Documentation standards in Power BI - Dashboard Guide

Dashboard Mode - Documentation standards

Dashboard Goal

This dashboard demonstrates best practices for documenting Power BI reports clearly and effectively. It helps users understand the data sources, calculations, and visuals used.

Sample Data

OrderID	Product	Category	Sales	Quantity	OrderDate
1001	Notebook	Stationery	120	4	2024-01-15
1002	Pen	Stationery	45	10	2024-01-16
1003	Chair	Furniture	300	2	2024-01-17
1004	Desk	Furniture	450	1	2024-01-18
1005	Marker	Stationery	60	5	2024-01-19

Dashboard Components

• KPI Card: Total Sales
  Formula: Total Sales = SUM(Sales[Sales])
  Shows total sales amount: 975
• KPI Card: Total Quantity Sold
  Formula: Total Quantity = SUM(Sales[Quantity])
  Shows total quantity sold: 22
• Bar Chart: Sales by Category
  Shows sales split between Stationery (225) and Furniture (750)
• Table: Detailed Sales Data
  Shows all rows from sample data with columns OrderID, Product, Category, Sales, Quantity, OrderDate
• Documentation Text Box
  Explains data source, calculation logic, and visual purpose for user clarity

Dashboard Layout

+---------------------+---------------------+
|  KPI: Total Sales   | KPI: Total Quantity |
|       (975)         |        (22)         |
+---------------------+---------------------+
|      Bar Chart: Sales by Category          |
|          Stationery: 225                    |
|          Furniture: 750                     |
+--------------------------------------------+
| Documentation Text Box                      |
| Explains data source and calculations      |
+--------------------------------------------+
| Detailed Sales Data Table                   |
| Shows all sample rows                       |
+--------------------------------------------+
    

Interactivity

Adding a slicer for Category filters the bar chart, KPI cards, and detailed table simultaneously. Selecting "Furniture" updates total sales to 750, total quantity to 3, and shows only furniture rows in the table.

Self Check

If you add a filter for Category = Stationery, which components update and what are their new values?

• KPI Cards update: Total Sales = 225, Total Quantity = 19
• Bar Chart updates to show only Stationery sales
• Detailed Table shows only Stationery rows
• Documentation Text remains unchanged

Key Result

A Power BI dashboard demonstrating clear documentation standards with KPIs, bar chart, detailed table, and explanatory text.