What Makes A Report Work?
Let’s be honest: not all reports are created equal. Some drive decisions, while others sit in dashboards collecting digital dust. So, what separates the two?
A report that works is one that earns its place at the decision-making table. It:
Answers a real business question
Is trusted by its users
Drives action, not just awareness
Is clear, not clever
Lives where people actually look
At Flock, we’ve simplified our discovery process to make sure reporting works from day one. Here's what it includes:
The Flock Discovery Snapshot
Purpose First
What’s the business goal or decision?
What are the current pain points or missed opportunities?
Use Case Mapping
Define core use cases: what’s needed, for whom, and why.
Prioritise by impact and feasibility.
This helps uncover valuable opportunities and ensures reporting is aligned to business outcomes.
Access & Data Landscape
Confirm data sources, access requirements (read-only/admin), and preferred access method.
Understand data complexity, availability, and quality.
We ensure the underlying architecture can support secure, scalable access to accurate and timely data.
Functional Workshops
Co-design with stakeholders to gather insight into workflows, reporting needs, and maturity.
These sessions help ensure that reporting reflects real-world decisions and aligns with how teams work.
Technical Discovery & Design
Map out integrations, logic, and reporting constraints.
Concepts may include embedded reporting, role-based access, or scalable architecture aligned with existing platforms.
Final outputs are tailored to the client's existing ecosystem and designed to evolve with future needs.
By taking a structured but lean approach to discovery, and leveraging the capabilities of modern data and reporting platforms, we ensure every report starts with a clear purpose, aligns to business needs, and can scale as the organisation evolves.
So before you build your next dashboard, ask: What does “working” look like and have we done the groundwork to get there?