Dashboard & BI Glossary

Plain-English definitions of the Power BI, Tableau, and dashboard design terms you'll run into, each with an example of where it fits in a real layout.

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Bullet Chart Visuals A bullet chart is a compact bar that shows one measure against a target marker, on top of shaded bands for poor, fair and good. It's a space-saving alternative to a gauge.

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Combo Chart Visuals A combo chart combines columns and a line in one visual, usually on two y-axes, to compare a volume (like revenue) with a rate (like margin) over the same time period.

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Executive Dashboard Dashboard design An executive dashboard is a one-page summary of the handful of metrics leadership uses to run the business, each shown against a target, so a leader can see in seconds what needs attention.

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Funnel Chart Visuals A funnel chart shows how many people or items make it through each stage of a process, such as visit → sign-up → purchase, with each stage narrower than the last.

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Gauge Chart Visuals A gauge chart shows a single value on a semicircular scale from a minimum to a maximum, usually with a marker for the target, like a speedometer.

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Matrix Visual Visuals A matrix is a table that groups rows and columns by categories, such as region by quarter, with subtotals and expandable levels. It's the BI version of a pivot table.

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Operational vs. Analytical Dashboard Dashboard design An operational dashboard shows what's happening right now so people can act during the day. An analytical dashboard looks back over time, with filters, to explain why something happened.

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Report vs. Dashboard (Power BI) Power BI In Power BI, a report is a multi-page, interactive view of one semantic model. A dashboard is a single page of tiles pinned from one or more reports in the Power BI service.

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Waterfall Chart Visuals A waterfall chart shows how a starting value becomes an ending value through a series of positive and negative changes, with each change drawn as a floating bar.