Financial Dashboards
Focus on Dashboard User Interface -
What's the latest in financial UI today? If you think the answer is found in complex reports and spreadsheets maybe it's time to think again. Today's dashboards allow for at-a-glance financial snapshots of individual portfolios, business lines, and market positions. Dashboards allow for a level of user interactivity and customization that leave spreadsheets in the dust and can only help contribute to the bottom line.
Dashboard Benefits -
A dashboard allows vast amounts of information spread across multiple line-of-business systems to be presented in a dynamic, focused and familiar branded console that remains scalable, flexible, and fast. A successful financial dashboard solution can be determined not by how much information is available on a page but on how useful that financial data is to the consumer. Dashboards also allow for data to be controlled based on users rolls, and then disseminated in snapshots within a clean logical interface.
Spreadsheets vs Interactive Content -
Yeah, well - dashboards have been around forever - true, but spreadsheets have been in play since the 1970's, obviously successful they've continued to offer new features and add capabilities. However the usefulness of financial data often requires that individuals are able to find the right information at the right time. Information that is formatted in way that is easy to scan, understand and take action on will assists the individuals ability to make quality decisions quickly. This ability to retrieve, view, and consolidate massive amounts of data is one area that Interactive Content has beat out traditional spreadsheets.
The Dashboard Solution -
One solution to having information in silos or even a traditional portal approach is to create a dashboard system capable of aggregating data from many in-house financial systems and presenting that data in a unified branded container. This GUI approach combined with personalization and focused rich content delivery will assist in monitoring portfolios, identifying trends and navigating a companies financial landscape.
Increasing Dashboard Effectiveness
Determine Rolls - By determining who your users are you can customize your dashboard to include data, islands, and functional widgets that will facilitate their specific needs.
Dashboard Flexibility - Architecture that permits users to drag-and-drop data islands, resize and create custom combinations empowers users to customize their user interface for their optimum trade workflow.
Setting Default Views - Users don't always customize their dashboard views, by setting up specific default dashboard layouts you allow users to immediately start using the application and offer a safe default to return to.
Allowing Drill-Down - Console interfaces should allow for a broad snapshot of data while utilizing tools like tabs and DHTML that quickly encourage users to drill down into a more detailed view.
Multiple Views - Allowing users to view information in mutliple ways lets a user further customize their work environment. Some users prefer a graph or heat map while other will prefer tabular spreadsheet data.
Data Integration - Combining data from multiple trading applications into the dashboard will increase it's viability. Users should be able to handle their pre-trade, trade and post-trade functions from one dashboard.
Process Flow - Traders may have a specific order in which they handle a function. By utilizing user testing you can determine the natural flow and then customize the user interface to logically pass the user through to a successful trade.
Branding - Branding your dashboard to reflect your companies product is sometimes a tricky scenario, especially on white-labeled products. A successful dashboard strikes a balance between brand identification and reserving real estate for trade data.
Personalization - Allowing personalization of the dashboard console will increase it's usefulness to analysts and traders, the ability to add custom islands and create unique views saves time and increases transparency.
