0 © 2010 wellesley information services. all rights reserved. part 2: lessons to design and deploy...

© 2010 Wellesley Information Services. All rights reserved.

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

Dr. BergComerit Inc.

3

In This Session …

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.

In this session, we will look at the core tools for visualization, dashboards, scorecards and cockpits.

44

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

5

The Query is the Foundation

Note: BEx Ad-Hoc Query Designer functionality was discontinued in SAP BW 7.0

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.

6

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

7

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

SAP BI Query result set

Controls for each object selected

8

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

9

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.

10

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)

11

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

12

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

13

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

14

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

15

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).

16

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).

17

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).

18

Xcelsius Step 10 - Save and Preview the dashboard

1. Save the dashboard2. Generate the Flash file

3. Take a sneak-preview

19

Xcelsius Step 11 - Adding Alerts (Colors) to bar charts

Alerts can be added to almost any graph and rules can be added

You .

20

Xcelsius Step 12 - The Result

All colors are now bounded to the query result set and changes depending on the filer selections

21

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

22

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).

23

Xcelsius - The Basic Result

Filters are

You .

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.

25

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.

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.

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.

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.

Example 4 — Create Drill Downs from Dashboards

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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 graphsThis can be developed inside SAP BusinessObjects Dashboard Builder (formerly Xcelsius®).

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

default values. Analyze your server and consider increasing the cache to 400MB+.

It Is All About Performance, Performance, Performance

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.

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

Adding Interactivity in Xcelsius

Adding Interactivity in Xcelsius

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

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In this Xcelsius demo we will:1. Create a basic web cockpit based on a dataset 2. Add filter with three options3. Add Speedometer4. Add a Bar chart5. Add Alerts and colors

6. Take a look at other pre-delivered objects and graphs

Demo 4 - Xcelsius- The basics and options

Great Benefit: All

demo files are

found on you CD!

BW DF Fascade

Data Federator

RDBMS Analytic Engine

OLAP BAPI ODBOXMLA

UniversesQT ODA

SQL Access MDX Access

WebIXcelsius

QaaWS

BWA

Notice that DF Facade and Data federator are separate products that are currently licensed separately from the SAP BW licenses.

SAP BusinessObjects Integration Options

WebI = SAP BusinessObjects Web Intelligence, BWA = SAP BW Accelerator Source: SAP AG, July, 2010

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Xcelsius Step-By-Step: Dashboard using Query as a web Service -QaaWs

• Universe Designer 1. Create Universe

Connect to the SAP NetWeaver BW system

Navigate by InfoCube and select query

Input connection settings (i.e., when data is retrieved)

2. Give the universe a name and save the definition

• Connectivity — QaaWs3. 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)

4. Click on the universe you created and select the fields you want to make accessible in the web service

5. Keep the web service as “lean” as possible. Too much data will perform poorly

6. Preview the web service and publish (get an URL) I.e.,

http://Bobj:8080/dswsbobj/qaawsservices/portal_2009?def

Step-by-Step idea: Joerg Boeke,

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• Xcelsius 7. Go to Data Manager and click

Add Query as a Web Service8. Paste your URL from Step 69. Click on the Definition tab and

give your dashboard a name10. Click the Usage tab and select

Refresh On Load

11. Link the QaaWs data to the cell range where you want the data in Xcelsius, and connect your new dashboard to that cell range

12. Click Preview and log on when prompted13. Publish dashboard to media (Web, PPT, PDF)

Xcelsius Step-By-Step: Dashboard with Query as a web Service -QaaWs

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

Portlet Title

Cost Measure % of Rev State

Metric Blah blah 67%

KPI 98%

Metric 85%

Another Metric 93%

Table Title Goes Here

Activity Name Column 1 Column 2 Column 3 Column 4 Column 5

Dashboard Tab Title 2 Tab Title 3 Tab Title 4

Alerts

Alerts from last 2 days

Willis deal enters final stage

Vendor reports problem

Marketing Cost per Sale

Budget level exceeded

Portlet Title

Customer 1

Customer 2

Customer n

Customer n

Customer n

Customer n

Customer n

Customer n

Customer n

Customer n

Customer n

Customer n

Done

Done

To Do

To Do

To Do

Done

Done

To Do

To Do

To Do

Done

To Do

My Dashboard TitleWelcome Jesper Christensen Today is Sunday, August 22, 2010

Print | Help | Log Out

Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3

more...

Portlet Title

Item 1 $12,236

Item 2 $67,009

Item 4 $33,000

Item 5 $10,900

Item 3 $19,500

President’s Message

This is a good place to have messages that relate to the data presented.

Portlet Title

Portlet Title

23,000

45,112

89,778

12,110

34,000

23,000

45,112

89,778

12,110

34,000

10,500

66,998

33,400

64,023

23,000

45,112

89,778

12,110

50,000

30,004

12,007

55,009

12,889

32,002

23,000

45,112

89,778

12,110

34,000

23,000

45,112

89,778

12,110

34,000

10,500

66,998

Bill S.

Joey D.

Frank

Susie

Jill

Bob C.

Charles

Jimbo

Benny

Linda

Gigi

Rose

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• 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)



• Wrap-up

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

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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

Web Intelligence - Ad-hoc querying

Web Intelligence (webi)

Web Intelligence - Building a display view

Web Intelligence - Adding navigation

Web Intelligence - Options and output

Web Intelligence - Merging dimensions and using formulas

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

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• Wrap-up

49

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

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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

51

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

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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

53

BOBJ Analysis - MS OfficeThe Excel version have many functions that overlaps with

functions inside the BEx Query Designer. This include, Exception and color coding, and panel navigation

2010 2011 and onInnovative Analysis Analysis Excel workbook write back to Integrated Planning

Interactive multidimensional analysis BI platform (XI) services (personalization, publication, RRI)

BICS integration to BW Multiple sources (Essbase, MS-Analysis Services)PowerPoint publishingExcel Formula mode (Excel formulas)Supports next generation BWA

54

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. 2011 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.

55

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 1466118

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

56

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.

No Java is required on SAP BW 57

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

Be careful, too many users will impact ECC performance

58

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.

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Differences in Relational & Dimensional Universes

There are several differences in Relational and Dimensional Universes.

Read more at: http://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/scn/index?rid=/library/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.

SAP NetWeaver BW

SAP BOE Platform

Analysis Web Server

WorkspacePIO Web

TabBEx 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

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Web Template Integration in BOBJ Enterprise runtime environment (instead of BI-Java)

Source: SAP AG, 2010

InfoView /SAP NetWeaver Portal

SAP BOE Platform

SAP NetWeaver BW

BEx Web Templates

Analysis Web

Server

WorkspacePIO Web

TabBEx Web

Tab…

BI Consumer Services

BEx Queries/ InfoProviders

Analysis Web

BEx Web

App

Designer

2010

61





• Wrap-up

62

BO Explorer - an Ad-hoc analysis and search tool

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.

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

The core benefit: IT IS REALLY FAST !!

6363





• Wrap-up

64

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.

65

Crystal Report is available as a trial version for free

Crystal Reports has been embedded with BW since version 3.0B in 2002.

You can download a 30-day fully functional trial version of Crystal and see if this product is interesting for your organization at:http://www.businessobjects.com/campaigns/forms/downloads/crystal/2008/default.asp

6666





• Wrap-up

67

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

68

What tool to select

All SAP tools have strength and weaknesses. This is a subjective summary of each of the major tools.

End User

Power User

Execu-tives

End User

Power User Author

IT Developer Graphing Navigation

External data

External web

services Simplicity OLAPAd-Hoc

querying

Web Application Designer

- - - - - -

Dashboard Designer (Xcelsius)

- - - -

Visual Composer - -

Interactive Analysis ad-hoc (WebI)

- - -

Analysis Edition for OLAP (web)

- -

Analysis MS edition

- -

Crystal Reports - - -

BO Explorer - - - - -

- Limited Support Some Support Good Support

Capabilities

ToolLong-term

Strategy

DevelopmentTarget User

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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

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• 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


• Who Should get access

• Wrap-up

71

Resources

• SAP Crystal Trial version http://www.businessobjects.com/campaigns/forms/downloads/crystal/

2008/default.asp

SDN Xcelsius Sample Dashboards http://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/boc/xcelsius-samples

• NEW: Inside SAP BusinessObjects Advanced Analysis. • Ingo Hilgefort, Hardcover: 342 pages SAP PRESS, 1st Edition; (Oct. 10, • 2010) ISBN: 1592293719.

SAP PRESS: Creating Dashboards with Xcelsius: Practical Guide by Evan Delodder and Ray Li (Sept. 2010)

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7 points to take home

1. 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.

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Your Turn!

How to contact me:Dr. Berg

[email protected]

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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.

0 © 2010 wellesley information services. all rights reserved. part 2: lessons to design and deploy...

Documents

xcelsius step

xcelsius dashboard

set of data

cockpit slide

h3 slide

transparency slide

query result data set

crystal dashboard xcelsius