Module 3 · From ten thousand rows to one page Lesson 9 of 15
The one-page dashboard
A dashboard is not a wall of charts. It is three or four numbers that answer the question the reader came with, and one chart that shows the trend behind them.
The concept
The deliverable is one page somebody can read in thirty seconds: the headline number at the top left, three or four supporting numbers beside it, and one chart underneath that shows the trend. Everything else — the raw data, the intermediate sums — lives on other sheets and is never printed.
Build it from the pivot outputs so nothing is retyped, and add a title with the period and an "as of" date. Label units (₹, %, count) and one sentence under each chart saying what it shows. That sentence is what gets quoted in a meeting, and it is why the page survives being shared.
Tile 1 Total spend =SUM(Table1[amount])
Tile 2 This month =SUMIFS(Table1[amount], Table1[month], "2026-01")
Tile 3 Biggest category =INDEX(cats, MATCH(MAX(totals), totals, 0))
Tile 4 vs last month =IF(this>last, "UP", "DOWN") & TEXT(pct,"0%")
Insert -> Sparkline for a 12-month trend.
One page . a title . an "as of" date . units labelled.Common mistakes
The mistake is eight charts and every column of your working. A dashboard is a decision, not an archive. If a chart does not change what anybody would do, it belongs on a supporting sheet — and Ctrl+P is the test: if it does not fit on one page, it is not the dashboard.
Worked example
Big bold totals in the top row, a bar chart for comparison, a line for time, and nothing else. Every extra chart costs the reader attention and buys nothing.
Your practice task
Build a single screen that answers "how are we doing this quarter, and where is it weak?" using one pivot, three KPI cells and two charts. Print it to one page.
Do this before moving on. Reading a solution teaches the shape of it; typing it teaches you.
Key takeaway
The deliverable is one page somebody can read in thirty seconds: the headline number at the top left, three or four supporting numbers beside it, and one chart underneath that shows the trend.
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