Starting with the release of MicroStrategy ONE (March 2024), dossiers are also known as dashboards.
Summary
Authoring dossiers is a fun and innovative experience, yet even for experienced users, it's easy to get lost in your own creation. From sorting through and searching for the attributes and metrics that you want, naming and managing datasets, naming and layering each element on the canvas, to finally trying to author in a clean workspace, it can be overwhelming trying to keep organized. Prior to MicroStrategy 2021, it wasn't hard to feel like filtering through a maze of your own work to get to the data or visualization that you needed, when you needed it.
Beginning with MicroStrategy 2021, several capabilities have been introduced to help authors create robust content in dossier while also keeping their canvas neat. In this article, we will share some best practices on using these capabilities to keep a clean interface and to minimize the dead time searching for your own data or visualizations. We’ll also cover some guidelines for naming each element in your dossier strategically so that you’ll be able to find what you’re looking for, exactly when you need itDeclutter your workspace by hiding elements on the canvas
Beginning in MicroStrategy 2021, dossier authors now have the capability to show and hide dossier elements on their canvas while in the edit mode.When creating or editing your dossier, we recommend as a best practice, hiding elements on the canvas when appropriate to keep the canvas clear and decluttered. This option allows authors to specifically focus on the content that they need to edit, while blocking out the noise. The value of hiding elements on the page is no different from closing or hiding unused tabs or windows when using your computer to declutter your desktop, or even wiping eraser shavings from your page, if you ever drew pictures when you were younger.
This capability is especially useful for editing within a group of elements that are overlaid on top of one another or within close proximity. When working with dossier elements that are arranged in the previously described fashion, it can be difficult to access and properly click on the element that you need to edit. By hiding 1 or multiple elements in a group, this allows you as an author quick and easy access to the container that needs editing. Otherwise, you as an author might ungroup a layer, move elements out of position, edit the desired element and save, move the other group items back into position, and then finally group them again. Hiding the finished elements that do not need to be changed also lowers the risk of accidentally modifying something that should have otherwise been left alone. When you have completed editing the element of your desire, you can show all of them again to restore the finished layout of the dossier, prior to saving.
- Hide a group
In the images above, we see that for the author, it is difficult to access the map visualization that is in the background, due to the visualizations dominating the click area in the foreground. It’s better to hide one or more of the visualizations temporarily, make the adjustments on the object of choice, then show all of visualizations again rather than moving things out of the way or trying to click between them.
Use the shortcuts on the Dataset panel
Prior to MicroStrategy 2021, searching for the attributes and metrics that you wanted to use in a visualization was comparable to looking for a needle in the haystack. Users were limited to either searching for the exact name of the data you wanted or scrolling alphabetically in the list. A third option was breaking the dataset panel into the table view, which segmented each set of attributes and metrics by the tables they corresponded to.
MicroStrategy 2021 introduces a neater organizational structure for the datasets panel of all dossiers that you open in edit mode. From the improved dataset panel, authors can easily search for the specific data that they need at any given time. Authors will appreciate this capability as they will be able to filter through long lists of elements within and between their datasets, reducing the time needed to develop a robust dossier. In many cases, as a dossier author, you will be developing content on a timeline or may be in a position to have to manage several dossiers in your MicroStrategy application. As an authoring best practice, we recommend using these dataset shortcuts whenever it is appropriate to preserve time and to remain as organized as possible. A cluttered desk leads to a cluttered mind.
Let’s take a further look at the following examples to understand how using the dataset panel can cut down the time to find the actual data that you need.
Attributes
Clicking the attribute icon filters the dataset panel to search for all elements of the dataset that are attributes. [FIND OUT IF THIS ICLUDES GEO / DATE / TIME ATTRIBUTES]. In addition to filtering down on attributes to search for a specific dimension that you need, consider using this view early in the dossier design cycle to create your first sets of derived attributes, groups, links, geo attributes, and custom groups. The listed items above extend or transform the dimensions of your data and are handy to have at the beginning, before progressing too far in your authoring workflow.
Metrics
Clicking the metric icon filters the dataset panel to search for all elements of the dataset that are metrics. [FIND OUT IF THIS ICLUDES GEO / DATE / TIME ATTRIBUTES]. This includes derived metrics as well as the base metrics. Just like with attributes, consider using this view early in the dossier design cycle to create your first set of derived metrics that you know will be needed to perform more advanced calculations. Some of your derived attributes may even have dependencies on the derived metrics you create, so it’s generally better to have them ready upfront.
Date/Time Attributes
Clicking the clock icon filters the dataset panel search for all date/time related metrics. Remember this shortcut for any scenario where you are working with visualizations, such as Smart KPIs, Line Graphs or Waterfalls, where a chronological-based attribute is required to tell the story of the data over a period of time. Early in the design process, you may also consider creating new derived time attributes to extend what already exists in the dataset. Remember that MicroStrategy will make recommendations for new date/time attributes when a user right-mouse clicks on them.
Geo Attributes
Clicking the location pin icon filters the dataset panel search for all attributes that have a geographical latitude and longitude. Remember this shortcut for any scenario where you are working with map visualizations. As with time-based attribute, early in the design process, you may consider creating new derived geo attributes to extend what already exists in the dataset. Just like date/time dimensions, remember that MicroStrategy will make recommendations for new geo attributes when a user right-mouse clicks them.
Derived Attributes
Clicking the attribute icon with the formula symbol filters the dataset panel search for all derived attributes in the dataset. Use this view when the total volume of attributes is too vast and you need a focused list to find the derived attributes you need.
Derived Metrics
Clicking the metric icon with the formula symbol filters the dataset panel search for all derived metrics in the dataset. Similar to derived attributes, use this view when the total volume of attributes is too vast, and you need a focused list to find the derived metrics that you need.
Data Source
Use the Data Source shortcut to toggle between multiple datasets at a time. It is likely that your dossier needs multiple datasets from multiple sources to tell a cohesive and thorough story. This is particularly useful when doing development work for an extended period of time while focusing on a segment of the story that comes exclusively from a singular dataset.
When a scenario like this occurs during your authoring session, reduce the noise on the page, so that you as a developer can quickly find the data elements that you need from that dataset. Also consider using this view in conjunction with the dataset table view. This will allow you to organize your large list of elements even further by understanding the source of the tables. When working with multiple tables and joins within a dataset, it is generally helpful to use this capability to visually articulate where each element is coming from, both for context purposes, as well as understanding the internal relationships within that dataset.
Current Visualizations
Use the Current Visualizations shortcut to trim the list even further based on the visualization that you were last working on. Out of all of the dataset panel filtering options, this selection will generally yield the smallest and most detailed fetch. Filtering the elements down to only the level included in the dataset is useful particularly towards the end of the design process for renaming the data, creating additional derived attributes/metrics, tinkering with formulas inside those derived elements or even ascribing descriptions to those derived metrics to help users understand the calculation or context. As stated in the previous sentence, this capability comes in handy towards the end of the design process and helps you focus extensively on any last fit and finish items for each particular visualization on the canvas.
Current Page
Similar to Current Visualization, filtering your dataset panel on the Current Page grants you access to similar benefits, albeit with this option, your catalog will be expanded to include all elements used by that particular page. Once again, this view is helpful towards the end of the design process when the pages that you have designed are close to finished. If you find yourself needing to work on multiple visualizations on the same page for an extended period of time, Current Page would be the ideal choice over Current Visualization, to reduce the amount of clicks and time needed to find and access the appropriate data elements.
Unused Derived Objects
Under normal circumstances, you may not search specifically for the desired derived attribute or metric that you need under this category. The simplest solution might be to just search for them by name or by their respective icons on the top bar.
However, as an author, you may find yourself creating multiple derived objects that were either experimental, or later found to not be needed per the dossier’s requirements. We would recommend to all authors to periodically pull up this grouping in the dataset panel to search for unused derived attributes and metrics in your dossier. Whether the derived object is used or not, each one carries a performance impact on the dossier’s execution due to the necessary additional calculations needed to load them. A best practice for optimizing the performance of the dossier is to periodically audit them, with the purpose of eliminating each unused derived object. In the world of business intelligence, each second matters to the end user, so we encourage you to diligently keep dossiers as lean as possible by discarding any unneeded derived objects.
Linking Attributes
While creating dossiers within your application, it’s common to join multiple datasets together through common attribute IDs shared between them. Stitching together datasets merges different pieces of context together to fully flesh out and articulate a robust story across multiple sources in your dossier. At the intersection of these datasets are the linking attributes, which can easily be accessed by clicking this shortcut on the datasets panel. Use this filtering choice whenever you need to audit the joins between datasets or make modifications to the data model within your dossier.
Hidden Objects
Use this shortcut to expose data that has been hidden in the dataset panel. This option filters down the panel to those attributes and metrics which have been hidden from the catalog of data elements that users can interact with.
When your dossier is ready for deployment, you may have some power users in your department who may prefer being able to do some self-service development in MicroStrategy Web or Workstation. After a dossier is finished, all of its dependent datasets within are exposed and can be used to change the dossier around to that power users preference.
By hiding data objects in the dataset panel, you can configure your dossier with some guardrails so that anybody with access to the Web or Workstation clients has only a limited scope of attributes and metrics that they can play with. This use case may be proper for either security reasons, or even a scenario as simple as decluttering the volume of data exposed to a user, so that they can find what they actually want and need more efficiently.
Name everything in your dossier appropriately
(You’ll thank us later)
Datasets
In many applications, it’s fundamental to include underscores rather than spaces when defining schemas, tables, or file names. You may have naming structures that include other special characters, such as hyphens, parenthesis, periods, colons, etc. Now that your dataset is in the semantic layer (dossier), there’s no need to follow these same principles, as your end users, including you as an author, will appreciate being able to read and interact with the datasets in plain and readable language.
The same rule above applies for naming tables in a common readable language, rather than leaving them to their default views from your source application.
For anyone who is a power user, or who does not have to context of the underlying data model, simply naming your datasets and [and what??].
Attributes / Metrics
The same philosophy also continues into naming the actual attributes and metrics in your dataset. While most authors end up renaming the data objects in the visualizations that they are placed in, it is always important to remember to define a simple and intuitive universal name for that attribute or metric, so that it’s naming convention is not so vastly different from how it appears in the visualization. Your power users, or anyone who opens the dossier in edit mode to tinker with the layout, may not understand the fields as they read from the source data. They will appreciate having all of the available attributes or metrics that are exposed to them, aligning to their logical data model per the business definition of each item. When they go to create new visualizations or replace existing content, you can also save them some clicks and time, not having to rename everything from scratch to be understandable.The above represents a simplified example of what this might look like in practice. However, in a real scenario, the naming conventions may be more verbose as they appear from the source application. Simplify the naming convention when pulling in this data. This especially holds true when building datasets using Super Cubes. If using a DSN source modeled into your MicroStrategy project application, it would be best to resolve the naming conventions at that level to make life even easier, the benefits enjoyed widespread across the deployment.
Canvas Elements / Layers
As a best practice when dossier authoring, MicroStrategy recommends giving each element on the dossier canvas a proper naming convention. This may seem elementary, however, it is common for even the most senior content creators to fall into the trap of creating or duplicating visualizations, text boxes, filters and shapes, then neglecting to properly name each one of them. This is a fundamental designing best practice that we recommend that all authors heed early and often in their dossier design process, which would pay dividends in the future when your dossier contains multiple frames of content. When the time comes later to perform maintenance on dossiers, consider the seconds that you will save each time you need to specifically find a canvas element in the layers panel, when everything is named neatly and properly.
Consider the example below of a finished dossier object, that now needs editing. To the everyday user consuming this object, there isn’t anything amiss with the below sample object.From the user’s perspective, everything in this model dossier is properly named and there should not be any confusion deciphering the context for each panel of visualizations.
Behind the scenes however…
…is a maze of unnamed layers that editors of the dossier struggle to find the particular frame that needs to be modified, resulting in seconds lost due to trial and error based searching.
The lesson here is that while there is minimal risk to an end user, if everything is not given a proper name, the dossier’s author will burn valuable time searching for the particular object that needs editing.
The same rules that may apply to other design applications, such as Adobe Photoshop, when working with layers, apply here. The seconds you save looking for each container will ultimately aggregate into minutes saved each maintenance session for a dossier, and as a professional in any industry, your time is always precious.
Lastly, for user scenarios that require additional accessibility through the form of a screen reader, properly naming each on-canvas element is a critical requirement for ensuring the audience can properly follow the context, nested within each frame. If not named properly, the screen reader would literally read out “Visualization 1” or “Text1."
Conclusion
We hope that the information here has been helpful to you as you design your dossier(s). It pays to be organized and efficient while designing robust production-ready dossiers for your intelligent center. As elementary as all of these best practices are, heeding them in your day-to-day dossier building will shave time off of your own development efforts, as well as help others outside the development team follow along should they want to dive deeper and dissect or expand on the story. We also hope that when the time comes to maintain our application, that you’ll be able to narrow down and identify each dossier component with minimal clicks and time needed.
As you're creating well-organized dossiers with clear attentiveness to color, feel free to share them with us as part of our monthly
DossBoss challenge. Further information can be found here.
Good luck and have fun creating!
