“Without big data analytics, companies are blind and deaf, wandering out onto the web like deer on a freeway.” – Geoffrey Moore

In today’s fast-paced and technology-driven world, organizations are on the lookout for innovative ways and means to collect and analyze data. Data visualization tools are high, and one such is Looker Studio – a popular name in the world of data reporting and analytics.

As a robust and flexible tool, Looker Studio has catalyzed decision-making through its visually appealing, engaging, and informative dashboards and reports. What is of utmost importance is how best it can be leveraged so that it offers fruitful results in the form of effective business decisions.

This article focuses on key guidelines that can carve great results, whether you are a novice or a seasoned data analyst. Before we plunge into that, let us quickly go through the technology itself.

Looker Studio – An Overview

Looker Studio, formerly Google Data Studio, is an online tool for converting data into customizable, informative reports and dashboards. – Wikipedia

Powered by the tech giant Google, Looker Studio offers an engaging user interface and exemplary analytical capabilities that is apt for BI specialists, data analysts, data scientists and more. As an easy and free tool, it can seamlessly connect with disparate data sources through its inbuilt partner connectors.

It is easy to share reports and dashboards with teams or individuals by collaborating in real-time. Being a customizable and self-service BI tool, it can help end users create their own reports, graphs, and charts and convey their stories with great impact. There are multiple visualizations that it offers which can be created within a few clicks.

Key Industry Standards to be Followed in Looker Studio for Best Reporting & Performance

Creating a simple dashboard without following any standards is a simple thing to do, but will it yield the desired results? Possibly not. To garner optimum results out of your data visualization, it is imperative to follow certain best practices; here they are:

• Start Small, Start Smart

Even though there is a lot of confidence that you may have in your Looker design and BI application, it is wise to start small. Take up implementation of features in smaller chunks rather than all at a time. Offer basic features first and then showcase more functionalities as the users start getting used to the initial ones. Understand relevance, realize importance and display fields accordingly.

• Leverage Usage of Templates

Lookers offers a lot of templates that can be used while creating designs. Since they are proven ones, half the battle is won. Even if you are a novice, it becomes easy for you to create alluring designs. You can make the best use of templates for different use cases and thereby fulfil user requirements with ease. You can even add your own data source, alter color patterns, and fill in information as needed.

• Understand the Target Audience and Objectives

Prior to starting off with Looker feature creation, perceive the basic objectives of the project. Who is the target audience? Why are these self-service BI reports and dashboards being created? What is the timeline? Which KPIs and metrics are to be measured? All these questions must be satisfactorily answered before you start designing the reports and dashboards.

• Don’t Unnecessarily Clutter Your Dashboard

Keep it smart and crisp. The design need not be too cluttered, colorful, and full of elements. There can always be a simple and sleek design that can fulfil all necessary features and yet be minimalistic. What you must look for is fast and easy access to users. If the users need to waste time searching for needed information, the purpose isn’t served. Offering information in a clear and crisp manner can help business users make prompt and right decisions with ease.

• Schedule Automation of Reports

Users need reports at regular intervals for best decision making. Looker Studio offers a scheduling feature that can schedule reports at your desired timeline and interval. Reports can be delivered through email or through other collaborative software, either daily, weekly, monthly or within the mentioned time frame. This leads to less wastage of time for users and a surety that reports will not be missed due to manual intervention.

• Ensure Good Quality of Data

Having good data quality is of prime importance. Only then can the authenticity of dashboards and reports be justified. A good-looking report with visually appealing elements but poor-quality data is just the opposite of what we want. Ensure proper data cleaning, validation, and governance methodologies prior to using them for visualization. This is primarily important to ensure secure, validated, and authentic information. 

• Make Use of Data Connectors While Importing Data

Looker offers native connectors for major data sources like MySQL, Salesforce, and Google Analytics. This offers a direct connection to your data source with import into Looker Studio. Connectors offer streamlined data import thereby, getting accurate and relevant data into your reports. Selecting the right connector for your project is of prime importance for garnering business decisions.

• Model and Blend Your Data Well

Looker Studio offers a modelling language, LookML, that can be utilized for creating computations, relationships, and metrics across the project. It helps in forming a comprehensive view of the data with thorough blending and modelling features.

• Choose the Apt Visualization Approach

There could be multiple approaches to good data visualization. You must select the one which suits your organizational needs to the best possible extent. Looker Studio has a wide range of data visualization competencies. Choose the ones that can display your stories in the format that you are looking for.

• Add Interactive Features in Your Design

Interactive elements are a must for a good Looker design. Features such as drill-downs, filters, widgets, buttons, embedded links, interactive charts, and graphics engage the users further down the deepest level possible. This makes the reports and dashboards more interesting and rewarding.

An Interesting Read: Top 9 Data Visualization Practices for Insightful Vision

Till Later

Google Looker Studio is undoubtedly a competitive tool for unleashing the power of visualization through its dashboards and reports. To leverage it at its best, the above-mentioned guidelines are apt and must be followed. Yes, based on the size and segment of the business, the best practices can be tailored to fit specifications, but they do surely help.

At Rigdeant, we make the most of your data assets to create a data-driven roadmap to growth. Our data analytics consulting assists organizations in unlocking actionable insights and evolving into a truly data-driven enterprise.

Our data analytics and visualization services create well-crafted data revelations that facilitate businesses to determine hidden trends and patterns, derive conclusions, supervise performance, and trace KPIs.

Our Looker consulting services have the potential to bring out the best data visualization and analytics services through informed decision-making and establishing a data-driven culture utilizing Looker’s best-in-class analytics features.

React out to us in case you are looking to dig deeper into your mountains of data. We will help you uncover the valuable information hidden within your heaps of data.