While it may be fun to check your quarterly or yearly dashboards from you phone, most of your traditional dashboards are probably better suited for close examination on a desktop. However, there are definitely certain types of data that benefit from rapid on-the-go access, here are three of them.
1. Operational/Check Report Dashboards
I use this regularly to check on the health of my organization. Complex systems like Salesforce sometimes produce unexpected results and having a dashboard that I can refresh at a glance that will re-assure me that everything is running smoothly is fantastic.
2. Individual/Department Goal Tracking
Whether you are managing a department or just trying to meet quota, having a quick way to get an update on your progress along the way is really convenient. I’ve never been a fan of Salesforce’s Gauge dashboard components, but they work really well in this context. Tables with value highlighting also work really well here.
3. Rapidly Changing Metrics
There are lots of metrics that can be stored in Salesforce, think about things that are relevant on an hourly or daily basis. An inside sales or support team may want to track call volume per day. A sales manager may want to constantly check on closed deals as the end of the month approaches.
Overall, I think the key to providing value to users on the go is to present data that can be digested and understood quickly. Things like trended conversion rates by segment, or metrics which cover a large span of time, where you really have to question the implication of the data are less effective on mobile. Whereas, concrete status updates on how things are running operationally provide immense value at a glance.
