A distributed software application and communications terminal are provided which allows for increased situational awareness, and faster, more informed decision making for both floor and non-floor exchange derivatives traders. The present invention gives traders an enhanced situational awareness by using dial displays and calibration capabilities. The method has several closely interrelated modes and embodiments tailored to allow traders to maintain instant-glance situational awareness of a market, or of several markets. The present invention presents an alert for a trade, or for targeting yields, via a plethora of modes and specially juxtaposed graphical layouts. Calibration and recalibration capabilities are provided to enhance real-time analysis for traders.