Configure an Insight

vuSmartMaps Insights can be accessed by navigating from the left navigation menu (Configure Observability > Insights).

Managing insights is made easy on the Insights landing page. Here, you’ll find two essential tabs:

1. Insight Cards Section
2. Insight Card Templates Section
   

• Name: The title of the Insight Card.
• Description: A brief explanation of the card’s content.
• Type: The format of the Insight Card, which can be HTML, Markdown, or plain Text.
• Created By: The user who initially created the Insight Card.
• Created At: The date and time when the Insight Card was first created.
• Modified By: The user who made the most recent changes to the Insight Card.
• Modified At: The date and time when the Insight Card was last modified.

The steps for creating and managing the Insights Card and Insight Card Template are as follows.

Prerequisites

• Data for insight is generated from a Data Model. The user needs to create a Data Model before creating an Insight. 

Insight Cards Section

These steps provide an overview of how to work with Insight Cards.

Step 1: To create a new Insight Card or Insight Card Template, click the + button in the top right corner of the Insight Cards page.

Step 2: You will be directed to the configuration page, where you can choose one of the following options:

1. Create Insight Card: Manually select Data Models, add Variables and Scripts, and input HTML/Markdown Template code to create a custom Insight Card.
2. Create Insight Card Using Template: Utilize an existing Insight Card Template to create your Insight Card.

💡 Note: You can create an Insight Card Template by clicking the Save As Template button on the configuration page.

Create Insight Card

This option empowers users to manually craft Insight Cards by selecting Data Models, incorporating Variables and Scripts, and entering HTML/Markdown Template code

• Name: Provide a label for the Insight Card
• Description: Enter the description based on the requirement
• Type: Insights come in three types: Text, HTML, and Markdown.
  • Choose ‘HTML’ to open an HTML code editor.
  • Choose ‘Markdown’ to open the Markdown editor.
  • For ‘Text’ type, no additional editor is needed.”
• Definitions: You can now use Labels and associate them with Data Models and Variables. This makes it easier to incorporate new Data Models and Variables in the future without extensive code changes.

• Add Data Models: Choose a Data Model based on the requirements from the dropdown. A Data Model contains 7 elements

• • Label: The label is nothing but an identifier to the selected Data model, you can use this Label in the Python script to refer to the Data model and for the selected ‘Time Range’
  • Data Model: Select a Data Model from the list of existing Data Models.
  • Time Selection Type: There are 3 options here:
    1. Contextual time (Default): This considers the time and timezone of your system.
    2. Time-Shift (Relative):  Select this option and choose the time range.
       • Click on the Time Selection Value drop-down to seek past data (similar to the Global Time Filter that we discussed in the beginning).
       • Current time as end time: Setting Yes will consider the current time as the end time while previewing insight. Setting No will consider the end time from the Global Time Selector.
    3. Historical Time (Absolute time range) – Select From date & time and To date & time for which you would like to seek data.
  • Eye icon: Click on this button to preview the selected Data Model.
  • + icon: Click on this button to add another Data model
  • Delete icon – Click on this button to remove an added Data Model
  • i – icon (Help text) – To view help text, the help text will come as a tooltip. If a template is used to create this Insight card then this help text will contain information configured when creating the template.
    

• Add Variables: These are versatile values used in Python Scripts or templates to simplify the process.
  • Label: Used to reference a specific variable in Python scripts.
  • Variable Type: Choose between String or Integer from the dropdown.
  • Variable Value: Enter the appropriate string or integer based on the chosen type.

Note: These variables can be utilized in Python scripts, reducing the need for static values and enhancing the templatization of Insight cards.

• Python Script: Add the necessary script for the Insight Card.
  • Python scripts can access selected definitions (including data models and variables) to process data and store results in the predefined variable VALUE. These results are later used for rendering.
  • Data models are accessed in Python as DM[‘<datamodel name>’].
  • Variables are accessed as ‘$variableLabel’.
• HTML or Markdown Code: Input the required code for the Insight Card.

Create Insight Card Using Template

This allows users to create insight cards by selecting an existing Insight Card Template. There’s an additional dropdown labeled Pre-Defined Template that lists all existing templates. Choosing a template will automatically populate the relevant fields.

After selecting a Pre-Defined Template, the Data Model section is auto-populated as shown below. Users can add more Data Models by clicking the + Add Additional Data Models button.

After choosing a Pre-Defined Template, the Variables section is automatically populated as shown below. Users can add more variables by clicking the + Add Additional Variables button.

The screen features the following buttons:

Preview: This allows users to preview the Insight Card. Until the preview is executed, the Save and Save as Template options at the top right remain inactive. This ensures that the data is functioning correctly.

Refresh Data: Use this button to refresh the data and fetch the latest values.

Save: Select this option to save the Insight Card with the name provided in the Name field of the configuration section.

Save As Template: Click on Save as template to open a dialog box. Enter the Template Name, Description, and Help Texts for Data Models and Variables. Names and Descriptions are mandatory fields. This option pre-fills the details of Data Models and Variables created in the configuration section.

Click the Save button to save the configurations as an Insight Card Template, and it will be accessible on the Insight Card Templates list page.

Insight Actions

On the main Insights page, you can conveniently perform three primary actions: 

• View
• Edit 
• Delete

View Insights

To view the details of an Insight, simply click on the name of the Insight you want to access. All Insight names are clickable for easy access to their configurations.

Edit Insights

To edit an Insight, simply click on the Edit button associated with the specific Insight Card.

Permissions

Now, You can click on Permissions to manage Object Level Permissions in the Insights Card.

The screen will look like this.

For every role, you can attribute 3 types of permission.

• None: There are no permissions given.
• View: The selected user can only view the Insight Card.
• Modify: The selected can also modify and make changes to the Insight Card.

Delete Insights 

Deleting an Insight Card is straightforward. Locate the Insight Card you want to remove, and in the Action column, click the Delete option.

Multi-Delete: To delete multiple Insight Cards at once, simply select the cards you want to remove by checking the boxes on the left, and then click the Delete button at the top right.

Insight Card Templates Section

In the Insight Card Templates section, you’ll find a list of Insight Cards saved as templates, including some pre-installed ones.

Pre-installed Templates

With pre-installed templates, users can instantly access a range of designs without searching, downloading, or creating templates from scratch. These templates are selected based on thorough testing and evaluation to offer various functionalities.

Each template was meticulously developed, taking into account specific requirements and considerations to offer a comprehensive range of options

Let me take you through 3 templates preinstalled here.

Dynamic Table Template

This template provides a structured format for organizing data in a tabular layout. It enables users to present information in a concise and visually appealing manner, enhancing readability and comprehension.

Distribution Bar Graph Template

With this template, users can effectively visualize and analyze data distribution patterns. It offers intuitive graphing capabilities, allowing users to explore and present data in a visually engaging way, facilitating insights and decision-making.

Distribution Insights Template

This template combines the power of data analysis with insightful visual representation. It enables users to extract meaningful conclusions and observations from the distribution data, enhancing the understanding and interpretation of complex datasets.

Further Reading

1. Configure Insight Card Visualization
2. Template Breakdown