O3 vs Power BI: When is a dashboard not just a dashboard?
A wise man once said, “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics”. He could easily have been speaking about modern construction projects, which are often found to be drowning in a maelstrom of data. Some of this information is critical to understanding project performance and success, while some of it seems to have been created for reasons that are a mystery to those being asked to consume it.
In an effort to corral this data giant, a lot of companies are using dashboards to compile information from disparate sources and present it in an easy-to-understand screen display. There has been a huge proliferation in dashboards in recent years, both in terms of companies making their own, and third-party providers offering them as a service.
Most of these dashboards have gone a long way to simplifying and standardizing complex information within an organization, and have been a significant benefit to the users. But are all dashboards the same, and how can we use them to maximum effect?
The most critical element of any dashboard is knowing what information to display. Some dashboards can be enormous, and try to cram in far too much information. The person developing the dashboard can easily get carried away with the concept of what ‘can’ be shown, rather than what ‘should’ be shown. Just because you have the information available, doesn’t mean it belongs on the dashboard.
One of the key differentiators for dashboards in O3 is the ability to drill down into the information, and see the underlying data. For example, let’s say you have a dashboard showing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for AWP or Workface Planning. All of your KPIs are green, meaning they are at or above the agreed level, except for one. That one red KPI is keeping you from a perfect scorecard, and you want to know why.
This is where intelligent dashboards with sophisticated linked data can outperform the standard business analytics tools. In this example, you can simply click on the red KPI to see what the problem is. All of the source data is displayed, allowing you quickly find the root cause of the problem.
This intuitive, user-friendly system means your dashboards can be simplified to show just the critical data, knowing you can delve deeper into any aspect that concerns you.
Some other key aspects of dashboard creation to consider:
Data isn’t helpful if it can’t drive decision-making. When considering what to display, always question what the user will do with the information. If it is something they can act on, it is useful. If it is just data for the sake of data, with no meaningful outcome, it isn’t worth including.
Control who can see them. This sounds a little Machiavellian, but it is an important consideration both in terms of limiting access and ensuring data is useful.