The Zoola™ Workflow is the complete process of rendering LMS data into Reports and Dashboards. Each stage of the Workflow exists as an individual page and set of steps within Zoola™, as shown in the following flow chart:
Data Source
The data from your Moodle or Totara LMS is the "Data Source" in Zoola™. In order to create Views, Reports, and Dashboards, you need a Data Source from which to draw relevant data. Lambda Solutions sets up your Data Source for you, so that upon opening Zoola™ you can begin working with your data and analytics.
Data Sources
The entirety of your LMS Data Source is overwhelmingly large. In order to create meaningful Views, Reports, and Dashboards in Zoola™, your Data Source must be accessed through a Data Source. A Data Source is a configured selection of data from your Data Source. When creating an Ad Hoc View, you must first select a Data Source from which you can select relevant fields and measures. In selecting a Data Source, you have two options:
- Out-of-the-Box Data Sources: Lambda Zoola™ contains over twenty pre-configured Data Sources that are ready to use. The data accessible through these Data Sources is grouped around logical LMS topics, like Course Completion data, Grades, Quiz data, and Attendance.
- Custom Data Sources: If you have highly specific needs, you can use the Lambda Zoola™ Data Source Designer to create unique custom Data Sources and save them in your private organizational folders. You can either create an entirely new Data Source from scratch, or you can copy an Out-of-the-Box Data Source into your private folders and modify the new copy.
Ad Hoc Views
An Ad Hoc View is the arena in which you can select specific fields and measures from a Data Source and create visualizations and filters for Charts, Tables, and Crosstabs. Lambda Zoola™ contains over forty pre-configured Ad Hoc Views that are ready to use. You can also create unique custom Ad Hoc Views from Public or Private Data Sources in the Ad Hoc Editor. Ad Hoc Views can be used in for the following purposes:
- Exploratory Environment: You can save an Ad Hoc View as either a View or a Topic (a basis to create further different Views), and use these artifacts to explore your data. Applying different visualizations, filters, and calculated fields and measures will yield various and meaningful insights for further reporting needs.
- Snapshot Export: For quick imprints of your exploratory visualizations, you can export snapshots of Ad Hoc Views to various static formats, such as PNG, PDF, and PPTX.
- Creation Ground for a Report or Dashboard Dashlet: Ad Hoc Views can be saved as Reports, or can be pulled into Dashboards as Dashlets in the same manner as Reports.
Reports
Reports are the finalized versions of Ad Hoc Views, meant for demonstration and presentation purposes. You can either save an existing Ad Hoc View as a Report, or use one of the many Out-of-the-Box Reports. Reports can be exported to static formats, and can also be scheduled and emailed to specified users at assigned intervals with updated data. While Ad Hoc Views are completely configurable, Reports can be configured in the Report Designer for formatting, filtering, and presentation purposes.
Dashboards
Dashboards are the ideal platform for presenting trends and analyses to executives. Dashboards are comprised of Dashlets, which can be Reports, Ad Hoc Views, or Filters. You can use the features of the Dashboard Designer to select, format, connect, and filter your Dashlets to create meaningful insights with beautiful visualizations.