You know the value of your business intelligence dashboards. Of course, you do—you spend a lot of time crafting them, thinking through key metrics and teaching your colleagues how to use the reports. But do you actually know who is using your business intelligence reports and how much?
No, that is not a trick question.
The Benefits of Tracking BI Usage
We don’t mean to heap another report on your plate, but we do believe in the value of data. Tracking who is viewing your reports, and how they’re using them, are critical components in your overall business intelligence plan. For example, consider these scenarios:
- Is it time to take a fresh approach to a report? You notice no one in the marketing team is using certain pages of their department’s campaign tracking report. Why aren’t they engaging with these pages, and should you consider phasing those pages out?
- What does mobile usage look like? What about mobile usage versus desktop usage? If you notice that most of your team members are viewing reports on their mobile devices, this intel may impact your layout in future iterations.
- Is your on-boarding process effective? A new hire seemed enthusiastic about the dashboards when you met with them during on-boarding. However, you notice they only view their reports a few times a month. Perhaps they require additional training or modifications made to their reports to keep them engaged?
- How does dashboard usage compare at a high level? What dashboards are used most, and which are used the least? And, what’s the frequency that your co-workers are downloading reports? Consider the possibilities when you can compare usage across your entire organization.
- Instill a culture of accountability and awareness. Co-workers are insisting that they don’t have access to the data they need to make fast decisions, but you know they do. Understanding how they’re using the reports will help you fine-tune the experience and drive greater accountability across the organization.
- Give executives what they’re looking for. Get in the weeds with your executive deliverables and see if you’re giving your leadership team the daily reports they need to make quick decisions.
What Do BI Usage Reports Look Like?
Business intelligence usage reports can include a slew of fun metrics, such as:
- The number of viewers
- The number of views
- How your content is accessed: via mobile or desktop
- Which pages of your reports are the most, and least, popular
- How users collaborate and share reports
Justify the Investment.
If you’re not tracking metrics as they relate to your business intelligence dashboards and reports, then you’re missing the entire point of reporting in the first place. Just like others in your organization, you should be owning your role with the power of data-driven insights. More data gives you additional ways to improve your dashboard rollout, improve usage and continue to thrive in your role as a champion of business intelligence.