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Dashboards and figures

Charts, tables and dashboards that respect each reader's access.

In short

A figure is a chart or a table built on one dataset, in the Builder. A dashboard gathers several views: either tiles built in Northstar on your datasets, or a dashboard from another tool, such as Tableau or Power BI, embedded in the catalogue. Every tile of a Northstar dashboard is computed with the rights of the person reading it.

Figures

The Builder creates a figure from a dataset you can access:

  • choose a chart (bar, line, area, pie or scatter) or a table;
  • drag the columns to group by, with date grouping, and the values to aggregate (sum, count, average…);
  • add filters, such as "contains", "greater than" or "after".

The AI assistant of the Builder prepares a figure from a sentence, for example "monthly revenue by region over the last year". You can then adjust it.

A figure is Private (only you can open it) or Shared with chosen users or teams. You can also start a figure from a dataset's page.

Dashboards built in Northstar

A dashboard built in Northstar is made of tiles over your governed datasets: Chart, Indicator, Table and Text.

  • Build it by asking: describe what you want to see, and the AI adds, changes or resizes tiles. You can also compose the tiles yourself.
  • Each tile is a query on a dataset. It runs live, with the rights of the person reading the dashboard. If a reader cannot access a tile's dataset, the tile shows that access is denied, and no data is sent.
  • The datasets the tiles read are linked to the dashboard automatically, so the dashboard appears in the lineage.
  • From a dataset's page, you can create a dashboard built on it.

Embedded dashboards

Register dashboard adds a dashboard from another tool to the catalogue. It is shown in a frame, from its embed URL.

  • You can link the datasets it uses, to document it and show it in the lineage.
  • Its access is managed in Northstar, per team. The data shown inside the frame follows the rules of the tool that serves it.

Folders and the catalogue

Dashboards are organised in folders. The catalogue only lists the dashboards granted to your teams. Depending on your rights, you can view, edit, export (as an image), archive or delete a dashboard, and read its AI summary.

AI summary

The AI summary describes the data a dashboard currently shows: an overview, key insights and suggested actions.

  • It is available for dashboards that provide a snapshot of the data they display.
  • It is based only on the catalogue context and that snapshot. Numbers can change when filters change.
  • Reading it requires the AI summary right on the dashboard.

FAQ

A colleague sees empty tiles on my dashboard. Why? They cannot access the datasets behind those tiles. Share the datasets with one of their teams, if they should see them.

Can I embed a Power BI report? Yes, with its embed URL. Access to the data inside follows Power BI's own rules.

Should I build a figure or a KPI? A KPI is one governed number, computed every day and reusable in the Smart Cockpit. A figure is a chart or a table for exploring. See KPIs.

See also