0. Building cockpits and dashboards: Shortcuts, design best practices, and guidelines to ensure you pick the right SAP NetWeaver BI tool for the job
Dr. Bjarne Berg

1. What We’ll Cover …
Background, terminology, and examples
Tool options
What makes a good cockpit?
Which tool is right for me?
Wrap-up

2. Background and Terminology
Bjarne Berg 2008
Many companies and people confuse the concepts of dashboards, scorecards, and cockpits. They vary in terms of purpose, usage, source, data, etc.
Most BI systems fall in to the cockpits category
These are typical parameters, and some may be slightly different (e.g., some metrics in a cockpit may only be updated monthly). However, such deviations should be exceptions.

3. Typical Components of a Cockpit: SEM Example
Higher-level navigation between views
External data
Graphical displays
Comparative/ benchmarking
Logical grouping of similar information

4. SEM Management Cockpit
Customized navigation menus and buttons
Illustrate best practices, benchmarks, or target performance

5. Navigations Linked to Multiple Views
Central navigation can change multiple views
Link more documentation
Make multiple measures available
Source: SAP AG, 2005

6. What We’ll Cover …
Background, terminology, and examples
Tool options
What makes a good cockpit?
Which tool is right for me?
Wrap-up

7. Tool Options
SEM CPM
Web Application Designer (Web AD)
SAP NetWeaver Visual Composer
Publishing to the portal
Custom cockpits (BI Java SDK)
Third-party cockpits

8. Strategy Management and Performance Measurement – CPM
The presentation layer in SAP
Management cockpits has
four layers:
Cockpit High-level overview (consists of walls)
Wall A logical grouping of measures
Logical view The display level of the cockpit; consists of frames
Frame Lowest level of individual measure display
These presentation layer objects are already Web- enabled and integrated with the Portal. They also provide built-in drill-downs and navigation, based on how you constructed your measures.

9. What is SEM – CPM?
The Corporate Performance Monitor (SEM-CPM) is part of the Strategic Enterprise Management BI tool suite. It consists of the Performance Measurement (PM) area and the Strategy management area (SM).
The Performance Management area consists of four distinct areas:
Management Cockpit
Measure Builder
Benchmarking
Delivery of business content
The Strategy Management consists also of four areas
Balanced Scorecard
Strategy modeling
Value Driver Tree
Risk Management
Source: J. Lombard, 2006

10. SEM – CPM Walls
Walls are the highest level of the SEM-CPM Cockpit. Research has shown that more than 7 walls are hard to read and comprehend. Ideal numbers are 3, 5 or 7.
Major consideration!!
Humans have a hard time remembering, organizing, and retain information that is asymmetrical.
This is true for hearing, seeing, tasting, feeling and smelling.
Read more about the cognitive revolution and the article that started it all: Newell and Simon “The magic number 7” (1956)

11. Rules for Graphs and Real Estate
Try to avoid empty spaces, but don’t force unrelated measures into the cockpit — it confuses users
Don’t use as many types of graphs as possible,
and never mix more than 3 types of graphs. If you
use more, users have to interpret the pictures as well as the data.
Missing data
points add
irritation

12. SEM-CPM Rules for Graphs and Real Estate (cont.)
There is nothing wrong with using the same type of graphs on a cockpit (e.g., tachometers or line charts). Users adapt quickly and can absorb the information faster.

13. Tool Options
SEM CPM
Web Application Designer (Web AD)
SAP NetWeaver Visual Composer
Publishing to the portal
Custom cockpits (BI Java SDK)
Third-party cockpits

14. Cockpits with Web AD 3.x and SAP NetWeaver 7.0
Web Application Designer can create Web-based cockpits using BW query data

15. Cockpits with SAP NetWeaver 7.0 Web AD
New items include improved tab strip container in SAP NetWeaver 7.0 for designing BI Web applications
Reduces the amount of custom coding required with the help of Command wizards, Auto complete, and support for HTML tags

16. SAP NetWeaver 7.0 Web AD New Features
Web Items: Tab Pages, Button, Script Item (SAP NetWeaver 7.0 Support Package Stack 7)
Drag and drop using Analysis item
New chart types (heat map, Gantt, milestone trend analysis)
Export BI Web applications in PDF format
Command Wizard for generating Web API commands
Integration with SAP NetWeaver 7.0 BEx Report Designer for formatted reports

17. Commands appear together for easy access
BI Web API Commands
You can use BI Web API commands for carrying out certain actions in BI Web Applications
Export to Excel, PDF, etc.
OLAP functions: Apply Filter values, remove drill downs
Command Wizards guide you through the steps for creating a BI Web API command
Commands appear together for easy access
Data Provider
Web Items
Web Templates
Web cockpits developed by Web AD in SAP NetWeaver 7.0 can be interactive, include many data sources, and be very flexible

18. Command Wizard and JavaScript
Use Command Wizard for generating JavaScript code for the Script Item to use in custom cockpit applications
This is a great feature for building custom features into your cockpits based on standard JavaScript

19. More New Cockpit Options
Personalize BI query variables
Bookmark the navigational state of the BI Web application
Perform multidimensional analysis of BI query data
Allow users to create exceptions and conditions for BI query data
These features make it easier to customize the dataset that queries return to the Web cockpit

20. Web AD Cockpits in SAP Enterprise Portal
Directly publish BI Web cockpits to Portal Content Catalog using the Publish option from Web AD
Portal and BI system connection should be set up per SAP Note

21. Broadcast Cockpit Views Using Web AD
In SAP NetWeaver 7.0, use Information Broadcaster to broadcast BI Web applications (e.g., cockpit views) to Enterprise Portal KM folders and via in various formats (PDF, MHTML, HTML)
Information Broadcaster/Reporting Agent (SAP BW 3.x) can precalculate BI Web applications to enhance performance

22. Tool Options
SEM CPM
Web Application Designer (Web AD)
SAP NetWeaver Visual Composer
Publishing to the portal
Custom cockpits (BI Java SDK)
Third-party cockpits

23. Visual Composer
A Visual Composer is a tool to visualize the data. It is a browser-based modeling and design tool for rapid application development & prototyping in a code-free development environment.

24. Visual Composer is Easy for Power Users to Learn
Visual Composer is a power user tool that is simple to learn for someone with a little bit of technical background (i.e. controllers, report writers, analysts).
No coding required to create great-looking Web-based cockpits
Take advantage of prebuilt analytic business packages
Source: SAP

25. Visual Composer for Complex cockpits
Modeling of BI applications using the BI kit of the Visual Composer allows business users to create analytical content for SAP portal. It offers the integration with BI InfoProviders, views, BEx web applications, PDF and more via WEB API as access to
other data sources such as OLAP and relational data sources) via Java connectors
Image source: Cubeserv

26. SAP NetWeaver Visual Composer DataProviders
You can use BI queries and views as DataProviders for SAP NetWeaver Visual Composer models
You also can use BI query functionalities for exceptions and variables along with SAP NetWeaver Visual Composer models
SAP NetWeaver Visual Composer allows access to BI history, favorites, and roles

27. Visual Composer Data Methods
Can integrate data from multiple data sources, including SAP and non-SAP systems, into one model
Different options available for data access include:
BI Extension Kit
Remote Function Call (RFC)
Web services
BI Extension Kit allows access to the following DataSources
SAP NetWeaver 2004 BI (BW 3.5 Support Package 14)
SAP NetWeaver BI 7.0
JDBC
XMLA

28. Details about Visual Composer Cockpits
Delivered as part of Enterprise Portal in SAP NetWeaver BI 7.0 Usage Type (SPS8 and higher)
Different options available for rendering Visual Composer output
Flash
Web Dynpro (HTML)
Flash provides high-end visualization of Visual Composer models
Since a cockpit may have many different DataSources (queries), it can take quite some time to execute them if the memory cache is not used consistently

29. The future of Visual Composer
Source: SAP, July 2008
SAP July, 2008: Composition Environment including Visual Composer continues to be the go-to product for creating composite applications.

30. Tool Options
SEM CPM
Web Application Designer (Web AD)
SAP NetWeaver Visual Composer
Publishing to the portal
Custom cockpits (BI Java SDK)
Third-party cockpits

31. Web Cockpit in the Portal
Integrate queries and Web applications into the portal through publishing, broadcasting, or Web calls
The portal can either receive designed pages passively or actively create communities, Web pages, collaboration rooms, or cockpits
Publishing
Broadcasting

32. Web Cockpit in the Portal (cont.)
The SEM-CPM cockpits are already part of the portal, so you can access them there
iViews can build custom portal cockpits with iViews from many data sources (Web AD, BW, SEM, SAP R/3, Web) and in many formats (graphs, pictures, figures, tables)
iViews can also be interactive

33. SAP NetWeaver 7.0 Visual Composer Portal Publishing
SAP NetWeaver Visual Composer Design time deploys Visual Composer models directly as iViews to Portal Content Catalog
You can then use Visual Composer iViews in portal pages, roles, etc.

34. Building a Web Cockpit in the Portal
The trick in developing custom Web cockpits in the portal is to manage the real estate carefully
Most pure iView-based cockpits are cluttered and hard to read and navigate
1. Start with logical groupings of items (sales, finance, e.g.)
2. Limit colors to complementary formats (we will look at these later)
3. Share the same navigation menus and tabs as the portal
4. Avoid running text, flashes, animations, layering and scrolling text (this is an absolute no-no)

35. Tool Options
SEM CPM
Web Application Designer (Web AD)
SAP NetWeaver Visual Composer
Publishing to the portal
Custom cockpits (BI Java SDK)
Third-party cockpits

36. BI Java SDK-Based Cockpits
BI Java SDK can be used for custom applications based on SAP BI and non-SAP data.
BI Java SDK provides access to relational and OLAP data sources using JDBC, XMLA, ODBO etc.
Access to 200+ data sources using the JDBC drivers.
Java programmers will recognize the Software Development Kit (SDK) main libraries such as the abstract windowing toolkit (AWT) and the GUI-oriented Swing object library as well
Source: SAP AG, 2005

37. BI Java SDK-Based Cockpits (cont.)
SAP NetWeaver Developer Studio can develop BI Java SDK-based applications
Can use along with SAP Java Web Dynpro
Interested developers should familiarize themselves with SAP NetWeaver Developer Studio

38. Tool Options
SEM CPM
Web Application Designer (Web AD)
SAP NetWeaver Visual Composer
Publishing to the portal
Custom cockpits (BI Java SDK)
Third-party cockpits

39. Third-Party Cockpits Cognos Microsoft
Some best-of-breed cockpit tools incorporate SAP BI as part of a Web item provider, or more commonly through BW queries fed by BAPIs or OLE DB for OLAP (ODBO) in BW
Some even provide separate Multidimensional Online Analytical Processing (MOLAP) solutions tightly connected to SAP BW
Hint: reading RS_ tables inside BW
Cognos
Microsoft

40. Third-Party Cockpits (cont.)
Other BI and cockpit companies, such as Corda, are actively working on creating cockpit tools for SAP NetWeaver BI

41. What We’ll Cover …
Background, terminology, and examples
Tool options
What makes a good cockpit?
Which tool is right for me?
Wrap-up

42. War Rooms and External Access
Shared cockpits are most useful
External access to information is more common. Vendors and customers love it!
You can build war rooms for collaborative decision making using cockpits
Cockpits require a true BI infrastructure. It is tempting to jump straight to the cockpit development, but it is almost impossible without a well-architected BW system to support it.

43. A Good Cockpit Is Simple
The majority of usage of cockpits is in user segments 1 and 5. You should use BI queries and OLAP for the other segments.
Segment 1: Trackers - 37%
Tracking - Characterized by low duration overall.
Segment 2: Reservers - 3%
Low duration per page view.
Segment 3: Uncommitted - 10%
Characterized by long duration.
Complex decisions.
Segment 4: Info Gatherers - 4%
Concentrated in information areas. Rarely reach transaction areas.
Segment 5: Single-clickers - 32%
Visit homepage only.
Segment 6: Wanderers - 15%
Very few, very random pages.
Few hits, but long duration per page view.
Example source: Dr. Paul Strupp, Sun Microsystems
The average manager navigates in no more than 7 dimensions and only 2 levels deep (49 views). Therefore, the majority of users of cockpits need a few, simple, but highly informative, views. The other user community is best served by OLAP queries.

44. The Need for Speed
When cockpits bring together data from many sources during runtime, it can be slow and cumbersome
This is because when your system accesses the portal cockpit, it may have to execute supporting cockpit queries
Solution: You can present static images (i.e., static HTML from BEx Broadcaster into a portal iView) or you can cache queries results by using BEx Broadcaster in SAP NetWeaver 7.0

45. The Need for Speed (cont.)
SAP NetWeaver 7.0 allows you to fill the resident memory of your server with pre-run results (cache). This provides faster response to the users, since the query result sets are accessed from memory instead of re-executed on the database side.
SAP BW 3.5
SAP NetWeaver 7.0
IMPORTANT: Old Reporting Agent scenarios still run in SAP NetWeaver 7.0. However, Reporting Agent will not be developed further and is removed from SAP NetWeaver 7.0 Workbench. In SAP NetWeaver BI 7.0 you can only reach it by transaction code REPORTING_AGENT

46. The Need for Speed - BI Accelerator
SAP BW
Any
tool
The SAP BI Accelerator makes query response time 50-10,000 faster.
You use process chains to maintain the HPA engine after each data load
HP, Sun and IBM have standard solutions ranging from $32K to $250K+ that can be installed and tested in as little as 2-4 weeks (+ SAP license fees)
Breaking news: 32 Gb Blades are now certified by SAP (July 2008)

47. What We’ll Cover …
Background, terminology, and examples
Tool options
What makes a good cockpit?
Which tool is right for me?
Wrap-up

48. What SAP Tool Should I Use?
BW 3.x Web AD
SAP Net-Weaver 2004s Web AD
SAP NetWeaver Visual Composer
SAP SEM-CPM
Third-party cockpits
Java SDK tools
Portal iViews
Multidimensional Analysis (full) J -
Portal integration
Information Broadcaster
Formatted reporting
Graphical options (delivered)
Automatic code generation
SAP integration
Direct support for non-BW data
Simplicity to use and learn
There are many options and sometimes the choice is based on what you are familiar with and whether you enjoy using new tools

49. New Tools Roadmap
Source SAP AG, June 2008

50. BOBJ capabilities – Dashboards and Reports
Dashboards can be built using Xcelsius.
Xcelsius+ will be launched in 2009, and will be “the flagship product for data visualization & dashboards”
BEx Web Application Designer will not be enhanced further beyond Release NW 7.1 in 2008.
Crystal Reports for pixel formatted reports has been available with SAP BI/BW since This tool can be integrated into your tool portfolio using existing SAP NetWeaver BI queries
(NOTE: Crystal & Crystal Light will be the core tools for formatted reports starting 2010)
Source SAP AG, June 2008

51. What We’ll Cover …
Background, terminology, and examples
Tool options
What makes a good cockpit?
Which tool is right for me?
Wrap-up

52. Resources COMERIT (Presentations, Articles and Accellerators)
SAP Online Help BW and EP Integration
SDN BW How to Guides - How to integrate Visual Composer Applications and BEx Web Templates
BW Expert (
“Create Unparalleled Analytical Applications with SAP NetWeaver BI, Visual Composer, and Macromedia Flex” by Moya Watson and Judy Kestecher, SAP Labs, January 2006 issue
* Requires access to credentials to view full article text

53. 7 Key Points to Take Home
There are many ways to build Web cockpits and SAP has tools for them all
Look at in-house Web skills before you decide on the tool
SAP Performance Management is a great tool for those with limited Web skills, but requires consistency in performance measures (roll-ups) and structured navigation
SAP NetWeaver Visual Composer is great for complex graphing
Web AD is the tool of choice by experienced Web programmers who want total design freedom

54. Spend serious time designing instead of coding!
7 Key Points to Take Home
Third-party tools for Web cockpits are emerging and some are quite advanced (Cognos, e.g.)
While all these tools gives you a great deal of flexibility, it is the use of the real estate, colors, graphs, and consistency that is going to determine if your cockpit is successful:
Spend serious time designing instead of coding!

55. Your Turn!
How to contact me:
Dr. Bjarne Berg