Dashboard and Story Design
Layout, containers, and interactivity
This domain tests practical dashboard craft: layout containers, fixed vs. automatic sizing, device layouts, and how worksheets are placed. Understand dashboard actions (filter, highlight, URL, parameter, go-to-sheet), parameters, and sets as interactive controls. Know stories as sequences of points that capture a sheet or dashboard plus a caption, used to walk an audience through a narrative.
Design principles
Good dashboards follow visual hierarchy: most important metric top-left, consistent color meaning, minimal clutter, appropriate use of filters and legends. Know the difference between a filter action (changes what is shown) and a highlight action (emphasizes without removing). Understand how floating objects differ from tiled ones and how containers affect responsiveness across screen sizes.
Traps to watch
- Assuming a filter action and a parameter do the same thing - parameters are user inputs, not filters, unless wired to one.
- Forgetting that device-specific layouts must be previewed separately.
- Building a story where each point should show a different filtered state but the filter is global.
- Overloading a dashboard so performance suffers (too many sheets, live queries).
Rule of thumb
Design for the decision, not the data: one primary question per dashboard, one accent color for the key metric, and actions that let the viewer drill without leaving the page. Test at the target device size before publishing.