copyright © 2003 americas’ sap users’ group 301-getting started with bw andy heldt –...

Copyright © 2003 Americas’ SAP Users’ Group

301-Getting Started with BW

Andy Heldt – BW/BI&A committee member

Kimberly-Clark Corporation

5/28/2003

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Assumptions/Goals

Assumptions You may not use BW but are aware of what BW is

Goals Provide a broad overview of BW as a tool

Provide some of the ‘essentials’ you need to know when getting started

Provide tips and tricks from experiences

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Kimberly-Clark SnapShot

Consumer products company

Kleenex, Scott, Huggies, Pull-Ups, Kotex and Depend

Products are manufactured in 43 countries and sold in more than 150.

5 BW landscapes + 3 APO

Started in 1999 on BW 1.2B currently BW 3.1C

Over 200 Production InfoCubes, even more ODS structures

3-4 Terabytes of data

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Agenda

BW Overview in 4 slides

Fundamentals

Reporting tools (Front-End)

Extraction, Transformation, & Loading

Open Hub Services

Other Things to Know

Informational Resources

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What is BW?

BW is SAP’s tool to enable business analysis, analytical applications, data mining, etc.

Integrated into the SAP environment

R/3, CRM, APO, EBP, etc.

MySAP HR, CRM, SCM, PLM, FIN, etc.

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BW Overview

The toolset for bringing data into BW

The toolset for taking

information out of BW

The toolset for querying or analyzing information

in BW

The toolset for managing

the BW infrastructure

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BW positioning – Part of the Foundation

BW is not the solution, but one of the tools that the solution is

built upon

MySap BI is the SAP provided business solution,

not the underlying tool

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SAP Positioning - NetWeaver

One of the tools to support developing and deploying business solutions

BW is not the solution but the tool.

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Agenda


Fundamentals



Open Hub Services



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Fundamentals

Terminology

Naming standards

Security

Team structure

Methodology

System Maintenance

Shared master data

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Terminology - Data model

Dimensions Fact table

Key figures

Characteristics

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Terminology InfoObjects – Base data element

Characteristics – Master data Navigational attributes – attributes of a characteristic that you can drill on

Key Figures – Measures within fact table

Dimensions – Logical grouping of characteristics

InfoCubes / Cubes – dimensional model of data from which most analysis will occur

InfoSource – Definition and business rules for the data flow into a BW object

DataSource – Definition of the input record layout for a dataflow

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Fundamentals – Naming Convention

Need to define a naming convention for all the BW objects.

Security is object based and a naming convention is essential to properly securing the environment.

Consider how to be consistent with other ABAP conventions that your company may have.

A solid naming convention … supports securing the various BW objects and projects… supports managing your environment

This is critical to your long term success!

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Fundamentals – Naming conventionSection Example Max

DigitsFirst Qualifier Next Qualifier(s)

Standard Prefix SDUS 4 1-2: Application prefix 3-4: Country/Region

InfoArea SDUS_SALES 30 1-4: Standard Prefix 5-30: Unique Identifier

InfoCube SDUSCSLS 9 * 1-4: Standard Prefix 5: Sensitivity Indicator.C - ConfidentialP - Public 6-9: Unique Identifier

InfoObejct Catalog SDUS_SALES 30 1-4: Standard Prefix 5-30: Unique Identifier

InfoObject SDUSKF001 9 1-4: Standard Prefix 5-9: Unique Identifier

Application Component

SDUS_SALES 30 1-4: Standard Prefix 5-30: Unique Identifier

InfoSource(Master Data or Text Data)

SDUSKF001 9 1-9: Previously defined InfoObject

InfoSource(Transactional Data)

SDUSC_SALES_ITEM

30 1-4: Standard Prefix 5: Sensitivity Indicator.C - ConfidentialP - Public 6-30: Unique Identifier

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Fundamentals – Naming Convention

Section Example Max Digits

First Qualifier Next Qualifier(s)

Standard Prefix SDUS 4 1-2: Application Prefix

3-4: Country/Region

Hierarchy SDUSC_CUSTOMER_HIER


Source System(R/3, BW, APO)

QC1300 10 1-3: SID of source system

4-6: Client of source system

Source System(PC File)

PCFILE 10 PCFILE - Constant

Queries SDUSC_CASES_SHIPPED_BY_CUSTOMER


Development Class/ Package

ZSDUS 10 1: Constant "Z" 2-5: Standard Prefix

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Fundamentals - Security

How are you going to do security?

Follow the SAP delivered roles

Custom develop your own

Be careful

Allowing the same objects to be secured through multiple roles can create problems with controlling access.

Data level security can be dangerous if is not implemented correctly

Can not support giving a person different views into the same data. (regional vs. detail)

Same rule may or may not apply across multiple cubes

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Fundamentals - Security

S_RS_COMP – Access to run queries, reports, build variables.

S_RS_COMP1 –Enhancement to above to control by Owner

S_RS_ICUBE – InfoCube access and maintenance

S_RS_ISET – InfoSet access and maintenance

S_RS_ODSO – ODS Object access and maintenance

S_RS_HIER – Admin Workbench – Hierarchy

S_RS_IOBJ – Admin Workbench – InfoObject Maintenance

S_RS_IOMAD – Admin Workbench - Maintain Master Data

S_RS_ISOUR – Admin Workbench - InfoSource - Transaction Data

S_RS_ISRCM – Admin Workbench – InfoSource - Master Data

S_USER_AGR – Authorizations: Role check

S_USER_TCD – Authorizations: Transactions in roles

Queries

Data & Structure

ETL

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Fundamentals – Security Example

S_RS_COMP is the authorization that allows the execution of BW queries and workbook. This authorization does not allow access to data in an infocube or allow access to a role that contains a given workbook or web report.

Parameters:

Activity: 03, 16

InfoArea: 0SD

InfoCube: 0SD_C01, SDUSCSLS

Reporting component name: 0SD_C01*, SDUSC*

Reporting component type: *

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Fundamentals – Security Example

S_RS_ICUBE is the authorization that allows access to the data within an InfoCube. This authorization is required to be able to present data from an InfoCube.

Parameters:

Activity: 03

InfoCube sub-object: DATA

InfoArea: 0SD

InfoCube: 0SD_C01, SDUSCSLS

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Security – One option…

4 essential profiles by BW application/solution Power User – true ad-hoc capability for developing queries

Display User – only has the ability to run something already built (use free characteristics to allow them to drill)

Publisher – control point for proofing reports prior placing them into display user roles.

Administrator – access to maintain & load BW

Additional roles to hold the reports. These roles are more function based or solution based.

For us it provided a cookie cutter approach for security whenever a new application or solution was being deployed.

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Fundamentals – Team Structure

Consider how to break up responsibilities Data architect (design and structure build)

Data steward (day-to-day loading/monitoring)

Front-end (build/manage queries & roles)

Others… Security (corporate computer security)

Basis (BW is not R/3)

Business involvement (required… business processes affect what goes into the warehouse)

Success will be judged by your ability to meet business needs… make sure you are organized to have success!

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Fundamentals – Methodology

Use BW ASAP (Accelerated SAP) as the starting point.

Work through it and add in steps as your company needs

Make sure you check out the BW Best Practices

www.service.sap.com/bestpractices

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Fundamentals – System Maintenance

What is your system maintenance strategy?

Remember BW is integrated with… R/3 (Plug-In), APO, CRM, EBP, SEM

Are you a bleeding edge company?

Plug-in – The interface between R/3 and BW

Understand the constraints… based on R/3 extractors being used

R/3 down/idle time may be required

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Fundamentals – Shared Master Data

Characteristics are shared across Infocubes and ODS structures.

Timing of master data loads versus transaction data loads

Set of values in different cubes can be different

Take your time, there are good and bad choices

How to integrate non-SAP data

What are the options when compounding

Managing data conflict between source systems

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Agenda


Fundamentals



Open Hub Services



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Reporting Tools (Front-end)

BEX Analyzer

MS Excel based. Part of SAPGUI as an add-on

Web interface

Web Application Designer (WAD) main tool for developing web reports. Similar to MS FrontPage or other web development tools but integrated into BW

Support download to MS Excel capability

Query Designer – required to write queries regardless of web or BEX Analyzer presentation

Other 3rd party tools supported

Use the ODBO interface

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Reporting Tools – Tips and Tricks

Sapbexc.xla – checks if BEX Analyzer is installed correctly. This Excel sheet is installed as part of SAPGUI.

Web interface will be faster than BEX in most instances.

4-20 time faster… FrontEnd Performance article on SAP service marketplace BW Performance

Web interface has more capabilities for tuning (caching) commonly used reports.

3rd party tools live off the ODBO interface

Requires a query to exist (still need to use query designer to build the query)

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Reporting Tools – Tips and Tricks

Should queries/workbooks/web reports be developed directly in production?

There isn’t a right answer

Cons Direct maintenance capability

in a production environment

Risk in transports overlaying queries, workbooks, etc.

Risk in impacting a production report through direct changes

Pros Immediate capability to run

new reports/perform analysis

Developing reports/analysis against real data

Consider your reasons for developing directly in production.

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Agenda


Fundamentals



Open Hub Services



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Extraction, Transformation & Loading

The process of getting the data from the source to the target.

3 main steps or components

Extraction – Selecting the data from the source system

Transformation – Applying rules and checks to the data

Realigning values

Value consistency and reasonableness checks

Referential integrity checks

Load – moving the data into the BW components (PSA, ODS, InfoCubes & master data)

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BW Data Flow - Terminology

DataSource – record layout of the data feeding into BW

Allows BW to BW, APO, and R/3 to stay in sync

Communication Structure – interim record layout between the business rules being applied to all the data and the business rules being applied just to the target.

Transfer rules – the business rules being applied to all the data flowing into BW through a specific datasource.

Update rules – the business rules being applied to the data flowing to a specific target

Transfer routine – the business rules being applied to the InfoObject (or element). These are always applied.

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R/3SourceSystem

BW

PSAInfoCube

ExtractorProgram(s)

R/3 Tables

DataS

ou

rce

Transfer

Rules

DataS

ou

rce

PSA

InfoCube

ExtractorProgram(s)

DataS

ou

rce

Update

Rules

Transfer

Rules

DataS

ou

rce

PSA

InfoCube

ExtractorProgram(s)

DataS

ou

rce

Updat

eRul

es

Transfer

Rules

DataS

ou

rce

ODS

ODS

Update

Rules

Update

Rules

Update

Rules

CommunicationStructure

Comm.Structure

Comm.Structure

Update

Rules

BW Data Flow

1 2TransferRoutine

3

TransferRoutine

TransferRoutine

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ETL – Tips and Tricks

Transformations = increased load times Perform the transformations as close to the source when ever

possible. Outside of BW if possible.

Manage the number of transformations needed against the expected throughput of load activities

Consider using Start Routines within update rules instead of specific update rules. Allows the routine to be applied against the entire data packet

instead of record by record.

Consider segmenting the data and performing parallel loads to increase throughput. Build this into the overall design.

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ETL – Tips and Tricks

Seriously consider using the new method for UOM conversions instead of using transfer rules and/or update rules to pre-calculate and store the values. On SAP Marketplace BW Services & Implementations

How to guides How to Report Data in Alternate Units

Our experience… what impacts throughput… # of transformations

Width of record (# of infoobjects)

Volume (# of records)

Aggregates

Master data exist?

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Loading Data

1. Text data – generates SID entries

2. Attribute data – loads attributes of characteristics

3. Hierarchy/Attribute Change run

4. Transaction data loads

If transaction data requires attributes of characteristics for transformations, must run in order.

Otherwise, can run 1, 4, 2, 3

Transaction data loads will not be ‘ready for reporting’ if any previous loads were not successful.

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Agenda


Fundamentals



Open Hub Services



(37)

Open Hub Services

Used to get the data out of BW

Basic object is called an InfoSpoke Data Sources: InfoCube, ODS Object, and Master Data (Attributes

and Text)

Full and Delta Processing (Delta for InfoCubes and ODS Objects)

Distribution targets: File (.csv format), BW DB Table

Aggregation, Selection, Transformation

Scheduling Direct Scheduling

Process Chain Integration

Extracting data from SAP BW by any means requires additional licensing! Contact your SAP representative.

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Open Hub Service

Controlled distribution of consistent data

Target: file or DB table

Central monitoring

Select filter criteria and columns

Scheduling

Full or delta mode

InfoCubes

ODS Objects

BW Server

ExternalDataMart

. . . . . .

RelationalTable

FlatFile

Master Data

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Agenda


Fundamentals



Open Hub Services



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Where Do You Start…

1. Infoobjects – Characteristics and key figures Must define attribute objects first.

2. InfoCubes/ODS structures

3. InfoSources including transfer rules

4. Update rules

5. InfoPackages

6. Queries & reports (* could be done after 2)

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Use Business Content or Not?

Define: The SAP provided extractors, dataSources, InfoSources, Infoobjects, ODS, Infocubes, business rules, queries, etc.

Very high return in using the SAP provided Extractors, Infoobjects and InfoSources.

Let your gap analysis show how effective business content Infocubes and ODS will be. Use business content unless it is more cost effective to not.

Myth: If business content is used my cubes, etc will change when changes to business content come out through SP or releases. ‘D’ = SAP Delivered

‘A’ = active BW objects

‘M’ = object currently being changed but not activated

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Design Considerations - Dimensions

Dimensions are logical grouping of characteristics. A Dimension row is created for each unique set of

characteristics within the dimension that are loaded into the fact table. Avoid combining common used query filters like status

or type with things like document number Careful with a date dimension (365 * 365 * 365) like

ordered date, requested date & delivery date

Large dimensions (document number) should be turned into line item dimensions

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Design Considerations - ODS

Make sure you understand how ODS key field works

What characteristics identify this unique transaction, not what are all the characteristics of this transaction

Ex. Document number, line item number

NOT, document number, line item number, product, date, etc.

The other characteristics are just data fields.

ODS Implementation Whitepaper

Service Marketplace BW Documentation Enhanced 2.0B Whitepaper BW Operational Data Store

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Design Consideration - Aggregates

BW 3.0 has removed most constraints related to aggregate and hierarchy/attribute change run contention

Data loads (transaction and master data) can cause aggregate rebuilds to occur. Aggregate rebuilds are expensive What is your SPRO Maintain Aggregate Realignment Run

setting. SAP recommends 20%.

General performance practice… Get BW Statistics turned on Monthly, use the BW tools to advise on aggregates Create specific ones based on critical queries as needed

Justify aggregate use because they cost resources and time during load processes and they consume disk space

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Managing Expectations

Manage response time expectations This is OLAP not OLTP

Many queries will process thousands of rows of data

Web is generally faster than BEX (4-20 times)

Records / Cells

1,000

10,000

100,000

500,000

1 million

100 Fastest

1,000

5,000 ?

10,000

20,000 Slowest

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Managing Expectations

BW implementation timelines vary widely. Biggest factors..

Using Business Content out-of-the-box

Simultaneous implementation with other SAP solutions, R/3, APO, CRM, etc.

Experience of BW staff

Availability of business process resources

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Agenda


Fundamentals



Open Hub Services



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www.service.sap.com/bw

OSS ID required

(49)

www.service.sap.com/bw

Services & Implementations

How to guides – wonderful guides on how to do many different things. They are also great for getting ideas.

Know-How-Network

SAP teleconference presentation held every other week

Topics vary, see web site for schedule and call-in info

Documentation

Good supplemental information. Often more timely or directly related to SP enhancements/capabilities

Lots of others… release info, SP info, performance

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Other good sites:

www.searchsap.techtarget.com

www.techrepublic.com

www.dmreview.com

www.asug.com

Discussion forms BW – BI&A

copyright © 2003 americas’ sap users’ group 301-getting started with bw andy heldt –...

Documents

bw infrastructure slide

bw positioning

foundation bw

bw landscapes

agenda bw overview

business solutions bw

broad overview of bw

various bw objects