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

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Presentation on theme: "Part 2: Lessons to design and deploy dynamic dashboards and cockpits: Emphasis on SAP BusinessObjects solutions Dr. Berg Comerit Inc."— Presentation transcript:

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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 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 x faster. Lesson #9: Pre-running queries into cache via BEx Broadcaster requires more memory than the 200MB default values. 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., 35 Step-by-Step idea: Joerg Boeke,

36 Xcelsius Step-By-Step: Dashboard with Query as a web Service -QaaWs
Go to Data Manager and click Add  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 The SAP BOBJ Tools
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 The SAP BOBJ Tools
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

50 BOBJ Analysis - addition for OLAP (MS Edition)
The tool has a query panel and can embed ‘live’ BI analysis in the Microsoft Office applications Excel and PowerPoint

51 BOBJ Analysis - MS Office
BEx query views & queries can be used (both 3.5 and 7.0), but your BW system has to be on version 7.x You need Microsoft Office 2003 or higher to be able to use BOBJ Analysis 1.0, Edition for MS- Office (preferred 2007). *** Only BEx works as a source in the first MS-Office /Excel edition (Dec 2010). Universe support is planned to be added in 2011

52 BOBJ Analysis - MS Office
The Excel version have many functions that overlaps with functions inside the BEx Query Designer. This include, Exception and color coding, and panel navigation

53 BOBJ Analysis - MS Office - Some observations
The toolset rebranding Voyager--Pioneer--Advanced Analytics/Analysis--> "Analysis" BOBJ Analysis cannot be used for planning workbooks. That is currently being scheduled for a Feb release. This will be based on the BW-Integrated Planning (IP) software. The BI-4.0 includes the "addition for OLAP" (web version). (Notice: "BI-4.0" is now used in the version instead of "XI-3.1") BOBJ Analysis - Office (Excel) will use BOBJ Publisher and not BEx Broadcaster.

54 BOBJ Analysis - MS Office Pre-requisites
To run the MS-Office version: You need SAP BW 7.x (Enhancement pack 1 or BW 7.3 preferred) - However queries defined as 3.5 will also work. For Excel Interface you need MS Office 2003; 2007 or 2010 For PowerPoint Interface you need MS Office 2007 or 2010 BOBJ- Enterprise XI 3.1(minimum) Sizing info is in SAP Note In Q3, 2011, SAP plans to have in ramp-up one web client, covering both analysis and ad-hoc querying. This tool will be based on the WebI platform

55 BOBJ Analysis - for OLAP (web version)
Shares nothing with BEX web. It is a toolbox for the web analyst Voyager development can be ported to the "edition for OLAP' tool. This tool entered in ramp-up 4th Quarter 2010. Premium offering with separate licensing Will be interoperatible with WebI and Crystal Reports In the medium term, WebI and Edition for OLAP will be merged into a single tool.

56 Lean Vs. Complete Deployment
Typically Analysis MS-version is installed in the BOBJ Enterprise 3.1 or BI -4 environment. By doing so, users do not need a SAP GUI and can share workbooks, powerpoints and connections. Smaller lean installations can skip the BOBJ Enterprise environment and access BW directly, but every users must have a SAP GUI installed on each machine and connections must be made for each client machine Both installations use the BICS connectors No Java is required on SAP BW

57 Real-Time Analysis Access
The trick to get real-time access: Use a BEx query and set it up as a "transient provider" in the local BI client in the ERP 6 system (SP-5) This allows the BEx query to access an InfoSets in ERP and can deliver real-time analysis in MS-Office and on the web. Be careful, too many users will impact ECC performance

58 Differences in Relational & Dimensional Universes
There are several differences in Relational and Dimensional Universes. Read more at: brary/uuid/b014d61b-cace-2d10-10bf- 9be9fd577c42 Source SAP AG, Nov. 16, 2010 by Didier Mazoué, Elizabeth Imm, Abdellatif Astito. NOTE: both the Universe Designer (XI 3.1) and Information Designer (BI-4) is included in the BI-4 release.

59 Web Template Integration in BOBJ Enterprise runtime environment (instead of BI-Java)
SAP NetWeaver BW SAP BOE Platform Analysis Web Server Workspace PIO Web Tab BEx Web Tab BI Consumer Services Analysis Web Analysis Designer/ SDK BEx Web Templates BEx Queries/ InfoProviders BEx Web App Designer InfoView /SAP NetWeaver Portal Future InfoView /SAP NetWeaver Portal SAP BOE Platform SAP NetWeaver BW BEx Web Templates Analysis Web Server Workspace PIO Web Tab BEx Web Tab BI Consumer Services BEx Queries/ InfoProviders Analysis Web BEx Web App Designer 2010 Source: SAP AG, 2010

60 What We’ll Cover … The Traditional SAP BI Tool The SAP BOBJ Tools
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

61 BO Explorer - an Ad-hoc analysis and search tool
BO Explorer is a tool that is intended for rapid interactive analysis of large volume of data. Think of it as a BI search engine. The tool works by indexing large volume of data on dedicated server blades using the BW Accelerator technology While not a dashboard tool, BO Explorer can render the data on basic graphs, charts and tables that end users can interact will in a limited fashion. See my conference session on BO Explorer later. The core benefit: IT IS REALLY FAST !!

62 What We’ll Cover … The Traditional SAP BI Tool The SAP BOBJ Tools
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 62

63 Crystal Report is a Pixel controlled reporting tool
Crystal is a great tool for batch reporting of "pixel controlled' formatted reports. There are some capabilities to do interactive analysis, but it is primarily a tool for structured information access. There is a light NetWeaver based version called "Crystal Reports for SAP NetWeaver BW" with limited options.

64 Crystal Report is available as a trial version for free
You can download a 30-day fully functional trial version of Crystal and see if this product is interesting for your organization at: Crystal Reports has been embedded with BW since version 3.0B in 2002.

65 What We’ll Cover … The Traditional SAP BI Tool The SAP BOBJ Tools
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 65

66 Who gets to do what? The major decision for a SAP BI driven enterprise is to determine who gets access to each tool. There is often a temptation for the IT community of wanting to keep the tools under their domain – That is a mistake The IT community should actively work with the power and casual users to improve human capabilities and thereby teach them to become more productive employees. Chinese Proverb

67 What tool to select All SAP tools have strength and weaknesses. This is a subjective summary of each of the major tools.

68 SAP's Vision – Who should do what…..
SAP has a vision of what BOBJ tools are appropriate for the different user groups Source: SAP AG, 2010

69 What We’ll Cover … The SAP BI Tool Revolution
SAP NetWeaver BI Query Designer & BEx Analyzer Analysis Process Designer (APD), SAP NetWeaver Visual Composer (VC) Web Application Designer (WAD) Report Designer Web publishing Java Server pages (JSP) and the Business Server Pages (BSP) Administrative tools The BOBJ Roadmap for front-end tools Using more than one tool together Empowering the users – a mind shift Who Should get access Wrap-up

70 Resources SAP Crystal Trial version SDN Xcelsius Sample Dashboards
SDN Xcelsius Sample Dashboards NEW: Inside SAP BusinessObjects Advanced Analysis. Ingo Hilgefort, Hardcover: 342 pages SAP PRESS, 1st Edition; (Oct. 10, 2010) ISBN: SAP PRESS: Creating Dashboards with Xcelsius: Practical Guide by Evan Delodder and Ray Li (Sept. 2010)

71 7 points to take home Pick the right tools based on what you want to accomplish. “everything in the world is a nail, when you only have a hammer”… 2. The BW tool set has evolved substantially over the last 2 years –have you? 3. Today’s presentation developer is much more than a query developer. More than one skill set is needed. 4. Work hard on empowering your end users. You are not doing your organization any ‘favors’ by keeping BI in the IT organization 5. Consider integrating more than one tool for you analytical needs 6. You may want to consider to split your backend BI operations and create a new reporting group focusing on the front-end. 7. Budget ‘real money’ to get your organization proficient in the new tools. This is not done overnight, nor cheaply.

72 Your Turn! How to contact me: Dr. Berg

73 Disclaimer SAP, R/3, mySAP, mySAP.com, SAP NetWeaver®, Duet™®, PartnerEdge, and other SAP products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP AG in Germany and in several other countries all over the world. All other product and service names mentioned are the trademarks of their respective companies. Wellesley Information Services is neither owned nor controlled by SAP.


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