Incorta Mobile

JeffW · ‎03-14-2022

Introduction

Available for download on both iOS and Android, Incorta Mobile empowers business teams to quickly access data and make decisions on the go. As the world’s first unified data analytics experience for mobile devices, users now have a powerful and convenient way to access, view, and analyze business data from anywhere, at any time, with the ability to drill down into specific transaction details. The mobile-native apps are built for power users and novices alike, and provide mobile shortcuts and other optimizations for small screens. This article will discuss proven practices for mobile reporting to ensure your organization is getting the most out of Incorta Mobile.

What you need to know before reading this article

We recommend that you be familiar with these Incorta concepts before exploring this topic further:

You may also want to install Incorta Mobile.

Applies to

These concepts apply to version 5.1 and above of Incorta for customers implementing Incorta on-premises or in their own cloud, and all versions for those customers using the Incorta Cloud.

Let's Go

Defining Mobile Use Cases

For the most effective mobile reporting, it is best to understand the use cases for mobile users. Most people on the go are looking for a quick high level summary, or a very specific metric or KPI. Focus on identifying how your users will use information on the go and (for now) do not worry about what format they expect to see the data in.

Understanding Your Current Reporting

Mobile design should go beyond assuming shrinking a normal report down to a mobile-sized screen will work for every case. Mobile devices utilize a different user interface, relying on taps and swipes versus a mouse and keyboard, and obviously feature a much smaller screen. While many of your Incorta dashboards will be usable as-is on mobile devices, for more complex or tabular reports it may be worth re-designing a mobile-first version of the report. Before you begin building new reports, take the time to sample your existing reports that fulfill mobile use cases through the mobile app. Determine which ones lend themselves to the mobile form factor and which ones should be re-designed.

Designing for Mobile-First Consumption

If you determine a subset of dashboards should be re-designed for mobile, keep in mind the following best practices to design the most effective suite of mobile reports:

Mobile devices have two form factors, but you should design for one

Mobile devices have both portrait and landscape orientations, and some insight types will work better on one versus the other. That said, try to design each dashboard to only use one orientation so the user isn’t stuck continually rotating their device to get the best view of their data.

Consider the logical hierarchy and order of your data, using drill down reports to avoid information overload

Because mobile limits the design space available, dashboards should be an initial starting point that will logically guide a user as they want additional data. For instance, if you are designing a dashboard to visualize revenue by state, you may start with a KPI item with the overall total, followed by a bar chart breaking it up by regions according to your geographic hierarchy. From there you may want to drill down to an additional report breaking down the revenue by state and whatever other dimensions may be useful to the user.

Consider KPI items instead of charts, or consider reducing the time range for a chart

In many cases mobile users are likely looking for the current status of a metric or KPI rather than a year’s worth of data. Consider using a KPI insight to show a single month’s value, or try cutting down the time frame of a chart, perhaps to current quarter instead of current year.

Turn off most of the chart features

If you do use charts, consider turning off many of the optional features on the chart. The enhanced tool tips available on mobile will typically convey all the information needed without permanently taking up space like a Legend typically would.

Utilize Filters and Bookmarks

You can save your users a lot of time by preemptively creating multiple bookmarks for the most common combination of filters. At a minimum, make sure your mobile users understand this piece of functionality within Incorta.

Consider a palette with more contrast than your typical one

In some cases your users may be mobile because they are outside. Consider creating a custom palette that features more contrast than you would typically use in your dashboards to make them easier to read outside.