A personal dashboard is a tool providing monitoring and scanning capabilities to the knowledge worker.

Quantum leaps progress in scientific or technical domains has ever been made possible when the appropriate observation tooling has emerged.

For example, the microscope enabled huge progress in the medical domain, either for diagnostic of human disease than for research as soon as it has been introduced into practitioner offices and labs.

A knowledge worker nowadays can legitimately dream to use personal observation tooling which enables him:

·         To have a synthetic and just-in-time representation of the various knowledge sources built by the working communities  he is participating

·         To scan the various information sources which enables him to create the knowledge context necessary for his learning and professional experience

·         To Search for documents, news, events or people

A personal dashboard helps the knowledge worker to structure its short term activity (day to week span). Providing the appropriate information at the right time and the right pace, it’s a productivity tool that helps him structure its various action plans.

To be efficient, a personal dashboard has to be designed into the regular office tooling of the knowledge worker.

Dashboard concept is on the radar screen since more than a decade now. But the first implementations have addressed more key performance indicators than the live matter for the knowledge worker.

New software technology is now coming and supported by major players (Apple, Microsoft and Google…) and the concept of real-time awareness software has been matured by smaller companies like Serence for example.

Those are the new entrants to make it happen seriously: there is a true window of opportunity!