Metric Details Page Layout

Use the Analyzing and Acting pattern when you must customize a metric details page or define default layouts for role- or domain-specific dashboards and business performance consoles. The Analyzing and Acting pattern also helps developers, product managers, and designers define page layouts for the metric details page of a Business Intelligence (BI) application in a way that accommodates key information. Information on this page is used primarily for analyzing metric data, identifying problem areas, and responding accordingly (such as notifying or collaborating with managers, employees, and colleagues).

Selection Criteria for This Pattern

The Analyzing and Acting pattern is useful for the following user roles:

A middle manager (also an analyst) who reviews key metrics, analyzes problem areas, and acts accordingly.
An analyst (also a process worker) who analyzes organizational metrics and performs data transactions.
A process worker (customer service representative, clerk) who is responsible for analyzing specific metrics and performing transactions.

Required Screen Elements

The Analyzing and Acting pattern contains the following screen elements:

Component Type	Required Component
Header Region	The header region should contain: Branding logo Links to other dashboards Log out link Links to other OBIEE apps such as Answers, Reports, and so on
Subpage Tabs	Multiple tabs with at least one tab for the summary view. The default name of this tab should be "Summary". This page should be the default selection when the application launches.
Regions (Containers)	Use regions or containers to contain any structured and non-structured data. No information should appear without a region.
Navigation Links	The Summary Page tab has navigation links in the top-right section. Every region may have links that enable drill-down navigation or movement to a different tab.
Icons	Use global Icons for quick actions. A tooltip is required for icon description. Data tables use icons for the status columns. The alerts and prompts section uses status icons.
Drop-Downs Lists	Use drop-down lists within the regions as filters or to switch between views. Use a drop-down list in the header section to navigate to different applications within Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition (OBIEE).

Example Layout of a Metric Details Page

The following layout provides enough room to accommodate various metrics, reports, alerts, related actions and collaboration tools to analyze various metrics and perform relevant actions. The first column contains various KPIs, metrics and reports. The second column serves as a persistent space to place related actions as well as various embedded collaboration tools, such as instant messaging (IM), emails, work list, etc. This arrangement is good for representing metrics with bigger timelines and complex data on the horizontal axis.

Figure 1: Example of a Metric Details Page

The following layout would help users focus on one primary metric or report at a time, and arrange other metrics/reports below that. The related actions may still remain in the right column for quick access to these actions and other collaboration tools.

Figure 2: Metric Details Layout for a Primary KPI Representation

The following illustration is a representation of the action area. This area on the Summary Page could do the following:

Accommodate key action links, such as navigate to other applications or trigger an action such as "share page info" etc.
Accommodate embedded collaboration tools, such as Instant Messenger, widgets and gadgets.
Display contextual information through RSS feeds.

Figure 3: Metric Details Page with a Local Action Area

Figure 4: Local Action Area