UNIVERSE BEST PRACTICES. Rob Rohloff, OEM Sales Consultant

Transcription

1 UNIVERSE BEST PRACTICES Rob Rohloff, OEM Sales Consultant

2 AGENDA Universe Defined Tips for Building the Universe Advanced Object Creation Tips Resolving Loops Conclusion SLIDE 2

3 WHAT IS A UNIVERSE? The Universe is a semantic layer that contains metadata (data about data) Translates the complexities of the database into business-friendly terms for end-users. Allows for correct SQL generation Allows manipulation of data based on the metadata and on the additional business logic in the Universe SLIDE 3 Copyright 2007 Business Objects S.A. All rights reserved.

4 UNIVERSE: WHAT DOES IT LET YOU DO? Simple, intuitive data analysis Report creation using business terms instead of SQL Reuse of business logic Automatic report drilling (by defining hierarchies) Multiple data provider synchronization SLIDE 4 Copyright 2007 Business Objects S.A. All rights reserved.

5 UNIVERSE: WHERE CAN YOU USE IT? Web Intelligence Universe Databases Desktop Intelligence Data Federator EPM LiveOffice Crystal Reports Query as a Web Service Xcelsius SLIDE 5 Copyright 2007 Business Objects S.A. All rights reserved.

6 AGENDA Universe Defined Tips for Building the Universe Advanced Object Creation Tips Resolving Loops Conclusion SLIDE 6

7 ADDING TABLES & JOINS Build your universe piece-by-piece Insert tables one at a time, that way it can be understood. Do not use the automatic universe creation tool. Using this wizard will build a universe that you do not understand. Take each table, join, cardinality etc one at a time. SLIDE 7

8 DEFINING OBJECTS Object and class naming Name in business terms Remember: you are trying to enable non-technical people to build their own reports Use object formatting When there is a need to format an object in the same way every time it is used. SLIDE 8

9 DEFINING OBJECTS Use complex objects Concatenate descriptions Translate codes Build common calculations into the universe whenever possible Build logic into your objects Use condition objects Users don t like to build conditions in the query Define measure objects correctly Not every number is a measure! SLIDE 9

10 AGENDA Universe Defined Tips for Building the Universe Advanced Object Creation Tips Resolving Loops Conclusion SLIDE 10

11 TIP 1: AVOID WHERE CLAUSES Problem: How to separate credit invoices from regular invoices into 2 separate objects? SLIDE 11

12 AVOID WHERE CLAUSES 2 Objects: USA Sales and Germany Sales WHERE sales.country = USA AND sales.country = Germany What happens if a user pulls both objects into a query? SLIDE 12

13 USE CASE STATEMENT INSTEAD WRONG! WHERE clauses are rarely the right answer! SLIDE 13

14 CASE STATEMENT CORRECT! CASE statements can bucket data SLIDE 14

15 CASE STATEMENT DEMO Demonstration SLIDE 15

16 TIP 2: CUSTOM LISTS OF VALUES Which is better? OR SLIDE 16

17 CUSTOM LISTS OF VALUES DEMO Demonstration SLIDE 17

18 TIP 3: USE AGGREGATION IN ALL MEASURE OBJECTS SELECT invoices.amount vs. SELECT sum(invoices.amount) Always perform aggregation in a measure. Why? Measures, by definition, are aggregated Although WebIntelligence will aggregate measure objects locally, the database is far more powerful. If the object does not contain a SQL aggregate function such as SUM stated in its SELECT clause, no GROUP BY clause will be generated SLIDE 18

19 TIP 4: USE RELATIVE DATES Users don t like to fill in date prompts every time they refresh a report Scheduling can be difficult SLIDE 19

20 RELATIVE DATES Which is more user friendly? SLIDE 20

21 RELATIVE DATES SELECT 'Last 7 Days' AS Date_Range, CONVERT(smalldatetime, { fn curdate() }) - 6 AS Begin_Date, CONVERT(smalldatetime, { fn curdate() }) AS End_Date FROM dbo.syscolumns SLIDE 21

22 TIP 6: USE DYNAMIC HTML IN OBJECTS SLIDE 22

23 DYNAMIC HTML DEMO Demonstration SLIDE 23

24 AGENDA Universe Defined Tips for Building the Universe Advanced Object Creation Tips Resolving Loops Conclusion SLIDE 24

25 LOOPS Definition: More than one path through the SQL f countries e Problem: customers suppliers Business Objects will not know what path to choose a orders b d order_lines c products SLIDE 25

26 RESOLVING LOOPS Three possible resolutions: Remove a join f countries e customers suppliers a orders d b order_lines c products SLIDE 26

27 RESOLVING LOOPS Three possible resolutions: Remove a join customer countries countries ALIAS countries Add an alias customers suppliers a orders d b order_lines c products SLIDE 27

28 RESOLVING LOOPS Three possible resolutions: CONTEXT 1: Suppliers Remove a join Add an alias Add contexts f customers a countries suppliers e orders d b order_lines c products SLIDE 28

29 RESOLVING LOOPS Three possible resolutions: CONTEXT 2: Customers Remove a join Add an alias Add contexts f customers a countries suppliers e orders d b order_lines c products SLIDE 29

30 AGENDA Universe Defined Tips for Building the Universe Advanced Object Creation Tips Resolving Loops Conclusion SLIDE 30

31 CONCLUSION The Universe is a powerful semantic layer that translates the database into business-friendly terms It is core to all Business Objects Information & Delivery tools Time should be taken to build it correctly using best practices Leverage the power of the Universe to build complex objects that further simplify the user experience SLIDE 31 Copyright 2007 Business Objects S.A. All rights reserved.

32 UNIVERSE BEST PRACTICES End