1. To create a new dashboard, simply select Dashboards from the menu in the CloudWatch management console and then click on the Create dashboard button:

2. In the Create new dashboard dialogue, we simply name the dashboard and click Create dashboard:

3. Once the dashboard is created, a pop-up window allowing us to add widgets to the dashboard is presented. Here, we have the ability to choose line and stacked graphs, current metrics, and more complex query results to be displayed. We also have the ability to create a text window with markdown formatting where we can include direct links to services, documentation, wikis, and so on: 

4. In our example, we will first select a line graph and fill it up with relevant metrics about our application. The categories presented here are the same as when creating the alarm and we are able to drill down upon or search identifiers, service types, and tags:

5. Once we have selected our metrics, a preview graph is presented and we simply need to click on Create widget:

6. Once the widget is added, we need to also click on Save dashboard to keep the widget in the dashboard. We can also resize and reposition the widget to our liking before clicking Save:

7. By clicking on Add widget, we can add additional widgets that will display additional information on our dashboard and the end result could look something like this: 

Dashboards are an easy way to create an environment where only relevant metrics are presented to the user that creates the dashboard. We would normally use only the metrics that can help us quickly gauge the health and state of our application in a dashboard to make the best use of this feature. We can create multiple dashboards and completely customize them in a way that fits our requirements.