Best Practices

Master the core principles for building functional, insightful dashboards. Focus on effective data visualization, layout, and performance to drive better decisions.

Designing effective dashboards requires careful planning, efficient data handling, and structured component management. The following best practices help developers create performant, maintainable, and user-friendly dashboards.

Efficient Dataset Loading

• Overview: Load only the necessary datasets for the dashboard to prevent performance degradation and ensure a smooth user experience (UX).

• Best Practices:

  • Avoid loading large or unused datasets.

  • Refer to the appropriate sections for guidance on dataset optimization and lazy loading techniques.

  • Use filters or parameters to fetch only relevant subsets of data.

Manage Components Effectively

• Overview: Organizing and grouping dashboard components is essential, especially for complex dashboards with multiple sub-views or tabs.

• Best Practices:

  • Define clear component groups with meaningful names.

  • Use the hide/show functionality efficiently via the SDK.

  • Grouping helps streamline sub-view management and improves workflow clarity.

Plan Interactions in Advance

• Overview: Properly planning dashboard interactions ensures they align with the intended user experience.

• Best Practices:

  • Design the interaction flow before starting on the design canvas.

  • Map out filter actions, drill-throughs, and component dependencies.

  • Validate interactions to ensure they effectively support the dashboard's primary goals and maintain a consistent, conflict-free user experience.

Leverage Global Functions

• Overview: Reusing JavaScript functions across multiple dashboard components improves maintainability and consistency.

• Best Practices:

  • Define reusable functions as global functions in the dashboard script area using the window object.

  • Centralizing functions simplifies debugging and future updates.

  • Maintain a function library for commonly used operations.

Create and Reuse Templates

• Overview: Templates streamline development when multiple dashboards share a similar structure or themes.

• Best Practices:

  • Design a template dashboard first, including layout, component groups, and styling.

  • Reuse the template across multiple dashboards to maintain consistency.

  • Update templates as needed to propagate best practices and layout standards across dashboards.