7 Tips for the new Major Domo

If you're new or newer to Domo, things can feel overwhelming.  It may not be clear what the difference between a dataflow and a dataset is.  Or maybe you can't figure out how to make your chart do exactly what you want without having to build yet another Magic ETL.  Even if you're a seasoned BI veteran, getting started with Domo can feel frustrating.

Never fear.  Our team at Onyx Reporting has assembled a few tips to help you move faster and experience less frustration in Domo.

Deploy the Activity Log App to your Instance.

​You can access the Activity Log by searching the app store.

What are apps?
Apps are pre-built packages of connectors, dashboards, and dataflows that support a use case or reporting requirement.

While you're in the app store, do a search for the SaaS platforms you use already, you may find some time-saving quick starts.

DON'T STOP HERE.
Most people make the mistake of deploying an app, conclude that it's ugly, and then exit Domo.  Don't be most people!  Quick starts are a framework on which to build.  

• Do a metric mapping exercise to ascertain the gap between desired versus available KPIs. 
• Identify which datasources and datasets require additional transformation.
• Do the work and then update your quick start.  

Note: most of the quick starts use the old collections format and therefore don't take advantage of updates to the Domo UI including dashboards and filter cards.  A little spitshine might reveal a gem! 

Join the Global Conversation

The Domo User Group was created and nurtured to connect Domo users like you.  To join the exchange of ideas and best practices join

• the Domo community site, dojo.domo.com
• the open slack group
• semi-weekly online meetups

Our most active participants regularly post solutions, tutorials, and videos about their Domo adventures and are happy to share their knowledge.

3 and 4. Identify the right people and get them trained and certified.

Broadly speaking, Domo categorizes people into Data Specialists, Domo Professionals, Major Domos, and Executive Sponsors.  Each of these personas has certification and training tracks available in the Domo University

While you're there, check out

• quarterly product release webinars.
• certification tracks

DON'T STOP THERE
Really push your Data Specialists to engage with the Dojo and Domo User Group community.  While Domo's drag and drop interface simplifies all aspects of development, best practices may feel very foreign to developers with a SQL or PowerBI only background.

5. ​Familiarize yourself with the Domo Governance and Domo Stats datasets.

In tip 1, you deployed the Domo Stats dataset called "Activity Log."  That's only one of a few dozen governance datasets designed to support instance administration.  The remaining datasets are available as reports under the Domo Stats and Domo Governance connectors.  Revisit the connectors periodically, as Domo regularly expands and refines the list of available reports based on user feedback.

DON'T STOP THERE
Domo empowers smaller teams to manage and support a broader base of users through automation.  Developers with a scripting background can leverage tools available at developer.domo.com to automate content and user management activities including:

• deleting stale content
• identifying duplicate or unused content
• securing data with automated PDP deployment
• managing group membership
• data backup to 3rd party systems

6 and 7. Create Alerts on Cards and Datasets

Define alerts for yourself and others to drive daily activities via SMS, email or mobile device.

GET READY FOR CONTROVERSY
If you don't want to receive notifications about the data you're displaying in dashboards, you probably aren't measuring the right thing.  In consulting, we speak of leading versus lagging indicators.  A leading indicator predicts an outcome whereas a lagging indicator simply reports what happened. 

In some organizations, finance teams spend inordinate effort in preparing profit and loss reports.  However because no action can be taken to improve the bottom line at end-of-quarter, PNL reporting is the perfect example of a lagging indicator.  In contrast, monitoring inbound or outbound activity are prime examples of leading indicators because positive trends in these KPIs typically predict a strong end-of-quarter finish.

If your primary use case for Domo is reporting lagging indicators, expand your scope to include leading indicators as soon as possible.

Go Big.  Do More.  With Less.

​With proper governance tools, consistent ETL design practices and a little automation, central BI teams can use Domo to roll-out or augment a hybrid data lake, warehouse or data mart strategies that scale without a linear investment in administration.

With experience accumulated over 30+ Domo projects and decades in the BI and data analytics space, Onyx Reporting is well situated to service and support your organization during your journey. Contact us to schedule a call.