Data Visualisation - lesson 1 | HackIndia Skills

Key point

One chart, one job

A good dashboard chart starts with a question, not a chart type. If the question is unclear, the chart will become decoration.

Your first job is to write one question that a teammate, judge, or recruiter can understand in 10 seconds.

What counts here

A project dashboard is not a wall of graphs. For a hackathon submission, one honest chart is enough if it answers a real project question.

Think about what your app does. A study planner may track completed tasks. A UPI expense app may track weekly spending. A hostel complaint app may track open complaints by status.

Your to-do

Shape the question

Do each one yourself, then tap it to tick it off. The ticks are only a checklist for you: they are not marked or scored.

Start with the user or team decision the chart supports.
Name the metric you will measure, like tasks completed, rupees spent, or response time.
Add the group or comparison, like by category, status, team, or week.
Set the time range, like this week, last 30 days, or current semester.
Check that the answer could change what someone does next.

0 of 5 done

Common mistake

Avoid vague questions

Vague question: How is our app doing? This is too broad. It pushes you towards random charts.

Better question: How many study tasks did users complete each day in the last 7 days? This has a metric, a time range, and a clear use.

Example

Chart brief example

Before you open React, Python, or a chart library, write a small chart brief. Keep it near your code in a file like dashboard-brief.txt.

This brief becomes your guardrail. Later lessons will use it to pick the chart, labels, colours, and code.

Project: Campus study planner
Dashboard question: How many tasks did the user complete each day in the last 7 days?
Metric: completed tasks
Group: day
Time range: last 7 days
Audience: student using the planner
Decision supported: see which days need a better study routine
Chart promise: show daily completed task counts, without hiding low or zero days

Tip

Use AI carefully

You can ask ChatGPT, Gemini, or Claude to improve your dashboard question. Do not ask it to invent your data or decide the goal for you.

Give it your project idea and ask for 5 chart questions. Keep only the one that matches a real user decision and data your app can actually collect.

Prompt:
I am building a hackathon project: [describe your app].
Suggest 5 dashboard questions for one honest chart.
Each question must include a metric, a group or comparison, and a time range.
Do not invent data I cannot collect in the app.

Your to-do

Test the question

Do each one yourself, then tap it to tick it off. The ticks are only a checklist for you: they are not marked or scored.

Ask if one chart can answer it clearly.
Remove extra ideas if it needs two charts.
Replace fuzzy words like engagement, performance, and activity with measurable terms.
Confirm you can get the data from your app, a small seed file, or a public API you already use.
Say the question aloud as if showing it to a recruiter.

0 of 5 done

Your to-do

Do this now

Do each one yourself, then tap it to tick it off. The ticks are only a checklist for you: they are not marked or scored.

Pick one project you may submit on HackIndia.
Write one dashboard question for that project.
Add the metric, group, time range, audience, and decision supported.
Save it as dashboard-brief.txt in your project folder or notes app.
Reject any question that your current app cannot answer with real or seed data.

0 of 5 done

Start with the question

One chart, one job

What counts here

Shape the question

Avoid vague questions

Chart brief example

Use AI carefully

Test the question

Do this now

Quick check