Tricks for SAS Visual Analytics Report Builders: Step 5 - Test, Test, and Test Again

4 Likes

This is the sixth part of a six part series that describes tips and tricks for building impactful reports in SAS Visual Analytics.

Draft a Plan
Choose the Best Chart
Bonus: Chart Best Practices
Focus on What’s Important
Consider the Layout
Test, Test, and Test Again (this article!)

SAS Visual Analytics enables you to create compelling, interactive reports that can be viewed by anyone, anywhere. To create impactful reports that resonate with your audience you need to (1) draft a plan for the report, (2) choose the best chart type to display your data, (3) create your reports so viewers can focus on what’s important to them, (4) pick a layout that will best display your data and tell your data story, and (5) test the report to ensure it operates and looks the way you want. In this post, we will focus on the last step in the process: Test, Test, and Test Again.

In this step, you need to test your report to ensure that everything works the way you intend it. This can range from evaluating the performance of the report, to conducting a peer review, to testing on multiple devices, screen sizes, and displays. In addition, more tests may need to be performed depending on how the report will be used (like creating a PDF, printing the report, projecting the report, embedding report elements in a custom web page, viewing the report from SAS for Microsoft 365, playing the report, or viewing the report using a browser with a different locale).

Use the Report Review Pane

To start, use the Report Review pane to evaluate the performance and accessibility of your report. This pane incudes a list of issues categorized by severity (low, medium, and high), a description of each issue, and suggestions for improvement.

The Report Review pane can be accessed from the left pane in SAS Visual Analytics when you are editing the report. The Report Review pane will note the performance issues, like the following:

If the data source contains many calculated items. Consider reducing the number of calculated items or calculating the values in the data preparation phase, if possible.
If the report uses nested containers. Consider adjusting the layout of the report to avoid the use of nested containers.
If a page contains too many objects. Consider reducing the number of objects displayed on each page. Recall that pages with fewer than 7 objects are easier for users to interpret.

For a full list of performance issues, see “Report Review Pane Reference” in the SAS Visual Analytics: Reference documentation.

These performance improvements can be especially useful for users who view the report on a mobile device.

The Report Review pane will also note accessibility issues, like the following:

If the report contains color-dependent display rules. Color-dependent display rules might not be accessible for users with color blindness or other visual impairments. If color-dependent display rules are used, provide another object that includes the information presented by the display rule.
If a page contains linked selection actions. Screen reader users cannot perceive linked selection actions between objects or data elements in the report.
If objects in the report do not have meaningful names. All objects need meaningful, accessible names for assistive technology. It’s a best practice to add your own meaningful names rather than using the default name.

For a full list of accessibility issues, see “Report Review Pane Reference” in the SAS Visual Analytics: Reference documentation.

Pro Tip! Provide meaningful titles and names for all objects and pages in your report. Alternatively, you can specify alternative text for objects, which will be read by screen readers.

Conduct a Peer Review

Next, ask colleagues for feedback on your report. Ask them the following questions:

What is the data story?
Is the report easy to navigate?
Did you get lost?
Did all the actions work?
Were all the features of the report apparent?

Then, use their feedback to make your report even better than it was before!

Test on Multiple Devices

Test your report on various devices and screen sizes. You can do this by using the Developer tools for your browser and clicking the Toggle device toolbar button. This enables you to view and navigate the report using different devices and screen sizes. This is especially important if the precision container is used in the report as the objects can be displayed in an unusual manner on different screens.

In Chrome (pictured), click the Customize and control Google Chrome button in the upper right corner of the web page and select More tools > Developer tools. In Edge, click the Settings and more button in the upper right corner of the web page and select More tools > Developer tools. In Firefox, click the Open application menu button in the upper right corner of the web page and select More tools > Web Developer Tools. Then click the Toggle device toolbar button to choose a device.

Create a PDF

If the report will be shared via report distribution, you should create a PDF of the report by clicking the More button and selecting Export > PDF. The PDF can include page numbers, a table of contents, appendix information, details tables, a cover page, and accessibility tags. In addition, you can click the Use page size button to create a PDF based on the current size of your browser window.

The Export PDF window enables you to specify options for the document and select the pages and objects to include in the PDF.

Perform a Test Print

If users will be printing hard copies of the report, perform a test print. You can also print the report in grayscale to ensure that users with color blindness can identify color differences.

Project the Report

If the report will be projected for a presentation, perform a test run to ensure the colors show up how you intended and have sufficient contrast.

Pro Tip! Users can invert the application colors of the report (by pressing Ctrl+` on the keyboard) or override the report theme by selecting the Override the report theme and use the SAS High Contrast report theme setting in the SAS Visual Analytics > Themes settings window. If your audience is likely to view the report using one of these methods, you should test them out to ensure all the report content is viewable and readable.

Embed the Content in a Custom Web Page

If the report content will be embedded in a custom web page, view the report using the SAS Viya SDK for JavaScript. You can do this by generating a SAS report package and viewing package contents. Report packages can be generated by clicking the More button in the upper right corner of the report and selecting Export > Report package. The report package includes a file (index.html) that will enable you to view the report content on a custom web page.

The Export Report Package window enables you to select the content that will be included in the SAS report package. You can also save the report package to SAS Content.

Access the Report from SAS for Microsoft 365

If the report will be accessed from Microsoft Office products, use SAS for Microsoft 365 to ensure the report appears how you expect and to verify that all actions and links work as intended.

Play the Report

If the report will be presented on a kiosk or a slide show, play the report by accessing the report in View mode, clicking the More button in the upper right corner of the report, and clicking Play report. You can modify the speed, playback time, and display by clicking the More button in the upper right corner of the report and clicking Edit playback.

The Edit Playback window enables you to modify the speed and display of the playback.

View the Report Using a Different Locale

If the report has been localized, you might want to view the report using browsers with different locales. This will ensure that the localization was completed and is applied successfully.

Pro Tip! If you choose to localize reports, make sure to localize all available text. This helps avoid problems that will arise if the report contains mixed-language content.

Summary

After you have drafted a plan for your report, selected the best charts to display your data, enabled your viewers to focus on what’s important, and considered the layout of each page, the last step is to thoroughly test your report. At a minimum, you should analyze the performance and accessibility of the report using the Report Review pane, conduct a peer review, and view the report on different screen sizes. Then, you should perform other tests as necessary for your use case.