I propose that we need a way to select an item in the list by default when a dashboard opens. To be clear, proposing that a default SELECTION of the top/first item in a list element.
The functionality would be similar to the choices offered in filters where the first/last/none can be chosen.
When a list selection is made, I often times use this to filter numerous other items in the dashboard such as indicators or gauges. In some cases, its not appropriate to show a sum or count of these features until a selection from the list is made. By having a default selection, these other elements could be properly filtered and display correct values by default and without an initial user interaction.
As an example, the gauge below needs to show the number of states where new unemployment claims fell in a given week. Without a selection from the list of weeks from the list on the left, I get the incorrect value. I do have the option to filter until there is a selection (which is awesome) and can show a tip instructing the user to select a week.
Ideally we could choose to select the first/top item in a list as a default selection so I can get this to display for the current week by default when the dashboard opens and no user interaction is required.