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#+date: <2024-01-26 Fri 00:00:00>
#+title: Constructing an Interactive Audit Status Dashboard using Alteryx and Power BI
#+description: Instructions for transforming audit data into dynamic dashboards via data preparation with Alteryx and visualization using Microsoft Power BI.
#+slug: audit-dashboard
#+filetags: :audit:dashboard:powerbi:
Alteryx and Power BI are powerful tools that can help turn your old-school audit
trackers into interactive tools that provide useful insights and potential
action plans.
With these tools, we are going to build a dashboard that can effectively
communicate project status.
* Requirements
This project assumes the following:
- You have access to Alteryx Designer and Power BI Desktop.
- If you only have Power BI Desktop, you may need to perform some analysis in
Power BI instead of Alteryx.
- Your data is in a format that can be imported into Alteryx and/or Power BI.
- You have a basic understanding of data types and visualization.
* Alteryx: Data Preparation & Analysis
** Import Data
With Alteryx, importing data is easy with the use of the =Input Data= tool.
Simply drag this tool onto the canvas from the =In/Out= tab in the Ribbon to
create it as a node.
You can choose the File Format manually or simply connect to your file/database
and let Alteryx determine the format for you. For this example, we will be
importing an Excel file and changing the =Start Data Import on Line= variable to
=2=.
** Transform Data
Next, let's replace null data and remove whitespace to clean up our data. We can
do this with the =Data Cleansing= tool in the =Preparation= tab in the Ribbon.
Ensure that the following options are enabled:
- Replace Nulls
- Replace with Blanks (String Fields)
- Replace with 0 (Numeric Fields)
- Remove Unwanted Characters
- Leading and Trailing Whitespace
For our next step, we will transform the date fields from strings to datetime
format. Add a =Datetime= tool for each field you want to transform - in the
example below, I am using the tool twice for the "Started On" and "Submitted On"
fields.
Now that the dates are in the correct format, let's perform a calculation based
on those fields. Start by adding a =Filter= tool, naming a new Output Column,
and pasting the formula below into it (the two fields used in this formula must
match the output of the =Datetime= tools above):
```txt
DateTimeDiff([SubmittedOn_Out],[StartedOn_Out], "days")
```
** Export Data
Finalize the process by exporting the transformed data set to a new file, for
use in the following visualization step.
* Power BI: Data Visualization
** Import Data
To start, open the Power BI Desktop application. Upon first use, Power BI will
ask if you want to open an existing dashboard or import new data.
As we are creating our first dashboard, let's import our data. In my example
below, I'm importing data from the "Tracker" sheet of the Excel file I'm using
for this project.
During this process, I also imported the export from the Alteryx workflow above.
Therefore, we have two different files available for use in our dashboard.
** Add Visuals
To create the dashboard, you will need to follow the list instructions below and
format as needed.
Instructions to create the visuals above:
- =Text Box=: Explain the name and purpose of the dashboard. You can also add
images and logos at the top of the dashboard.
- =Donut Chart=: Overall status of the project.
- =Legend=: Status
- =Values=: Count of Status
- =Stacked Column Chart=: Task count by assignee.
- =X-axis=: Preparer
- =Y-axis=: Count of Control ID
- =Legend=: Status
- =Treemap=: Top N client submitters by average days to submit.
- =Details=: Preparer
- =Values=: Sum of Avg_{DaysToSubmit}
- =Line Chart=: Projected vs. actual hours over time.
- =Clustered Bar Chart=: Projected vs. actual hours per person.
- =Slicer & Table= - Upcoming due dates.
- =Slicer=:
- =Values=: Date Due
- =Table=:
- =Columns=: Count of Control ID, Date Due, Preparer, Status
** Format the Dashboard
You can choose a theme in the View tab of the Ribbon. You can even browse for
custom JSON files that define themes, such as ones found online or custom ones
created by your organization.
For each visual, you can click the =Format= button in the =Visualizations= side
pane and explore the options. You can custom options such as:
- Visual
- Legend
- Colors
- Data labels
- Category labels
- General
- Properties
- Title
- Effects
- Header icons
- Tooltips
- Alt text
You can always look online for inspiration when trying to decide how best to
organize and style your dashboard.
* Sharing the Results
Generally, you have a few different options for sharing your dashboards with
others:
1. Export the dashboard as a PDF in the file menu of Power BI. This will export
all tabs and visuals as they are set when the export button is pressed. You
will lose all interactivity with this option.
2. Send the full Power BI file to those you wish to share the dashboard. This
will retain all settings and interactivity. However, you will also need to
send the source files if they need to refresh the dashboard and you will need
to re-send the files if you make updates.
3. Store the dashboard in a synced location, such as a shared drive or Microsoft
Teams. Depending on how a user configures their local Windows paths, the data
source paths may not be compatible for all users with such a setup.
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