Interactive router modes in PCB Design - Real Business Scenario

Scenario Mode

👤 Your Role: You are a PCB design engineer working on a new circuit board layout.

📋 Request: Your manager wants you to analyze the efficiency and accuracy of different interactive router modes used in PCB design software to improve routing productivity.

📊 Data: You have data from recent PCB projects showing the time taken, number of errors, and number of manual adjustments for three interactive router modes: 'Walkaround', 'Push and Shove', and 'Glossing'.

🎯 Deliverable: Create a dashboard report comparing these three router modes by average routing time, error count, and manual adjustments to recommend the best mode for future projects.

Sample Data

Project ID	Router Mode	Routing Time (min)	Error Count	Manual Adjustments
101	Walkaround	45	3	10
102	Push and Shove	30	1	5
103	Glossing	25	2	7
104	Walkaround	50	4	12
105	Push and Shove	28	1	4
106	Glossing	27	3	6
107	Walkaround	48	2	11
108	Push and Shove	32	2	6
109	Glossing	26	1	5

1

Step 1: Load the sample data into your BI tool with columns: Project ID, Router Mode, Routing Time (min), Error Count, Manual Adjustments.

Import the data table as is.

Expected Result

Data table with 9 rows and 5 columns loaded.

2

Step 2: Create a measure to calculate the average routing time per router mode.

Average Routing Time = AVERAGE('Data'[Routing Time (min)]) grouped by 'Router Mode'

Expected Result

Average routing times: Walkaround=47.67, Push and Shove=30, Glossing=26

3

Step 3: Create a measure to calculate the average error count per router mode.

Average Error Count = AVERAGE('Data'[Error Count]) grouped by 'Router Mode'

Expected Result

Average error counts: Walkaround=3, Push and Shove=1.33, Glossing=2

4

Step 4: Create a measure to calculate the average manual adjustments per router mode.

Average Manual Adjustments = AVERAGE('Data'[Manual Adjustments]) grouped by 'Router Mode'

Expected Result

Average manual adjustments: Walkaround=11, Push and Shove=5, Glossing=6

5

Step 5: Build a dashboard with a bar chart showing average routing time by router mode, a bar chart for average error count, and a bar chart for average manual adjustments.

Configure three bar charts with 'Router Mode' on X-axis and respective averages on Y-axis.

Expected Result

Dashboard with three clear bar charts comparing the three router modes.

6

Step 6: Add a summary table listing router modes with their average routing time, error count, and manual adjustments side by side.

Create a table visual with columns: Router Mode, Average Routing Time, Average Error Count, Average Manual Adjustments.

Expected Result

Summary table showing all three metrics per router mode.

7

Step 7: Interpret the dashboard to identify which router mode offers the best balance of speed and accuracy.

Review the charts and table to compare values.

Expected Result

Glossing mode has the lowest average routing time (26), Push and Shove has the lowest error count (1.33) and manual adjustments (5), offering the best balance.

Final Result

Bar Chart 1: Avg Routing Time

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Bar Chart 2: Avg Error Count

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Bar Chart 3: Avg Manual Adjustments

✓Glossing mode is the fastest with an average routing time of 26 minutes.

✓Push and Shove mode has the lowest average error count (1.33) among the three modes.

✓Push and Shove mode requires fewer manual adjustments (average 5) compared to Walkaround and Glossing.

✓Walkaround mode is the slowest and has the highest error count and manual adjustments.

✓Glossing mode is faster than Walkaround but has a slightly higher error count than Push and Shove.

Bonus Challenge

Add a time trend line chart showing how routing time changes over projects for each router mode to identify learning or efficiency improvements.

Show Hint

Use Project ID as the X-axis and Routing Time as the Y-axis, with separate lines for each Router Mode.