[Vol.7] How to Add Slicers, Cards and Charts in Power BI: Dashboard Layout

Financial Analytics & Automation / Power BI KPI Dashboard Creation Series

Introduction

In Vol. 6, we created DAX measures to display year-over-year (YoY) changes and target achievement status.

Now it’s time to start building the dashboard itself.

In this step, we’ll add Slicers to filter data by date and production line, Cards to display KPIs, and Charts to visualize trends. By placing these visuals on the report canvas, we’ll begin shaping the dashboard.

Visuals Used in This Dashboard

We’ll create 10 visuals in total, using 6 different visual types in this article.

Visual	Count	Measure / Column Used
Slicer (Between)	1	Calendar[Date]
Button Slicer	1	Dim_line_name[Line Name]
Card	4	KPI measure + YoY Text + Target Text
Line and stacked column chart	1	Net Sales, Operating Margin Measure
Gauge chart	1	Utilization Rate Measure, Target Utilization Rate
Line chart	2	Inventory Turnover Measure, Defect Rate Measure

Step 1: Add a Date Slicer

First, add a Slicer to filter the data by date.

From the Visualizations pane, select the Slicer visual.

Place it in the upper-left corner of the Report View, then drag the Date column from the Calendar table into the Field well.

For this dashboard, we’ll use a Between slicer, which lets users select a start date and an end date.

To display the latest month’s KPIs when the dashboard opens, set the slicer range to 07/01/2026 – 07/31/2026.

If no date range is selected, all available data will be included.

Step 2: Add a Button Slicer for Production Lines

To view KPIs by production line, add a Button Slicer.

Place a Button Slicer in the Report View, then drag the Line Name column from the Dim_line_name table into the Value field.

Step 3: Add KPI Card Visuals

Next, we will add Card visuals to display the four main KPIs.

Let’s start with the Operating Margin Card.

Place a Card below the date slicer. Then add the following measures to the Value field in this order:

• Operating Margin Measure
• Operating Margin YoY Text
• Operating Margin Target Text

When you add multiple fields to a Card visual, each field is displayed as a sub-card. We will adjust the layout and formatting of these sub-cards in Vol.8.

Repeat the same steps for the remaining three Cards (Utilization Rate,Inventory Turnover, Defect Rate). For each Card, add its corresponding KPI measure, YoY Text measure, and Target Text measure.

Step 4: Add a Combo Chart for Monthly KPIs

Next, let’s add a Line and stacked column chart to visualize Net Sales and Operating Margin together. This allows us to compare sales and profitability trends in a single visual.

Add the combo chart to the Report View and configure the fields as follows:

• X-axis: Calendar [Date]
• Column y-axis: Fact_monthly_kpi [Net Sales]
• Line y-axis: Fact_monthly_kpi [Operating Margin Measure]

Step 5: Add a Gauge Chart for Utilization Rate

Next, let’s add a Gauge chart to compare the actual Utilization Rate with its target.

Add a Gauge chart to the Report View and configure the fields as follows:

• Value: Fact_equipment_utilization [Utilization Rate Measure]
• Target Value: Fact_equipment_utilization [Target Utilization Rate]

By default, Power BI may use Sum as the aggregation method for the Target Value. Click the drop-down arrow next to the field and change the aggregation to Average.

Step 6: Add a Line Chart for Inventory Turnover

Next, let’s add a Line chart to visualize Inventory Turnover by product category.

From the Visualizations pane, select Line chart and place it in the Report View.

Configure the fields as follows:

• X-axis: Calendar [Date]
• Y-axis: Fact_inventory_turnover [Inventory Turnover Measure]
• Legend: Fact_inventory_turnover [Product Category]

Step 7: Add a Line Chart for Defect Rate

Finally, add a Line chart to visualize Defect Rate by production line.

Configure the fields as follows:

• X-axis: Calendar [Date]
• Y-axis: Fact_defect_rate [Defect Rate Measure]
• Legend: Fact_defect_rate [Line Name]

Step 8: Configure the Date Slicer’s Interactions

In this dashboard, the combo chart and line charts are used to show trends over the entire data period.

However, the date slicer allows users to select dates at the day level. Since the monthly data is stored using the first day of each month, selecting a period shorter than one month may result in no data being displayed in these charts.

To avoid this issue, exclude the following three charts from the date slicer’s filter interactions:

• Combo chart
• Inventory Turnover line chart
• Defect Rate line chart

With the date slicer selected, go to Format → Edit interactions. For each of the three charts listed above, click the None icon (the circle with a diagonal line) that appears in the upper-right corner of the visual.

The combo chart and the line charts will now always show the full data period, regardless of the date slicer.

Step 9: Save the Power BI File

Once all visuals have been added and configured, press Ctrl + S to save the Power BI file.

Your dashboard is now ready in its basic form, allowing you to filter data by date and production line.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What’s Next?

In Vol. 8, we will improve the readability of the visuals we added in this article by adjusting formatting and layout.