Domo Data Visualization Simplified: 5 Easy Steps

Data Analysis and Business Intelligence techniques are now implemented by most modern companies to drive business growth and profitability. A majority of all organizations now rely on data-driven decision-making for every aspect of their business. This is due to the fact that the data based on which all decisions are made is collected directly from the users and is hence considered to be accurate. Various forms of analytics such as Marketing, Business, or Product Analytics are applied to this data to understand the root cause for anything that happens in various stages of user engagement and product growth.

One of the popular Business Intelligence tools available in the market is Domo. This article will provide you with an understanding of how you can use Domo Data Visualizations to gather useful insights from business data.

Introduction to Domo

Domo is a popular Cloud-based Business Intelligence platform that can connect to a plethora of data sources, federate and pre-process data to create dynamic Domo Data Visualizations along with collaborative tools that can be used to derive valuable insights. 

Domo gives users the ability to choose from more than 150+ different kinds of charts along with 7000+ custom maps. Users can create their own stories with intuitive Domo Data Visualizations, interactive filters, and custom images. Domo provides users with role-based secured access and data governance along with Single Sign-On and Multi-factor Authentication with just a few clicks.

Introduction to Domo Data Visualization Workflow

The Domo Data Visualization Workflow broadly consists of the following steps: 

• Step 1: Connect
• Step 2: Prepare
• Step 3: Visualize
• Step 4: Engage
• Step 5: Optimize
  

1) Step 1: Connect

• Domo is a single platform with hundreds of prebuilt connectors that can fulfill all Business Intelligence requirements of a business. Data in the final destination can be organized as desired. With just a few clicks, users can connect to a wide variety of data sources, applications, and even On-premise data sources.
• Domo Workbench can be leveraged to import On-premise data into Domo and 1-Click Apps can be leveraged to connect it to numerous Cloud-based Applications like CRM, ERP tools, etc.

2) Step 2: Prepare

• Preparing data for creating Domo Data Visualization is a simple process and users can leverage the drag-and-drop functionality to set it up. This functionality can be used with data sources to be pre-processed by simply dragging and dropping the corresponding icon and performing the required operations.
• All visualizations in Domo are created on Domo Cards. A Card is similar to a Canvas or a Dashboard, where users can create visualizations and share them as per requirements. Cards are created using the Domo Card Builder, which lets users add data sources using its simple drag-and-drop functionality, add complex sets of data easily, and visualize data with just a few clicks. 

Users can add a new Card or assign an existing Card to another user so that it can be leveraged for data preparation.

• The new Card can be a new Visualization, a new Doc Card that can be used for embedding Videos, PPTs, etc., or a new Notebook that can be used to add dynamic commentary.
• A new dataset or data source can be added to Domo using its in-built integrations.

• For the most part, Domo will recognize the data set and its intricacies, and provide a default view/chart to visualize that data.  It will also give users the ability to drag-and-drop their data, choose an appropriate axis (X, Y, or Z-axis) for the data values, and filter and sort them accordingly.
  After adding the data sources, users can leverage the Domo Analyzer to start visualizing the data. 

3) Step 3: Visualize

• When any dataset or data source is imported into Domo, it intelligently analyses the data and selects a default chart type that would be suitable for visualizing the imported data.

• Users can easily change this default chart or visualization type using the Charts Menu on the right. 

• The following image shows the layout of the Domo Analyzer:

The layout comprises numerous panes. The purpose of each pane is as follows:

• Data Pane: The Data Pane lets users specify the data sources, pick from available fields and column filters, and create any necessary calculated fields. 
• Filter & Sort Pane: As the name suggests, this gives users the ability to specify the filters and sort orders that should apply to their selected data. 
• Toolbar Pane or Analyzer Tools: Domo houses numerous Analyzer Tools which are as follows:
  • Data: This tool works on the user data. It can be used to view and modify Dimensions and Measures and add calculated fields from the left pane. Users can also specify various axes of their visualizations using this tool.
  • Data Table: This tool creates a pivot table for the user data and allows users to customize related parameters as per requirements.
  • Data Lineage: This tool can be used to graphically depict where the data for this analysis comes from, and how the various data sources are related to each other.
  • Filters: This tool shows existing filters and gives users the ability to add new ones, or edit existing ones. 
  • Sorting: This tool allows users to drag and drop specific data elements to apply sorting fields to their sort order. 
  • Summary: This tool is used to customize the summary of the data used by the chart. 
  • Date: The Data tool can be used to add date ranges, date filters, and related fine-grained customization.
  • Color Rules: This tool in the Analyzer helps users set different colors for specific lines/bars/areas of their charts, set rules for when the colors should change, and highlight exceptions and changes to threshold values. 
  • YOY:  Year-over-Year is a Financial Analysis tool that is considered to be useful for comparing and analyzing time-series data.
• Chart Picker Pane: The Chart Picker Pane is present on the right side of the screen and gives users the ability to choose from more than 150 chart types that are neatly organized in groups.  For example, Users can choose from numerous Bar Charts (vertical/ horizontal/ stacked/ grouped/ vertical line with grouped bar/ nested bar, etc.), Line Charts (curved/ step-line/ multi-line/ spark-line, etc.), Gauge Charts (filled/ radial/ comparative/ comparative fill,etc.), and Data Science Charts (Scatter Plot/ bubble/ outliers/ statistical process control/ forecasting, etc.). 

• Auto Preview Toggle Pane: As users make changes to their data and visualizations, the preview keeps getting updated. Users can leverage this pane to turn automatic preview generation on or off based on requirements. 

4) Step 4: Engage

• Domo allows users to create Stories, collaborate and engage with co-workers, facilitate communication via comments/ annotations, etc. User Stories can be shared via mobile devices, laptops, and tablets. Users can also have role-based selective access.
• For example, only some features can be made visible to viewers from outside your company. 
• Another robust functionality embedded into Domo, DomoBuzz allows users to have conversations right where their visualizations and data are present on the Card.
• All answers to relevant questions can be shared there and can also be related to corresponding objects seamlessly. Users can also create alert notifications when someone comments on a metric of their choice. 
• Clicking the Buzz icon opens up the DomoBuzz interface, for communication and collaborations. 

• Users can choose to change their notification and buzz settings, as per their needs.

5) Step 5: Optimize

• There are various optimizations and focussed alerts that can help users optimize their Business Intelligence insights, and drive data-driven decision-making. 
• Users can set alerts and notifications for numerous events such as a spike or a dip in the value of a certain metric. Users can also focus on a subset of data and a section of reports relevant to their work, to increase productivity and team efficacy.
• For example, regional managers can have a specific view of the Stories, whereas the top management can oversee and manage via a bird’s eye view of everything important. 

Conclusion

This article provided you with an in-depth understanding of what Domo is and how you can create interactive Visualizations on it to extract useful insights from the data. Along with the ability to create data visualizations, Domo also houses numerous functionalities that can make it easy to engage related team members, share visualizations and information, annotate, drill down for clarity, etc. It also allows users to set alerts that can be triggered and informative emails being sent automatically, in case the reports reach a threshold level or key metrics are changed. 

Choosing a Business Intelligence and Data Analysis tool for your business can be a tough decision primarily because almost all departments in a business such as Finance, Marketing, etc. now make use of multiple platforms to run their day-to-day operations and there is no single tool that can integrate with all these sources easily. Hence, businesses can consider using automated Data Integration platforms like Hevo.

Want to take Hevo for a spin? Sign Up for a 14-day free trial and experience the feature-rich Hevo suite firsthand. You can also have a look at our unbeatable pricing that will help you choose the right plan for your business needs!

Share your experience of learning about Domo Data Visualization. Tell us in the comments below!

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