Use Widgets for Structured Workflows

Start repeated manufacturing analyses faster with guided DashboardGenius widgets.

Widgets help your team start common manufacturing analyses without having to phrase the perfect prompt from scratch.

What Widgets Are

Widgets are guided starting points for repeatable workflows.

They ask for a small set of useful inputs, then turn that into a stronger DashboardGenius request in chat.

Widgets do not replace normal chat. After the first answer, you can keep asking follow-up questions in the same thread.

In practice, widgets are the fastest way to standardize common team questions without forcing everyone to memorize the same exact prompt.

Where to Find Widgets

When you start a conversation, DashboardGenius can show a Start with a widget section.

Use a widget when:

The question is repeated often
The team wants more consistent framing
You know the job to be done, but not the best wording

Use plain chat when the question is exploratory, unusual, or crosses multiple workflows at once.

Use an App instead when the workflow needs saved working state, version comparison, or a formal handoff process rather than a chat-first interaction.

Each widget launches a normal chat thread with better initial framing.

From there you can:

ask follow-up questions
refine the scope
request a chart
share the thread
move the result into a Workspace
turn a repeated question into a Scheduled Report

DashboardGenius currently includes these widget workflows:

Capacity Planning

Use this when you need to estimate:

shifts required
production hours required
capacity risk for a target output

Typical inputs:

item or product scope
target quantity and unit
facility or line context
assumed efficiency
packaging included or not

Production vs Demand

Use this when you need to compare output against:

sales
forecast
demand signals
out-of-stock or shortage pressure

Typical inputs:

scope or item group
time range
facility
preferred output style such as chart, summary, or gap table
optional preset for workflows such as demand signal / OOS review

Attainment Gap Review

Use this when you need to rank the biggest misses between plan and actual performance.

Typical inputs:

facility or line scope
time range
plan or attainment framing
preferred breakdown
output style

Downtime Pareto

Use this when you need to find the biggest downtime drivers across:

causes
lines
assets
areas

Typical inputs:

facility
line or asset focus
time range
planned vs unplanned scope
output style

Yield / Reject Review

Use this when you want to review quality performance through:

reject rate
reject count
yield percent
scrap loss

Typical inputs:

product, machine, or line scope
facility
time range
breakout choice
comparison mode

Shift / Period Summary

Use this when you need a fast summary for:

the last shift
yesterday
last week
this week so far
a custom period

Typical inputs:

facility
period preset or custom range
focus area such as production, downtime, quality, or demand
preferred output style

Schedule Risk Check

Use this when you need to judge whether the current plan is at risk of:

shortages
missed demand
service issues
hidden schedule weak points

Typical inputs:

item or run scope
facility
review window
demand baseline
known constraints

Savings Opportunity Review

Use this when you want to estimate the biggest labor, material, scrap, or downtime savings opportunities.

Typical inputs:

scope or plant
review window
savings lens
output style
known cost or impact assumptions

What Should I Focus On Today?

Use this when you need a ranked daily brief instead of a raw metric dump.

Typical inputs:

facility or team scope
current period
focus area
urgency or business lens
preferred summary style

Impact Capture

Use this when you want to turn a promising improvement idea into a tracked follow-up with owners, value, and evidence.

Typical inputs:

opportunity summary
area or plant
expected impact type
owners or stakeholders
supporting evidence

Impact Capture is most useful after a thread already found something worth acting on. It is not the best first step for broad exploration.

Use this quick guide:

Planning: Capacity Planning, Schedule Risk Check, Impact Capture
Operations: Production vs Demand, Downtime Pareto, Attainment Gap Review
Quality: Yield / Reject Review
Leadership: Shift / Period Summary, Savings Opportunity Review, What Should I Focus On Today?

If two widgets could work, choose the one that most closely matches the decision you need to make next.

If you still are not sure, ask:

"Do I need a structured review of a known workflow, or do I need open-ended exploration?"

If the answer is structured review, use a widget.

If the answer is "this needs a multi-step review surface and not just a stronger starting prompt," use an App instead.

Best Practices

Widgets work best when you still give them business context.

Include:

exact time range when possible
facility, line, area, or SKU scope
any known operating constraint
whether you want a chart, table, or summary
whether the audience is operations, leadership, quality, or planning

Short notes can materially improve the first answer.

What to Do After the First Result

Treat the first widget result as a launch point.

Good follow-ups include:

"Break this down by shift."
"Filter to Plant 2 only."
"Compare to the prior period."
"Show only the top 5 drivers."
"Turn this into a chart."
"Share this summary to leadership."
"Convert this into an Impact Capture follow-up."

Widgets vs Better Prompts

Widgets and strong prompting work together.

Use a widget when the workflow is known and repeated
Use freeform prompting when the question is open-ended
Use follow-up chat to refine either one

Your team does not need to standardize on one entry style. Most organizations use both.

Common Mistakes

Choosing a widget for a one-off question that needs broader exploration
Leaving the time range vague
Skipping facility or line context when it matters
Picking a planning widget when you really need a descriptive review first
Treating the first answer as final without a follow-up question
Expecting the widget to fix unclear source setup or weak data quality on its own

Next Guide

Continue with Impact Queue Guide.

If you need a more stateful workflow than a widget-driven chat, see Apps and Demand Planning.

Use Widgets for Structured Workflows