# Build the dashboard your reports never gave you

> Two Code and Theory leads on why marketers should stop waiting for the perfect off-the-shelf report and build their own.
- Title: Build the dashboard your reports never gave you · Adweek
- Summary: Two Code and Theory leads on why marketers should stop waiting for the perfect off-the-shelf report and build their own. Scope the dashboard like a product…
- Keywords: dashboards, marketing, data, brandweek, Build, dashboard, reports, never, gave, Adweek
- Source: Adweek — https://adweek.com/brand-marketing/how-to-build-an-ai-dashboard-that-makes-your-case-for-you
- Author: Ryan Joe
- Published: 2026-09-10T20:49:07+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: ai, dashboards, marketing, data, brandweek
## A class on building your own
ADWEEK and Code and Theory are running a beginner-to-intermediate masterclass at Brandweek on using AI to build a live dashboard a team will actually open.
## Excel from 1991 is done
Karen Piper, head of strategy, and Pete Steiner, head of Creative Labs, cover picking datasets, shaping the data, and automating refreshes so the numbers stay current.

> the brick of Excel sheets that Gary from IT started in 1991 just doesn't cut it in 2026
## Half a report is useless
Piper says marketers keep getting reports missing the pieces they need to decide the next step or report on trends properly.

> they don't have everything they need to make decisions on the next step
## Off the shelf never fits
Prebuilt tools are convenient but rarely match how a marketer works. Piper builds one for every pitch so teams share data in one place instead of hunting through PowerPoint and Keynote files.
## Steiner runs teams on his
His dashboard tracks three or four projects at different stages, showing status, assignments, and resources, and gives leadership one view of Creative Labs work.

> It helps me understand what state every project is in, who's assigned to it, and what resources are attached to it
## Scope it like a product
AI makes bells and whistles cheap, which is the trap. Write something close to a product requirements doc: user count, logins, data flow, who maintains it.

> Thinking about all of that before you start will help you stay focused.
## Key takeaway

Scope the dashboard like a product before you build it, or AI will hand you a pile of features nobody uses.