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Part 2: Lessons to design and deploy dynamic dashboards and cockpits: Emphasis on SAP BusinessObjects solutions

Part 2: Lessons to design and deploy dynamic dashboards and cockpits: Emphasis on SAP BusinessObjects solutions. Dr. Berg Comerit Inc. In This Session …. In this session, we will look at the core tools for visualization, dashboards, scorecards and cockpits.

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Part 2: Lessons to design and deploy dynamic dashboards and cockpits: Emphasis on SAP BusinessObjects solutions

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  1. Part 2: Lessons to design and deploy dynamic dashboards and cockpits: Emphasis on SAP BusinessObjects solutions Dr. Berg Comerit Inc.

  2. In This Session … In this session, we will look at the core tools for visualization, dashboards, scorecards and cockpits. Since there are varying experience level in the audience, we assume no prior knowledge in either BOBJ or BEx tools and will cover all from a high-level standpoint. We will take a closer look at each tool in the demo sections.

  3. What We’ll Cover … • The SAP BOBJ Tools • Xcelsius • Web Intelligence • BO Analysis (formerly "Pioneer") • Explorer • Crystal Reports • Empowering the users – a mind shift • Wrap-up 3

  4. The Query is the Foundation The BEx Query Designer is the starting point for almost all reporting in the SAP landscape. The core idea is to: "Write once and publish many" This concept assures that data is the same in different reporting environments and that objects are reusable. Note: BEx Ad-Hoc Query Designer functionality was discontinued in SAP BW 7.0

  5. Xcelsius - Dashboards • Dashboards can be built using Crystal dashboard (Xcelsius). • Xcelsius was launched in March 2010, and is the flagship product for data visualization & dashboards” • BEx Web Application Designer will not be enhanced further beyond the release NW 7.1

  6. Xcelsius Step-by Step - The Work Environment In the next slides we will show a step-by step example on how to build a Xcelsius Dashboard. Dashboard Components Controls for each object selected SAP BI Query result set

  7. Xcelsius Step 1 - Adding a background Spend some time adding a backdrop that is visually pleasing. You can import images and use these also. Adding a background and controlling the border, scale and transparency

  8. Xcelsius Step 2 - Using Filters Filters are used to control the selections almost as 'hierarchies'. I.e., when an Sales Office is selected, only the Customer Groups that belong to that Sales Office is displayed in the subsequent filter to simplify the navigation 'Selectors' such as filters controls the data displayed on the dashboard. There are many types. You control the number of filter here.

  9. Xcelsius Step 3 - Linking a filter with data 1. Click on the filter on the canvas 2. Click on 'Source Data' 3. Highlight all the data in the Query result data set (not headings) 4. Click on "Destination" 5. Highlight the summary row (D3:H3)

  10. Xcelsius Step 4 - Give the Filter Dynamic Titles By using the query result for titles on the Filters, the titles will be updated dynamically if the query result set changes. DO NOT hard code titles on the dashboard unless absolutely needed

  11. Xcelsius Step 5 - Adding a Graph and giving it a title. Speedometers, graphs and images adds to your Cockpit or Dashboard. Make sure you link the title to your query output (column headers) Drag an Object onto the Background and give it a title We are going to use summary data as the indicator for this cockpit

  12. Xcelsius Step 5 - Linking a Graph with data All graphs must be linked with a set of data. How many data points that can be used depends on the graphing object. Speedometers can have more than one indicator (arrow) and each can be associated with different data points. Our graph only needs one data point, so we give it the overall summary

  13. Xcelsius Step 6 - Adding a Bar Chart There are a lot of charts available in Xcelsius and you can also add your own. The real-trick to use charts is to make sure that the 'real-estate' is used wisely. You should NEVER use lateral scrolling.... Select from the many charts available and drag-and-drop the one you want onto the background

  14. Xcelsius Step 7 - Adding Title & Subtitle (hardcoded) Complex dashboards can become confusing. It is therefore extremely important to label every table and graph correctly & completely. Here we are selecting a fixed cell for the chart header and is using a hard-coded text for sub-heading (for example purposes).

  15. Xcelsius Step 8 - Linking Bar chart with Data 1. A data series is added 2. A name for the data series is assigned 3. A Value range is linked from the query result set (no text or headers).

  16. Xcelsius Step 3 - Adding Labels to Bar charts Category labels are especially important to bar charts. Without correctly designed labels, the dashboard can become meaningless. Try abbreviate text in query when possible (this example takes up too much space and create lots of white space).

  17. Xcelsius Step 10 - Save and Preview the dashboard 2. Generate the Flash file 1. Save the dashboard 3. Take a sneak-preview

  18. Xcelsius Step 11 - Adding Alerts (Colors) to bar charts Alerts can be added to almost any graph and rules can be added You .

  19. Xcelsius Step 12 - The Result All colors are now bounded to the query result set and changes depending on the filer selections

  20. Xcelsius Step 13 - Adding more colors 1. We can make our own color ranges 2. we can reverse the order (i.e. low budget overruns are good) 3. We can apply the color to the marker (arrow), the background, and/or the value on the speedometer

  21. Xcelsius Step 14 - Controlling colors The overall colors on a graph can be value based or alert based. Playing around with different options in Rapid Application Development (RAD) sessions will assist you in getting the best user requirements (do NOT use a functional spec approach).

  22. Xcelsius - The Basic Result Filters are You .

  23. Example 1 — Build on a Solid Foundation • In this company, the data volumes were very high • Therefore, a set of summary cubes were used instead of building dashboards on top of large InfoProviders Lessons # 1: Make sure you build dashboards on top of summary cubes and data stores where the volume is small and queries can run fast.

  24. Example 1 — Build on a Solid Foundation (cont.) • Lesson #2: Modularize the data and always leverage MultiProviders. • This reduces data replication, decreases the number of data updates, and makes the data available to the end user faster. • You can also use the MultiProviders for other summary reports beyond the dashboards.

  25. Example 2 — Compare to Plans Lesson #3: Adding forward looking dashboards that are linked to Business Plans (BP), Rolling Estimates (RE), and Prior Year (PY) makes the dashboard more meaningful. Lesson #4: Create charts that “predict” where the sales will be each month if the trend continues. This makes the dashboard actionable and tells the users what needs to be done.

  26. Example 3 — Provide Numbers, not Just Graphs Lesson #5: Almost all dashboards should have graphs as well as numbers. Do not create a visually pleasing dashboard with just images. People are visual as well as numerical oriented. In this example, users can toggle between tables and graphs. This means that the same information does not consume a large space.

  27. Example 4 — Create Drill Downs from Dashboards Lesson #6: Users want to see the details without having to log-on to a separate system. It is not advisable to try to cram too much details in a single management cockpit (max. 500-1000 rows). Instead, create jump-to reports from the dashboard. This can be to Interactive Analysis (SAP BusinessObjects Web Intelligence ) or to existing BW Web queries.

  28. Example Four — Online Help and Metadata • Lesson #7: When presenting numbers on charts and complex graphs, you should always provide an online explanation for: • What the numbers mean • How they are calculated • How you read the graphs • This can be developed inside SAP BusinessObjects Dashboard Builder (formerly Xcelsius®).

  29. It Is All About Performance, Performance, Performance Lesson #8: It is hard to build a fast dashboard with many queries and panels without SAP NetWeaver BW Accelerator. This provides in-memory processing of queries that is 10-100x faster. Lesson #9: Pre-running queries into cache via BEx Broadcaster requires more memory than the 200MB defaultvalues. Analyze your server and consider increasing the cache to 400MB+. Lesson #10: MDX cache is for OLAP Universes, OLAP cache is for BICS connectors used by SAP BusinessObjects Dashboard Builder. Think how you are accessing the data before you performance tune the system and always conduct a stress test before deploying any dashboards.

  30. Adding Interactivity in Xcelsius To make dashboards useful for more than one person, you should plan to offer navigation and interactivity instead of static images and graphs.

  31. Adding Interactivity in Xcelsius

  32. Building models allows you to save 'what-if' scenarios

  33. Demo 4 - Xcelsius- The basics and options In this Xcelsius demo we will: 1. Create a basic web cockpit based on a dataset 2. Add filter with three options 3. Add Speedometer 4. Add a Bar chart 5. Add Alerts and colors 6. Take a look at other pre-delivered objects and graphs Great Benefit: All demo files are found on you CD!

  34. SAP BusinessObjects Integration Options Notice that DF Facade and Data federator are separate products that are currently licensed separately from the SAP BW licenses. WebI = SAP BusinessObjects Web Intelligence, BWA = SAP BW Accelerator Source: SAP AG, July, 2010

  35. Xcelsius Step-By-Step: Dashboard using Query as a web Service -QaaWs • Universe Designer • Create Universe • Connect to the SAP NetWeaver BW system • Navigate by InfoCube and select query • Input connection settings (i.e., when data is retrieved) • Give the universe a name and save the definition • Connectivity — QaaWs • Log on to QaaWs and give the service a name • This name is seen in Xcelsius. Make sure the name is logical and includes time (i.e., Mfg_costs_2010) • Click on the universe you created and select the fields you want to make accessible in the web service • Keep the web service as “lean” as possible. Too much data will perform poorly • Preview the web service and publish (get an URL) • I.e., http://Bobj:8080/dswsbobj/qaawsservices/portal_2009?def 35 Step-by-Step idea: Joerg Boeke,

  36. Xcelsius Step-By-Step: Dashboard with Query as a web Service -QaaWs • Xcelsius • Go to Data Manager and clickAdd  Query as a Web Service • Paste your URL from Step 6 • Click on the Definition tab and give your dashboard a name • Click the Usage tab and select Refresh On Load • Link the QaaWs data to the cell range where you want the data in Xcelsius, and connect your new dashboard to that cell range • Click Preview and log on when prompted • Publish dashboard to media (Web, PPT, PDF) 36

  37. Where do you start? - A Sample Layout for Dashboard 'Real-Estate' 37

  38. What We’ll Cover … • The Traditional SAP BI Tool • SAP NetWeaver BI Query Designer & BEx Analyzer • Analysis Process Designer (APD), • SAP NetWeaver Visual Composer (VC) • Web Application Designer (WAD) • Report Designer • Java Server pages (JSP) and the Business Server Pages (BSP) • The SAP BOBJ Tools • Xcelsius • Web Intelligence • BO Analysis (formerly "Pioneer") • Explorer • Crystal Reports • Empowering the users – a mind shift • Wrap-up 38

  39. Web Intelligence - Basic Purpose • The SAP BusinessObjects Web Intelligence tool is a tool for ad-hoc query, and analysis • It is intended for power users and end users with strong technical skills. Webi can leverage queries to both relational and OLAP sources • In the next slides we are going to show some basic options of Webi

  40. BOBJ capabilities –Ad-hoc & Widgets The Web Intelligence tool is for ad-hoc web based analysis. It is intended for end users and can leverage queries to both relational and OLAP sources. It is the core offering for ad-hoc end user analysis With BOBJ you can also use Desktop Widgets to place BI content direct onto a PC desktop and monitor reports and KPIs. Source SAP AG, 2010

  41. Web Intelligence - Ad-hoc querying Web Intelligence (webi)

  42. Web Intelligence - Building a display view

  43. Web Intelligence - Adding navigation

  44. Web Intelligence - Options and output

  45. Web Intelligence - Merging dimensions and using formulas

  46. Web Intelligence - Basic Graphing Options While Webi has some basic graphic functionality, it is intended for ad-hoc reporting and lookups. Webi is frequently used for list reporting instead of OLAP and navigation

  47. What We’ll Cover … • The Traditional SAP BI Tool • SAP NetWeaver BI Query Designer & BEx Analyzer • Analysis Process Designer (APD), • SAP NetWeaver Visual Composer (VC) • Web Application Designer (WAD) • Report Designer • Java Server pages (JSP) and the Business Server Pages (BSP) • The SAP BOBJ Tools • Xcelsius • Web Intelligence • BO Analysis (formerly "Pioneer") • Explorer • Crystal Reports • Empowering the users – a mind shift • Wrap-up

  48. The SAP Analysis OLAP tools (web and MS office) • We are now looking specifically at the OLAP tool previously known as Voyager and Pioneer • It is know called “Analysis” *Pioneer is now SAP BusinessObjects Analysis

  49. BOBJ Analysis - an OLAP tool (not primarily a dashboard tool) Analysis, provides a superset of the capabilities in BEx Analyzer (Excel and web) and BOBJ Voyager. BEx Analyzer is migrating to this tool. Source SAP AG, Aug. 2010

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