Building and Testing an Interactive Sales Report

Let's combine the features covered in this module to build a simple interactive sales report.

Step 1: Prepare the Report Pages

Create three report pages:

• Sales Overview: Displays total revenue, sales by region, and monthly sales trends.
• Product Analysis: Displays sales by product category and individual product.
• Transaction Details: Displays detailed order records.

Use a consistent layout, titles, and number formats across all pages.

Step 2: Add Summary Visuals

On the Sales Overview page, add:

• A card for total revenue.
• A column chart for sales by region.
• A line chart for monthly revenue.
• A slicer for product category.
• A slicer for the date range.

Confirm that the visuals use the correct aggregations and relationships.

Step 3: Configure Interactions

Test the product category slicer and confirm that the connected visuals respond as expected.

Select a region in the column chart and verify that the other visuals behave according to their interaction settings.

If a visual should remain unchanged, configure its interaction accordingly.

Step 4: Add Detailed Navigation

On the Product Analysis page, create a drill-through destination for product category details.

On the Transaction Details page, add a table containing order identifiers, dates, products, quantities, and sales amounts.

Add buttons to help users return to the overview or navigate to the relevant analysis page.

Step 5: Add Bookmarks and Tooltips

Create a bookmark for a useful overview state, if needed.

Add a tooltip that displays additional sales information when users hover over a chart data point.

Make sure the bookmark and tooltip provide useful information rather than duplicating everything already visible on the page.

Step 6: Test the Report

Before sharing the report, verify the following:

• Slicers filter the intended visuals.
• Drill-down moves through the correct hierarchy.
• Drill-through passes the expected filter context.
• Buttons navigate to the correct destinations.
• Bookmarks restore the intended report state.
• Tooltips display relevant information.
• Summary totals remain consistent with the underlying data.

A report should be tested from the user's perspective, not just from the report author's perspective.

Interactive features are most effective when they make analysis easier, provide meaningful detail, and maintain predictable behavior across the report.