PurposeWhat decision does it serve?
Analytical dashboard
Slice, filter and drill into detailed data to find out why something happened.
Example dashboard
Click a widget to see its data
Click a category bar to filter the table below it, the way an analyst drills in.
Margin investigation
Why did margin fall in Q3?
Order-line data · refreshed hourlyShare
Date:Jul to Sep 2026Compare:Q2 2026Channel:AllPromotion:AnyReset
Margin change by category (pts)
Weekly margin by promotion type
No promotionBundleClearance
Products driving the change
| Product | Category | Promotion | Discount | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aurora 55" TV | Electronics | Clearance | 32% | 8.4% |
| Nimbus earbuds | Electronics | Bundle | 25% | 19.0% |
| Vega sofa | Home | Clearance | 28% | 21.5% |
| Orbit lamp | Home | None | 5% | 38.2% |
| Linen shirt | Apparel | None | 0% | 52.3% |
| Serum kit | Beauty | Bundle | 15% | 47.9% |
The data model behind it
Sales order linesA transaction fact at order-line grain with six dimensions. Each dimension is another way to slice the question “why?”, which is exactly what an analytical dashboard needs and exactly what would overwhelm a strategic one.
- Tables read
- 5 of 7
- Joins
- 4
- Fact type
- Transaction fact (order-line grain)
- Grain
- One row per order line
- Refresh
- Hourly
Widgets
Highlighted: every table this view reads. Pick a widget to isolate its query.
Where it sits in the taxonomy
Its main question is “why?”, answered by exploring rather than by reading a fixed view. If a view answers “how are we doing?” without digging, it belongs to one of the other purposes.
- Does its audience own a decision the dashboard was built to support?Yes
- Is the main question “why did this happen?”Yes, they dig into causes
- Analytical dashboard
At a glance
- Audience
- Analysts and data-savvy managers
- Decision horizon
- Any; usually looking back
- Refresh
- Hourly to daily
- Interaction
- High: filters, drill-down, cross-highlighting
- Typical content
- Breakdowns, comparisons, detailed tables
Not to be confused with
- Strategic dashboard
- Strategic reports outcomes at a glance. Analytical exists to explain them.
- Operational dashboard
- Operational wants a reaction now. Analytical takes the time to find the cause.
How to recognise it
- Many filters, and readers are expected to use them
- Clicking one chart filters the others
- Tables go down to individual transactions
Use it for
- Root cause analysis
- New questions nobody planned a report for
Avoid it for
- Executives who need the answer in seconds
- Wall screens with nobody to click