Bouc2009 d marks_1004_universe_design

Universe Design: Evolution, Intelligent

Design, Or Just A Big Mess?Dallas Marks

SESSION CODE: 1004

2009 SAP BusinessObjects User Conference

Breakout Description

Are you new or intermediate universe designer? Or maybe

a project manager overseeing the full lifecycle of a BI project?

Perhaps a seasoned Crystal Reports developer investigating

the benefits of the Business Objects semantic layer?

A well-designed universe is the foundation to a successful

business intelligence project and satisfied users. Building this

foundation begins long before you click on the Designer

application. A combination of evolution and intelligent design,

this session presents best practices at each stage of the

universe life cycle, including requirements gathering, design,

development, testing, deployment, and maintenance.

Avoid the big mess and deploy successful implementations

now.

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About Dallas Marks

Dallas is an SAP Certified Application Associate and authorized trainer

for Web Intelligence, Information Design Tool, Universe Design Tool,

Dashboards (formerly Xcelsius), and SAP BusinessObjects Business

Intelligence administration. A seasoned consultant and speaker, Dallas

has worked with SAP BusinessObjects tools since 2003 and presented

at the North American conference each year since 2006.

Dallas has implemented SAP BusinessObjects solutions for a number

of industries, including retail, energy, health care, and manufacturing.

He holds a master’s degree in Computer Engineering from the

University of Cincinnati.

Dallas blogs about various business intelligence topics at

http://www.dallasmarks.org/. You can follow him on Twitter at

@dallasmarks.

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http://www.dallasmarks.org/

http://www.twitter.com/dallasmarks

http://www.twitter.com/dallasmarks


Agenda

The Origins of the Universe

Lifecycle of the UniverseFor each stage of the lifecycle, we’ll examine:

Key Tasks

Common Pitfalls

Best Practices

Next Steps

Your Questions

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Special thanks to Penny Brewer, Deanna Glinka,

Gary Kuertzel, Eileen King, and David Rathbun for

reviewing this presentation!


THE ORIGINS OF THE

UNIVERSE

Universe Design:

Evolution, Intelligent Design, Or Just A Big Mess?

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What is a Universe?

A universe is the semantic layer that

maps everyday terms that describe the

business environment to corporate data

sources.6


Three methodologies to create a universe

Intelligent Design

Evolution

Entropy

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Intelligent Design – a definition

“the theory that matter, the various forms

of life, and the world were created by a

designing intelligence”

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Source: Merriam Webster dictionary (http://www.m-w.com/)


Evolution – a definition

“a process in which the whole universe is

a progression of interrelated phenomena”

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Evolution – a better definition

“a process of continuous change from a

lower, simpler, or worse to a higher, more

complex, or better state”

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Entropy – a definition

“the degradation of the matter and

energy in the universe to an ultimate

state of inert uniformity - a trend to

disorder”

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Mess – a definition

12

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Result of entropy - “a disordered,

untidy, offensive, or unpleasant

state or condition”


My Assertion

Some

universe

design

projects are

doomed

before

Designer is

ever

launched…

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My Assertion

…and now that

so many tools

(Web

Intelligence,

Xcelsius,

Crystal Reports,

etc.) utilize the

universe, it

really needs to

be right.

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What is User Adoption?

A set of on-going processes and procedures that insure

that users are equipped to get the maximum value from

your organization’s BI infrastructure

More than just “training”

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Why Should You Care About User Adoption?

If you build it, they still

may not come

You need a job

You’re not as good

looking as Kevin Costner

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LIFECYCLE OF THE UNIVERSE

Universe Design:


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Prepare

Analyze

Plan

Implement

Test

Deploy

Maintain

Lifecycle of the Universe

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Prepare Analyze Plan Implement Test Deploy Maintain

Let’s discussKey Tasks

Common Pitfalls

Best Practices


PREPARATION PHASE

Universe Design:


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Preparation – Key Tasks

Identify Universe Scope

Build a Project Team

Adopt Standards

Kickoff Meeting

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Preparation – Common Pitfalls

Designer doesn't understand the business

Lack of Input/Participation from User Community

Lack of User Adoption Strategy and Budget

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Preparation – Best Practices

Build user involvement into each project phase

Identify Subject Matter Expert (SME)

Create and continually refine documented universe design

standards

Standards, however robust, won’t mean anything if there

isn’t an enforcement mechanism (implementation and

testing)

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ANALYSIS PHASE

Universe Design:


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Analysis – Key Tasks

Identify Candidate Objects

Determine Data Model

(Relational vs. Multi-Dimensional)

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Important decisions are

made in the analysis

phase that are like pouring

concrete – they will set up

and harden.


Analysis – Common Pitfalls

Data model incapable of delivering required performance

Data is of poor quality

Universe is incomprehensible

Too large

Poor organization of objects

Poorly named objects

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These issues are resolved throughout the

lifecycle but should be identified and

addressed during this crucial project phase


Analysis – Best Practices

Let reporting requirements drive data model and candidate

objects in universe

No reporting requirements? See first bullet.

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Just give me everything- I

don’t have time to give you

requirements


Analysis – Best Practices, cont.

Limit number of objects in

universe SAP BusinessObjects recommends no

more than 500 objects per universe*,

although others recommend even

smaller number of around 200 objects**

These numbers are guidelines, not

absolutes. However, if the universe is

too large or intimidating, users will not

use it.

OEM universes may be an exception

because user requirements are not well

known. Keep focus on facilitating user

adoption, not completeness.

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* Advanced Universe Design Learner’s Guide –Revision A,

SAP BusinessObjects, 2008. (page 131)

** Howson, Cindy. Business Objects XI: The Complete

Reference. McGraw-Hill/Osborne, 2006. (page 93)



Use multiple universes to cover multiple subject areas,

particularly unrelated (and unjoined!) ones

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DistributionSupply

Chain

Finance



Assign subject matter expert

(SME) to assist in class

structure, object naming, and

help text, esp. if designers

possess insufficient business

knowledge

SMEs are invaluable in

resolving conflicts in corporate

business vocabulary and

hierarchies

Now, regarding the data

model…

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Data Models Supported by Designer

Designer supports both relational and OLAP database

platforms

Universes can be created on virtually any data model, from

highly normalized/transactional to star-schema

But…

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Image Source: SAP BusinessObjects XI 3.0 Universe Design Learner’s Guide


Fact: Star Schemas Are Better

Normalized data models (OLTP) are designed to get data

INTO the database efficiently.

Star schema data models (OLAP) are designed to get data

OUT OF the database efficiently.

Performance of transactional ERP systems degrades

significantly when also supporting analytic BI functions.

This is not a limitation of BusinessObjects. It’s simply a fact

of business intelligence.

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Fact: Your Data Isn’t as Clean as You Think

Source ERP data may not have sufficient

quality for detailed analysis

Outer joins cannot address all issues

and degrade query performance

Enterprise Information Management

(EIM) tools such as SAP

BusinessObjects Data Services not only

perform data integration to star schemas,

but can also address data quality

Don’t let your project fail because a

single, trusted version of the truth

doesn’t exist.

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PLANNING PHASE

Universe Design:


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Planning – Key Tasks

Create a Project Plan

Plan the BusinessObjects

Architecture

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Planning – Common Pitfalls

Universe is a single, large delivery rather than multiple

evolutionary deliveries

Users not included in every project phase (IT failure)

Users not involved in every project phase (Business

failure)

Failing to define specific tasks and objectives for user

acceptance testing (UAT)

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Planning – Best Practices

Ready, fire, aim!

Determine if universe(s) can be broken into phased,

evolutionary deliveries

Users begin using solution faster

Users provide feedback for subsequent phases that would not

be available from a single delivery

Make sure users are involved both on paper and in practice

Effective executive sponsorship can ensure participation

IT team should build and test environment prior to delivery

date, not during

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IMPLEMENTATION PHASE

Universe Design:


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Implementation – Key Tasks

Schema Design

Building the Universe

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Implementation – Common Pitfalls

Untrained IT Staff

Universe looks like data model, not business model

Scope Creep

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Implementation – Best Practices

Make sure universe designers are trained Authorized classroom training is very effective

Attendees are trained to avoid mistakes that consultants are frequently called in to fix

Mentor inexperienced designers with experienced ones Outsource mentoring if no in-house capability

An outsourced mentor can bring best practices from other organizations and

industries

Use automated tools to manage and track issues

NOTE: Microsoft Word and Excel are great tools, but weren’t

designed for issue tracking and project management

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Implementation – Best Practices

Confirm objects are organized into classes according to the

user’s conceptual data model, not the physical data model

Use help text to assist end users, not IT. Use Metadata

Manager for impact analysis and data lineage, not the

comment fields

Insure measure objects have database aggregate functions

Beware of low universe to report ratio

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TESTING PHASE

Universe Design:


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Testing – Key Tasks

Quality Assurance

User Acceptance

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Testing – Common Pitfalls

Lack of robust sample data or true production data

Poor data quality

Time spent on data quality, not universe quality

Inadequate user acceptance testing

Lack of user veto power to delay implementation

Lack of IT veto power to delay implementation

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Testing – Best Practices

IT peer review to insure adherence to best practices and

standards

Insure adequate UAT by key project stakeholders

Reduce future report development time by insuring

universe objects (esp. dates, currencies) are correctly

formatted


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DEPLOYMENT PHASE

Universe Design:


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Deployment – Key Tasks

Architecture

Production Environment

Grant User Access

Conduct Training

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Deployment – Common Pitfalls

Installation and configuration issues derail solution delivery

Go-Live is the first time users see actual, not test, data

Insufficient planning and/or budget to train users

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Deployment – Best Practices

As with development, phase deployment to users if

possible

Per department

Hierarchy – power users first, then casual users

Build production environment in tandem with development,

so it’s not a surprise during deployment

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MAINTENANCE PHASE

Universe Design:


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Maintenance – Key Tasks

Universe Maintenance

Evolution

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Maintenance – Common Pitfalls

Inadequate documentation from last

iteration

Insufficient knowledge transfer

Limited subject matter expertise within

IT

Previous design decisions make

maintenance difficult - in extreme

cases, starting over is the best option

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Maintenance – Best Practices

Utilize SAP BusinessObjects Metadata Manager for impact

analysis, lineage, consistency

Use built-in auditing capabilities of BusinessObjects

Enterprise to monitor usage and retire unused universes

and documents


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NEXT STEPS

Universe Design:


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Get a Second Opinion

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An external assessment may be helpful in

breaking gridlock and taking the next step

Company politics frequently prevent reason

and common sense from being heard – an

outside perspective can help.


Relevant GBN 2009 Breakout Sessions

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Empowering End Users through

Smart Universe Design

Steve Krandel

Lost in the Universe

Michael Welter

Universe Best Practices

Alan Mayer

Universe Models for Recursive Data

David Rathbun

These sessions are a representative sample. Universe design

is a “spotlight topic” with many more breakouts. Check

agenda for additional breakout sessions.


Relevant Training

BusinessObjects XI 3.0/3.1 Universe DesignIntroduction – 3 days - course code BOU310

Advanced - 2 days - course code BOU320

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Official SAP BusinessObjects curriculum is available on-site at

your location or at authorized education centers around the world.


Recommended Reading

Performance Dashboards: Measuring, Monitoring, and

Managing Your Business, by Wayne W. Eckerson, © Wiley,

2005

“Achieving User Adoption: How to Unlock the Full Value of

a Business Intelligence Implementation,” by Peter Nobes, ©

Business Objects White Paper, 2005

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Final Thoughts

You might not be able to

change the world…

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…but you CAN change

the universe!


Questions or Comments?

Please contact Dallas Marks at:

Dallas AT DallasMarks DOT ORG


http://www.twitter.com/dallasmarks/

http://www.linkedin.com/in/dallasmarks/


http://www.twitter.com/dallasmarks/

http://www.linkedin.com/in/dallasmarks/

2009 SAP BusinessObjects User Conference 61

Thank you for participating

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SESSION CODE: 1004

Bouc2009 d marks_1004_universe_design

Technology

Transcript of Bouc2009 d marks_1004_universe_design