Standard vs Configurable Dashboards

Standard vs. Configurable Dashboards: What’s the difference?

MainEvent offers two options when it comes to dashboard options, and within those two options, myriad layouts and configurations. So, let’s get into the nitty gritty a bit and see what dashboard option is the right one for you and your program. The answer may even end up being both, we’re not here to hedge you in.

Standard vs. Configurable Dashboard

Before we go any farther, it’s probably best to get some quick differentials out of the way. The Standard Dashboard is what you’ll see when you log in to a client site for the first time. By default it will have a map, calendar and media widget but it can be expanded on as needed. The standard dash allows you to create the following widgets: Bar Chart, Needs Recap (Event List), Asset Activities List, Display Text, Line Chart, Stacked Bar Chart, Pie Chart, Stat Billboard, Map, Agenda (Calendar List), Calendar, Media, and Asset Calendar.

The Standard Dashboard can be filtered by: Program, Market, Event Type, Recap Definition, and Period.

**It’s important to note, there’s only one Standard Dashboard available per client site.**

Example of what you can achieve with the Standard Dashboard:

The Configurable Dashboard gives you greater flexibility, but like Uncle Ben foretold with great flexibility comes greater design freedom, which can be a bonus for some or a hindrance for others. This dashboard starts as a blank canvas by default, built from the ground up. The Configurable Dashboard allows you to add the following widgets: Needs Recap (Event List), Asset Calendar. Stats Table, Pie Chart + (Pie Chart and Custom Pie Chart), Custom Table, Reports Table, Media, Asset Activities List, Bar Chart + (Bar Chart, Custom Bar Chart, Stacked Bar Chart), Calendar, Custom Stat, Map, Line Chart, Word Cloud, Display Text, Stat Billboard, and Agenda (Calendar List).

The Configurable Dashboard can be filtered at the widget level (we’re not going to get into that here) and also at the page level. On the page level, you can filter by: Venue Markets, Event Types, Event Categories, Recap Definitions, Programs, Date Range (Full), Date Range (Month and Year), Venue States, Integration Custom Fields, Scheduling Custom Fields, Recap Custom Fields, Venue Custom Fields, Assets, Asset Activity Types, Staff, Products, and Event Statuses.

Some examples of the Configurable Dashboard:

Example 1: Survey Results

Example 2: Sales Integrations

Example 3: Brand Sampling

Differences in Building

The differences between the two dashboards don’t stop with the widget and page filter options. The way you build out the dash is going to be a little different too. For building purposes, the dashboards are more like cousins than twins.

For the Standard Dashboard, the system is going to make most of the decisions for you. You pick the name, the type (if applicable), the event statuses (if applicable), the fields (if applicable) and the builder will do the rest. As outlined above, you can then drag and drop or resize the widget as needed, but the hard work is done for you.

For the Configurable Dashboard, more of the design and display options are left up to you. You decide if you want the widget name to display, if you want the border to display, what the background color will be, what font size and alignment will be, what fields you want (if applicable), what reports table they pull from (if applicable), what filters you want applied to the individual widget (or even cell if you’re using a table widget). The options are endless (or at least numerous enough that we won’t be outlining every one of them here)!

When making the decision about what type of dashboard to run with, it’s important to really ask yourself the hard questions and decide how much data you need to display, and also whether the increased flexibility that comes with the configurable dashboard is helpful or a hindrance.

So, if simplicity and ease of design is what you’re looking for, your answer is the Standard Dashboard. If you have very specific needs for data and filtering, you’ll be looking for the Configurable Dashboard.