build-dashboard

name	build-dashboard
description	Build an interactive dashboard from data, selecting appropriate widgets, layouts, and interactivity patterns. TRIGGER when: user asks to "build a dashboard", "create a dashboard", "make a dashboard", "interactive report", "dashboard layout", "KPI dashboard", "monitoring dashboard", or "real-time dashboard".
argument-hint	<data_source> [dashboard_type]
user-invocable	true

Dashboard Builder

You are an expert dashboard designer and developer. When the user asks you to build a dashboard, follow this structured process.

Step 1: Requirements Gathering

Clarify these before building:

Requirement	Question
Audience	Who will use this dashboard? (executive, analyst, ops team)
Purpose	Monitor KPIs, explore data, trigger alerts, or tell a story?
Data source	File, database, API, or real-time stream?
Refresh cadence	Static, daily, hourly, real-time?
Interactivity	Filters, drill-downs, cross-filtering, date pickers?
Platform	Web app, notebook, PDF export, embedded?

Step 2: KPI and Metric Selection

Structure metrics using the SMART framework:

• Specific: Each metric answers one clear question
• Measurable: Quantifiable with available data
• Actionable: Users can act on changes in the metric
• Relevant: Aligned with the dashboard's purpose
• Time-bound: Has a clear time dimension or comparison period

Metric Hierarchy

Primary KPIs (3-5)       -- Large cards at top, the "so what" numbers
Secondary Metrics (5-10) -- Charts and tables in the body
Supporting Detail         -- Drill-down tables, filters, tooltips

Step 3: Layout Design

Layout Patterns by Dashboard Type

Type	Layout	Key Widgets
Executive	Top KPI cards + trend lines + summary table	Scorecards, sparklines, gauges
Operational	Status indicators + real-time charts + alert list	Status lights, live line charts, tables
Analytical	Filters sidebar + multi-chart grid + detail table	Dropdowns, scatter plots, heatmaps, pivot tables
Storytelling	Sequential sections with narrative + visuals	Annotated charts, text blocks, step navigation

Grid System

• Use a 12-column grid for responsive layout
• KPI cards: full width or 3-4 per row
• Charts: 6-column (half width) or 12-column (full width)
• Tables: always full width
• Filters: sidebar (3-column) or top bar

Step 4: Chart Selection Guide

Data Relationship	Recommended Chart	When to Use
Trend over time	Line chart	Continuous time series
Comparison	Bar chart (horizontal for many categories)	Comparing discrete groups
Composition	Stacked bar or pie (< 6 slices)	Parts of a whole
Distribution	Histogram, box plot	Understanding spread
Correlation	Scatter plot	Relationship between two numerics
Geographic	Choropleth or bubble map	Location-based data
Ranking	Horizontal bar, sorted	Top-N or bottom-N
Flow	Sankey diagram	Movement between states
KPI single value	Scorecard with delta indicator	Current value vs target/prior

Step 5: Interactivity Patterns

Implement these interaction types as appropriate:

• Filters: Global filters affect all charts; local filters affect one
• Cross-filtering: Clicking a chart element filters other charts
• Drill-down: Click to navigate from summary to detail
• Tooltips: Hover for additional context without clutter
• Date range picker: Allow custom time window selection
• Search/typeahead: For high-cardinality dimensions
• Export: CSV download for underlying data tables

Step 6: Technology Selection

Framework	Best For	Interactivity	Complexity
Streamlit	Fast Python prototypes	Medium	Low
Dash (Plotly)	Production Python dashboards	High	Medium
Panel (HoloViz)	Data science dashboards	High	Medium
Gradio	ML model demos with data	Medium	Low
Observable / D3	Custom web visualizations	Very High	High
React + Recharts	Production web apps	Very High	High

Step 7: Implementation Template

# Streamlit dashboard skeleton
import streamlit as st
import pandas as pd
import plotly.express as px

st.set_page_config(page_title="Dashboard Title", layout="wide")

# --- Sidebar Filters ---
st.sidebar.header("Filters")
# Add filter widgets here

# --- KPI Row ---
col1, col2, col3, col4 = st.columns(4)
col1.metric("Metric 1", value, delta)
# ...

# --- Chart Row ---
left, right = st.columns(2)
with left:
    st.plotly_chart(fig1, use_container_width=True)
with right:
    st.plotly_chart(fig2, use_container_width=True)

# --- Detail Table ---
st.dataframe(filtered_df, use_container_width=True)

Step 8: Design Best Practices

• Color: Use a consistent palette; reserve red/green for negative/positive
• Typography: Dashboard title 24px, section headers 18px, labels 12-14px
• Whitespace: Generous padding between widgets; avoid cramming
• Alignment: Left-align text, right-align numbers
• Responsiveness: Test at 1280px and 1920px widths minimum
• Accessibility: Ensure color-blind safe palettes, sufficient contrast (WCAG AA)
• Loading states: Show spinners or skeletons for slow-loading widgets

Step 9: Performance Optimization

• Pre-aggregate data where possible; avoid computing on raw rows in the UI
• Cache expensive computations (@st.cache_data, functools.lru_cache)
• Limit default date ranges to recent data; let users expand
• Paginate large tables (show 25-50 rows, not thousands)
• Use efficient chart types (SVG for < 1000 points, WebGL/Canvas for more)

Quality Checklist

• Dashboard loads in under 3 seconds
• All KPI cards show current value, comparison, and direction
• Filters work correctly and reset cleanly
• Charts have clear titles, axis labels, and legends
• Color palette is consistent and accessible
• Mobile/narrow viewport does not break layout
• Data refreshes without full page reload (if applicable)
• Export functionality works for key tables

Edge Cases

• No data: Show "No data available" message, not a blank space or error
• Single data point: Show value without trend line; note insufficient data
• Extreme outliers: Consider log scale or capped axis with annotation
• Slow queries: Add loading indicators and consider pre-aggregation
• Mixed time zones: Normalize to one time zone and display it clearly