There are many events that are measured in our day to day activities. It could be in terms of, and, derivatives of Time, Volume, Mass, Temperature, etc.. These measurements are generally viewed in real time and later stored for posterity. These measurements when viewed in real time are so dynamic, and voluminous that it requires a well-balanced representation between tabulated information display and graphical representation. The choice of data representation depends on several factors such as human readability, aesthetics, creating the right perception and interpretation, cultural and regional considerations and so on. A large tabulated data or a wrong graphical representation of data may make comprehension difficult. Certain types of data suit certain graphical representations and some go by convention and tradition.
So, what is apt is what is required to be displayed. And, a choice to display one’s own data and to move / position the same at will, further enhances the usability and experience.
This applies to IT Management tools domain too and is achieved with the use of Dashboard functionality. ManageEngine IT360 Dashboard is a tabular-graphical-colored representation of data that typically meets the above requirements. The IT360 Dashboard uses some of the data representation methods given below:
- List View
- Dial Guage View
- Bar Charts
- Pi Charts
- Line Graphs
- Heat Charts
Widgets help in shuffling chunks of data [drag and drop] from one position to another thereby helping you organize data at your will. Multi-columnar positioning of widgets also helps you organize your widget data.
Given the latest IT trends, it is just not enough to have the above formats. With increasing screen size and with the top managements getting involved, you would also need a Plasma View. In addition, managing global locations being the order of the day, it makes sense to support map based views like Google Map Views.
ManageEngine IT360 supports both Plasma View and the Google Map View.
I shall discuss more on the usability and granular features of IT360 Dashboards in my next blog.
Well, if you can’t wait any longer, here’s the link to the online demo that directly lands you at the IT360 Dashboard page [after you login as admin/admin]:
K.Lakshmi Shankar
