Explore K-12 Reports and Dashboards

Learning Objectives

After completing this unit, you’ll be able to:

• Access sample reports.
• Customize a sample dashboard.
• Customize a sample report.

Show Me the Data!

Remember when you created a Student and Household contact record? Well, with just a bit of sample data you entered, you start to see the possibilities and power of K-12 Architecture Kit’s student-centered architecture. Now that you put data in, it’s time to see what data you can get out.

To get a head start on reporting, go to the Reports tab and click Public Reports to see the sample reports that K-12 Architecture Kit comes with for tracking student and school characteristics. K-12 Architecture Kit pulls these reports into the Sample Student Demographics dashboard. You can customize both the sample reports and dashboard to display your data (exciting news!). First, let’s look at how to customize a report, and then how to create a custom dashboard.

Customize a Sample Report

You can customize standard reports, or you can build custom reports from scratch to suit the exact needs of your organization. A report type defines the set of records and fields available to a report based on the relationships between a primary object and its related objects. Reports display only records that meet the criteria defined in the report type. Salesforce provides a set of pre-defined standard report types—and you, the amazing admin, can customize any of the pre-built reports in K-12 Architecture Kit.

To customize a report, follow the steps below: 

1. Open the Reports tab.
2. Click the Student Population Report.
3. Click Save As and rename the report Student Population by Primary Language. We are going to customize the Student Population Report and summarize by Primary Language to better understand the linguistic distribution of students across the Pleasant Trail School District. Save this to the folder Private Reports.
4. Notice that this is a summary report. Add the group Primary Language.
5. Click Run.

Great work! You just customized a handy report that helps tell the story of the student population in your district. You’re ready to make it available for users.

Customize a Sample Dashboard

Follow these steps to make a sample dashboard on your own by cloning a sample dashboard and customizing it to meet your needs.

1. If necessary, create or customize the source reports containing the data you want to display. Important Note: Be sure to store these reports in folders that intended dashboard viewers can access.
2. From the Dashboards tab, open Recent Dashboards. Click in to the Sample Student Demographics Dashboard.
3. Click Save As, rename the dashboard Pleasant Trail Student Demographics and select the Private Dashboards folder and click Create.
4. To add or edit a dashboard component, click Edit.
5. To add a component to the dashboard, click + Component. Let’s add a dashboard component about languages spoken among the Pleasant Trail student population.
   1. Choose Student Population by Language for the component, then click Select.
   2. Customize how the component displays data, then click Add.
   3. Arrange and resize the component as necessary.
   4. To edit an existing component, click the pencil icon ( ). To remove a component, click the X icon ( ).
6. To add a filter to the dashboard, click + Filter.
   1. From the Field dropdown, select a field to filter on. The dropdown shows fields that can be used to filter all the dashboard’s components. If there are equivalent fields for your selection, hover over the info icon ( ) to see them.
   2. Give the filter a Display Name to identify it. If the filter has many equivalent fields, consider using a name that works for all components.
   3. Assign values to the filter by clicking Add Filter Value.
   4. Click Save.
7. To specify who people view the dashboard as, click the gear icon ( ) to open the Properties menu.
   1. Under Name, optionally rename the dashboard.
   2. Under Description, optionally describe the dashboard.
   3. Under Folder, optionally move the dashboard into another folder. To switch folders, first click the X icon ( ), then select another folder.
   4. Under View Dashboard As, choose who people view the dashboard (and all source reports) as. People can see more or less data than they normally see elsewhere in Salesforce. Be careful not to reveal sensitive information to a broad audience.
      
      Me—People view the dashboard as you.
      Another person—People view the dashboard as whomever you choose. You are the default person. To choose someone else, click the X icon ( ).
      The dashboard viewer—People see data as themselves, according to their own access to data. These types of dashboards are often called dynamic dashboards.
      
      Your organization can have up to 5 dynamic dashboards for Enterprise Edition, 10 for Unlimited and Performance Edition, and 3 for Developer Edition. Dynamic dashboards aren’t available in other editions. Additional dynamic dashboards may be available for purchase.

• Take note of these dynamic dashboard limitations:
  • Dynamic dashboards don’t support the action of following components.
  • You can't save dynamic dashboards in private folders.
  • You can't schedule refreshes for dynamic dashboards. They must be refreshed manually.
    
    
• Let dashboard viewers choose whom they view the dashboard as — Optionally, select Let dashboard viewers choose whom they view the dashboard as to enable a reader with appropriate user permissions to choose who they view the dashboard as. With the “View My Team’s Dashboards” user permission, the reader can view the dashboard as themself or as anyone beneath them in the role hierarchy. With the “View All Data” user permission, the reader can view the dashboard as anyone.

    e. Click Save.

8. To customize dashboard theme or color palette, open the Properties menu by clicking the gear icon ( ).

Customize colors in your dashboard by choosing a light or dark theme and one of 14 color palettes. Themes and color palettes help you organize and curate data in your dashboard. For example, highlight a set of summary metrics by giving them a dark theme and setting them against a light-themed dashboard. This feature is new in Lightning Experience.

      a. From Dashboard Theme, choose Light or Dark to set the theme for the entire dashboard. To set a single component’s theme, edit the component by clicking the pencil icon ( ).
b. From Dashboard Palette, choose one of 14 color palettes. Aurora is the default color palette. If you need an accessible color palette, choose Mineral.
c. Click Save.

9. To switch between a 12-column and 9-column layout, open the Properties menu by clicking the gear icon ( ).
a. Under Dashboard Grid Size, choose 12 columns or 9 columns.
b. Click Save.

10. Click Save, then click Done.

Your dashboard is done. Review and admire your handiwork!

Congratulations—you now have the knowledge and tools you need to help everyone in your school or district work better together by connecting people, processes, and data with K-12 Architecture Kit. You are a rock star!

Resources

• Salesforce Help: Learn About the K-12 Architecture Kit Dashboard and Reports
• Documentation: Build a Lightning Experience Dashboard
• Documentation: Creating a Custom Report
• Documentation: Create a Custom Report Type