How to Customize Dashboards in Dynamics 365: Benefits, Best Practices and Steps for Customization

Customized dashboards in Dynamics 365 play a big role in how teams understand their work. They bring together all important information like sales numbers, open cases or upcoming tasks and also show it in an easy to read place. But every business is different and the default dashboard does not always show what you need. That is why customization is so helpful. By tailor dashboard to match your goals, spot trends, make better decisions and your team can focus on the right data. In this blog, we will look at the benefits of customize dashboards in Dynamics 365, step to customize dashboard and best practice in detail.

What is the Dashboard in Microsoft Dynamics 365?

In Microsoft Dynamics 365 the dashboard is a visual interactive representation of workspace where the teams can consolidate the key data which are imported and visualised from the graphs and charts, through which the KPIs need to give users which represent the sales or service agents. It acts as an understanding process of workflow, performance, stability and important business information which they have allowed for the quick action and monitoring with workload. Moreover users can create their personal dashboards and environment where they can control their needs as per requirement. They offered the components which are like sales pipelines, or open opportunities to all the verified users. It helps users to interact, visualize with different charts like Pie Charts, funnel charts and bar charts.

Benefits of Customizing Dashboards

Here we explain some benefits of customizing dashboards, which are mentioned below.

• Shows the Data You Care About Most: You can highlight the charts, lists, and reports that matter to your daily work, instead of relying on generic default views.
• Enhance Decision-Making: Increasingly clear or insightful information makes it easier to spot trends, track progress and make instant decisions.
• Increase Productivity: When your dashboard matches your role, whether you are in sales, service or any other team then you will have less searching time for information.
• Helps You Stay Focused: A customized dashboard removes unnecessary information and keeps your attention on the metrics that truly impact your goals.
• Creates a Personalized Workspace: It allows each user to design a dashboard that fits their responsibilities and preferences to make Microsoft Dynamics 365 more easy to use.

Step to Customize Dashboards in Dynamics 365

Follow these steps to build a dashboard that fits your daily work, mentioned below.

Step 1: Choose Right Dashboard

Microsoft Dynamics 365 offers two types of dashboards.

• Personal Dashboard: It is used by users for their personal use according to their needs.
• System Dashboard: It is used by the organizations and can not be modified by users or also designed to provide high level services.

Step 2: Open the Dashboard

Start by navigating to the module you work with such as sales, service or marketing. In the left-hand menu, select Dashboards.

Step 3: Choose an Existing Dashboard or Create a New

You can easily edit the dashboard that already exists and also create a new dashboard from scratch.

• If you edit, then choose a dashboard and click Edit.
• If you create, then click New and pick a layout that suits your needs.

Step 4: Select a Layout

Dynamics 365 offers different layouts such as 2-column, 3-column or mixed styles. So pick a layout that gives you enough space for the charts, lists and visuals which you want to add.

Step 5: Add Components

You can add various components like.

• Chart for show trend and performance.
• Lists for records such as leads, cases and active opportunities.
• Iframes or web resources for external content and custom applications.
• Power BI Reports for integration with advanced analytics for deeper insights.

Step 6: Arrange Layouts

Drag and drop components to place them exactly where you want. You should easily place the important items at the top section so they stand out.

Step 7: Set Filters

Some dashboards provide you with filters to narrow down the data. This helps you focus on specific time periods, teams and record types without creating multiple dashboards.

Step 8: Save and Publish

Once you complete all the steps then click Save and publish, so that your dashboard is visible or ready to use.

Step 9: Share With Your Team

If you want users to use your dashboard, then you can share it with some specific users and also add security roles or share permissions. This ensures the right user has access to the right information.

Best Practices for Custom Dashboards

Here we mention a few best practices for custom dashboard in Dynamics 365.

• Define a clear purpose for each dashboard which you create.
• Design dashboards based on user roles.
• Keep the layout simple and uncluttered according to your requirements.
• Use meaningful charts and filtered views.
• Test dashboards before sharing it to your team members.
• Review and update dashboards regularly.

Conclusion

In conclusion, we hope this blog is helpful for you to understand how to customize dashboards in Dynamics 365 efficiently. It helps users to work better by showing important data in one place. When your dashboards are designed properly then they save time, improve decision-making and make daily tasks easier for you. By keeping dashboards simple, role-based and regularly updated then organizations can get the most value from Dynamics 365.