creating-dashboards

# Creating Dashboards

## Purpose

This skill enables the creation of sophisticated dashboard interfaces that aggregate and present data through coordinated widgets including KPI cards, charts, tables, and filters. Dashboards serve as centralized command centers for data-driven decision making, combining multiple component types from other skills (data-viz, tables, design-tokens) into unified analytics experiences with real-time updates, responsive layouts, and interactive filtering.

## When to Use

Activate this skill when:
- Building business intelligence or analytics dashboards
- Creating executive reporting interfaces
- Implementing real-time monitoring systems
- Designing KPI displays with metrics and trends
- Developing customizable widget-based layouts
- Coordinating filters across multiple data displays
- Building responsive data-heavy interfaces
- Implementing drag-and-drop dashboard editors
- Creating template-based analytics systems
- Designing multi-tenant SaaS dashboards

## Core Dashboard Elements

### KPI Card Anatomy
```
┌────────────────────────────┐
│ Revenue (This Month)       │ ← Label with time period
│                            │
│  $1,245,832               │ ← Big number (primary metric)
│  ↑ 15.3% vs last month    │ ← Trend indicator with comparison
│  ▂▃▅▆▇█ (sparkline)       │ ← Mini visualization
└────────────────────────────┘
```

### Widget Container Structure
- Title bar with widget name and actions
- Loading state (skeleton or spinner)
- Error boundary with retry option
- Resize handles for adjustable layouts
- Settings menu (export, configure, refresh)

### Dashboard Layout Types

**Fixed Layout**: Designer-defined placement, consistent across users
**Customizable Grid**: User drag-and-drop, resizable widgets, saved layouts
**Template-Based**: Pre-built patterns, industry-specific starting points

### Global Dashboard Controls
- Date range picker (affects all widgets)
- Filter panel (coordinated across widgets)
- Refresh controls (m