A dashboard downstream of search.
Search ASearch B
Chart AChart B
DashboardThe dashboard collects visualizations from separate search modules.
Splunk
Search & Dashboards
One investigation, from the first search to the shared dashboard.
01 / Problem
The handoff was part of the problem.
An investigation moves from a question to a search, a visualization and a view someone else can use. I led the design work to keep that task connected, in a three-person design team with 25 developers and four product managers.
02 / What exists today
The starting point: separate Search and Dashboards.
At the start of this project, Search and Dashboards were separate experiences. Search supported the investigation; the dashboard was the place to arrange and share its visualizations.
03 / What’s wrong
Changing the view also meant a handoff.
Those separate surfaces divided one connected task. Creating a chart, previewing it in a dashboard and returning to the investigation all needed to preserve the relationship with the search that produced it.
04 / What I explored
What should stay shared when someone changes views?
I compared two models: a dashboard collecting charts from separate search modules, and code and dashboard viewers connected to one shared search module.
I worked through creating a new chart and dashboard, then bringing two existing charts into a dashboard. Both flows included the return to search, not just the save action.
05 / Low-fi architecture
Two views of the same investigation.
The shared-context model was the chosen direction. Code and dashboard viewers connect through the same search module, keeping the data and results part of the investigation.
Two views of one investigation.
Code viewerDashboard viewer
Shared search moduleDataResults
The chosen direction connects code and dashboard viewers through the same search module.
Interaction models redrawn from the original presentation. These diagrams describe the product relationships, not a backend implementation.
06 / Wireframes
Create, preview, save and return.
The sequence keeps chart creation tied to its source and makes returning to the investigation an explicit step.
Explore the workflow / 01
Keep the question in view.
Begin with an ad-hoc search. The search and its results provide the working context for the next step.
Explore the workflow / 02
Give the search a visual form.
Create a chart from the investigation, then format it. The chart remains connected to the search that produced it.
Explore the workflow / 03
See it in its destination.
Preview the chart in a dashboard before saving. A second workflow brings two charts from an existing investigation into the same dashboard.
Explore the workflow / 04
Make the handoff reversible.
Save the new dashboard and return to the search investigation. Creating a shared view should not force someone to restart their analysis.
Wireframe sequenceExplore the sequence
01 / 03
Keep the statement and evidence together
02 / 03
Format without losing the source
Source search
Statement
Result fields
Chart previewIllustrative shape · no measured data
Formatting
03 / 03
Preserve the path back to investigation
Chart 01Illustrative shape · no measured data
Chart 02Illustrative shape · no measured data
Save dashboard Return to investigation
Reconstructed from the documented design; sample content is illustrative.
07 / Solution
Follow the investigation through the interface.
Original interface designs from the project presentation. Select an image to inspect it.
08 / ResearchA promising average.
A promising average.
A harder transition for experts.
7External Splunk users
>70Each combined EASE dimension
4Dimensions in the survey
The prototype study combined Zoom discussions of existing workflows, a walkthrough and an EASE survey: effectiveness, awareness, sentiment and efficiency. Participants had different levels of SPL proficiency; all had dashboard experience.
The combined scores were above the study’s acceptable threshold. This was a seven-person prototype study; the scores describe that evaluation, not a measured improvement after launch.
09 / Outcome
Shipped in November 2022. Expert transition still matters.
Lead designer · Shipped November 2022
Keep the investigation intact when the view changes.
- My decision
- As lead designer, I compared two ways to connect search and dashboards, then worked through chart creation, preview, saving and the return to search.
- What changed
- Code and dashboard views connect to the same investigation. Creating a shared view includes a route back to the search that produced it.
- Evidence
- Shipped in November 2022. The prototype research is detailed above; post-launch adoption and time savings have not been measured here.