Dashboard: A Call to Action

[DavidGreenberg]

Dashboard: A call to action

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What is a dashboard?

The dashboard is a familiar feature in web applications from CMSes to marketing management tools.  It can become a junk drawer of information.  Really, it should provide users with action items.  It should be a high level summary of system activity with access to additional detail and the ability to take the next step.

For a web experience management platform with a bunch of parts that are always moving (ie. hosting, analytics, project management, etc), dashboards are also invaluable for bringing hidden information like publishing to the forefront to be monitored and acted on.

The information displayed should be relevant to the user’s role.  In the case of Crownpeak, it should also be related to the user’s site and the features available in their subscription.

Why is it needed?

People open software applications for a reason. They are trying to do something.

The widgets in a dashboard make doing things easier by providing access to the most important information such as

• System warnings/alerts/etc.

• Links to common actions (create/browse/manage/etc.)

• Summarized numbers for the day/week/month/etc.

• Awareness of system changes

Dashboard widgets are actionable data for users from authors to admins...In other words, the widgets provided can make or break the dashboard.

Widget Types

For web experience management, there are a variety of widgets needed to create a great dashboard experience.

Based in the information they display, these widgets include

Let’s Keep Going

These widgets are available to help content authors pick up where they left off.  For example, Recent File Activity is a widget that shows that last 10 files edited and lets users navigate to a preview to continue editing or publishing or...

Collaborate with Others

These are widgets that enable users to interact with others by assigning tasks or observing activity.  Our Activity widget let’s users see the tasks that have been created for them by their colleagues or through the workflow.  The Publishing Monitor let’s users see their publishing status at a glance and the publishing activity of their colleagues or the application with a click.

Monitor Your Configuration

There are some activities that may not be immediately obvious without looking at specific files or reports.  We have created a widget to shed light on errors that can occur during publishing and another to monitor personalization and targeting in the platform.  The WCO widget lets users monitor conversions by snippet and access WCO to make adjustments to their campaigns.

Monitor Your Site

Once content is approved and published, it is delivered for site visitors.  If there are any errors on site server, marketing managers and content authors will want to know as soon as possible.  The dashboard is a great home for a monitoring widget that integrates with Site 24x7 to provide real time updates.

Get info and support

For help with the platform and information on updates, we have provided a notification widget with information on the latest webinars and product updates.  There is also a widget with links to help resources like Connect, the community site, and the API documentation for template developers and solution architects.

Integrations and customization

Adding new features or content to your site can be as easy as linking to a site or service.  The dashboard should help you monitor these integrations as well.  We have created connectors to link to other applications and widgets to help content authors monitor the activity.  

If there is not a connector available, widgets can be customized to display a CMS asset or web page.

Dashboard Types

These widgets can be combined to create dashboards for authors, marketers, or developers. Widgets can be assembled to watch document integrations, marketing automation, SEO, or analytics.

Here are a few examples, available out of the box in Crownpeak. Check out these videos and articles on Connect or contact support@crownpeak.com if you need assistance getting these set up in your instance.

In most cases, unless an admin customizes the experience, a new user will have these three options on a Crownpeak dashboard.

Default Dashboard

• Includes:

  • Activity Widget

  • Publishing Monitor Widget

  • Recent File Activity Widget

  • 24/7 or Analytics Widget

  • Errors Widget

  • Help Widget

Analytics Dashboard

• Includes:

  • Filter Widget

  • Charts Widget

  • Demographics Widget

  • Sources (Referrals) Widget

  • Content Widget

  • Map Widget

Custom Dashboard

• Includes:

  • Default and Analytics Widgets

  • Facebook Insights Widget

  • Google Analytics Widget

  • Demandbase Widget

  • Banner Widget

  • Document Integration Widgets

  • Custom Widgets

  • Active Standards Widget

  • Marketo Widget

  • Site 24x7

  • Asset previewer widgets

What will your dashboard look like?