When to use a dashboard and when to use a report

By Malik Naipal

A Dashboard is essentially a type of report that returns results based on live data. If what is required is a simple result set that shows how many cases are currently open in the database then a Dashboard would be good enough. This would also be true on a slightly more complex level, depending on how many cases are open for a current user within a specific period, as well as how many cases a user resolves within that same period. However, if the requirement is that the user viewing this data should be able to select the period each time then a Report would be required. The same would be true where the user-assigned to the cases is concerned. If the user wants to see the data for a single specific user, a Dashboard would suffice but if the requirement is to select the users assigned to the cases, a Report would be required.
The queries in the Dashboard would have the period fixed within them and would not be varied. For different periods, separate indicators or Dashboards would have to be created and each indicator would run a query for a fixed period. The same would be true for different users; each indicator would apply to a single fixed user on a Dashboard that isn’t selectable. In a Report, however, a parameter can be added that will allow the user to specify the period they want the Report to run for, as well as another parameter allowing them to select the user assigned to the cases. Once these selections are made, the data returned will be required by the person running the Report.
The above is a very basic example aimed at helping in the decision-making between when to use which option: Dashboard or Report. There are many more things to consider but all of that can be broken down into one word, “Flexibility”. The more flexible the requirement, the more it leans towards a Report, the more rigid it is and the more it leans towards a Dashboard.