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Onboarding Content Workflow Playbook

Bringing content from an external BI tool is an essential phase of the Metric Insights instance configuration. We recommend starting with content onboarding to ensure a consistent and smooth configuration process.

Please refer to this step-by-step guide to complete the process of bringing content into the Metric Insights instance.

1. Create Categories

A Category is a tool used to organize and group content across the platform in a structured hierarchy. Categories are required for Element creation.

Create Categories for the content you plan to bring into Metric Insights. When naming categories, keep in mind that access to these categories will be granted to Groups of users. Ensure the Category structure is easy to navigate.

2. Create Data Source

A Data Source is an Object that collects data from an external BI tool and brings it into Metric Insights. There are two types of Data Sources in MI:

  1. SQL Data Sources. These utilize a JDBC connection to pull data into Metric Insights via a SQL fetch command. This includes traditional databases as well as NoSQL sources with JDBC access. For more details on how to create an SQL Data Source, locate the BI tool you use in the Sourcing Data from SQL Data Sources manual.
  2. Plugin Data Sources. Plugins are specialized components, developed by Metric Insights, that send a native fetch command to the BI tool. The results are then formatted in a way that allows Metric Insights to consume the data. For more details on how to create a Plugin Data Source, locate the BI tool you use in the Sourcing Data from Plugin Data Sources manual.

3. Create Elements

There are two types of Elements in Metric Insights that can be automatically synchronized with external BI tools: External Reports and External Content.

  • External Content is an Element used to display data located on a web page.
  • External Reports not only automatically gather and display data stored in an external source, but also allow filters to be applied to that data, enabling flexible customization of its display.

You can bring content into a Metric Insights instance either manually or by using the Content Autosync functionality:

  1. Manually. This requires creating each Element individually, bringing content pieces in one by one. See Creating External Report or External Content Overview for more details.
  2. Content Autosync. This feature automates the creation of Elements from the BI tool's objects, enabling you to bring all content from an external BI tool into Metric Insights in a single, automated batch. See External Report Auto Synchronization Overview or Configure External Content Auto Synchronization for details.

4. Create Publishing Workflow

If content is synced from the external BI tool, all Elements created from it will be placed in a single Category or Folder and will require further sorting and validation. The most efficient way to manage this sorting is through the Publishing Workflow.

The Publishing Workflows feature enables Administrators and Power Users to manage and oversee content creation within Metric Insights. It allows Administrators to establish a step-by-step workflow in which every piece of created content must be validated and assigned accurate Tags, Glossary Terms, and other metadata.

Please refer to the Understanding Publishing Workflows article for a detailed guide on creating Publishing Workflows.

5. Grant Access to Content

Once all necessary content has been uploaded, sorted, and verified, grant Users appropriate access.