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Project 07: Dashboard with Data Visualization

Phase 2: Intermediate Complexity
Why This Project?

Dashboards are everywhere in business applications - analytics, admin panels, monitoring tools. Companies need developers who can turn data into visual insights that help people make decisions.

This project teaches data visualization, which is about making numbers easy to understand at a glance. Charts and graphs communicate trends and patterns much better than tables of numbers.

You'll learn performance optimization because dashboards often work with large datasets. Loading and rendering thousands of data points requires techniques like pagination, caching, and efficient queries.

Why This Project?

Dashboards help people understand data. Being able to take raw numbers and turn them into clear charts and graphs is a valuable skill. Many business applications need dashboards.

This project teaches you data visualization, which means presenting information in ways people can quickly understand. You'll learn about different chart types and when to use each one.

You'll also learn performance optimization because dashboards often deal with lots of data. Slow dashboards are frustrating, so you'll learn techniques to keep things fast even with thousands of records.

Overview

Develop an admin dashboard featuring charts, graphs, real-time metrics, and data export functionality. This project focuses on data visualization, performance optimization with large datasets, and creating intuitive interfaces for data analysis.

You'll learn how to present complex data in understandable ways and build responsive dashboards that handle thousands of data points efficiently.

Learning Objectives

Create interactive data visualizations with charting libraries

Optimize React components for rendering large datasets

Implement data aggregation and statistical calculations

Build responsive grid layouts for dashboard widgets

Export data to CSV and PDF formats

Handle real-time data updates

Core Requirements

Dashboard layout with multiple widget cards

Key metrics display (total users, revenue, growth rate)

Line chart showing trends over time (daily, weekly, monthly)

Bar chart comparing categories

Pie/donut chart for distribution data

Data table with sorting, filtering, and pagination

Date range picker to filter data

Export data to CSV format

Responsive layout that works on all screen sizes

Loading states for all data-heavy components

Dashboard Metrics to Display

Total revenue with percentage change from previous period

Active users count with growth indicator

Total orders and average order value

Conversion rate with trend visualization

Revenue by product category (pie chart)

Sales over time (line chart, last 30 days)

Top performing products (bar chart)

Recent transactions table

API Endpoints

GET /api/dashboard/metrics - Get summary statistics

GET /api/dashboard/revenue - Get revenue data by date range

GET /api/dashboard/users - Get user growth data

GET /api/dashboard/products - Get product performance data

GET /api/dashboard/orders - Get recent orders with pagination

GET /api/dashboard/export - Export data as CSV

Query parameters: startDate, endDate, groupBy (day/week/month)

Data Aggregation Logic

Group sales by date using MongoDB aggregation pipeline

Calculate percentage changes between periods

Compute moving averages for trend lines

Aggregate data by different time intervals (daily, weekly, monthly)

Calculate statistical measures (mean, median, standard deviation)

Cache aggregated data for 5 minutes to reduce database load

Frontend Features

Responsive grid layout using CSS Grid or flexbox

Metric cards with value, change indicator, and sparkline

Interactive charts with tooltips and legends

Date range selector with preset options (last 7 days, 30 days, 90 days)

Data table with column sorting (click headers to sort)

Search and filter controls for table

Export button that downloads CSV file

Refresh button to update all data

Loading skeletons for charts and tables

Technical Challenges

Use Recharts or Chart.js for data visualization

Optimize large dataset rendering with virtualization

Implement efficient data fetching (fetch once, use for multiple charts)

Handle timezone differences in date calculations

Create reusable chart wrapper components

Implement CSV generation on frontend using Papa Parse

Use useMemo to prevent unnecessary recalculations

Debounce filter inputs to reduce API calls

Performance Optimization

Lazy load charts as user scrolls down

Use React.memo for expensive chart components

Implement data pagination for large tables

Cache API responses in React Query or SWR

Aggregate data on server before sending to client

Use indexes on database fields used in aggregations

Limit data points in charts (max 365 for daily data)

Bonus Features

Add PDF export for dashboard reports

Implement real-time updates using WebSockets

Create customizable dashboard (drag to rearrange widgets)

Add comparison mode (compare this month vs last month)

Implement goal tracking with progress bars

Add heatmap visualization for time-based data

Create drill-down functionality (click chart to see details)

Add email reports scheduled daily or weekly

Helpful Resources

Recharts: Recharts documentation for React charts. It's simple and works well with React.

Chart.js: Alternative charting library. Has good docs and lots of examples.

MongoDB Aggregation: Learn $group, $sum, $avg for calculating statistics.

React Performance: Search for "React.memo" and "useMemo" to optimize rendering.

Data Visualization: Look up "choosing the right chart type" to learn which charts work best for different data.

Date Handling: Learn about date-fns or moment.js for working with dates.

Helpful Resources

Recharts: Recharts documentation and examples. It's a React charting library that's easy to use.

Chart.js: Alternative to Recharts. Chart.js docs have great examples for all chart types.

MongoDB Aggregation: Learn $group, $match, and $project operators for calculating statistics.

React Performance: Search for "React.memo" and "useMemo hook" to optimize expensive calculations.

Date Handling: Look up date-fns or dayjs libraries for working with dates and time ranges.

CSV Export: Search for "Papa Parse" or "json-to-csv" for exporting data.

Success Criteria

Dashboard loads all data in under 3 seconds

Charts render smoothly with 1000+ data points

Date range changes update all charts correctly

CSV export includes all filtered data

Dashboard is fully responsive on mobile devices

All metrics show accurate calculations

Table sorting and filtering work without bugs

Loading states are clear and not jarring

Learning Resources

Study Recharts or Chart.js documentation

Learn MongoDB aggregation framework

Research React performance optimization techniques

Explore Papa Parse for CSV handling

Look into react-window for virtualizing large lists

Hint: Generate realistic seed data for testing. Create at least 1000 records spanning several months so you can properly test your aggregation logic and chart performance.

When building charts, start with static mock data to get the visualization right, then connect it to your API. This makes debugging layout issues much easier.

Submit Your Project

Once you've completed this project, submit your GitHub repository link below: