Using the Sisense Academy Courses for Success

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Using the Sisense Academy Courses for Success

First starting out
In June 2022, I started at my current company as a Business Intelligence (BI) Analyst and was brand new to Sisense. In my previous role I had used Tableau, so I had some familiarity with dashboarding software though I had only designed dashboards and not had any experience working with the data layers that feed the dashboards. When presented with the Sisense Academy course options of Data Designer, Dashboard Designer, and Admin, I naturally opted to begin with the Data Designer course.

The Courses
Starting the first course, I was immediately impressed with the pace of instruction. There was just enough content presented in each section and the information was easy to understand. I was able to follow along easily with the lessons which made the example at the end go smoothly. The sample elasticubes provided a wide range of data so the examples at the end of each lesson covered many different scenarios. During my first few months, I often referred to the practice examples because they were so similar to the task at hand.

As someone who writes a lot of SQL, I found creating custom tables exciting and could imagine so many possibilities where I would use this functionality. Going through the practice examples helped me avoid common pitfalls that would have caused errors in our elastic tubes.

The final component of the Data Designer course was formulas. This topic proved to be vitally important in my role because the previous BI analyst had created many saved formulas. Because of the instructions, I was easily able to dissect each of the saved formulas and understand exactly what they were calculating. There have been many times when I’ve created new saved formulas that make creating widgets a breeze.

I moved on to the Dashboard Designer course next and again found the instructions easy to follow and logically presented. The detailed descriptions of how to work with native Sisense widgets were key to my success as a BI Analyst managing my company’s dashboard suite. I also appreciated all the helpful tips on design theory, which was something I lacked in my previous role. 

Additional Training Courses
When the opportunity for more training came about in February 2023, I jumped immediately. Two interactive courses were offered: UX Dashboard Design and BloX for Beginners. I signed up for both. Each course enhanced my Sisense knowledge and helped me refine aspects of the dashboard suite I manage. A bonus was getting to meet and work with two of the Sisense trainers as well as some Community members.

Conclusion
Coming into Sisense as a brand-new user was overwhelming, but the Academy courses put me at ease and gave me all the necessary tools to be an effective designer. The courses were comprehensive and well-paced, and the practice examples solidified the learnings. In a matter of days, I was able to be a productive contributor thanks to the Sisense Academy courses.

About the Author 

Sarah Chronquist Graduated from UW-Madison with a BA in Sociology and a minor in Concentration in Analysis & Research. Started career as a SAS consultant auditing a reporting process for sub-prime loans in accordance with Sarbanes-Oxley regulations. Moved on to healthcare marketing analytics for Healthgrades for 13 years. While at Healthgrades, I received my MBA from Cardinal Stritch University. Started at Sift Healthcare in June 2022 as a Senior Business Intelligence Analyst and began working with Sisense. Personally, I’m an avid reader and I enjoy walks with the dogs. In the non-winter months, you can find me in the gardens or biking with the family.