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Before You Build: Key Concepts To Understand Before Creating ASK BOSCO® Dashboards

ASK BOSCO® Dashboards allow business users to explore data in real time—without writing SQL or relying on technical teams for every request. However, creating effective dashboards requires understanding a few key concepts before you begin. This article outlines the essential ideas and settings business users should know to create accurate, meaningful, and trustworthy dashboards.

This article covers

  1. What is an ASK BOSCO® Dashboard?

  2. Understanding the Data

  3. How ASK BOSCO® Search Tokens Work

  4. Visualizations: The Building Blocks of Dashboards

  5. Filters and Interactivity

  6. Data Access and Sharing

  7. Best Practices Before You Start

1. What Is an ASK BOSCO® Dashboard?

An ASK BOSCO® Dashboard is an interactive collection of charts and tables that update automatically as data changes.

Unlike traditional reports:

  • Dashboards are search-driven, not manually built from static visuals

  • They support data exploration, not just passive viewing

  • Each visualization is powered by a live query against your data

  1. Interactive filters and parameters
  2. Tabs show different areas of focus
  3. Summary of headline metrics & KPIs
  4. Detailed pivot tables of key metrics and KPIs
  5. Line graphs showing the progression of different metrics and KPIs over time

Key takeaway:
An ASK BOSCO® dashboard is a dynamic tool designed for asking and answering business questions—not a static report.

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2. Understanding the Data You’re Searching

Before building a ASK BOSCO® dashboard, it’s important to understand the data source.

Data Sources

  • Data Sources are curated, business-friendly views of data

  • They often combine multiple tables and use familiar terminology

  • Business users will start with data sources

Attributes vs Measures

  • Attributes describe categories (e.g., Channel, Product, Campaign)

  • Measures are numeric values you analyze (e.g., Revenue, Units Sold)

Why This Matters

If results look incorrect, common reasons include:

  • Using the wrong data source

  • Grouping measures incorrectly

  • Data relationships affecting calculations

Tip: If you’re unsure which data source to use, choose one that is approved or commonly used by your team. Each data source has a description that will help you understand what it contains and how it can be used.

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3. How ASK BOSCO® Search Tokens Work

ASK BOSCO® search tokens are designed to understand business intent rather than technical syntax.

You don’t need:

  • Special formatting

  • A specific word order

  • Technical query language

Example Search Tokens


ASK BOSCO® automatically:

  • Applies filters based on your words

  • Groups data logically

  • Suggests relevant visualizations

Key takeaway:
Think in terms of business questions, not report configurations.

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4. Visualizations: The Building Blocks of Dashboards

A Visualization is a result of a search displayed as a chart or table.

In a Dashboard:

  • Each tile represents one saved visualization

  • The underlying search controls the data shown

  • Modifying the search updates the visual instantly

Choosing the Right Visualization

  • Use bar or column charts to compare values

  • Use line charts to show trends over time

  • Use tables when exact numbers are required

Tip: Start with a table to confirm accuracy, then switch to a visual.

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5. Filters and Interactivity

Filters make dashboards interactive and easy to use.

Dashboard Filters

  • Apply to all tiles in the dashboard (unless you opt them out)

  • Help narrow analysis (e.g., Year, Region)

Runtime Filters

  • Allow viewers to interact without editing

  • Enable self-service exploration

Why this matters:
Well-designed filters allow stakeholders to answer follow-up questions on their own.

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6. Data Access and Sharing

When you share a dashboard:

  • Users only see data they’re authorized to access

  • Security rules are applied automatically

  • No additional permission setup is required

Important:
If different users see different results on the same dashboard, it’s usually due to data access rules—not an error.

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7. Best Practices Before You Start

Before creating a dashboard, consider the following:

  • ✔ Select the correct data source

  • ✔ Understand how each metric is defined

  • ✔ Validate numbers using simple searches

  • ✔ Design for exploration, not just presentation

A strong dashboard helps users ask better questions—not just view results.

Final Thought

ASK BOSCO® empowers users to explore data independently. By understanding how search tokens, data sources, and dashboards work together, you can create reports that are accurate, interactive, and genuinely valuable. 

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What This Article Didn’t Cover

This article focused on foundational concepts and did not cover:

These topics are best explored after you’re comfortable with the basics.

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This article was prepared by Claire. If you have any questions please email team@askbosco.io 

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January 2026