Frequently Asked Questions

General

Why should I use Python for Viva Insights?

Python is a versatile and widely-used programming language, especially popular in data science and analytics. Here are four key reasons why a Viva Insights analyst might choose to use Python instead of other alternatives:

  1. Python has an extensive library ecosystem with libraries such as pandas, NumPy, scikit-learn, and NetworkX for advanced applications, including building machine learning models and performing Organizational Network Analysis (ONA) graph visualizations. This enables analysts to perform specialized and in-depth analysis for specific Viva Insights use cases, such as predicting employee churn by analyzing Viva Insights metrics.

  2. Python is open-source and has no licensing costs, allowing analysts to leverage its powerful functionality without additional expenses.

  3. Python’s code-oriented workflow promotes reproducibility. This is valuable for improving the quality of the analysis and for efficiently replicating analysis with different data samples.

  4. Python has a large and active user community, which analysts can access to support and enhance their analysis capabilities.

Installation and Setup

Which version of Python should I use?

You are recommended to use the latest stable version of Python. You can find the latest version on the official Python website.

How do I install the package?

To install the package, simply run the following on your command prompt:

pip install vivainsights

After this has successfully installed, open your Python console and run:

import vivainsights as vi

How do I install from this GitHub repository?

There are two ways to install from this GitHub repository.

The first way to do this is to:

  1. Clone this repository to your local drive.

  2. On PowerShell, change directory (cd) to the repository and run python -m pip install -e .. To check whether it is installed, run python -m pip show vivainsights.

The second way is to install from this GitHub repository directly using pip. Just run the following in command prompt:

pip install "vivainsights @ git+https://github.com/microsoft/vivainsights-py.git"

Analysis and Visualization

How do I get started with analysis?

We recommend checking out our demo notebook on how to run essential analyses and visualizations with the Python package.