Database Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 12-8. An infographics-style data dashboard about Baumgartner's 24-mile jump
Once you have a good handle on the type of data dashboard most appropriate to your object-
ives, it's also helpful to identify the context.
Context Is King
Data dashboards are used to communicate data in a variety of different contexts, including
analytics/decision support, reference/open data, and data journalism. Let's take a closer look
at each of these:
Analytics/decision support
Organizations create data dashboards to show performance over time and to inform ma-
nagerial decisions necessary to achieve growth objectives. Many Business Intelligence
(BI) and web analytics dashboards, as well as Key Process Indicator (KPI) Scorecards,
fall into this category.
Figure 12-9
shows traffic to my blog,
http://dataremixed.com
,
from the Google Analytics connector available in Tableau Desktop. This dashboard helps
me answer the following questions:
▪ What type of content should I focus on creating in order to drive traffic to my site?
▪ What sites refer readers to my blog, and where are the opportunities to promote?
▪ Where are my readers located in the world and how should that inform my strategy?
Data journalism
Online newspapers often publish data dashboards in order to inform readers about topics
in the news, and to allow them to “drill down” to uncover stories relevant to them. More
focus is placed on visual appeal and aesthetics, as it's possible that readers' attention
must first be captured.
Figure 12-10
shows the history of mass shootings in the United
States from 1982 through 2012.
Reference/open data
Data bloggers around the world typically convert repositories of data into data dash-
boards, not to relay the news or inform a specific decision, but rather to educate their
