Understanding Your Family Tree Dashboard

What the Overview shows

The Overview dashboard provides a snapshot of your entire tree:

• Total counts: Number of individuals, families, and generations
• Demographics: Gender breakdown, age distributions, lifespan averages
• Time coverage: Which centuries and decades are represented
• Data quality: Completeness indicators and potential issues
• Key events: Births, marriages, deaths summarised

This helps you understand your tree's scope before diving into details.

Reading the birth year chart

The birth year distribution chart shows when your ancestors were born:

• Peaks: Centuries with the most documented individuals
• Gaps: Time periods with few or no births (data gaps or genuine family history)
• Recent concentration: Most trees have more recent generations documented
• Historical coverage: How far back your tree extends

Use this to identify periods that might need more research.

Understanding demographic metrics

Key demographic statistics include:

• Gender ratio: Balance of male to female individuals
• Average lifespan: Mean age at death for those with both dates
• Family size: Average number of children per family
• Generation count: How many generations from you to earliest ancestor
• Living vs. deceased: Estimated counts based on dates

Unusual metrics might indicate data quality issues or interesting family patterns.

Data quality indicators

The dashboard shows data completeness:

• Completeness percentage: How many individuals have key vital records
• Source coverage: Proportion of facts with source citations
• Date precision: Full dates vs. year-only vs. estimated
• Place coverage: Events with location data

Low scores indicate areas to focus your research and data entry efforts.

Using the overview strategically

The Overview helps you plan research:

• Identify thin areas: Generations with few people may have missing siblings
• Spot data gaps: Time periods needing more research
• Prioritise quality: Focus on improving metrics that matter to your goals
• Track progress: Re-check after adding data to see improvements
• Share with family: The dashboard provides a quick summary for relatives