storyboards. You can use a pencil and paper to sketch the design and flow. You can use a presentation tool, such as Microsoft PowerPoint, to create sample layouts, with supporting detail on notes pages. You can also put together Web pages to show actual jumps and navigation flow.

Use the following list of general topics as a guide to elements you should include in your storyboard / design:

Displaying query results data

You use layout objects or the List Box and Combo Box controls to display query results data. Explore the different display options and decide which ones best suit the kind of analysis you want to show.

Capturing user input

You can capture user preferences with standard user interface controls. Look at the Controls palette on the Palette view to explore your options.

Passing information

Using parameters, you can pass information acquired from user actions to affect the display of a dashboard, the contents of a scene, or the execution of a query.

Navigating around dashboards

You can use navigation features to allow users to move around dashboards to get to new information.

Locating your data

Your storyboard should specify the database and include a list of the tables that you plan to use. Writing this list will help you organize your work. You can then spend a session creating all the queries you need prior to creating your first scene. Alternatively, you might work with others who extract the data that you need from the database tables and consolidate it in summary tables.