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First Due OOTB Dashboards

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

  1. Click the First Due icon in the upper-left corner to open the module stack.
  2. Select Dashboards from the top of the list.
  3. 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

  1. In the Dashboard List, click the Filter button on the right.
  2. In the Name field, type First Due.
  3. Click Apply.
  4. Your list will refresh to display only First Due Dashboards.



     

3. Opening & Navigating Dashboards

  1. Click a dashboard name to open it.
  2. 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

  1. Open any First Due Dashboard. (See: Sharing Dashboards)
  2. Click the Pencil (Edit) icon.



     
  3. Review default sharing assignments (FD Admin + appropriate OOTB roles).
     
    1. See more about First Due's OOTB Role Management System here.
  4. 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.



       
  5. 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)

  1. From the Dashboard List, locate the dashboard you want to clone.
  2. Click Clone.



     
  3. The system automatically appends (copy) to the name.
  4. Rename it to reflect its purpose (e.g., change "copy" to "custom").
  5. Open your cloned dashboard to:
    • Edit the name and description
    • Adjust role sharing
    • Modify widgets, maps, or layouts
  6. The original dashboard remains in the list for ongoing reference and updates.

     

7. Understanding Dashboard Widgets

  1. Click any widget inside a First Due Dashboard.
  2. The linked First Due Report will open, showing:
    • Data Configuration
    • Criteria and logic
    • Filters used to generate the result
  3. 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.