Interactive dashboards let users filter and drill down. Static dashboards tell a fixed story. Choose based on audience, use case, and whether exploration or consumption is the goal.

Interactive Dashboards

Characteristics

• Filters, dropdowns, slicers
• Drill-down capabilities
• User controls the view
• Real-time or near real-time updates
• Exploration-focused

When to Use

• Self-service analytics
• Multiple user personas
• Data exploration
• Operational monitoring
• Ad-hoc analysis needs

Tools

# Tableau, Power BI, Looker
# Plotly Dash, Streamlit (Python)
# D3.js, Observable (JavaScript)

# Example: Streamlit interactive dashboard
import streamlit as st
import pandas as pd

region = st.selectbox('Select Region', ['North', 'South', 'East', 'West'])
filtered_data = df[df['region'] == region]
st.line_chart(filtered_data['sales'])

Static Dashboards

Characteristics

• Fixed view, no interactivity
• Tells specific story
• PDF/image format
• Point-in-time snapshot
• Consumption-focused

When to Use

• Executive reports
• Email distribution
• Presentations
• Printed reports
• Regulatory compliance

Tools

# Matplotlib, Seaborn (Python)
# ggplot2 (R)
# Excel, PowerPoint
# Reporting tools (Crystal Reports, etc.)

Comparison

Aspect	Interactive	Static
Complexity	Higher to build	Lower to build
Audience	Data-savvy users	All audiences
Purpose	Exploration	Communication
Shareability	Requires platform access	Email/print friendly
Control	User-driven	Creator-driven narrative

Hybrid Approach

# Best of both worlds:
# Interactive dashboard for exploration
# + Export to static PDF for distribution

# Example: Tableau
# Build interactive version
# Schedule PDF exports for email

# Or: Multiple static views showing different cuts
# "Executive view", "Regional view", "Product view"

Decision Framework

Choose Interactive When:

• Users need to answer their own questions
• Multiple perspectives on same data
• Real-time monitoring required
• Technical audience comfortable with tools

Choose Static When:

• Specific narrative to communicate
• Non-technical stakeholders
• Needs to work offline/in email
• Compliance or archival requirements