Dashboard Creation System Using Intermediate Tables for Role Segmentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
The creation of dashboards is a complex process requiring expertise in database administration, business analysis, and graphic design, limiting participation to technical users and excluding non-technical stakeholders, such as business executives.
Innovation Solution
A multi-stage workflow dashboard creation system that separates tasks by user expertise, allowing technical users to handle database interactions and non-technical users to focus on KPI definition and visualization, using intermediate tables and SQL queries to abstract data access and enable collaboration across different user roles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a single integrated dashboard creation process is used, then the dashboard can be created with all required expertise (database administration, business analysis, graphic design), but the process becomes overly complex and limits participation to only technical users
Solution Approach 1:
The dashboard creation process is divided into three distinct sequential stages: (1) Database Administration Stage for creating data sources and intermediate tables, (2) Business Analysis Stage for defining KPIs and selecting metrics, and (3) Graphic Design Stage for creating visualizations and layouts. Each stage is handled by users with specific expertise, reducing overall process complexity while maintaining quality.
Solution Approach 2:
An intermediate table is introduced as a mediator between the database administration stage and the business analysis stage. This intermediate table stores processed data in a format that is easy for business analysts to query and analyze, without requiring them to understand the complex database structure or SQL queries needed to access the raw data.
2Reliability
If technical expertise is required for all dashboard creation tasks, then data access and processing can be performed correctly, but non-technical stakeholders such as business executives are excluded from participation
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments user roles and responsibilities into three distinct types: technical users (database administrators) who handle data access and processing, business users (analysts) who define KPIs and interpret data meaning, and design users (graphic designers) who create visual presentations. This segmentation allows each user type to contribute within their area of expertise without requiring knowledge of other domains.
Solution Approach 2:
The intermediate table serves as an intermediary layer that shields business users from technical database complexity. Business users can query and analyze data using simple, intuitive operations on the intermediate table without needing to write SQL queries or understand database schema, thereby maintaining data processing accuracy while improving accessibility.
3Reliability
If database administrators directly provide data to business executives, then data accuracy is maintained, but the process requires technical users to handle tasks outside their expertise and increases overall complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The data delivery process is segmented into multiple specialized stages rather than a direct handoff. Database administrators create and maintain intermediate tables with properly structured and cleaned data, then business analysts query these intermediate tables to define KPIs and perform analysis, and finally graphic designers transform the analytical results into visual dashboards. This segmentation allows each user role to focus on their specialized tasks while maintaining data accuracy throughout the process.
Solution Approach 2:
The intermediate table acts as a versatile intermediary structure that can serve multiple purposes and user types. It can be queried by business analysts for various analytical needs, updated by database administrators when source data changes, and used to generate multiple different KPIs and visualizations. This intermediary structure increases system adaptability and versatility.
Data Source
AI summary
An aspect of the technology described relates to a dashboard creation system for generating dashboards displaying key performance indicator (KPI) information. The dashboard creation system includes: a business database comprising a plurality of business values; an intermediate table comprising intermediate data; and at least one KPI record. In some implementations, the intermediate data includes: an intermediate value corresponding to a selected plurality of the business values; and an intermediate link identifying the corresponding selected plurality of business values. Also, the KPI record may include: a KPI value corresponding to the intermediate value; a KPI link corresponding to the intermediate link and identifying the corresponding selected plurality of the business values; and a KPI format corresponding to a desired graphical format for depicting the KPI value. A processor may be provided to render the KPI value in the KPI format.