Executive users want high-level information over a long time frame. Analytical users are tech savvy and want to explore the data. Line of business users need to keep the day-to-day business operating. A good analytics application gives each user only the slice of information that they need to do their job. Ultimately, that’s why getting your personas right are so important. Visit our website once to know more!
The three personas you must design an analytics app for
When you're designing an embedded analytics application it’s important to focus clearly on who will be using your app.
While every product is slightly different, in our experience at Yellowfin there are three broad personas that use analytics apps - executive, analytical and operational users. When creating an application you need to consider these personas and create the application and its content to suit the way they are likely to engage with your product.
1. Executive users want high-level information over a long time frame
Executive users are important because they’re probably the people who will sign your cheques. They want to make long-term decisions about business strategy, so top-level information about how the business is performing, trends that are occurring over time, KPIs and indicators all help them make better decisions. Because their decisions impact the business over a longer timeline they generally need to see at least three years worth of data.
Executives are also very busy, so it’s important to make sure their information is visually clear - they should be able to glance at it and understand what it means. Dashboards, models, and simulations are all useful ways to present information to an executive audience.
The information must also have depth so that they can find answers to questions quickly. Achieving a level of depth is challenging and isn’t often available in existing applications. To add value to their decisions, think about what questions may not be answered by your competitors’ products. For example, early warnings of impending issues or collaborative capabilities that allow users to share commentary about the data can add depth to the information. Provide context and give them the opportunity to explore data within that context if they need more detail.
In summary, for executive users it makes most sense to focus on trends over a longer term timeframe (up to three years). Executive users are busy, so it’s important to make sure this information is presented clearly and is quick to consume.
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2. Analytical users are tech savvy and want to explore the data
The power users of any analytical app are often data analysts. They understand the technology and the business issues so they will require more advanced analytical tools that allow them to drill into the data and work with it in more depth. Things like online analytical processing, ad-hoc queries, and modelling will enable them to slice and dice the data the way they want it. While most analysts are tech savvy, they may need some training so they can build their own content rather than just consume it.
Analytical users often need to make decisions in the medium term (i.e. comparing this year to last), so they will want to go back at least 12 months and ask more questions of the data. Allowing them to create dashboards, scorecards and other content will enable them to produce analysis that can be easily consumed by others.
