Domo Variables: Relevant Setup Steps & 3 Specific Examples

By Carter Sheppard / Consultant

November 4, 2022

Blog

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Domo Variables enable users to create dynamic values that function as part of a Beast Mode(s). This powerful new capability means that your team has additional opportunities to create low-code, fully functional apps, reduce dashboard clutter, and dive deeper into your business’s most important “What If” scenarios.

Domo Variables: Setting Up a New Variable in Domo

In order to set up a new variable, access Domo Analyzer and go to the new Beast Mode Editor. Select the ‘Add new’ tab and the ‘Variable’ option.

Domo Variables interface

From left to right, within Domo’s Variable editing interface, you’ll be prompted to add a Variable’s name, select the type (Text, Number, Date) and default value, and then choose the associated control type. You are able to change control types at the dashboard level, but only one control may be added to a dashboard per variable.

Using Domo Variables: Beast Modes and Page Controls

In order to leverage the variables that you create, you’ll need to add them to Beast Modes and incorporate Variable Controls on your Domo dashboards. Variables cannot be used to power Cards directly, so Beast Modes are needed in order to visualize the results of the changes made to the Variables.

Beast Mode example with Domo Variables shown in pink font

Within Beast Modes, Variables will have a pink font color and can be used in the same ways a typical field or column would be used.

Using Domo Variables to change price by 10% in a what if we raised the prices scenario

As users update the values of a variable, using its respective control, the impacted Beast Mode(s) will dynamically adjust their calculations.

Domo Variables: 3 Specific Examples

Domo Variables come in three flavors: Text, Numbers, and Dates. Use cases for the different Variable types are essentially endless, but let’s take a look at one popular example for each.

Text

A popular and powerful use case for Text Variables in Domo is to create a Beast Mode that uses a CASE statement to select the column based on the Domo Variable’s value.

Showing Domo Variables in a SQL Case Statement

This allows Page visitors to toggle between different values or categorizations within a single visual using one of Domo’s Variable Controls.

Using Domo Variables to toggle between categorizations and value types.

The core value-add in this use case is the ability to increase dashboard interactivity for Page visitors while decreasing dashboard clutter through chart consolidation. Clean interactive dashboards promote analytics adoption and increases business user data curiosity promoting more and more data-driven decisions.

DATE

A high-demand use case for Date Variables in Domo is balance forecasting. You can use a Variable End Date alongside an interest rate Beast Mode to quickly determine payoff balances at different dates.

Using Domo Variables to test the amount due and interest accrued for future payment dates

This allows decision-makers to quickly adjust payment dates and understand business impact. However, this could be used for any date field on which you might base a Beast Mode and is not limited to financial calculations. Date variables may be useful for marketing impact predictions, people analytics, and more.

Number

Lastly, let’s look at how Numeric Variables in Domo are used to create powerful, fully-functional apps with low code and answer crucial “What If” questions for your business. The most popular use case we are seeing for Numeric variables is the impact assessment of changing costs to a business.

Using Domo Variables to see the impact of changing gas prices on order financials

In this example, we’ve created an app for examining the effect of gas prices on overall order financials. This gives our logistics, sales, and product teams a clear understanding of how variable gas prices affect our business’s bottom line. As with all other Domo Variables examples, this is just one of endless possibilities, but a powerful one.

Conclusion

Domo Variables empower data analysts and business users alike by offering opportunities to create low-code fully functional apps, reduce dashboard clutter, and dive deeper into your business’s most important “What If” scenarios. They also make dashboarding in general made much more interactive for business users, further driving up adoption and ROI.

For support using this new capability, or for help brainstorming how to leverage Variables in your organization, please reach out to our team at Graphable. Read here to understand in detail how to find a best-fit business intelligence consultant partner.

For related analytics and Domo-specific topics, check out these articles:


Also check out these helpful new articles: What is ChatGPT?, Analytics for ChatGPT, and What is Text Analytics?


Graphable helps you make sense of your data by delivering expert data analytics consulting, data engineering, custom dev and applied data science services.

We are known for operating ethically, communicating well, and delivering on-time. With hundreds of successful projects across most industries, we have deep expertise in Financial Services, Life Sciences, Security/Intelligence, Transportation/Logistics, HighTech, and many others.

Thriving in the most challenging data integration and data science contexts, Graphable drives your analytics, data engineering, custom dev and applied data science success. Contact us to learn more about how we can help, or book a demo today.

Still learning? Check out a few of our introductory articles to learn more:

Additional discovery:

    We would also be happy to learn more about your current project and share how we might be able to help. Schedule a consultation with us today. We can also discuss pricing on these initial calls, including Neo4j pricing and Domo pricing. We look forward to speaking with you!


    Graphable helps you make sense of your data by delivering expert analytics, data engineering, custom dev and applied data science services.
     
    We are known for operating ethically, communicating well, and delivering on-time. With hundreds of successful projects across most industries, we have deep expertise in Financial Services, Life Sciences, Security/Intelligence, Transportation/Logistics, HighTech, and many others.
     
    Thriving in the most challenging data integration and data science contexts, Graphable drives your analytics, data engineering, custom dev and applied data science success. Contact us to learn more about how we can help, or book a demo today.

    We are known for operating ethically, communicating well, and delivering on-time. With hundreds of successful projects across most industries, we thrive in the most challenging data integration and data science contexts, driving analytics success.
    Contact us for more information: