The

CompleteReference

SAP"

BusinessObjectsBl 4.0

Third Edition

Cindi Howson

Elizabeth Newbould

McGraw

New York Chicago San Francisco

Lisbon London Madrid Mexico CityMilan New Delhi San Juan

Seoul Singapore Sydney Toronto

Contents

Acknowledgments xviii

Introduction xix

Part I Getting Ready for Business Intelligence

Chapter 1 Introduction to Business Intelligence 3

The Background of Business Intelligence 3

Business Intelligence Is Born 6

Data Warehouse Speeds BI Adoption 8

The Internet Influence 10

Competing on Analytics 10

A Broader BI Suite 11

Data Integration 11

Query and Reporting 13

Analysis 15

Analytic Applications 16

Dashboards and Scorecards 16

Visual Data Discovery IV

Predictive Analytics and Data Mining 17

The History of SAP BI and SAP Business Objects the Company 18

The Future 20

Summary 20

Chapter 2 Goals of Deploying SAP BusinessObjects 21

IT Goals 21

Reporting Directly Against a Transaction System 23

Why Use OLTP Directly? 23

Precautions for OLTP-Based Deployments 24

Aligning BI to Business Goals 25

Business Goals for BI 26

BI Standardization: AJoint Goal 28

Measures of Success 29

Measuring Business Benefits 29

ROI as a Measure of Success 30

Summary . 32

Chapter 3 Right Tool for the Right User 33

What Is Segmentation? 33

Defining BI User Segments 34

Primary Versus Secondary 34

Job Level 35

vi

Contents VM

Job Function 35

Degree of AnalyticJob Content 36

ERP or Source System Use 36

Level of Data Literacy 37

Level of Spreadsheet Usage 37

Amount of Travel 38

Implementation Phase 38

Internal Versus External Users 38

Others Who Affect Implementation Efforts 38

Gatekeepers 38

Influencers 40

Deciders 40

When to Analyze Segments 41

Positioning the Module to the User Segment 41

Project Roles 43

Summary 47

Part II Universes and the Information Design Toot

Chapter 4 Universe Design Principles 51

Universe Building Blocks 51

Connections 52

Data Foundation 52

Business Layer 57

Folders, Dimensions, and Measures 57

The Universe 58

Keeping It Simple 58

Target User Groups 59

Technical Realities 60

Aligning with Business Goals 60

Existing Data Warehouse 60

New Data Warehouse 61

Transaction System 61

Evolving the Universe 62

How the Information Design Tool Works 63

Universe Storage During Development 63

Universe Storage for Deployment 64

Crystal Business Views 65

Universe Design Tool 65

Summary 66

Chapter 5 Getting Started with the Information Design Tool 67

Launching the IDT 67

Retrieving and Opening a Universe 69

Creating a Project 69

Importing a Universe 70

Working with the IDT Workspace and Toolbar 71

Understanding Connections 73

Approaches to Login Parameters 73

Connection Parameters 76

Creating a Connection 78

Summary 80

Viii SAP BusinessObjects Bl 4.0: The Complete Reference

Chapter 6 Data Foundation Basics 81

Creating a Data Foundation 81

Inserting Tables 82

Families 82

BasicJoins 82

CreatingJoins Using Detection 82

Modifyingjoins 84

Getting Row Counts 85

Detecting Cardinality 86

OuterJoins 87

Loops and Contexts 91

Business Questions That Demand Contexts 91

Inserting Contexts 93

Modifying a Context 95

IsolatedJoins 96

How Contexts Are Used 97

Processing Contexts on the RDBMS 98

Are Loops a Bad Thing? 100

Chasm Traps and Contexts 102

Fan Traps and Many-to-ManyJoins 103

Composite Keys and ComplexJoins 104

Aliases 106

Detecting Aliases 106

Inserting Aliases Manually 108

Aliases in SQL 108

Contexts Versus Aliases 109

Self-Joins and Aliases 109

Implementing a Self-Join 109

Forcing aJoin Ill

ShortcutJoins HI

Derived Tables 112

Data Foundation Properties 113

Summary 115

Chapter 7 Business Layer Basics 117

The Business Layer Pane 117

Business Layer Objects 119

Folder Objects 119

Dimension Objects 119

Measure Objects 120

Filter Objects 121

Attribute Objects 121

Object Ordering 122

Object Naming Conventions 123

Naming Principles 123

Warning: Cutting and Pasting Objects and Object IDs 124

Creating a Business Layer 126

ModifyingObjects 127

Object Types Versus Database Field Format 128

Dimension Keys'

129

Contents ix

Advanced Object Settings 132

Object Source Information 135

Working with Objects 136

Renaming an Object 136

Deleting an Object 136

Changing an Object's State 137

Creating an Attribute Object 138

Converting a Dimension to a Measure 138

About Aggregates 139

SQL Aggregates 139

Projection Aggregates 140

Universe Parameters and Query Options 141

Query Limits 141

Query Options 142

Summary 145

Chapter 8 Lists of Values and Parameters 147

How List ofValues Works 147

List of Values Settings 150

When to Disable Lists of Values 150

Measures 150

Nonindexed Fields 151

Attributes 151

Simple List ofValues Customizadon 151

Adding a Description Object to an ID Object 151

Cascading Lists of Values 156

Reusable Lists of Values 160

Static Lists of Values 160

Static Lists ofValues from Imported Data 160

Static Lists of Values Created Manually 162

List of Values Custom Hierarchy 163

Parameters and Prompts 165

Building a Parameter Step by Step 167

Pseudo Optional Prompts 168

Summary 168

Chapter 9 Beyond the Basics 169

Reducing Maintenance with Base Objects and ©Select 169

The SQL Expression Editor 170

Some Caveats About SQL Functions 171

SQL Parameters and the PRM File 171

Multiple Arguments and Prompt Messages 173

Filter Objects 173

Creating a Filter Object 174

Filter Object with Subquery 176

Filter Object with HAVING 177

Filter Properties 178

Time Conditions 178

Reusing Interactive Objects with ©Variable 179

Reusing Interactive Objects with ©Where 179

Prompts in Objects Versus Reports 179

X SAP BusinessObjects Bl 40: The Complete Reference

Aggregate Awareness 180

Creating Aggregate Fact Tables 182

Identifying Dimension Tables Irrelevant to Aggregate Tables 183

Adding Aggregate Awareness to Measure Objects 184

Accessing the Aggregate Table 185

Specifying Which Objects Are Not Compatible with

the Aggregate Table 186

Testing and Viewing SQL Statements 188

Derived Tables 191

Popular SQL Functions 194

Concatenated Objects 194

Time Objects 195

If-Then-Else Logic with CASE 198

Counting Objects 201

Rank 204

Ratio to Report 206

Summary 207

Chapter 10 Multisource Universes 209

Multisource Concepts 209

Creating a Universe for SAP BW 210

Creating a Connection to BW 210

Creating the Data Foundation 213

Creating the Business Layer 214

Joining Data from Another Data Source 215

Creating a Shared Connection 216

Adding Connections to the Data Foundation 217

Multisource SQL Server and Microsoft Access 219

Summary 224

Chapter 11 Multidimensional Analysis 225

What Is Multidimensional Analysis? 225

Navigation Paths 226

Default Navigation 226

Custom Navigation 226

OLAP Universes 228

Creating an OLAP Connection 231

Creating a Business Layer 232

Creating a Named Set 234

Summary 236

Chapter 12 Securing the Data 237

The Enterprise Environment: What Needs Securing 237

Introducing the Central Management Console 238

Authentication 239

Enterprise Authentication 240

Adding Users 242

External Authentication with Windows AD 244

Defining Groups 246

Planning for Authorization 247

Understanding Your Company's Organization . 247

Contents xi

Access Levels 248

Folders and Categories 249

Centralized or Decentralized Security 254

Granting Access to Universes 254

Further Securing the Data: Column- and Row-Level Security 256

Object-Level Security 256

The Security Editor 259

Business Security Profiles 259

Data Security Restrictions 262

Table Mappings 266

Setting Restriction Priorities 267

Previewing Net Restrictions 268

Summary 269

Chapter 13 Design Principles: Where to Put the Intelligence 271

What Is Intelligence? 271

Places for Intelligence 272

Evaluating the Pros and Cons of Each Alternative 273

OLAP Databases 273

Relational Tables 277

Universe 280

Web Intelligence Reports 283

Summary 288

Chapter 14 Universe Maintenance, Life Cycle Management, and Co-Development 289

Linked Universes and Reusability 289

Approaches to Development, Test, and Production Universes 291

Multiple CMSs and BIAR files 292

Promoting Content 293

Test Folders 296

Multiple Designers and Project Synchronization 300

Creating a New Shared Project 300

Sharing an Existing Project 300

Working on Shared Projects 302

Summary 303

Chapter 15 Universe Integrity, Quality Assurance, and Usage Monitoring 305

Universe Integrity 305

Universe Documentation 308

Quality Assurance Checklist 312

Benchmark Queries 315

Use Cases 316

Performance Bottlenecks 316

Monitoring User Activity 319

Real-Time Monitoring 319

Auditing 320

Summary 321

Part III Reporting and AnalysisChapter 16 Navigating in BI Launch Pad 325

Logging in to BI Launch Pad 326

xii SAP BusinessObjects Bl 4.0: The Complete Reference

The BI Launch Pad Interface 328

The Header Panel 328

The Home Tab 329

The Documents Tab 329

Navigating in the Documents Tab 330

Document Display and Organization 333

Sorting and Filtering the List Panel 333

Organizing Documents 334

BI Launch Pad Preferences 336

General 336

Locales and Time Zone 338

Web Intelligence 339

BI Workspaces 341

Creating a New BI Workspace 341

Editing a BI Workspace 342

Setting Your BI Workspace As the Default Home Tab 344

Summary 344

Chapter 17 Interacting with Documents 345

Working with the Web Intelligence Web Viewer 346

Opening a Document 346

Web Viewer Status Bar 347

Web Viewer Toolbar 348

Web Viewer Navigation Map 357

Understanding a Document's Structure 357

Components of a Report 358

Page Header and Footer 360

Sections 360

Blocks 361

Variables and Cells 361

Refreshing a Document 361

Canceling a Query 362

Lists of Values 362

Multiple Prompts 364

Saving Documents 365

Saving a Document in Excel or PDF Format 366

Using Advanced Save As Options 367

Scheduling a Document 367

Logging Off 370

Summary 371

Chapter 18 Report-Based Analysis and Formatting 373

Web Intelligence Report Design Mode 373

Block Types ..' 374

Working with Tables 375

Working with Crosstabs 377

Working with Charts 380

Master/Detail Reports 381

Sorts 383

Managing Multiple Sorts 384

Creating Custom Sorts 384

Contents xiM

Breaks 386

Adding a Break 387

Managing Breaks 387

Calculations 389

Filters 390

Adding and Removing Filters 392

Filtering on Measure Objects 393

Using Report Filters 393

Nested Filters 394

Ranking 396

Drilling Within Reports 399

Understanding the Data 399

Drilling Down 401

Drilling Up 402

Drilling By 402

Drilling Across 403

Drilling Through to Detail 403

Synchronized Drilling 405

Adding Snapshots 405

Summary 405

Chapter 19 Creating a New Query 407

Formulating a Business Question 407

Web Intelligence Versus Web Intelligence Rich Client 409

The Query Panel 409

Launching the Query Panel 410

Working in the Query Panel 412

Creating a Simple Report 413

Result Objects 416

Scope of Analysis 416

Scope Levels by Number 417

Custom Scope Levels 419

Query Filters 420

Quick Filters 421

Predefined Conditions 422

Query Filter Panel 422

Operators 424

Operands 424

Filters on Dates 426

Prompts 426

Query Properties 430

Query Refresh on Open 431

BEx Queries 432

Summary 435

Chapter 20 Advanced Report and Chart Formatting 437

Formatting Components 437

Formatting a Cell 437

Document Summary Options 446

Default Styles 448

Inserting and Deleting Report Tabs 450

Xiv SAP BusinessObjects Bl 4.0: The Complete Reference

Working with Table Blocks 451

Inserting a New Table Block 451

Deleting a Table Block 454

Inserting a New Column in a Table Block 455

Deleting a Column in a Table Block 456

Formatting Cross Tables 457

Structure Only Mode 462

Additional Table Block Formatting 463

Conditional Formatting 470

Creating a Conditional Format 470

Custom Text in Conditional Formatting 473

Charts 474

Inserting a New Chart 474

Formatting Charts 476

Formatting Reports 478

Report Format Options 478

Formatting Master/Detail Reports 479

Web Intelligence Options 480

Summary 481

Chapter 21 Formulas and Variables 483

Creating Formulas and Variables 483

Syntax for Formulas in Web Intelligence 484

Creating a Formula 485

Creating a Variable 488

Using Operators in Formulas 491

Mathematical Operators 492

Conditional Operators 492

Logical Operators 492

Where Operator 493

Context and Function-Specific Operators 493

Using Functions in Formulas 493

All Functions 501

Aggregate Functions 501

Character Functions 512

Date and Time Functions 520

Document Functions 524

Data Provider Functions 526

Miscellaneous Functions 529

Logical Functions 535

Numeric Functions 537

Set Functions 543

Calculation Contexts and Extended Syntax 545

Summary 550

Chapter 22 Complex Queries 551

Multipass Queries 551

Multipass Business Questions 553

The Two-Table Problem 553

Multiple Data Providers 555

Linking Multiple Data Providers 556

Contents XV

Manually Merging Dimensions 558

Setting Data Merging Options 560

Measure Conditions with Aggregate Functions 562

Complex Query Filters 563

OR Operand and Nested Conditions 564

Combined Queries 565

Subqueries 569

Object Equal to Object from this Query 571

Summary 572

Part IV Dashboards and More

Chapter 23 Introduction to Dashboards 575

Embedded Query Designer and Direct Data

Binding: Pros and Cons 576

Creating a Simple Dashboard 577

Planning the Dashboard 578

Developing a Simple Dashboard 578

Summary 593

Chapter 24 Dashboard Design Workspace and Menus 595

Starting Dashboard Design 595

Dashboard Design Panels and Toolbars 596

Dashboard Design Toolbars 597

The Dashboard Design Canvas 601

The Components Panel 602

The Excel Panel 603

The Object Browser 603

The Properties Panel 605

The Query Browser 605

Customizing the Workspace Panels 606

Opening and Saving Models 607

Creating a New Model 607

Opening an Existing Model 608

Saving a Model 609

Setting Document Properties 609

Defining Preferences 610

Document Preferences 611

Grid Preferences 611

Open Preferences 611

Languages Preferences 611

Excel Options 612

Exporting a Dashboard Design Model 613

Dashboard Design Samples, Templates, and Add-ons 614

Viewing Samples 614

Using Templates 615

Managing Add-ons 616

Summary 617

XVi SAP BusinessObjects Bl 4.0: The Complete Reference

Chapter 25 Dashboard Design Components 619

Component Categories and Views 619

Charts 620

Types of Charts 620

Containers 628

Types of Containers 628

Selectors 630

Types ofSelectors 630

Single-Value Components 634

Types of Single-Value Components 634

Maps 636

Text Components 636

Types of Text Components 637

Other Components 637

Types of Other Components 637

Art and Backgrounds Components 639

Types of Art and Background Components 639

Web Connectivity 641

Types of Web Connectivity Components 641

Universe Connectivity 642

Types of Universe Connectivity Components 642

Summary ...642

Chapter 26 Properties, Excel, and Colors 643

Properties Overview 643

General Properties 644

Insertion Properties 647

Behavior Properties 648

Appearance Properties 652

Alerts Properties 654

Dashboard Design and Excel 656

Importing Spreadsheets 656

Exporting Spreadsheets and Snapshots 657

Model Design Considerations 657

Excel Functions 658

Using Themes and Colors in Dashboard Design 663

Dashboard Design Themes 664

Color Schemes 665

Color Binding Properties 666

Summary 671

Chapter 27 Data Sources 673

Embedded Spreadsheets 673

Adding Data to the Embedded Spreadsheet 674

Using Functions in the Embedded Spreadsheet 674

Setting Preferences for the Embedded Spreadsheet 675

Binding Components to Embedded Spreadsheets 675

Universe and BEx Queries 678

Binding Components to Universe or BEx Queries 683

Inserting Query Data into the Embedded Spreadsheet 684

Contents XVM

Live Office Connections 685

Creating the Live Office Object 685

Setting Live Office Object Properties and Refresh Options 690

Creating a Live Office Data Connection 691

External Data Connections 694

Creating a Query as a Web Service Connection 694

Summary 699

Chapter 28 Explorer 701

Explorer Concepts 701

Creating an Information Space 702

Exploring the Data 704

Filtering 705

Working with Charts 706

Creating Exploration Views 707

Exporting Data 707

Explorer on the iPad 708

Summary 709

Index 711