The project Dashboard
The Dashboard is a project's synthetic control panel: it gathers on one page blocks (indicators, charts, tables) that give an immediate view of progress, workload and budget. You reach it from the Dashboard menu in the project sidebar.
The dashboard is fully modular: nothing is imposed, you assemble the blocks you need. The layout is saved automatically as you edit it.
The action bar
| Action | Effect |
|---|---|
| Add block | Opens the 3-step creation wizard (block type → content → configuration) |
| Open draft | Switches to draft mode: changes are no longer saved |
| Export to PDF | Generates a printable image of the whole page |
| ★ Favourites | Saves / reloads a named dashboard layout |
Adding a block
Step 1 — The block type
| Type | Use |
|---|---|
| Tag (indicator) | A single value and its unit: budget, margin, % complete… |
| Line | Evolution over time of one or several dimensions |
| Bar | Period-by-period comparison |
| Stacked Bar | Breakdown of a total (typically workload by resource) |
| Pie | Distribution over a period, with no time axis |
| Classic | Resource staffing and task tables |
Step 2 — The content
For a chart, the choice is made through two tabs:
- By dimensions — tick one or several budget dimensions; each becomes a series of the chart. This is how you build a budget comparison, by ticking for example Approved cost, Forecast costs, Planned costs and Actual costs.
- By resources — one series per resource (workload in cost or in revenue).
Available dimensions:
| Family | Dimensions |
|---|---|
| Costs | Approved cost, Forecast costs, Planned costs, Actual costs |
| Revenues | Approved revenus, Forecast revenus, Planned revenus, Actual revenus |
| Margins | Approved margin, Forecast margin, Planned margin, Actual Margin |
For a tag, choose the value to display: one of the dimensions above, a ratio (Forecast costs / Approved cost, Forecast revenus / Approved revenus), the project weather or the overall progress.
For a classic block, choose between Resource staffing and the tables: Task list, Milestone list, Tasks and milestones list, Deadline tracking, Tasks with a predecessor in another project.
Step 3 — The configuration
This screen determines over which period and in which unit the block is computed.
| Setting | Detail |
|---|---|
| Unit | € (the workspace currency) or m.d (man-days) |
| Period type | Month, Year or Variable |
| Cumulative values | Displays the series as running totals (see below) — time-based charts only |
| Month granularity | On a period in years, splits the axis month by month instead of year by year |
Depending on the period type:
- Month — From month … / to month … bounds
- Year — From year … / to year … bounds
- Variable — the period is recomputed every time the dashboard opens, relative to today's date. You define it with a time unit (Month or Year), an operator and a number of periods:
| Operator | Resulting period |
|---|---|
| Current | The current month or year |
| Previous | The N periods before today |
| Next | The N upcoming periods |
| Previous and next | The N past periods and the M upcoming ones |
A variable period saves you from reconfiguring the dashboard every year: Year / Current always shows the current financial year, Month / Previous and next 3 and 3 keeps a sliding window around the present month.
Cumulative values
The Cumulative values option turns each series into a running total: every point carries the sum of all the points before it. The curve becomes monotonically increasing — the classic S-curve of project tracking.
- Without cumulation — the consumption of each month. You read activity peaks and quiet months.
- With cumulation — the total consumed since the start of the period. You read the widening gap between budget and actuals, and the last point of each curve equals the period total.
The typical use is a Cumulative Budget block: a line chart with the four cost dimensions and the option ticked, next to a non-cumulative Comparative Budget. The first shows the trajectory, the second the pace.
The option is available on line and bar charts (simple or stacked), for month periods as well as year periods. It makes no sense on a pie chart, which has no time axis, and is therefore not offered there.
Managing blocks
Hovering a block reveals an icon bar:
| Icon | Action |
|---|---|
| ✕ | Delete the block |
| ☰ | Move the block by drag and drop |
| ✎ | Reopen the configuration screen (period, unit, cumulation) |
Each block title can be edited inline: hover it, click the pencil, type the label of your choice and confirm with the green tick. This is how you name a block Comparative Budget or Cumulative Budget.
Charts additionally offer a unit selector (€ / m.d) in the top-right corner, which recomputes the block without going back through the configuration.
The Resource staffing block has its own grouping — by Resource, Department, Team, Position, Profile or Company — and three displays: table, chart and cards.
Draft mode
As for the budget, a draft lets you work on a copy of the dashboard without saving the changes — handy to prepare a presentation or a one-off export.
- Open draft: changes are no longer persisted.
- Close draft: back to the real data.
Favourites
The ★ control saves the current layout under a name. You can keep several dashboards for the same project — a "budget tracking" one, a "steering committee" one — and switch between them.
A favourite can be shared with the other users of the workspace. A shared favourite you do not own opens in read-only mode: you can manipulate it on screen, but your changes overwrite neither the favourite nor your own dashboard.
Exporting
The "Export to PDF" button generates a printable version of the dashboard, ideal for a steering committee or a periodic report.
See also
- Portfolio dashboard — the same tool, at portfolio scale
- Budget management — the budget data displayed in the blocks
- Planning — the planning that feeds workload and progress
- Project weather — progress reporting through indicators
Build a stable dashboard for recurring tracking, and use the draft for one-off views (e.g. a budget focus for a committee) without altering the reference layout.