Adding comments to a dynamic chart

This week I’ve been adding a new feature to one of the dashboards I’ve created for Three.  I’ve created a way for people to log events and comments for specific periods and to add them to the chart as part of the series.  I’ve also added a comments table with scrollbar so that you can view a long history of events in a small footprint.  I’ve uploaded a quick video on my Youtube channel, here, that shows it working:

Three dashboard improvements

I've been working on improving a weekly spreadsheet that I maintain and update at Three.  Currently:

• Data comes from a number of automated reports that are copied and pasted in. 
• I then need to go through a large number of sheets, refreshing pivot tables and copying down formulae.  
• Then I need to change a large number of charts data source to extend the timeframe.
• In another spreadsheet, I need to manually calculate a number of values and type them into a summary sheet.
• Finally, I need to copy and paste a large number of charts and the summary sheet into a powerpoint presentation and email it to a huge mailing list.

Time: approx 1 hour a week.


My new and improved version:

• Data comes from a number of automated reports that are copied and pasted in. 
• I select the Data Entry Menu from the Dashboard Home page and click Update button.  The macro refreshes all pivot tabels, which in turn fires code that copies down all relevant formulae.
• Done.

Time: approx 2 mins a week.

The advantage of the Dashboard is that the easy to use navigation meansthat there is no longer a need for a static powerpoint presentation.  The data is easy to find, and is also dynamic, so the charts can be altered to look at different dates etc.  The charts are also linked to a dynamically altering data set that changes each week, so there is no longer the need to reselect the data source to map the expanding timeframe.  I've added a comments system so that key events can be logged and shown on the charts as a new series, rather than adding a static text box on a slide that will need to be moved the following week.

I'll post some pictures tomorrow :)

Playing with Joomla

I've been having trouble with access to my Home page and Blog page of my website for a while.  Every now and then it wouldn't open but my other pages were okay.  The common denominator was a twitter plugin I had installed into Joomla a while ago.  I've now removed this and added another, which seems better.  Fingers crossed it won't cause any problems.  Let me know if you have trouble opening up my website :)

Keeping busy...

The "advantage" of working away is that I have plenty of time to work on other projects while I'm stuck in my hotel room.  I've just done a few hours worth of work on the Astrak dashboard.  Now it's time to relax :)

Dashboard User Guide for Three

One of the most important things to remember when creating Dashboards, especially if you don't work directly for the company, is that you need solid documentation.  I try to ensure that my User Guides are as simple as possible to follow and contain all the information that an end user may need in order to get the most out of their Dashboard.  Where possible, I will also supply a video guide that shows me moving around the Dashboard, highlighting all the features.

Currently, I am working on a User Guide for the MBR Dashboard I've created for Three.  Here's some sample pictures, more can be found on my Facebook page, here:

Google Ads is working...

I just did a quick search on "KPI Dashboard" to check how my Google ranking was - close to the top of page 1 for UK searches :) - and noticed my Google Ad at the bottom of the adverts list.  So it's definitely working, it just needs to generate some orders now ;-)

Pushing my VBA skills

While working at Three I have continued to push my (limited) VBA skills.  Today I have successfully managed to setup some code to password protect an entire spreadsheet at the push of a button and unprotect it with another.

I've also managed to get a number of charts to automatically adjust the y-axis values based on a cell value.  The reason for this is that when charting something that has a constant range between 99 and 100% you'll barely notice the differences if the scale starts at 0, as it would if using the standard Excel settings.  If you set the minimum scale value to 98% then you'll be able to see the trend in more useful detail.  However, if you get a value less than 98%, then you'll not see it on the chart.  Unless you set up some code that will change the minimum axis value to equal the minimum chart value :)

Now the trouble with this in a password protected workbook is that the charts won't update, the axis will remain fixed.  So I had to add code to the sheet with the charts to unprotect the sheet before adjusting the scale, and then protect the sheet again at the end.  It's all quite easy once you get the hang of it.  Coding is very modular; you can copy chunks from one part to another and increase the functionality of the Dashboard immeasurably.

When I get chance I'll upload some videos of it in practice and show you the magician behind the curtain.  Until then, you'll have to take my word for it :D

That's a lot of minutes spent watching my videos!

Well I've just noticed a new chart on the analytics section of my Youtube channel and noticed that my videos have been viewed for over 27,000 minutes!  That seems like quite a lot :)

Updated social media bits and pieces

An emergency at home this week meant that I was housebound for a couple of days.  I caught up with some work for Astrak and Castledene, and also had a play with some of my PMi Ltd social media bits and pieces.  You may have noticed that this blog looks a bit different for starters.  Also take a look at my Facebook business page as I've added a Blog, Youtube and Twitter feed.  It's all exciting stuff!  Click here to see it.

Follow my Youtube Channel!

If you're looking for some informative videos showing varying aspects of the dashboards that PMi Ltd offer then sign up to my Youtube channel.  18k+ views and 29 followers so far ... follow the link to join in :)

JedShieldsPMi Youtube Channel

Here's a sneak peek at one of the things I've been working on at Three.  There's a massive amount of data that needs to be monitored and assessed with regards to network capacity planning, so that your phones and mobile broadband won't grind to a halt during peak periods.  The sort of dashboards I build are perfect for helping the team assess the information easily in order to make informed decisions.

Three contract

I've just signed the paper work for a two month on-site contract with Three, the mobile phone company, where I'll be creating a number of KPI Dashboards and reporting solutions.  I'm looking forward to starting on Wednesday in Maidenhead.

Google Adwords Express campaign

Well I've finally dipped my toe and am trialling this for a month, since Google was kind enough to send me a voucher.  I think Google Adwords rather than Adwords Express will be more beneficial to me, but this is a good starter for ten. 

If anyone out there spots one of my adverts then please don't click on it as it'll cost me money! 

If you're reading this then you know how to contact me if you're after a Dashboard :)

KPI Dashboard guide

If anyone fancies some light reading, check out this brief guide to KPI Dashboards and let me know what you think :)

KPI Dashboard Guide
 

Looking for a guinea pig!

If any of you out there have a Google+ account, could you follow this link and click on "follow".  I want to see how my PMi Ltd page tracks followers and at the moment I have zero!  Thanks in advance :)

https://plus.google.com/111212521273981223934

Blog page now linked to Google+

I think I've finally managed to link my Blog to my Google+ page.  Hopefully this blog will appear on it soon.  Fingers crossed.

Take a look at my Google+ page here:

PMi Ltd Google+ Page

Google + page

I am currently setting up a Google + page for PMi Ltd.  I'm confident that this is within my capabilities :)

Dashboards for Astrak

After a successful demo, I've just picked up some work from Astrak, based in Scotland, who want 6 regional Dashboards and a master one that they all feed into.  It's a fairly large build, measuring several areas:  Sales, Stock Value, Enquiries & Marketing.  It looks like it'll keep me busy for a bit :)

http://www.astrakgroup.com/

New Visual Management Dashboard video

I've just uploaded a new video to my Youtube channel that shows a powerful new Visual Management Dashboard that I developed to monitor a number of different Products / Programs / Projects.  The dashboard incorporates a timeline, progress, Red Amber Green status and a history of relevant comments.  It's a great way of staying in control!

Click here to view on Youtube at a higher resolution:

Blood donations - please help.

Hello all,

I recently received a letter from the Welsh Blood Service stating that blood levels are running very low.  Please make every effort to help out if you can, you never know who's life you could save.

Penarth area shown in the link below, but just put your own postcode in for venues closer to home.

http://www.welsh-blood.org.uk/giving-blood/where-to-donate/locations

Interest in a Dashboard from Kenya of all places!

Well my Youtube channel is now approaching 15k hits and I get a lot of views from all over the world.  I've just had an email from someone in Kenya who's interested in one of my Dashboards.  I'm just working on a small demo using some of his data that he's sent over. 

And before anyone asks, he hasn't offered to pay me using funds from $10Billion dollars tied up in a mining facility that he needs me to access ;-)

Paternity leave officially over ...

Ahh well, back to work I guess <shuffles paperwork on desk>.

I need to work on some new demo videos, including some more basic tutorials.  Leave some comments if you want me to focus on anything in particular.  I'll make a start with some drop down list ... watch this space :)

I'm a dad ... again :)

Well I was going to post some new videos but my wife gave birth to my second son, Elliot James, yesterday ... so blogging is postponed for a bit!

Video with callouts ... first attempt

I've been meaning to create a demo video specifically for my Blackberry Playbook for a while now and have finally completed my first attempt.  I wanted something that would show some of the KPI Dashboard features, but not need a running commentary when showing it to people at networking events etc where I explain it myself.  In order to aid this I've added some callout boxes, arrow pointing and screen zooming effects.

Let me know what you think :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-WqR6VN0Hc&feature=youtu.be

Google ranking success!

Well, it looks like my SEO tweaking has worked, PMi Ltd comes in at postion 1 when searching for KPI Dashboard, UK pages.  What other keywords do people use when searching?  Add some to the comments below and I'll add it to my meta data :D

Website tweaking

I've been brave today and tried tweaking the code behind my website to sort out a couple of issues.  I've managed to increase the gap between the two halves of the page, and uploaded new pictures so that they now fill the width.  Hacking and slashing with code is the only way to learn :)

Later on today I'm going to record some new video demos and I'll try adding some callouts and zoom effects.  Wish me luck!

Castledene Brochure User Guide sneak peek

I'm currently recording the video user guides for the Castledene Brochure Dashboard.  I'll upload it to my Youtube channel, here, when I've finished, but here's a sneak peek so far:

 

Youtube Channel

I created my Youtube channel almost two years ago and I have just broken 13,000 views!  Add it to your bookmarks as I'll be uploading more videos soon:

Click here to go to my Youtube Channel

Connecting with Twitterfeed

Okay, I've just set up Twitterfeed to update my Twitter, Facebook PMi Ltd page and LinkedIn account whenever I add a new blog.  Fingers crossed it all works.  I'll find out soon enough :)

Welsh Government Provider Dashboard round 2

A consortium level view of the Welsh Government Dashboard.  The Provider areas have now become consortiums with one lead provider and a varying number of sub-providers.  I've also added an average RAG status value for the consortium based on equal weighting of all the providers in the consortium.

Another addition I've added is the scrolling horizontal bar.  The previous dashboard was for a fixed 8 quarter period which fitted onto one sheet.  This time I've extended the time frame out to the end of 2014, so the scrolling bar allows you to move back and forth along the time frame. The 2014 date can be extended easily if required.

Provider Dashboard rebuild for the Welsh Government

A quick sneak peek of the revamped Provider Dashboard Home Page.  I've gone for a cleaner approach in the rebuild, as well as modifying the mechanics to group Providers into area consortiums.  More to come later ...

Squiddo Lens

I've just uploaded my first Lens on Squidoo, it's a page I created on KPI Dashboards, what they are and how they can help you.  Go and take a look, it's free :)

KPI Dashboard Lens link


Oh, and I've also added my 5 star review from The Castledene Group to my Testimonials page on the website.  I'm really proud of it and can't wait to get more :)

Website Video Gallery

I've spent most of today upgrading my website video gallery and uploading new videos to my Youtube Channel, mainly focusing on my Castledene work.  And eating Easter eggs :)

I'll be continuing with some work for the Welsh Government this week.  They've taken ownership of the Provider Dashboards I developed for EPS last year and I've stripped them back and given them an overhaul.  I'll post some pics and vids soon.

Castledene Brochure User Guide

I've just finished the Castledene Brochure User Guide.  Take a look in the Gallery if you want to see an example of my user guides in PDF format.

I just need to record a video guide now, hopefully I'll finish it today.  I'll upload it to the Video page and my Youtube channel when I've finished.

First Blog!

I've been busy with some excellent dashboards recently and have managed to improve my skills and do things that I couldn't do before.

My latest is an intelligent "brochure" spreadsheet where you pick the month you want to report and it automatically updates the number of pages and prints out at the press of a button.  Talk about removing the pain from monthly meetings.  I used to spend hours printing out monthly management brochures when I worked for General Dynamics!