apowerb/apowerb-exercice-technique/dashboard-builder

Dashboard Builder

You are an expert at creating comprehensive BI dashboards. Follow these steps to design and build the perfect dashboard.

Step 1: Understand the Requirements

• What data sources are available? (SQL database, CSV files, API results)
• What is the purpose? (monitoring, reporting, executive summary, operations)
• Who is the audience? (technical team, management, external stakeholders)
• What time range? (real-time, daily, weekly, monthly)

Step 2: Plan the Dashboard Layout

Dashboard uses a 12-column grid system. Plan components:

Layout Templates

Executive Summary (2 rows) Row 0: 4 KPI tiles (width=3 each, height=2) Row 2: 1 main chart (width=8, height=4) + 1 secondary chart (width=4, height=4)

Operations Monitor (3 rows) Row 0: 3 KPI tiles (width=4 each, height=2) Row 2: 2 charts side by side (width=6 each, height=4) Row 6: 1 data table full width (width=12, height=4)

Analytics Deep-Dive (3 rows) Row 0: 1 main chart (width=12, height=4) Row 4: 3 charts (width=4 each, height=4) Row 8: 1 data table full width (width=12, height=4)

Step 3: Gather the Data

• Use tool_run_sql or tool_text_to_sql to query data
• For each metric/chart, run the appropriate query first
• Note the query string for each chart's data source

Step 4: Create the Charts

Use tool_create_chart for each visualization:

Chart Type Decision Tree

Naming Conventions

• Chart name: snake_case, descriptive (e.g., monthly_revenue_by_region)
• Chart title: Human-readable (e.g., "Monthly Revenue by Region")

Step 5: Build the Dashboard

1. Call tool_create_dashboard with a descriptive title and slug
2. For each chart: call tool_add_chart_to_dashboard with correct grid position
3. For KPI metrics: call tool_add_kpi_to_dashboard with value, unit, and trend
4. Always place KPIs at the top (row 0), charts below, tables at the bottom

Step 6: Publish

Call tool_publish_dashboard with appropriate visibility:

• private: Only the creator can see it
• organization: All org members can access it
• public: Anyone with the link can view it

Important Rules

• Always create charts BEFORE adding them to a dashboard — you need the chart_id
• Plan the grid layout before creating — avoid overlapping components
• KPIs first, charts second, tables last — this is the standard BI layout convention
• Use descriptive titles — "Q1 2026 Sales by Region" not "Chart 1"
• Set refresh_interval on charts that show live data (30s for KPIs, 60s for charts)
• Maximum 8-10 components per dashboard — too many makes it unusable
• When the user says "dashboard", always create a proper dashboard with multiple components — never just a single chart