00:00:00 Introduction

I am very excited to share this new feature that we have been working on for some time. It is part of our work on making ActivityInfo a better and more complete tool for data visualization, as well as data collection and management. We are going to start with a quick introduction to the role we see dashboards playing. Then, I will jump into the feature and give you a full tour of how you can use it, where to find it, and all the different things you can do with it. Finally, I am going to share our roadmap, including plans for dashboards and data analysis in general in the coming months.

00:00:54 Dashboards vs. notebooks

When we say dashboards, we mean the Dashboard layout. Reports in ActivityInfo are a combination of many different analyses or components. With the Notebook feature, you can arrange tables, charts, and maps together in a horizontal flow. Notebooks are great for deep dives into data, sharing lessons learned, and presenting a data narrative. They allow you to show the details of how your program is operating, the impacts you have had, and provide the data that backs up that narrative.

In contrast, the Dashboard layout displays everything in one view on a grid. It is more compact than Notebooks. It is a tool for management and for generating action. It is necessarily less detailed than a Notebook. In principle, a dashboard should be simple, clear, and should provide your audience with the action that needs to be taken and the next steps.

00:02:32 The car dashboard analogy

The word dashboard comes from the dashboard you have in your car. Everything on there is meant to provide you with feedback so that you can take the right action. You have a speedometer to show if you are going the speed limit or need to brake. It gives you a very clear indication of what you need to do next. Icons and dials tell you if the car is operating properly or if you need to take action, like if the check engine light is on.

That is the same idea with a dashboard in ActivityInfo. A good dashboard provides a project manager with a quick read on the situation: Are we on track? Are there fires to put out? It should be simple, to the point, and action-oriented.

00:04:05 Creating a dashboard: Damage assessment example

Let's look at how we can build dashboards in ActivityInfo. I have created a couple of databases from our templates. We will start with a damage assessment database. This uses a collection link to capture information on damage assessments after a natural disaster, allowing anyone with the link to report on problems, impact, and descriptions.

We can start a new dashboard from the "Analyze" menu in the form view by clicking on "Add dashboard." On the left-hand side, you have a list of analysis components you can add, just like in Notebooks, but here you lay them out on a grid. We can start with a header block, for example, "Flood response dashboard," and add a logo.

00:06:21 Adding components

You can add a map or a pivot table. By pivot table, we mean anything that is a summary, which could be a chart or a graph. Let's start with a map plotting the count of reports to show where the biggest centers are. This helps disaster responders decide where to intervene. Once you add it, it appears on the grid. You can give it a title, move it by dragging, and resize it.

If you need to change how it looks, you can click "Edit" to go back to the analysis settings. For example, if I want to know where the hospitals are, I can add a calculated field to filter for hospitals and plot them with a specific icon.

As a monitoring tool, we might also want to show how we are doing on reviewing the reports. I can add a table or chart tracking the review status. I will change this to a pie chart showing the percentage of incident reports that are reviewed. This is an important indicator for managers; if only 3% are reviewed, we might need more resources. Finally, I can add a table looking at the priority or severity of incidents to fill the rest of the space.

00:12:22 Saving and sharing dashboards

You can save reports in two different places. If you save a dashboard in "My Reports," it is your personal report for your own analysis. If you want to share it with your team, we recommend putting it as part of the database. That way, it is together with the data you are collecting, and you can share it with your team just as you would share a form.

One benefit of sharing reports in the database is that you can share the results of the dashboard without necessarily sharing the underlying data. You might want to share just the statistics with some people without giving them access to the personal data in the individual reports.

00:13:51 Multiple pages

We also have a multiple pages feature, similar to Power BI. You can give each page a name, such as "Overview," and create special pages for specific roles. For example, I can create a page specifically for the "Health response." I can duplicate the map from the first page, move it to the new page, and filter it to show only hospitals. I can then add a table showing the number of reports by urgency specifically for those hospitals.

When you save this, you can navigate from one page to the other. If you want to give different permissions to different elements, you should create a separate report. In the database settings, you can customize who has access to which dashboard, but you cannot do that on a page level.

00:17:57 Demo 2: Security incidents

Let's look at a second use case: tracking security incidents. I brought in some data from HDX (OCHA) regarding incidents affecting humanitarian workers in Afghanistan. This dataset has both geographic and time dimensions. We can build a dashboard to publish for the general public as an advocacy tool.

I will add a header and then a line chart to show the evolution of incidents over time. I can drag the months into the rows and count the number of incidents. This shows the trends, such as an uptick in incidents.

00:20:29 Using calculated fields for mapping

We might want to know where specific types of incidents are taking place. I can create a calculated field to count only specific incidents, such as "Violence against humanitarian personnel." The formula uses the IF function: if the type of incident matches the specific string, count it as 1, otherwise 0. I can then plot this on the map with a red icon to show where these specific violent incidents occurred.

00:25:00 Publishing to the public

Since this dashboard is meant for advocacy and awareness, I might want to share it with a broader audience. I can save this report and then publish it. Publishing gives me a link that allows me to share the dashboard widely. People do not have to log in, and they will only be able to see the summaries and statistics I have included, not the underlying detailed incident data.

00:26:25 Q&A: Calculated fields and map filtering

Question: Can I insert a filtered map if I need to produce a map but do not want to include all records? Answer: Yes, a calculated field is the best way to do that. You can use the IF function to specify a condition (like a specific type of incident or a specific month) and count only those records. I will paste the formula example into the chat.

00:28:35 Q&A: Icon sizing and data access

Question: Why can the icon size not be proportional to the value? Answer: That is a good idea. We could add an option to scale the icon proportional to the value. I have noted that suggestion.

Question: Does the dashboard extract data just from what we report, or all data available on ActivityInfo? Answer: That depends on your permissions. If you are invited to a database and only given permission to see data you reported, you can only analyze that data. However, you can ask the database owner for broader access. If the database owner creates a dashboard with data from everyone and shares it with you, you might be able to see those aggregated results.

00:31:52 Q&A: Exporting and free trials

Question: Is it possible to export dashboards and reports? Answer: You can export Notebooks. For dashboards, you can share them via a link, but we do not have a full export function yet because they are interactive (e.g., collapsible legends). You can export individual components (like a table) to PDF or CSV, but not the whole dashboard yet.

Question: Is there a free version of ActivityInfo? Answer: ActivityInfo is a paid tool, but there is a free 30-day trial available for you to experiment and learn.

00:33:41 Roadmap

Here are some things on our roadmap:

00:36:35 Q&A: Privacy, Excel imports, and visualizations

Question: If I create a dashboard in a shared database, can the owner see it? Answer: If you save it to "My Reports," only you can see it. It is your personal workspace. If you save it to the database, permissions apply.

Question: Can you import data from Excel into a Dashboard? Answer: You can import data from Excel into ActivityInfo first. You create a form structure that matches your Excel columns, import the data, and then use all of ActivityInfo's analysis features, including dashboards, on that imported data.

Question: How far are you with data labels on graph bars? Answer: It is on the list and coming, but we prioritized the Dashboard layout first.

Question: Are the OCHA humanitarian icons available? Answer: Yes, the OCHA icon library is built into the system. You currently need to search for them in English (e.g., "health," "water"), even if you are using the interface in another language.

00:41:48 Q&A: Database security and pricing

Question: Who has access to the database we create? Answer: Only you, the database owner, have access unless you invite others. ActivityInfo staff do not access your data unless you request support. You have full control over who you invite and what roles/permissions they have. For high-security needs, we offer a self-managed version you can install on your own servers.

Question: regarding the free trial, are there features restricted? Answer: The 30-day trial gives you access to all features. ActivityInfo is a paid product to ensure sustainability and support our team, but if you need more time or have budget constraints, please contact us.

00:46:25 Q&A: Icon colors

Question: Can you change icon colors or use specific branding colors? Answer: Currently, we use a set of color scales that work well together. We are looking into allowing custom themes so organizations can use their standard brand colors in the future.

00:47:46 Q&A: Web links and permissions

Question: Can we add a clickable web link as a field or in a dashboard? Answer: Currently, text fields require copy-pasting. Making them clickable is on our list. For dashboards, adding navigation links to external sites (like SharePoint) is part of the design we are working on.

Question: Who has permission to create and share dashboards? Answer: Anyone with "View" access to data can create a report for themselves in "My Reports." To save a report to the database, you need specific permissions (like "Add/Edit Reports") granted by the database owner. To publish a report publicly, you need the "Publish Reports" permission, which signifies the data owner trusts you to share that data publicly.

00:57:40 Conclusion

Thank you very much for your questions and for joining us today. A recording will be shared with everyone. We look forward to working with you on more data analysis in ActivityInfo in the months to come.