Leveraging the Looker connector in Looker Studio

Key Concepts

• Looker Connector: A feature that bridges Looker Studio and Looker, enabling drag-and-drop dashboarding with robust data governance.
• Looker Studio: A platform for flexible, drag-and-drop dashboard creation.
• Looker: A business intelligence platform that provides robust data modeling and governance.
• Look ML: Looker's proprietary modeling language, used to define data models, relationships, and business logic.
• Data Blending: The process of combining data from multiple sources within Looker Studio.
• Connected Sheets: A feature that maintains a live link between Looker Studio exports and the original Looker data source.
• Looker Studio Pro: An enhanced version of Looker Studio offering advanced features like expanded PDF exports.
• Data Governance: The overall management of the availability, usability, integrity, and security of the data employed in an enterprise.

Looker Connector: Bridging Flexibility and Governance

This video demonstrates the power of the Looker Connector, a tool designed to integrate the flexible drag-and-drop dashboarding capabilities of Looker Studio with the robust governance of trusted data models in Looker. The integration aims to provide users with the best of both worlds: intuitive report building and reliable, governed data.

Setting Up the Looker Connector

The process begins within Looker Studio by adding a new data source. The user selects the "Native Looker connector" and then connects to a specific Looker model, in this case, the "Look e-commerce model." The connector then accesses key Looker views: "orders," "items," and "users."

Key Features of the Connector:

• Clean Field Names: The connector automatically removes the view name prefix from Looker fields, presenting users with cleaner, more intuitive field names.
• Respects Look ML Categorization: The integration preserves the categorization defined in Look ML, automatically grouping dimensions and measures as they are organized in Looker.
• Pulls Through Look ML Descriptions: Crucially, the connector imports the descriptions defined in Look ML for each field. For example, the "total sales" field retains its original Look ML description, ensuring clarity and consistency.

Data Preview and Report Building

Before commencing report creation, the "data preview" feature is highlighted. This is presented as an essential step for verifying permissions and ensuring the data appears as expected, saving time on chart building.

Example: Time Series Report

To illustrate the ease of use, a time series report is built to visualize "total sales by month."

1. Chart Selection: A time series chart is chosen.
2. Data Input: The "date" field is dropped into the chart, followed by the "metric" (total sales).
3. Filtering: A filter is applied.
4. Granularity Adjustment: The granularity is changed to "month" to display the data as desired.

Extending Data with Calculated Fields

While Looker handles core metrics, the need for on-the-fly flexibility is addressed through "calculated fields" in Looker Studio. An example is provided of building a metric to determine which brand has the highest overall "gross profit." This allows users to leverage the governed data modeled in Looker and extend it with custom calculations within Looker Studio, fitting specific use cases.

Handling Data Scale and Exports

A significant aspect discussed is data scalability and export capabilities.

• Looker Studio Chart Limits: Standard Looker Studio charts are optimized for browser speed and typically visualize up to 5,000 rows in tables.
• Enhanced Export Limits with Looker Connector: When using the Looker connector, export limits are significantly higher. Users can standardly export up to 75,000 rows from a table into CSV, Sheets, or PDF formats.

Seamless Integration with Connected Sheets:

An example of "connected sheets" is demonstrated by exporting the monthly sales time series. This is not a static data dump; it maintains a "live link" back to the original Looker data source. This allows finance analysts to perform deep-dive spreadsheet work while ensuring their numbers align with the primary Looker dashboards.

PDF Reporting with Looker Studio Pro:

For executives and auditors requiring comprehensive PDF reports, "Looker Studio Pro" is mentioned. This version allows for downloading reports to PDF and expanding tables to show all rows. Looker Studio then renders these rows across multiple pages in the PDF.

Data Blending for Related, Ungoverned Data

The video addresses scenarios where data needed for analysis is not directly modeled in Looker but is related to governed data. This is solved using "data blends."

Example: Sales Targets vs. Actual Sales

1. Scenario: The sales team tracks monthly targets in a Google Sheet, which has different granularity than the original Looker data.
2. Blending Process: The governed sales data is blended with the Google Sheet containing targets. A "connected sheet" that is still tied to the original governed data but has the necessary aggregation and structure is used.
3. Join Condition: A "join condition" is required, which is a matching field between the two data sources. This allows the blend to seamlessly pair the correct rows.
4. Outcome: This blend enables easy comparison of monthly total sales with target sales.

Governance and Sharing

The video emphasizes that governance does not equate to difficult access.

• Easy Google Sharing: As a Looker Studio feature, reports can be shared easily, similar to Google Docs, with individuals, Google groups, or the entire domain.
• Team Workspaces: Reports can be organized into "team workspaces" for better content management.
• Permission-Based Data Access: When a report is shared, recipients will only see data based on their existing Looker permissions, ensuring data security and adherence to governance policies.

Conclusion and Next Steps

The Looker Connector offers a powerful solution for organizations seeking to combine the user-friendly interface of Looker Studio with the data integrity and governance of Looker. For those interested in exploring the full potential, the video directs users to "Looker Studio Pro" and provides links to get started with the connector.