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Use this checklist to confirm that a business user has the skills they need to explore data, build charts and dashboards, and share insights in Lightdash. Each section maps to a training module and links to the relevant docs.
Ask trainees to tick each outcome only after they’ve done it themselves in a real project — not just watched a demo.

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Prerequisites

Before starting training, the user should have:
  • An active Lightdash account with access to at least one project
  • Viewer or Interactive Viewer permissions (or higher) on that project
  • A short list of business questions they want to answer with data

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1. Navigate Lightdash

By the end of this module the user can:
  • Log in and identify the homepage, navbar, and their user menu
  • Return to the homepage by clicking the Lightdash icon
  • Browse saved charts, dashboards, and Spaces from the Browse menu
  • Open the global search with Cmd + K / Ctrl + K and find a chart, dashboard, table, or field by name
  • Apply search filters to narrow results by content type or date
Reference: Exploring your content

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2. Understand metrics and dimensions

By the end of this module the user can:
  • Explain the difference between a dimension and a metric in their own words
  • Give a business example of each from their own data
  • Recognise metric and dimension icons in the sidebar of an explore
  • Read a field’s description and formatting to understand what it measures
Reference: Intro to metrics and dimensions

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3. Query data from a table

By the end of this module the user can:
  • Open an explore from the Tables menu
  • Select dimensions and metrics to build a results table
  • Apply filters to limit the data returned
  • Sort and pivot results
  • Add a custom metric on the fly (e.g. count distinct, average)
  • Add a table calculation (e.g. percent of total, running total)
  • Download results as CSV or Excel
Reference: Querying from tables

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4. Build and configure charts

By the end of this module the user can:
  • Switch between chart types (bar, line, big value, table, pie)
  • Choose the correct chart type for a given question
  • Configure axes, series, formatting, and reference lines
  • Save a chart into an appropriate Space with a clear name and description
References: Chart types overview · Configuring charts · Formatting your fields

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5. Build a dashboard

By the end of this module the user can:
  • Plan a dashboard around a specific audience and question
  • Create a new dashboard and add saved charts to it
  • Add markdown tiles for context and headings
  • Arrange and resize tiles for readability
  • Add dashboard-level filters and temporary filters
  • Save the dashboard into the right Space
References: Planning your dashboard · Creating dashboards

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6. Explore dashboards interactively

By the end of this module the user can:
  • Apply and clear dashboard filters
  • Use date zoom to change the time granularity
  • Drill into a chart from a dashboard tile
  • View underlying data behind a chart value
  • Comment on a chart or dashboard to ask a question
References: Exploring dashboards · Date zoom

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7. Share insights with the team

By the end of this module the user can:
  • Share a chart or dashboard link with a teammate
  • Export a chart as an image or CSV
  • Set up a scheduled delivery to Slack or email
  • Create an alert on a metric threshold
  • Recognise verified content and know when to trust it
References: Sharing insights · Scheduled deliveries · Alerts · Verified content

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8. Use the metrics catalog

By the end of this module the user can:
  • Open the metrics catalog and browse available metrics
  • Read a metric’s definition, owner, and description
  • Find charts and dashboards that use a given metric
  • Explore a metric directly from the catalog
Reference: Metrics catalog

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Sign-off

Once every box above is ticked, the trainee is ready to work independently as a Lightdash business user. Recommended next steps:

The Lightdash way

Keyboard shortcuts

Custom fields

Period over period