Visualization & analytics
Dashboards and self-service analytics on governed data, designed around the decisions people make.
Board pack
18,240
Bought in the last 12 months
Sales dashboard
22,905
Logged in within 90 days
Finance report
15,612
Has an open contract
Three definitions: every meeting starts by arguing about the number.
What we build
Analytics solutions
We build dashboards, reports and self-service analytics on one agreed set of metric definitions, designed around the decisions your people make.
Executive and KPI dashboards
A small set of agreed metrics, tracked over time, with targets and drill-downMoving from a summary figure to the detail behind it, such as from region to store..
Operational dashboards
Near-real-time views for teams running the day: queues, orders, capacity, exceptions.
Finance and board reporting
Monthly, quarterly and board reports produced automatically from one governed model.
Sales and marketing analytics
Pipeline, campaign and customer performance in one place, by region, channel and segment.
Self-service analytics
Governed datasets that let analysts and managers answer their own questions.
Embedded analytics
Dashboards and reports built into your own product for your customers.
How to get started
Three steps to a plan for visualization and analytics
- 1Tell us what you needUse the project form or book a call. A few sentences about the goal is enough to start.
- 2Free technical consultationWe go through your goals, users, existing systems and constraints with you.
- 3Your planA detailed plan covering the right tech stack, architecture, timeline and budget. Then you decide.
How it works
KPIs broken down into drivers
We map each headline number to the drivers your teams can act on. Choose a metric to see how it's defined.
Defined once, used everywhere
Conversion rate
- Definition
- Orders divided by sessions.
- Comes from
- Calculated in the semantic model
- Rolls up to
- Orders → Net revenue
When revenue moves, the tree shows whether traffic, conversion, basket size or price moved it, and which team can act.
Charts matched to the question
We design each view for the question it answers. Choose what you need to show, then point at the chart to read its values.
Use a
Bar chart
Lengths from a common baseline are the easiest values to compare. Sort the bars.
Avoid: 3D bars and truncated axes, which distort differences.
Our approach
How the work runs
Decisions and KPIs
Agree who decides what, which metrics inform it, and exactly how each is defined.
Data model
A semantic modelThe layer in a BI tool that holds tables, relationships and metric definitions every report uses. that holds the metric definitions every report uses.
Design
Dashboards with a clear visual hierarchy, sensible defaults and drill-down, designed for accessibility.
Roll out
Row-level securityRules that filter data by user, so each person sees only the rows they're allowed to., training and documentation so people can use them with confidence.
Improve
Watch usage, retire what isn't used and refine what is.
What we'll need from you
Having these ready keeps the work moving.
Decision makers
Time with the people who will use the dashboards, to agree what they need to see.
Metric owners
Finance or operations leads who confirm each definition and its source.
Platform access
Your BI tenant or licences, and access to the data sources or warehouse.
Access rules
Who may see which data, for row-level security.
Who's on the project
Our team, working with metric owners and decision makers from yours.
1, 1, 1, 2, 2
1 Mayrian 2 Your organization
BI developer: Builds the semantic model, reports and security.
Services
Analytics services
BI consulting
KPIKey performance indicator: one of a small set of metrics that track progress against goals. definitions, a platform recommendation and a roadmap from the reports you run today.
Dashboard and report development
A semantic model, dashboards and reports, with row-level security and accessible design.
Self-service and embedded analytics
Governed datasets for your teams, and analytics built into your own product for customers.
BI support and modernization
Performance tuning, new reports, migration between BI tools and support after launch.
Deliverables
What you receive
Appendix A. What you receive
All code, data and documentation are handed over in your accounts and repositories.
In your hands
What the documentation looks like
Every project ends with documents your team can run with. Here is an excerpt of one of them.
Net revenue
Approved by the Finance Director · used in 14 reports
| Field | Definition |
|---|---|
| Definition | Order value after discounts and returns, excluding tax and shipping |
| Formula | SUM(order_value) − SUM(discounts) − SUM(returns) |
| Grain | Order line, by day |
| Source | fct_orders, reconciled to the general ledger monthly |
| Refresh | Hourly |
| Owner | Finance |
| Access | Regional managers see their own region |
Measuring success
How success is measured
What we report on in visualization and analytics projects. Which measures apply, and their targets, are agreed with you at the start.
Table 2. What we report, and when. Targets are agreed with you at the start.
| Measure | Reported |
|---|---|
| Adoption | Monthly |
| Load time | Every release |
| Metric consistency | Quarterly |
| Refresh success | Every refresh |
| Ad hoc request volume | Monthly |
| Accessibility conformance | Every release |
Measure
Adoption
Active viewers per dashboard over time, showing which are used and which can be retired.
Reported
Monthly
One report, the right data for each person
Drill from region to store, then view the same report as a regional manager: row-level security shows each person their own data.
View as
Revenue this quarter by region· select a bar to drill down
Readiness check
Are you ready for
visualization and analytics?
Five questions, about a minute. You'll see what to settle first and a sensible starting point.
Datasheet
Readiness for visualization & analytics
Questions to answer about your data and organization before building
Q1. Can you name the decisions or meetings the dashboards will serve?
Q2. Are your key metrics defined in writing, and agreed?
Q3. Is the data behind them already consolidated in a warehouse or database?
Q4. Do you know who may see which data, for example by region or client?
Q5. Is there a BI platform licensed, or a preference?
How to start
From first call to production
Start where you are. Each step ends with a decision, so you commit to the next one only when it makes sense.
Protocol
How an engagement runs
Each step ends with a decision on whether to continue
Free technical consultation
One or two sessions
Talk through the goal, the data you have and the systems involved.
Outputs
- (a) A shortlist of use cases, ranked by value and feasibility
- (b) A recommended next step
- (c) A plan covering stack, architecture, timeline and budget
Estimate the value
What it could be worth to you
Enter your own figures. The formula is shown, and the estimate can go with your enquiry.
Estimate
Time spent building recurring reports
Visualization & analytics · from your own figures
Build or buy
When you don't need
a custom build
Part of the free technical consultation: when an existing product covers the need, we recommend it instead of a custom build. These are the options we weigh, alongside the tools you already have.
Related work
Existing products that may be enough
- [1]Built-in reports in Shopify, HubSpot, Salesforce or Google AnalyticsWhen the question is about one system and its standard reports answer it.
- [2]A spreadsheet connected to one sourceWhen a small team tracks a few numbers that change weekly.
Our approach
When a custom build is worth it
- Metrics combine several systems
- Definitions must match finance and be governed
- Different people may only see their own data
- Dashboards are embedded in your product for customers
In your industry
Where it applies
What this work delivers in the industries we serve.
RetailDemand forecasting and retail analyticsSell-through, margin and replenishment dashboards, and forecasting models that inform buying and allocation.
HealthcareClinical and operational dashboardsData pipelines and dashboards for capacity, patient throughput, referral leakage and quality measures.
Non-ProfitsImpact dashboardsReports that turn program and fundraising data into outcome metrics for funders, boards and annual reports.
Real EstateMarket and portfolio analyticsDashboards and valuation models for pricing, occupancy, rent rolls and portfolio performance.
LogisticsOperations analyticsDashboards for on-time delivery, cost per shipment, dwell time and carrier performance.
Technologies and standards
Chosen for your project
Built on the cloud you already use. Choose yours to see the services involved; we recommend the full stack in the free technical consultation.
Table 2. Managed services for each layer, by cloud. The highlighted column is the one you chose.
| Layer | AWS | Azure | Google Cloud |
|---|---|---|---|
| Warehouse | Amazon Redshift | Microsoft Fabric | BigQuery |
| Semantic model | QuickSight datasets | Power BI semantic models | LookML |
| Dashboards | Amazon QuickSight | Power BI | Looker |
| Embedded analytics | QuickSight embedded analytics | Power BI Embedded | Looker embedded analytics |
Also runs on any of the three: Tableau, Sigma, Metabase, dbt Semantic Layer.
BI platforms
- Power BI
- Tableau
- Looker
- Metabase
- Apache Superset
Semantic layer
- Power BI semantic models
- LookML
- dbt Semantic Layer
Embedded
- Power BI Embedded
- Looker embedded analytics
- D3.js
Data platforms
- Snowflake
- Databricks
- Google BigQuery
- Microsoft Fabric
Next section
Predictive analytics
Forecasts and risk scores with their uncertainty, proven on the past.
Previous: Data engineeringData Analytics & AI
3 Predictive analytics
What will happen?
Questions
Common questions
about visualization and analytics
Which BI tool should we use?
We work with Power BI, Tableau, Looker and open-source tools, and usually recommend the one you already license. Metric definitions live in the data model, so reports can move between tools.
How current can dashboards be?
As current as you need. We set daily or hourly refreshes for most dashboards, and streaming or direct queries for operational views where minutes matter.
Can we put dashboards inside our own product?
Yes. We build embedded analyticsDashboards shown inside another application, typically your own product, for its users. with a BI platform's embedding features or custom charts, showing each customer their own data inside your application.
How is a project priced?
Well-defined scopes are delivered as fixed-price engagements; when requirements are still evolving, we provide a dedicated team instead. Either way, the free technical consultation ends with a plan covering tech stack, architecture, timeline and budget, so you know the cost before work starts.
More in Data Analytics & AI
How it connects
- Relies onData engineeringDashboards are only as trustworthy as the modelled, tested data beneath them.
- Pairs withPredictive analyticsForecasts shown beside actuals, with their ranges, turn reports into plans.
- Pairs withMachine learningScores such as churn risk become lists and views that teams act on.
Planning visualization and analytics work?
Start with a free technical consultation: a detailed plan covering the right tech stack, architecture, timeline and budget for your project.
Start a project