Reports & Dashboards for Lightning

Introduction to Reports and Dashboards in Lightning Experience

• Typically, the response to a data question comes in the form of a report.
• In its simplest form, a report is a list of records (like opportunities or accounts) that meet the criteria you define.
  • When Sita asked Maria which products are top sellers, Maria created a report that returned a list of all opportunities with products. Then, she:
    • Filtered to show only Closed Won opportunities for “active” products from this financial year.
    • Grouped by product family.
    • Summed the total number sold.
    • Displayed the results in a vertical bar chart, so Sita could easily see the results.
  • Every report is stored in a folder. Report folders determine how reports are accessed, and who can access them to view, edit, or manage. Folders can be public, hidden, or shared.
• A dashboard is a visual display of key metrics and trends for records in your org. The relationship between a dashboard component and report is 1:1; for each dashboard component, there is a single source report. However, you can use the same report in multiple dashboard components on a single dashboard (for example, use the same report in both a bar chart and pie chart).
  • Like reports, dashboards are stored in folders, which control who has access. If you have access to a folder, you can view its dashboards. However, to view the dashboard components, you need access to the underlying reports as well.
• A report type is like a template that makes reporting easier. The report type determines which fields and records are available for use when creating a report. This is based on the relationships between a primary object and its related objects.
• A dashboard is:
  • A visual display of key metrics and trends for records in your org.
• A report type determines:
  • Which fields and records are available for use when creating a report.

Create Reports with the Report Builder

• When you create a report in Salesforce, the criteria you enter is essentially a question you’re asking, and the results returned are the answer.
• To open the report builder from the Reports tab, click New Report. Then, select a report type.
  • When you pick a report type, you’re picking the records and fields you’ll be able to see in your report.
  • Each report type has a primary object relationship and a field layout.
    • Each object relationship specifies a primary object, like opportunities, and optionally one or more related objects. If you specify only a primary object, your report type includes only records for that object. If you also specify a related object, like products, then your report type includes primary objects with (or without, depending on configuration) related objects.
• If you specify only a primary object, your report type includes only records for that object. If you also specify a related object, like products, then your report type includes primary objects with (or without, depending on configuration) related objects.
  • Primary object with related object
  • Primary object with or without related object
• When creating a filter, try dragging a field from the fields pane to the filters pane.
  • Cross-object filters, or “cross filters.” These filter types allow you to extend your reports to objects related to the original objects defined in the report type.

Format Reports

• There are three report formats available: Tabular, Summary, and Matrix. Tabular is the default format.
  • Primary Use Cases
    • Tabular: Make a list
    • Summary: Group and summarize
    • Matrix: Group and summarize, by row and column
• Tabular reports are the simplest and fastest way to look at your data. Similar to a spreadsheet, they consist simply of an ordered set of fields in columns, with each matching record listed in a row.
• Summary reports are similar to tabular reports, but also allow you to group rows of data, view subtotals, and create charts. Summary reports give us many more options for organizing the data, and are great for use in dashboards. Summary reports are the workhorses of reporting—most people find that most of their reports tend to be of this format.
  • To make this report a summary report, you need to group rows. To group rows, first click Outline.
  • Under GROUP ROWS, from the Add group… picklist, select Priority.
• Matrix reports allow you to group records both by row and by column. These reports are the most time-consuming to set up, but they also provide the most detailed view of our data.
  • To summarize the report by Sum of Amount, click the More actions dropdown arrow on the Amount column. Then, click Summarize and select Sum.
  • To change the report format to matrix, first group rows by Close Month and columns by type. To start grouping, click Outline.
  • You may want to hide the report details when viewing a matrix report. Matrix reports are usually easiest to consume with details hidden. To hide the report details, turn off Detail Rows.

Visualize Your Data with the Lightning Dashboard Builder

• Salesforce dashboards present multiple reports side-by-side using dashboard components on a single dashboard page layout. Dashboard components come in various chart types, tables, metrics, and gauges, and you can customize how data is grouped, summarized, and displayed for each component.
• Launch the dashboard builder from the Dashboards tab by clicking New Dashboard. Enter a name for your dashboard and click Create.
  • Insert a component onto your dashboard by clicking + Component, or add a filter by clicking + Filter [1].
  • Finally, when selecting a source report for use in a dashboard component, keep in mind that you can’t choose joined reports or historical trend reports.
• With dynamic dashboards, each user sees the data they have access to without needing to create separate dashboards for each user. This means a single powerful dashboard can be used for multiple users in your company, because the logged-in user viewing the dashboard sees the data they should see, based on their security and sharing settings.
  • To create a dynamic dashboard, under View Dashboard As select The dashboard viewer. Your organization can have up to 5 dynamic dashboards for Enterprise Edition, 10 for Unlimited and Performance Editions.
    • You can’t follow components on dynamic dashboards.
    • You can’t save dynamic dashboards in private folders.
    • You can’t schedule refreshes for dynamic dashboards. They must be refreshed manually.
• If you don’t want to create a dashboard, but just want to add a chart to your report, then report charts may be right for you. Report charts allow you to place a single chart right at the top of your report, so that when you view the report, you can see the chart and the report results in one view.
  • Chart icon, top right from report tab.

Extend Your Reporting Strategy with AppExchange

• https://appexchange.salesforce.com/
• On AppExchange, there are sample report and dashboard packages available from Salesforce Labs.
• Popular topics include:
  • Salesforce Adoption Dashboards
  • Salesforce CRM Dashboards
  • Sales Activity Dashboards
  • Clean Your Room! Dashboard
  • Service & Support Dashboards
  • Knowledge Base Dashboards and Reports
  • Salesforce Chatter Dashboards
  • Chatter Challenge Dashboard
• Whether you’re looking for Sales, Service, Activity, CRM, or adoption-related dashboards, there are sample reports and dashboards available for you. Keep in mind that some apps contain tabs, fields, objects, and more. And there are governors and limits in Salesforce, which your org is subject to. Apps can either be managed or unmanaged, and your overall limits are affected in different ways depending on which type you choose. When you’re installing any app, keep your limits in mind. You can learn more about this topic by earning the AppExchange Solutions badge.
• In general, an AppExchange best practice is to install first in a sandbox. With reports and dashboards, here are a few considerations:
  • Some of the packages come bundled with a handful of custom fields.
  • Reports, dashboards, folders, and custom fields all have names, which can conflict with existing names in your org.
  • Packages all come with report and/or dashboard folders.
• To find Installed Packages, go to Setup then enter Installed Packages in the Quick Find. Click the name of the installed package. Click View Components.
• Before modifying reports or dashboards, do a Save As (top right).