NiUG Discovery 2011 Advanced IQA Half-Day Session
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Transcript of NiUG Discovery 2011 Advanced IQA Half-Day Session
NiUG Discovery
BaltimoreOctober 18-21
Advanced IQA
Wednesday, October 18, 2011Kye Hittle, Director of IT
Beta Theta Pi Foundation & Admin Office
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What is IQA?
• Intelligent Query Architect is a browser-based reporting tool built into iMIS
• Not a third-party tool (like Crystal or SQL Server Reporting Services)
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What does IQA do?
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IQA Finds
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IQA Produces Lists & Spreadsheets
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IQA Reports
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Why use IQA?
• Design a query once for multiple uses• More flexible search options
Multiple parameters in one query Parameters can be calculations Flexible results display
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Where does IQA live in iMIS?
• The nav bar in Customers, Events, and Orders modules includes a link to a module-specific IQA folder in the iMIS doc system
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Where does IQA live in iMIS?
• Queries and the Business Object Designer (BOD) are also available under the Tools tab
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Where does IQA live in iMIS?
…or iSA tab for older versions of i15
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Where does IQA live in iMIS?
• IQAs are also used in many iMIS components (e.g. public views, System Setup)
• Allows you to customize some interfaces
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When should we use IQA?
Displaying small result sets on-screen
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When should we use IQA?
Results need to be live links to a Customer, Event registration, donation, etc.
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When should we use IQA?
Reports with many parametersCrystal Reports IQA
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When should we use IQA?
Extracting results into a spreadsheet
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When should we NOT use IQA?
Reports that require: • Formatting • Layout• Multiple levels of grouping • “Think spreadsheets”
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Report Designers• Typically iMIS
admins & “power users”
• Create New and Edit existing IQAs
Who uses IQA?
End-users• Typically staff and
public view users• Run IQAs built by
designers
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How End-users Run IQAs
1. Find and select IQA2. Click Run (or double-click)3. (optional) Supply filter values & click 4. (optional) Select record or extract results
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How Report Designers create IQAs
1. Gather & Analyze reporting requirements2. Determine/create data Sources (Business
Objects) and link3. Create Filters4. Select Display fields5. (optional) Set Sorting order, Security6. Test7. Save
• IQA Design Overview
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Gather reporting requirements
• Do we already have something similar? Where else will the organization need to use similar queries?
• Where is the data located in the iMIS interface? How is it linked?
• What filters are needed?• What columns do you need to display?
Any sorting?
• 1. Reporting Requirements
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Analyze reporting requirements
• Do Business Objects exist to access required data?
• Are subtotals, counts or averages needed?
• Are
• 1. Reporting Requirements
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Before we begin designing…
• Click New > Query to create from scratch• Click Edit to create from existing IQA
(recommended)• Set your IQA Edit view to Advanced to see all
options
• IQA Design Prep
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Basic vs. Advanced Mode
• Basic Mode Define sources + filters + what to display Run or Run as Report
• Advance Mode Using Queries in iMIS searches Aggregate criteria & display SQL Expressions in queries
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What’s a Business Object?
Business Objects are predefined or custom abstractions of iMIS database table(s) and/or
view(s)
• 2. Sources (Biz Objs) & Links
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BaltimoreOctober 18-21
What’s a Business Object?
Example The predefined CsContact Business Object represents a Customer record (uses Name,
Name_Fin tables)
• 2. Sources (Biz Objs) & Links
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Choosing Business Objects
• There are hundreds of pre-built Business Objects and you will create many custom objects
• How do designers figure out which Business Objects to use?
• 2. Sources (Biz Objs) & Links
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Choosing Business Objects
iMIS Standard Prefixes• Most built-in biz objects start with ‘Cs’• Biz Objects built for Custom Demographic
tables typically start with ‘CsDemo_’• Use Biz Obj Designer to see
tables/views/fields in each Biz Obj• …use a naming standard for custom
Business Objects (e.g. prefix with org acronym)
• 2. Sources (Biz Objs) & Links
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How to select Business Objects
1. From the Sources tab of your IQA query, click Add Source
2. From the pop-up window, select Business Object
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Linking Business Objects
• Each Business Object must be linked to at least one other Business Object
• 2. Sources (Biz Objs) & Links
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Linking Business Objects
• In order to link two Business Objects they must share a common field (often iMIS ID)
• The field names do not have to be identical but the data must match for a record to be included (using default link)
• This is the same concept as (inner) joining relational database tables
CsContact
• iMIS ID• Full
Name• Informal• Email• …
CsActivity
• ID• Activity
Type• UF 1• UF 2• …
• 2. Sources (Biz Objs) & Links
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How to link Business Objects
1. Select one of the predefined links (defined by Biz Obj) OR select Custom
• 2. Sources (Biz Objs) & Links
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How to link Business Objects
2. (if Custom) Choose the field to link on for each Business Object
3. Important! Click button to save!
• 2. Sources (Biz Objs) & Links
Deletes a link
Equals is the most common link type.
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How to link Business Objects
All Sources have now been related!
• 2. Sources (Biz Objs) & Links
You will have one less Link than total
number of Biz Objs.
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What’s a Filter?
Answer: Simply put, Filters are the selection criteria for your query.
Analogy: Excel filter function applied to a column displays only records that meet filter value(s)
• 3. Filters
Filters limit result sets.
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What’s a Filter?
Analogy: selecting Books from the amazon sidebar after searching for football updates results to display only books
• 3. Filters
Filters limit result sets.
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What’s a Filter?
• IQA Filters can have default values and/or be entered at IQA run-time
• Note! You may have already “filtered” results based on your Source links (e.g. if you link CsContact to CsDonations, people without gifts will be excluded*)
*unless Left Join link type is selected (discussed later)
• 3. Filters
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How to add a Filter
1. Choose <Biz Obj>.<Field> to filter from Property drop-down
2. Choose Filter Comparison
• 3. Filters
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3. (optional) Enable Multiple filter values
4. (optional) Enter default filter Value(s)
How to add a Filter
• 3. Filters
Multiple option only available on certain fields
and comparisons.
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How to add a Filter
5. (optional) Choose filter Prompt No = do not display filter prompt Optional = display, not required –
most flexible Required = display with asterisk
6. (optional) Rename the user prompt7. Important! Click button to save!
• 3. Filters
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How to edit or delete a Filter
Make changes and then click Refresh to save!
• 3. Filters
Click to delete a filter
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Determine what fields Display
1. Set drop-down to All
2. Check/uncheck <Business Object>.<Field> to include/exclude column from results
3. Click Refresh
• 4. Display
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4. (optional) Enter column Alias to provide a different column heading
5. (optional) Choose column Order from sequence drop-downs on right
6. Click Refresh
Determine what fields Display
• 4. Display
If no Alias is specified, this
is used.
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Determine Sorting order
(optional) 1. Select <Business Object>.<Field>
to sort on from Property drop-down2. Select Ascending or Descending7. Important! Click button to save!
• 5. Sorting, Security
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Set Security options
(optional)
• 5. Sorting, Security
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Test!
• 6. Test
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Test!
• If no results are returned make sure that your links and default filter values are correct
• Count records or choose spot-check candidates to verify the IQA returns results you expect
• Paste SQL from first tab into SQL Management Studio (may require editing)
• 6. Test
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Save!
Congrats! Don’t lose your work. Use Save or
Save As… to create a copy.
• 7. Save
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Saving: Folders & naming
• Decide whether to store all IQAs inCustomers or spread out among individual iMIS modules
• Create and enforce an organizational folder (e.g. departmental, functional) and IQA naming strategy to easily find IQAs
• Create a policy among designers to make copies when they are significantly modifying an IQA – leave original for current uses
• 7. Save
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Saving: Folders & naming
• Well thought-out folders give more context to IQA titles
• Use the description field when creating/updating for historical notes (unfortunately only visible to designers, not end users)
• 7. Save
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IQA Examples
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Creating a Basic IQA Step-by-Step
• Query editor mode shown: “Basic” • Scenario:
Search for all members in New York state
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What if…
• We want to add criteria: “who’s attended a past event”
• Add a second business object
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Add more criteria
• Add ‘meeting’ as activity type• Add date criteria too
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Cs
Cs
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Double Rows…why?
• Customer registered for more than one event• We need a way to return only unique records…
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Does Not Exist Relationship
• Still in Basic Mode Does not exist relationship Helps identify who hasn’t done something
• Scenario Which of my active members have never attended an
event?
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If we run this now
• We’ll see: Constituent records with no activities at all
• We need to add filters Which constituent Which activities
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Adds – which Active Constituents have no activities?
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Adds – with no event activities?
Other activities are included
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Advance Mode – Does More
• Alias field names• Linkable in module searches• Aggregate Queries
• Let’s take our basic query and add additional information
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More Complex Queries
• Scenario – Searching for high value constituents Spent within the past year Life time spending is over 10,000
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Keys
• Aggregate Criteria for filters Max effective date = most recent Sum amount = total spending
• More useful if: User can play with criteria Make it easier to understand what they can do
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User Prompts for Filters
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Define Message to User
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Change your column names by assigning an Alias
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SQL Expressions in IQA
• You can use SQL Expressions to calculate your data
• Scenario: How many years has someone been a member?
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Business Object Designer
• Allows you to create/modify Business Objects• Located under Tools or iSA tab
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Business Object Designer
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TIPS & TRICKS
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Creating live links
• Tips & Tricks
Keywords
key_contact
key_event
key_order
Customers
Events
Orders
iMIS ID
Order No
Order No
Full list: http://docs.imis.com/15.1/index.asp?
topic=/15.1/29699.htm
Use keywords on Display tab in Alias field to enable Select option
Note! Arrows will not display in Edit mode –
only at run-time.
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Use relative date criteria
• Tips & Tricks
Make selections based on current date rather than requiring user to enter a fixed date.
Click the Run button and IQA will enter the @date command, which means
current date.
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Multiple Filter values
• Tips & Tricks
To search for multiple values, enclose in quotes and separate with commas
(e.g. area code equals “314”,”512”)
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Avoid Excel Extract Security Warning
See this article for registry entry:http://support.microsoft.com/kb/948615
• Tips & Tricks
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Alternative Link TypesBeyond the Equals Join
• Left Join will include all records from Biz Obj on left CsContacts Left Join CsDonations will include
all contacts, even those who didn’t donate
• Not Exist will return records not contained in the other Biz Obj CsContacts Not Exist CsEventActivity will
return customers who did not register for a previous meeting
• Tips & Tricks
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Formatting date/time fieldsAnnoyed by the time showing in your XLS?
Update field in Business Object DesignerProperties > Display
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Mapping Activity DB Fields
• Tips & Tricks
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Adding value lists to Filters
Update field in Business Object DesignerProperties > Values
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Adding value lists to Filters
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SQL Expressions in Display tab
Use for non-persistent values you don’t want to store in the database but
need for reporting(e.g. specialized member name format)
vBoCsContact.FirstName+' '+vBoCsContact.LastName+' '+'is the '+vBoCsContact.Title+'.'
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If you have an iQA that uses an email/URL field (e.g.
CsContact.Email) in a business object and would like it to appear as a link that users can click on when the query returns results, you
can do the following:
1. In your IQA query go to the Display tab.2. Mode: Advanced3. View: All
12
3
Turn Email and Website Fields in Queries into
Links
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4. Scroll to the very bottom where you see the Custom SQL Expression
area.
5. Enter the following into the SQL Expression field:
char(60) + 'a href="mailto:' + vBOCsContact.email + '"' + char(62) + vBoCsContact.Email + char(60) + '/a' + char(62) Note: leave out mailto:’ + for URL values
6. Give the SQL Expression an Alias, such as LinkedEmail
7. Click the symbol to add it to the list of display fields
Turn Email and Website Fields in Queries into Links
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SQL Expression in the list of displayed fields after being added
Turn Email and Website Fields in Queries into Links
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Results of the IQA
Turn Email and Website Fields in Queries into Links
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From the Tools Nav Bar, go to
Utilities > User defined tablesLook for Build All to the far rightThis will build Bus Objects for all
your custom tables
Create Business Objects for all User Defined Tables
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• Create your View in SQL and grant the iMIS Group SELECT permissions (grant select on sqlview to IMIS)
• Open BOD and create a new bus object• Go to Database tab and click ADD
Create Business Objects from Custom SQL Views
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IQAs can be Sources
Create very generic, frequently used IQAs and add as you would a Biz Obj.
Make sure to display at least one key field in the sub-IQA.
This is great for code
lookup tables. Many are
already built in. See the doc
system.
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Find the IQA being used by Public Views
Make IQAs Available on Public Views
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Make IQAs Available on Public Views
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Notice how the search criteria on this Public View site are identical to the search criteria defined in the IQA query on the previous slide
Make IQAs Available on Public Views
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Saving: Folders & naming
• Decide whether to store all IQAs inCustomers or spread out among individual iMIS modules
• Create and enforce an organizational folder (e.g. departmental, functional) and IQA naming strategy to easily find IQAs
• Create a policy among designers to make copies when they are significantly modifying an IQA – leave original for current uses
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BaltimoreOctober 18-21
Saving: Folders & naming
• Well thought-out folders give more context to IQA titles
• Use the description field when creating/updating for historical notes (unfortunately only visible to designers, not end users)
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New IQA Features in 15.1
• Totals, counts, subtotals
• Output to PDF• Output to SQL Server Reporting Services
(formatting, grouping, global formats) without leaving iMIS
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Previous Versions of Biz Objs
• You can revert to previous versions of Business Objects, but the versioning system is not yet available for IQAs In the Business Object Designer select Biz Obj, click
Versions, select desired version and click Revert. You will need to Compile and Publish the object again
• Tips & Tricks