4 Tips for Making a Mobile Dashboard in Sigma
In today’s fast-paced world where nearly everything is made to be on-the-go, having a mobile-friendly BI dashboard is essential for those responsible for making quick decisions on-the-fly. There are several differences to consider when designing or retrofitting a dashboard for Mobile consumption vs. a traditional Desktop layout. To simplify this process, Sigma allows users to easily customize and rearrange the elements of a single dashboard into 2 different versions.
Why Make Your Dashboard Mobile Friendly?
- Enhanced User Engagement: It is extremely convenient to check on stats and metrics from the palm of your hand right when a question is at the top of your mind. As people have adapted to using their phones for all facets of life, we can eliminate the need to open up a laptop in order to check on a KPI that you are monitoring all-day, everyday.
- Accessibility and Real-Time Updates: Mobile Layouts allow executives to stay informed about the latest business metrics, sales performance, inventory levels, and customer insights no matter where they are, Whether they are in a meeting, traveling, or in the warehouse, they can always have access to the latest data rather, than working off a clipboard or waiting to get back to a desk for updates. Mobile access eliminates the need to wait until the decision makers are back at their desks to access crucial information.
- Emergency Response: In any industry, emergency response is dependent on immediate access to insights. In the event of an emergency or crisis such as supply chain disruptions, health crises, etc. it is crucial to maintain flexibility and responsiveness. Using Sigma, we can easily configure critical alerts to be sent to your team’s mobile devices, so they’re not put in the predicament of receiving emergency notifications on their phones but then need to track down a laptop in order to dig deeper into the problem.
Here Are 4 Tips for Creating a Useful Mobile Version of Your Sigma Dashboards
1. Know Your Audience
- Is your audience an executive? A sales team manager? A healthcare coordinator? Their needs and environment will vary when looking at the dashboard and you should take that into consideration when designing a mobile layout of your workbook. If the user is going to be in a hurry, make the most important items the largest. If the user is looking at this everyday and needs context, add in more text, etc.
2. Consider The Layout Differences
-
When designing for a mobile device vs desktop, keep in mind that screen space is very limited. While re-arranging elements for mobile layouts, you have to strategically place your most important charts in an easily consumable way.
- For example, if there are 4 KPI charts in a row across the top of your dashboard, you may want to turn them into a quad grouping instead.
-
You may want to create custom headers to separate sections of your mobile layout so that it is easier to scroll through.
-
Utilize less whitespace in mobile layouts than in desktop but be sure to separate sections where necessary
-
Use navigation buttons to return to various sections of the workbook without scrolling
3. Check Changes Back and Forth
- Iteratively consult between your desktop and mobile versions whenever you are adding something new to your workbook
4. Use Scheduled Exports
- Sigma Scheduled Exports will send an email with a link to your workbook. They can be configured to send when a specific condition is met, or just sent on a regular schedule. If the recipient opens the email from their phone, they can still gain access to the dashboard immediately.
Conclusion
Making your BI dashboard mobile-friendly is essential for staying on top of your business’ progress and metrics. It grants you the flexibility to access and interact with your data wherever you are, while following best design practices to ensure a smooth product and user experience. Accelerate your organization’s growth and success by making your dashboards mobile ready with Sigma Computing!
Check out the demo workbook from this how to video by scanning the QR code below with your mobile device!
