GIS Projects with Infographics Using Dashboards

What are Dashboards in GIS?

A dashboard is an essential tool for visualizing and analyzing spatial and non-spatial data through an interactive interface made up of charts, tables, and visual elements. Dashboards offer a comprehensive, user-friendly way to display geographic data and other associated information. This visual representation allows users to interpret complex spatial data quickly and make informed decisions.

In simple terms, a dashboard is an analytical platform that enables professionals to visualize, monitor, and interpret spatial data effectively. These dashboards integrate with GIS software, helping users to extract deeper insights from their data. Whether for business, urban planning, or public health, dashboards are invaluable in highlighting spatial relationships, patterns, and trends.

Applications of Dashboards in GIS

Dashboards in GIS are widely utilized in various fields due to their versatility. Here are key scenarios where dashboards prove beneficial:

1. Business and Market Analysis: Dashboards enable business leaders to monitor critical key performance indicators such as revenue, profit margins, and operational costs with a spatial context. This integration allows companies to understand how different geographic regions impact performance, identify high-performing markets, and optimize their operations for location-based decision-making.

2. Marketing Campaign Performance: Marketers leverage Dashboards to gain geospatial insights into marketing campaigns. By visualizing customer data and campaign performance by location, marketing teams can identify which areas contribute most to engagement and conversions. This helps in reallocating resources to target the most effective channels and geographic markets.
   Infrastructure and Utility Monitoring: Dashboards are vital in tracking the condition and performance of infrastructure such as power grids, water distribution networks, and public transport systems. The spatial data represented in dashboards helps operators identify issues promptly and manage resources efficiently, thus ensuring smooth operations.

3. Project and Resource Management: Project managers use Dashboards to monitor project progress, visualize task distribution across different geographic areas, and track resource allocation. These dashboards facilitate a clear overview of deadlines, task statuses, and the overall workflow within a GIS environment, making project management more organized and efficient.

4. Spatial Data Analysis and Reporting: Dashboards provide robust visualization options for analyzing spatial data from various sources. They can be used to compile and present findings in reports or presentations, enhancing the clarity of spatial data analysis.

Benefits of Using Dashboards for Map-Based Data Visualization

Dashboards offer numerous advantages for visualizing data on maps, improving data analysis, and simplifying data-driven decisions. Below are some of the main benefits:

1. Enhanced Data Visualization

Dashboards in GIS platforms allow users to transform raw data into informative graphics. This makes complex geographic information easy to comprehend, enabling stakeholders to spot patterns and make quick interpretations of spatial relationships.

2. Ease of Access and Usability

A well-structured dashboard provides rapid access to a wide range of attribute data. This quick access to both spatial and non-spatial information aids in making timely, informed decisions without needing to sift through large volumes of data

3. Improved Decision-Making

With the capability to interact with real-time data, Dashboards streamline analysis processes. Users can identify key trends and patterns more efficiently, making it easier to react to changing conditions, such as market shifts, natural events, or other geographic factors.

4. Geospatial Context

Dashboards offer data visualization within a geographic context. This spatial perspective allows organizations to understand how location impacts various aspects of their operations or projects, whether in business strategy, urban development, or disaster management.

5. Trend Forecasting and Predictive Analysis

Dashboards can include predictive visual elements that help forecast trends based on spatial data. This feature allows users to prepare for future scenarios, plan more effectively, and mitigate potential risks by analyzing geographic trends over time.

How to Add Dashboards in GISCARTA

GISCARTA is a comprehensive GIS platform that offers the ability to incorporate dashboards into projects, enabling richer data visualization and spatial analysis. Here’s a step-by-step guide to setting up dashboards in GISCARTA:

Step 1: Enable the Dashboards Widget

Start by opening the side menu and navigating to the Widgets section. Make sure the Dashboards widget is toggled on. If it is not enabled, simply switch it on to activate it.

Once enabled, the widget will appear in the toolbar at the bottom of your map workspace.

Step 2: Open the Dashboard Panel

To start customizing your dashboard, click on the Dashboard widget in the toolbar. This action will open the side panel, where all customization options are available.

Access the widget settings by clicking the Settings button (represented by an icon of two sliders) located in the upper right corner of the panel.

Step 3: Customize Your GIS Dashboard Display
After clicking on the Settings button, a pop-up configuration window will appear. Here, you can set up the dashboard according to your specific project needs.

Key Customization Options:

• Dashboard Title: Choose a relevant title that accurately represents the data being visualized for easy reference and better understanding.

• Layer Selection: Choose from any GIS data layer available in your project. This flexibility allows you to tailor the dashboard's content to align with the specific data set you want to analyze.

• Data Representation Types: GISCARTA supports multiple data visualization formats, including linear charts, bar charts, pie charts, and doughnut charts. Select the most appropriate type based on the attribute data in the GIS layer and the objectives of your project.

• Layout Style: Choose between horizontal and vertical layout options to match the dashboard’s design to your project’s interface.

• X and Y Axes: Select the data fields for the X and Y axes from the attribute table of the chosen layer. This step defines how your charts will represent the data.

Additional customization options include color schemes, fill styles, border settings, and axis labels, enabling you to create visually appealing and informative dashboards.

Step 4: Configure Dashboard Display Preferences

Navigate to the Settings section to fine-tune display preferences for the dashboard:

• Positioning: Decide if the dashboard should be displayed on the bottom or side panel of the interface.

• Filtering: Choose whether to apply filter effects to the charts, allowing users to interact with filtered data for a more tailored analysis.

• Selection Impact: Set whether selections on the map will affect the data shown on the dashboard.

• Default Display in Published Mode: Select Yes to have the dashboard appear automatically when the project is opened or No to have it activated manually from the toolbar.

By configuring these settings, your dashboard can display supplemental information such as graphs and diagrams alongside your main map, significantly simplifying the data analysis process.

Conclusion

Dashboards play a crucial role in enhancing data visualization, making interactions with spatial data more intuitive and accessible. When used effectively, they can transform raw geospatial data into actionable insights, leading to better decision-making and improved outcomes across industries.

Incorporate dashboards into your projects to create dynamic, visually engaging representations of your data. Whether you're managing business operations, overseeing infrastructure projects, or conducting spatial analysis, dashboards make complex data more understandable and usable for both specialists and stakeholders.