Purpose Statement
First Due Dashboards provide pre-configured, role-specific dashboards that automatically appear in your account to help department personnel quickly access relevant reports, maps, and operational data. These dashboards act as ready-to-use information hubs, templates for customization, and references for understanding how dashboards support department operations, compliance, and decision-making.
Background Information
First Due Dashboards are “out-of-the-box” (OOTB) dashboards designed around common user roles and product modules such as Hydrants, Pre-Plans, Incidents, and Finance.
They are automatically deployed into your Dashboard List and are easily identifiable by the First Due Dashboard naming convention.
Key characteristics:
- Built using new FDR Reports that power all widgets and embedded visualizations
- Automatically shared with appropriate OOTB roles to reduce admin setup time
- Include interactive maps, embedded reports, and quick links to related modules
- Cannot be edited directly to ensure users always receive ongoing updates from First Due
- May be cloned to create fully customized versions for agency-specific workflows
Use cases include hydrant maintenance tracking, pre-incident planning, station-level performance monitoring, prevention activity visibility, finance summaries, and more.
Required Permissions
View Access
- Users must belong to roles included in the dashboard’s assigned sharing settings (e.g., Company Officer, Fire Inspector, Finance Manager).
- All FD Admin users automatically receive access to all First Due Dashboards.
Editing & Customization Access
- Only FD Admins or users with permission to Clone Dashboards can create editable copies.
- Original First Due Dashboards cannot be modified—only cloned copies may be edited.
Video
Step-by-Step Guide
1. Accessing Dashboards
- Click the First Due icon in the upper-left corner to open the module stack.
- Select Dashboards from the top of the list.
- Review your Dashboard List. You will see:
- Existing dashboards you’ve already created
- Newly added First Due Dashboards provisioned by the system
2. Filtering to View First Due Dashboards
- In the Dashboard List, click the Filter button on the right.
- In the Name field, type First Due.
- Click Apply.
- Your list will refresh to display only First Due Dashboards.
3. Opening & Navigating Dashboards
- Click a dashboard name to open it.
- Explore available components, which may include:
- Embedded FDR Reports (Learn more about First Due Reports (FDRs) here.)
- Interactive maps (e.g., Hydrants Map, Pre-Plans Map)
- Quick links to modules or reports (opens in a new tab)
- Status summaries and performance visuals
Examples:
- Hydrants Dashboard: features hydrant quick links, embedded hydrant performance reports, and a fully interactive hydrant map.
-
Pre-Plans Dashboard: provides a pre-plans overview, interactive map, and commonly requested planning reports.
4. Understanding First Due Dashboard Limitations
- Original dashboards are read-only.
- They cannot be edited or renamed.
- This ensures First Due can push updates, fixes, and enhancements universally.
5. Adjusting Dashboard Sharing Settings
- Open any First Due Dashboard. (See: Sharing Dashboards)
- Click the Pencil (Edit) icon.
- Review default sharing assignments (FD Admin + appropriate OOTB roles).
- See more about First Due's OOTB Role Management System here.
- To modify sharing:
- Toggle Sharing Override (may display a warning about changing default roles).
- After confirmation, click the Pencil icon next to Roles.
- Add or remove Users, Ranks, or Roles as needed.
- Toggle Sharing Override (may display a warning about changing default roles).
- Save your changes.
6. Cloning a First Due Dashboard
Cloning allows you to create a department-specific version of any First Due Dashboard. (See: Cloning Dashboards)
- From the Dashboard List, locate the dashboard you want to clone.
- Click Clone.
- The system automatically appends (copy) to the name.
- Rename it to reflect its purpose (e.g., change "copy" to "custom").
- Open your cloned dashboard to:
- Edit the name and description
- Adjust role sharing
- Modify widgets, maps, or layouts
- The original dashboard remains in the list for ongoing reference and updates.
7. Understanding Dashboard Widgets
- Click any widget inside a First Due Dashboard.
- The linked First Due Report will open, showing:
- Data Configuration
- Criteria and logic
- Filters used to generate the result
- If modifications are needed:
- Clone the underlying report
- Replace the original widget inside your custom dashboard
Best Practices
- Use Dashboards as Operational Hubs: Encourage personnel to rely on dashboards for quick visibility into module activity and performance trends.
- Clone, Don’t Edit: Always clone dashboards before customizing to ensure you retain access to updated First Due originals.
- Review Underlying Reports: Understand how each widget calculates its data to maintain reporting consistency.
- Keep Sharing Targeted: Assign dashboards only to appropriate roles to avoid overwhelming users with unrelated information.
- Periodically Audit Custom Dashboards: Validate that custom metrics still align with department standards and workflows.
- Use OOTB Dashboards as Training Tools: They demonstrate best-practice approaches to data visualization and reporting.
Troubleshooting & FAQs
Q: Why doesn’t a dashboard metric match how my agency measures performance?
A: Widgets use standardized FDR Report logic. Review the underlying report’s criteria and clone/customize it to reflect agency-specific definitions.
Q: I can’t edit a First Due Dashboard. How do I customize it?
A: First Due Dashboards are locked to ensure update continuity. Clone the dashboard to create an editable version.
Q: How do I share a dashboard with additional users?
A: Open Edit, toggle Sharing Override, and add Users, Ranks, or Roles.
Q: Can users outside the intended role access First Due Dashboards?
A: Only FD Admins see all dashboards. Other users see only dashboards explicitly shared with their roles.
Q: Will my cloned dashboard receive updates from First Due?
A: No. Only original dashboards update automatically. Cloned dashboards are fully controlled by the agency.
Q: A link or embedded page stopped working after sharing changes. Why?
A: Users may not have permission to access the linked module or embedded report. Adjust their permissions accordingly.
Q: Why does my cloned dashboard not match the original’s layout?
A: Updates apply only to First Due Dashboards. Cloned dashboards retain the layout from the moment they were cloned.