The Dashboard Filters I Wanted vs. What Metabase Actually Supports

Week 2 felt very different compared to the first week. I could clearly feel that I was getting more comfortable with Metabase and more confident while working on dashboards. Instead of feeling confused at every step, I started understanding what needs to be done and how to approach different problems.

One thing I really noticed this week was that I was able to create dashboards for different problem statements. Earlier, I used to hesitate before starting, but now I feel much more comfortable exploring the tool and trying things on my own. This change gave me confidence and made working on Metabase feel less stressful and more interesting.

This week, I also worked closely with my teammate on improving how dashboard filters behave. Our idea was simple — when someone selects a client like Tradence, the label filter should automatically show only the labels related to that client, instead of showing all labels. From a user’s point of view, this felt like a very practical requirement.

While working on this, we learned something important about Metabase. We found out that Metabase does not support true dynamic or cascading filters by default. In simple terms, one filter cannot automatically change based on another filter’s selection. At first, this was a bit disappointing because the idea itself made a lot of sense.

But later, I realized that this learning was actually valuable. It helped me understand that every tool has its own limitations, and not everything works exactly the way we expect. Sometimes, learning what is not possible is just as important as learning what is possible.

Going ahead, I’m curious to explore how this can be handled in the future — maybe through different query logic or alternative dashboard design approaches. This experience made me more interested in understanding the tool deeply instead of just using it on the surface.

Overall, Week 2 helped me move from just following instructions to actually thinking about how dashboards should be designed. I feel more confident using Metabase, working with my teammates, and handling real challenges with patience.

This week made me realize that real learning begins when things don’t work as expected. In the next blog, I’ll share how I handle more complex dashboard challenges and what I learn from them along the way.