Sigma Dashboard Performance Checklist
May 2026 • Reporting • Sigma
Use this checklist when a Sigma workbook feels slow, fragile, or difficult for stakeholders to use.
Summary
Slow dashboards usually come from a mix of data shape, workbook structure, and interaction design. This checklist gives Sigma users a practical way to review datasets, filters, calculations, and stakeholder workflows before assuming the BI tool itself is the problem.
Goal: reduce dashboard latency by improving data shape, workbook design, and user interaction patterns.
1. Start With the Data Shape
- Use clean source tables or modeled datasets instead of repeating complex logic in many workbook elements.
- Aggregate large fact tables before they hit the dashboard when row-level detail is not needed.
- Keep dashboard-level calculations separate from reusable business logic.
- Remove unused columns from datasets powering high-traffic dashboards.
2. Reduce Expensive Interactions
- Limit high-cardinality filters on very large tables.
- Use sensible default filters so the first load is not the largest possible query.
- Avoid forcing every chart to update when only one diagnostic view needs the filter.
- Split executive views and analyst drilldowns when they serve different workflows.
3. Simplify Workbook Design
- Remove hidden, duplicate, or unused elements.
- Minimize chained calculations across many elements.
- Use consistent controls instead of separate filters for each section.
- Keep tabs focused on one user question at a time.
4. Test Like a Stakeholder
- Measure first-load time and common filter-change time.
- Test with default permissions, not only with an admin account.
- Check performance during the time of day the business usually opens the dashboard.
- Document known slow sections and the reason they exist.