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    Guides Competitive intelligence dashboard versus weekly decision brief
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Do you need to explore the data yourself or bring a recommendation to the team? Here's how to choose.

 By Clarveni Published 29 August 2026 2 min read 

  In this article

 1. [When a dashboard is useful](#content-when-a-dashboard-is-useful)
2. [When a weekly brief is useful](#content-when-a-weekly-brief-is-useful)
3. [Three questions to choose between them](#content-three-questions-to-choose-between-them)

 [Back to the top ↑](#article-h) 

  In this article 3 sections 1. [When a dashboard is useful](#content-when-a-dashboard-is-useful)
2. [When a weekly brief is useful](#content-when-a-weekly-brief-is-useful)
3. [Three questions to choose between them](#content-three-questions-to-choose-between-them)

  A dashboard gives you information to explore. A weekly brief brings you the changes worth considering, with an explanation and a suggested next step.

The useful question is how much of that work your team wants to do itself.

[\#](#content-when-a-dashboard-is-useful "Permalink")When a dashboard is useful
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A dashboard can help an analyst filter, compare and investigate. They can follow a question through the data and decide where to look next.

Someone still needs to review it regularly, work out what the findings mean for your business and explain them to the rest of the team.

If you have someone with the time and experience to do that, a dashboard may suit you well.

[\#](#content-when-a-weekly-brief-is-useful "Permalink")When a weekly brief is useful
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A brief does some of that work before it reaches you. It sets out an important change, explains why it matters to your business and suggests a next step. Each main development links to its sources in Clarveni. Each news source shows a date where one is available, usually when it was reported; some dates are when the article was found, so check the source when timing matters.

A weekly brief gives the team:

- a short account of the week’s important changes;
- the same information to bring to the discussion;
- a suggested action someone can take on; and
- an archive of what was known at the time.

A full Clarveni brief targets 600-1,400 words; a quiet week stays shorter.

[\#](#content-three-questions-to-choose-between-them "Permalink")Three questions to choose between them
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### [\#](#content-who-will-do-the-research "Permalink")Who will do the research?

If an analyst is already responsible for reviewing the data, a dashboard can support their work. If several leaders are doing their own research, a shared brief gives them a common starting point.

### [\#](#content-do-you-need-to-explore-or-decide "Permalink")Do you need to explore or decide?

A dashboard gives you room to investigate a question. A brief is useful when the next job is to discuss what a change means and agree who should respond.

### [\#](#content-what-happens-in-a-quiet-week "Permalink")What happens in a quiet week?

A useful brief can say that nothing in the evidence calls for action. A quiet-week Clarveni brief stays short and says how many of your selected sources were checked. If a source could not be checked, that is a gap, not proof that nothing changed.

Choose the approach that fits the work your team needs to do each week.

Read [the principles behind each brief](/product/weekly-decision-brief#principles), then [read the example brief](/examples/weekly-brief).

 You’ve reached the end. [Back to the top ↑](#article-h) 

 Read next
---------

 [### A manufacturing weekly brief

A customer announces a new factory. A competitor announces a recyclable range. What should Calder Packaging do this week?

 → ](https://clarveni.com/guides/a-manufacturing-weekly-brief) [### A weekly brief for professional services

A rival buys a payroll practice. Another introduces a fixed-fee package. What should Merefield Accountants check before changing its offer?

 → ](https://clarveni.com/guides/a-professional-services-weekly-brief)