Parameters in Sigma

1. Parameters in Sigma

Welcome back. In this lesson, we're going to explore how control elements in Sigma can be used as parameters to create more flexible and interactive workbooks.

2. Oakmark Bank

At Oakmark Bank, leadership is kicking off a customer experience analysis. They want to better understand how long customers are waiting and how long calls are lasting overall.

3. Oakmark Bank

Right now, they're looking at how many calls have hold times longer than five minutes. But that definition of too long changes depending on the day. Sometimes they want to set the threshold at seven minutes. Other times, they want to tighten it to three. Rather than editing a formula every time, they want an easier way to update that number and immediately see how it impacts the data. They also want a simple way to compare two different metrics: hold time versus total call duration. They don't want to switch pages or scroll through extra charts. They just want to pick the metric and see the right results. Thankfully, Sigma makes it easy to support both of these needs using control elements as parameters.

4. What is a Parameter?

A parameter is like a placeholder in your logic that gets filled in by the user. It might be a number they enter to set a goal, or a selection from a dropdown to choose which category to focus on. Once they make a choice, Sigma uses that value in a calculation or filter, just like it would with any other field in your workbook.

5. Parameters in Sigma

In Sigma, parameters are actually control elements we used earlier for filters. Remember how each control element has a unique control ID? We can reference this ID in a calculation to tell Sigma to use the value the end user has entered or selected. This means our analysis and elements become dynamic, reacting to the user rather than hardcoded values. Sigma offers a wide range of options for designing control elements. You can build dropdowns, input fields, switches, and other interactive components to guide how users engage with your data.

6. Let's practice!

In the next section, we'll focus on two examples from Oakmark's analysis. Each one highlights a different way to use control elements as parameters. Together, they're a solid starting point for building flexible, interactive workbooks. But first, a quiz to test your understanding.

This exercise is part of the course

Introduction to Sigma

BeginnerSkill Level

5.0+

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In this chapter, you’ll learn how to connect Sigma to live data sources and add ad-hoc data to workbooks with Input tables. We’ll perform row-level calculations and group and summarize tables to organize your data in insightful ways. We’ll create pivot tables and practice creating charts to bring insights to life visually. By the end of this chapter, you’ll be equipped with essential skills for exploring, analyzing and interacting with data in Sigma.

Exercise 1: Getting started in Sigma Exercise 2: Sigma in practice Exercise 3: Creating a workbook Exercise 4: Preparing the Call Log table Exercise 5: Row-level and aggregate calculations Exercise 6: Sigma table skills Exercise 7: Calculating on-hold minutes Exercise 8: Calculating percentage Exercise 9: Groupings, calculations, and summary statistics Exercise 10: Groupings for insight Exercise 11: Grouping call center data Exercise 12: Grouping calls by month Exercise 13: Multi-level groupings Exercise 14: Which month escalated most?Exercise 15: Input Tables Exercise 16: Configuring an empty input table

Now that you know how to bring in and visualize data with Sigma, it's time to explore adding interactivity and practice building efficiently. We’ll learn to use page controls for dynamic, customizable interactivity and explore workbook lineage, a powerful feature that helps you trace data sources, transformations, and dependencies across your workbook. This chapter gives you the tools to build clear, interactive, and trustworthy analytics experiences for any audience.

Exercise 1: Pivot tables and charts in Sigma Exercise 2: Choosing the right element Exercise 3: Creating new elements Exercise 4: Fraud rates in tables and charts Exercise 5: Pivot Table creation Exercise 6: Plotting fraudulent activity Exercise 7: Filtering methods Exercise 8: Enabling filtering Exercise 9: Controlling date ranges Exercise 10: Workbook lineage in Sigma Exercise 11: Lineage in Sigma Exercise 12: Exploring workbook lineage Exercise 13: Filter behavior in Sigma Exercise 14: Parameters in Sigma

Current Exercise

Exercise 15: Oakmark Parameter tools Exercise 16: Tracking calls with long wait times Exercise 17: Parameter creations Exercise 18: Segmented control to switch variables

In this final chapter, you’ll bring everything together and practice designing polished, professional workbooks. We’ll cover best practices for workbook layout and experiment with synced controls for a seamless user experience. We’ll also learn to publish your workbook for others to view. You’ll preview the workbook from the point of view of different user types and learn how to save custom views of your workbooks for easy access at any time. By the end of this chapter you’ll be equipped with the skills to share powerful, tailored insights in Sigma with confidence.

Exercise 1: Rearranging and organizing workbooks Exercise 2: Dividing a workbook Exercise 3: Containers for organizing Exercise 4: Making content clear and consistent Exercise 5: Filtering multiple pages Exercise 6: Dynamic features Exercise 7: Publishing and Sharing Exercise 8: Sharing workbooks Exercise 9: Publishing and sharing Exercise 10: Previewing workbooks Exercise 11: Saving a custom view Exercise 12: Congratulations!