---
source_url: https://www.pubnub.com/docs/analytics/decisions/create-dashboards
title: Create a Dashboard
updated_at: 2026-09-30T07:20:08.000Z
---

# Create a Dashboard

## Documentation index

To discover more PubNub resources:

1. Fetch [PubNub's llms.txt](https://www.pubnub.com/llms-full.txt) for a list of available pages in Markdown format.
2. Identify relevant URLs from that index.
3. Fetch the target pages.

Do not assume a path exists, always check the index first.

In this tutorial, you will create a [Dashboard](https://www.pubnub.com/docs/analytics/decisions/dashboards.md) in PubNub [Illuminate](https://www.pubnub.com/docs/analytics/decisions/overview.md), add two charts that visualize metrics from the "Game engagement experiment" Business Object, and connect the "Send discount code" Decision to one chart to see when actions triggered.

## What you will build

By the end of this tutorial, you will have a Dashboard called "Game engagement experiment" with two charts:

* A chart for the `Message sum` metric with a Decision overlay that marks each time the "Send discount code" action fired
* A chart for the `Total purchased value` metric showing purchase value per item over 30-minute windows

## Before you start

To follow this tutorial, confirm you have:

* The active "Game engagement experiment" Business Object with the `Message sum` and `Total purchased value` metrics from [Create a Business Object](https://www.pubnub.com/docs/analytics/decisions/create-business-objects.md).
* The "Send discount code" Decision from [Create a Decision](https://www.pubnub.com/docs/analytics/decisions/create-decisions.md).
* Access to Illuminate in the [Admin Portal](https://admin.pubnub.com/).

For a full explanation of chart settings and the Decision activity overlay, see [Dashboards](https://www.pubnub.com/docs/analytics/decisions/dashboards.md).

## Create the Dashboard

1. In the [Admin Portal](https://admin.pubnub.com/), go to **Illuminate > Dashboards**.
2. Click **Create Dashboard**.
3. Enter `Game engagement experiment` in the **Dashboard name** field. Add an optional description.
4. Click **Save**.

The Dashboard is saved and its empty view opens. You can now add charts.

## Add Chart 1: Message sum

1. From the Dashboard view, click **Add Chart**. The chart configuration modal opens.
2. Click **Select Business Object** and choose `Game engagement experiment`.
3. Choose the `Message sum` metric. The chart auto-populates with the metric configuration.
4. Click **Manage** next to the Decisions section and select `Send discount code`. This connects the Decision to the chart so the overlay marks when the action fired.
5. Click **Add**.

The chart is saved with the name `Message sum`, generated from the metric name.

## Add Chart 2: total purchased value

1. Click **Add Chart**.
2. Click **Select Business Object** and choose `Game engagement experiment`.
3. Choose the `Total purchased value` metric. The chart auto-populates.
4. Click **Add**.

The second chart is saved with the name `Total purchased value`.

## What you built

You created the "Game engagement experiment" Dashboard with two charts. The `Message sum` chart visualizes total chat messages per guild and marks when the "Send discount code" action fired. The `Total purchased value` chart visualizes purchase value per item. As messages arrive and Illuminate evaluates the Decision, data appears in both charts. You can adjust each chart's time range, chart type, and width, or export chart data as a CSV from the Dashboard view. See [Dashboards](https://www.pubnub.com/docs/analytics/decisions/dashboards.md) for available settings.

Last updated at: 2026-09-30T07:20:08.000Z