Criteria for Selecting a Dashboard Tool

The tool you chose depends on your needs.

Key Criteria

Below are some key criteria you should consider in your tool assessment:

• Audience. Is your audience public or private? An internal audience will have different needs than a public audience.

• Cost. Some departments have a bunch of money, while others have less. Below, we highlight some free or low-cost tools.

• Implementation. Some of the tools below need a plan to acquire and develop, while others may be easier to deploy. Your choices here are probably dependent on the scope and size of your dashboarding needs.

• Learning Curve. Some of the tools below need training and learning about the latest techniques and tools. Note that we will continue to develop classes to support more advanced use of Excel and Tableau.

Other Criteria

You may want to consider other criteria, such as:

• Connectors - does it offer ways to connect to your backend systems?

• Data freshness - can it automatically keep your visuals up to date or does it need manual updating?

• Embedding - does it allow you to embed charts into your existing websites?

• Branding - can you add your own branding to it?