Dashboard Mockup

What a mockup shows

A mockup is the dashboard as it will look, minus the live data. Every box from the wireframe becomes a specific visual with a title, axis labels, colours and sample values.

The example is a Q3 sales page. It shows the decisions a stakeholder can now react to:

• Which KPIs, and against what. Revenue is shown against a $3.0M target (93%), new customers against 60. Win rate is compared with last quarter instead, which is a choice someone should confirm.
• Which chart types. Monthly revenue as columns with a $1.0M-a-month target line, regions as a ranked bar chart.
• How the numbers read. The three months ($0.88M + $0.93M + $0.99M) and the four regions ($1.20M + $0.80M + $0.50M + $0.30M) both add up to the $2.8M on the card. A mockup whose numbers don’t reconcile invites the wrong questions.

Nothing is connected to a database. That’s the point: changing a chart type or swapping a KPI takes seconds.

Where it fits in the process

1. Requirements. Who it’s for, the questions it answers, the KPIs and targets.
2. Wireframe. Grey boxes to agree the layout.
3. Mockup. Real visuals and sample numbers.
4. Sign-off. The stakeholder approves the mockup as the spec.
5. Build. Data model, measures and the real report.

Small or familiar dashboards often skip the wireframe and go straight to a mockup. See low vs. high fidelity for how polished each stage should be.

Mockup vs. wireframe vs. prototype

	Looks like	Settles
Wireframe	Grey boxes, no data	Layout
Mockup	Finished, with sample numbers	Content, chart types, look
Prototype	Finished, and clickable	How it behaves

A prototype adds interaction: filters, clicks and navigation between pages.

For BI work, a mockup is usually where the most expensive misunderstandings get caught, because it’s the first point where a stakeholder sees their numbers in a specific chart.

Best practices

• Use the real canvas size. Build on the same proportions as the target report (16:9 is the Power BI default), so the layout survives the build.
• Use the real visual types. A chart that can’t be built in the target tool, or needs a custom visual, should be flagged now, not discovered later.
• Make the sample numbers add up. Totals, subtotals and percentages should reconcile. Use plausible magnitudes for the client’s business.
• Label everything as you would in the build. Titles, units and time frames (“Revenue (Q3, $M)”) are part of what’s being approved.
• Keep one version of the truth. Number versions (v1, v2, v3) and note what changed, so sign-off refers to a specific one.

Mocking up a dashboard

A mockup is the cheapest place to find out that a stakeholder wanted a different KPI, chart or filter. Our guide to mocking up a Power BI dashboard before you build it walks through the process step by step.