Real-Time Dashboard & Reports Playbook

Introduction

Most dashboards are built for presentations, not decisions. They reflect what happened last month, not what's happening now. This playbook builds dashboards that drive action.

01Defining Metrics That Matter

• Start with decisions, not data: What decisions does this dashboard support?
• Limit to 5-7 primary KPIs per dashboard — more creates noise.
• Distinguish lagging indicators (revenue) from leading indicators (pipeline velocity).
• Every metric should have an owner and an acceptable range.

02Data Architecture for Real-Time Reporting

• Step 1: Identify source systems and refresh frequency requirements.
• Step 2: Build a centralised data layer (warehouse or lakehouse) — avoid direct tool connections.
• Step 3: Define transformation logic in one place using dbt or similar.
• Step 4: Connect BI tool (Looker, Metabase, Power BI) to the clean data layer.

03Dashboard Design Principles

• One screen, one story — don't mix operational and strategic metrics.
• Use colour consistently: green = good, red = attention needed.
• Show trend context alongside current value (vs last week, vs target).
• Build for the end user — ops dashboards look different from exec dashboards.