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This is a prototype vision of how a future government service could work. It's not a real service yet, but we're exploring what it could look like. Your feedback will help shape the real service.

Step 1: Access the QuickSight Dashboard - QuickSight Dashboard Walkthrough

Locate the dashboard URL in CloudFormation outputs and open QuickSight

Walkthrough progress

Step 1 of 4 • 2 minutes

Step 1 2 minutes

Access the QuickSight Dashboard

Find the dashboard URL in CloudFormation outputs and open it in your browser.

Find your QuickSight access URL in CloudFormation Outputs
The dashboard loads with council service performance data

Expected outcome

  • You locate your CloudFormation stack
  • You find the QuickSightDashboardURL in outputs
  • You open the dashboard in your browser
  • You see the QuickSight dashboard loading screen

Finding your CloudFormation stack

The QuickSight dashboard is deployed via CloudFormation. First, locate your stack:

  1. Go to CloudFormation console (us-east-1 N. Virginia region)
  2. Look for a stack named ndx-try-quicksight-dashboard-[timestamp]
  3. Verify stack status shows CREATE_COMPLETE (green)
  4. If status shows CREATE_IN_PROGRESS, wait 2-3 minutes for completion

Deployment time: QuickSight dashboards take 8-12 minutes to deploy because AWS must: (1) Create QuickSight subscription for your account (one-time, 3-5 minutes), (2) Upload sample data to S3, (3) Create Athena table and run queries, (4) Import data into SPICE cache (4-7 minutes).

Locating the dashboard URL

Once your stack shows CREATE_COMPLETE:

  1. Click on your stack name to open the stack details page
  2. Click the Outputs tab (next to Stack info, Events, Resources)
  3. Look for an output key named QuickSightDashboardURL
  4. The value will be a URL like: https://us-east-1.quicksight.aws.amazon.com/embed/.../dashboards/ndx-council-dashboard...
  5. Click the URL to open the dashboard in a new browser tab
Important The dashboard URL includes embedded authentication - do not share this URL publicly as it grants access to your dashboard.

What you should see

When the QuickSight dashboard loads, you should see:

  • Dashboard title: "NDX Council Performance Dashboard" at the top
  • 3 KPI cards showing Total Cases Received (267,334), Average Resolution Rate (0.85), and Average Satisfaction Score (4.15)
  • Cases by Service Area horizontal bar chart showing request volumes across 9 service areas
  • Satisfaction by Service Area horizontal bar chart comparing satisfaction scores
  • Service Performance Breakdown table with columns for service_area, region, cases_received, cases_resolved, satisfaction_score
  • Controls panel at the top with Service Area and Region filter dropdowns

QuickSight interface overview

Top navigation bar
Contains dashboard name, filter controls, share, export, and refresh buttons
Controls panel
Service Area and Region dropdown filters - apply to all widgets simultaneously
Widget area
Main dashboard body with KPI cards, charts, and tables - each widget is interactive
Export button
Top-right corner - download dashboard as PDF or export data to Excel/CSV

Troubleshooting

Stack shows CREATE_FAILED or ROLLBACK_COMPLETE

Possible causes:

  • QuickSight subscription not activated for your AWS account
  • IAM permissions missing for QuickSight API calls
  • S3 bucket name conflict (rare)

Solutions:

  • Click on stack, go to Events tab, look for error message with red FAILED status
  • Delete the failed stack and redeploy scenario from the portal
  • If QuickSight subscription error: Go to QuickSight console, sign up for free trial (one-time)
Dashboard URL not appearing in Outputs tab

Possible causes:

  • Stack still deploying (QuickSight takes 8-12 minutes)
  • Dashboard creation failed (check Events tab for errors)

Solutions:

  • Wait for stack status to show CREATE_COMPLETE (refresh page every 30 seconds)
  • If stack shows CREATE_COMPLETE but no output, go to Events tab and look for failures
  • Check Resources tab to verify QuickSight dashboard resource created successfully
Dashboard URL shows "Access Denied" or "You don't have permission"

Possible causes:

  • QuickSight Reader access not configured for your user
  • Dashboard sharing permissions not set correctly
  • URL expired (embedded authentication timeout after 24 hours)

Solutions:

  • Go back to CloudFormation Outputs tab and click the URL again (generates fresh credentials)
  • If still access denied, go to QuickSight console, check Manage users section to verify your user exists
  • Contact AWS support if QuickSight subscription issues persist
Dashboard loads but shows "No data" or blank charts

Possible causes:

  • SPICE dataset import still in progress (check Datasets section)
  • Sample data not uploaded to S3 successfully
  • Athena query failed to create table

Solutions:

  • In QuickSight, click Datasets (left sidebar), find council-service-metrics dataset
  • Check dataset status - should show "Last refresh: [timestamp]" with green checkmark
  • If status shows "Failed", click Refresh now to retry SPICE import
  • Verify S3 bucket contains service-metrics.csv file (check CloudFormation Resources tab for bucket name)
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Need help?

If you're stuck, check the troubleshooting section or contact us.