Report Design & Data Monitor using BusinessObjects Dashboard Design EGN 5622 Enterprise Systems Integration Spring, 2013.

Report Design & Data Monitor using BusinessObjects Dashboard Design EGN Enterprise Systems Integration Spring, 2013

Report Design & Data Monitor using BusinessObjectsDashboard Design Concepts and Theory

Dashboard definition “A dashboard is a visual display of the most important information needed to achieve one or more objectives; consolidated and arranged on a single screen so the information can be monitored at a glance” Why should dashboards be used in the decision making process? The ability to receive, process and remember information can be increased by the use of visual appliances But: To effectively support decision makers, problem representation has to match the task that is to be performed

Dashboard types I Strategic Dashboards Used by executives
Quick overview on the health of the business, including major high-level measures Few information, simple display mechanisms, static snapshots Analytical Dashboards Used by analysts Support interaction with data, e.g. drill-down Complex data, sophisticated display mechanisms, static snapshots Operational Dashboards Used to monitor operations Support alerting for critical events, interaction with data Detailed data, simple and clear display mechanisms, real-time data Source: (Few 2006, p )

Layers of information Summarized Graphical View Top Layer
Purpose: Monitor key performance metrics Display: Graphical indicators, numbers, text Technology: Dashboards, scorecard, portals Top Layer Multidimensional View Purpose: Explore information from multiple dimensions Display: Interactive charts and tables Technology: OLAP, interactive reports Middle Layer -> User can peel back layers of information to get to the root cause of a problem. -> Each successive layer provides additional details, views and perspectives to understand a problem and to identify the steps that have to be addressed. -> Monitor, analyze, examine Detailed Reporting View Purpose: Examine details before taking action Display: Table or report in separate window Technology: Operational reports, data warehouse queries Bottom Layer Source: Eckerson (2006), p. 15

Dashboard types II Dashboard versus Portal
Portal = Focus on the integration of different contents under one user interface Dashboard = Focus on the compression of important facts and figures on one single screen Dashboard versus Scorecard A scorecard is a specific dashboard including Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), usually used on a strategic level

Evolution of Dashboards
Evolution of Automobile Dashboards versus Business Dashboards: Automobile Dashboards Business Dashboards Display: Simple Charts Display: Simple Charts Function: -Simple monitoring of some business areas Function: -Simple monitoring of some business areas Display: Simple Lamps Function: -Indication of engine issues Display: Simple Charts Function: -Simple monitoring of some business areas First Generation Display: Lamps Gauges Odometers Display: Lamps Gauges Odometers Function: Indication of engine issues Measure fuel, etc. Measure speed, distance Function: Indication of engine issues Measure fuel, etc. Measure speed, distance Display: Advanced Charts Gauges & Indicators Tables Display: Advanced Charts Gauges & Indicators Tables Function: Advanced monitoring Drill down to analyze Monitor key metrics Display: Lamps Gauges Odometers Function: Indication of engine issues Measure fuel, etc. Measure speed, distance Display: Advanced Charts Gauges & Indicators Tables Function: Advanced monitoring Drill down to analyze Monitor key metrics Function: Advanced monitoring Drill down to analyze Monitor key metrics Second Generation -> First dashboards were a set of graphs and indicators -> Today dashboards are more versatile, e.g. by integrating strategy maps and scorecards Adapted from Rasmussen/Bansal/Chen (2009), p.5 Display: Lamps Gauges Odometers GPS Display: Lamps Gauges Odometers GPS Display: Lamps Gauges Odometers GPS Function: Indication of engine issues Measure fuel, speed, dist. Show route & destination Function: Indication of engine issues Measure fuel, speed, dist. Show route & destination Display: Advanced Charts Gauges & Indicators Tables Scorecards Strategy Maps Function: Advanced monitoring Drill down to analyze Monitor key metrics Monitor tactics Monitor strategy Third Generation

Report Design & Data Monitor using BusinessObjects Dashboard Design SAP Implementation

SAP BusinessObjects BI Platform
Please check sdn.sap.com for latest version ODBC (Open Database Connectivity) A data mart is the access layer of the data warehouse environment that is used to get data out to the users. The data mart is a subset of the data warehouse that is usually oriented to a specific business line or team. In some deployments, each department or business unit is considered the owner of its data mart including all the hardware, software and data. RSS (Rich Site Summary) is a format for delivering regularly changing web content. Many news-related sites, weblogs and other online publishers syndicate their content as an RSS Feed to whoever wants it Source: Hilgefort (2011)

Common BI Architecture
SAP BusinessObjects Dashboard Design Source: Eckerson, W. (May 2006). Business intelligence 2006 – only the beginning. What Works: Best Practices in Business Intelligence and Data Warehousing, 21.

Information Discovery and Delivery
Crystal Reports Connect to virtually any data source, design and format interactive reports Web Intelligence Self-service access to information and intuitive analysis SAP BusinessObjects Dashboard Design (Xcelsius) Point and click data visualization tool to create interactive analytics and dashboards

SAP BusinessObjects Dashboard Design Overview
Building dashboards for different purposes and different hierarchical levels or functions, including dynamic charts and graphs, data presentations and visual what-if scenarios Data presentation is based on Adobe Flash, export to different applications including PowerPoint, Acrobat 9, Adobe AIR, Adobe Flash, HTML, Business Objects Platform Dashboards use static data from Microsoft Excel spreadsheet models or live corporate data sources linked using various connectors Available connectors: Query as a Web Service (QaaWS), Web Service Connections, XML Data Connections, Excel XML Map, Live Office,…

The Workspace Canvas Area Component Browser Object Browser
Embedded Spreadsheet Properties Panel

Design time & Run time Design time Run time Workspace Visualization
Generate dashboard (.swf file with internal data model) Optional: Dashboard (.swf file) deployed on corporate web server Web Server Visualization Design visualization Data binding Data connectivity Workspace Business Logic Dashboard is opened on user‘s machine Spreadsheet model Client Data Source Optional: Dashboard connects to data source to refresh data OLAP XML RDBMS Client

SAP BusinessObjects Dashboard Design & MVC (Model View Control) Pattern
Controller View (before adjustment) View (after adjustment) Model

Visual Components Chart components provide a range of different chart types like line, pie, bar, area, radar, and tree map chart Container components group and display other components Selector components are used to create a visualization with multiple options to select from Single value components are used to add user interactivity to visualizations, these components are linked to a single cell in the spreadsheet Map components create visualizations with geographical representations that can display data by region Text components are used for placing labels and including text into a visualization

Creating Dashboards Three steps to create a new dashboard:
Create the spreadsheet model Import existing spreadsheet model or Create new spreadsheet model with Excel functionality Build the visualization Select suitable components from the visualization library Data binding Publish the dashboard Export to PPT, Word, Adobe, SWF, Business Objects …

Example of Spreadsheet
-> Here you can see sales data in a spreadsheet… Source:

Import Spreadsheet Model
1. Select Data -> Import… 2. Select existing Excel file … 3. Your business model is now available in the embedded spreadsheet

Select Visual Components
1. Select a pie chart from the component browser 2. Move the component using drag and drop onto the canvas

Properties and Data Binding
1. Double click on the component to open the properties panel 2. Edit title of the component: Use static values or dynamic values from spreadsheet model 3. Bind data from spreadsheet model to the component

Properties Panel Title, subtitle
Selection of data source, data binding Adding drill-down capability for charts Settings for the visualization of the component E.g. visibility of component, scaling of axis, animation and effects Settings for the appearance and formatting of components E.g. layout, text, and color of component Settings for alerts for a component E.g. definition of the number of alert colors used, or target limits

Publish Dashboard 1. Save spreadsheet model and visualization as *.xlf file 2. Export as e.g. PDF 3. Launch Dashboard

Case Study 1: Sales Dashboard
Dashboard design Designing spreadsheet models Basic components for visualization Charts components Single value components Text components Alerts Selector components Dashboard layout Case study: Global Sales Overview

Dashboard Design Dashboard design
What type of dashboard should be designed? What are the relevant data and KPIs that should be visualized? What are appropriate elements for visualization? How should user navigation look like? How is the dashboard supplied with data?

Dashboard Design Applying the Gestalt Principles of visual perception to dashboards: Proximity: Objects that are located near each other are perceived as belonging to the same group. Similarity: Objects that are similar in color, size, shape, and orientation are perceived as belonging to the same group. Enclosure: Objects that are enclosed by a visual border, e.g. a line, are perceived as belonging to the same group. Closure: Open structure (e.g. shapes with open ends) are perceived as closed whenever possible. Continuity: Objects that appear to form a continuation of one another are perceived as belonging to the same group. Connection: Objects that are connected (e.g. by are line) are perceived as belonging to the same group. The work of the Gestalt School of Psychology, beginning in 1912, resulted in a set of Gestalt principles of perception that reveal visual characteristics enabling us to group objects together Source: Few (2006), p

Dashboard Design Dashboard design principles I
Reduce the non-data pixels, by eliminating unnecessary non-data pixels and de- emphasizing the remaining non-data pixels E.g. eliminate unnecessary third dimension of depth on charts E.g. eliminate unnecessary grid lines in bar graphs E.g. eliminate variations in color that don’t encode any meaning Source: (Few 2006, p )

Dashboard design Dashboard design principles II
Enhance data pixels by eliminating unnecessary data pixels and highlighting most important data pixels Remove data that is less relevant Condense data by summaries and exceptions Emphasize important data by visual attributes like color intensity, size, line width Emphasize important data by its position on the dashboard: top-left and center are sections with greatest emphasis Emphasized Neither emphasized nor de-emphasized Emphasized Neither emphasized nor de-emphasized De-emphasized Different degrees of visual emphasis. Source: (Few 2006, p. 114)

Topics Dashboard design Designing spreadsheet models
Basic components for visualization Charts components Single value components Text components Alerts Selector components Dashboard layout Case study: Global Sales Overview

Spreadsheet Models Using Excel functionality
SAP BusinessObjects Dashboard Design supports a variety of Excel functions (about 160) and formulas Mathematical, statistical functions Text-related functions Date/Time related functions Spreadsheet formulas Complete list of supported Excel functions available in SAP BusinessObjects Dashboard Design Help But: not all Excel functionality is available in SAP BusinessObjects Dashboard Design

Spreadsheet Models Using Excel functionality
Mathematical, statistical functions Calculation of maximum value: Text-related functions Concatenate Strings: Date/Time related functions Provide current data: TODAY() Provide current time and date: NOW() =MAX(B2:D2) =CONCATENATE (B2,C2)

Spreadsheet Models Design guidelines
Use different sheets if your spreadsheet includes many different tables For complex models use the first sheet for documenting your spreadsheet model Use colors and labels in your model for better readability Do not start in the first row and column, leave space for enhancements Apply formatting to your spreadsheet before you start building the visualizations

Spreadsheet Models Limitations
In case you re-import spreadsheets with renamed sheets, any bindings to cells in the renamed sheet will be lost Complexity of calculation being performed in the spreadsheet affect the performance of the visualization Only one single Excel workbook can be embedded in a dashboard, references to remote workbooks are not possible

Chart Components Chart overview Examples:
Line Chart: showing the tendency over a period of time, e.g. stock prices Pie Chart: showing relative shares compared to a certain total, e.g. relative share of revenue for a product compared to total revenue Bar Chart: visualization of rankings, e.g. TOP 10 products by revenue Column Chart: showing developments over a period of time, e.g. revenue by month Radar Chart: plotting multi-dimensional sets of data using several axis, e.g. compare different aspects of stock like price, volume, price to earning ratio, etc.

Chart Components Column chart Step-by-step: Drag chart to the canvas
Adjust titles Bind data Adjust scaling Adjust layout

Chart Components Column chart - general
Title, subtitle, axis values can include fixed value or values from the spreadsheet model Bind data: Use Range option if data is a range of continuous cells Use Series option if data series are segregated

Chart Components Column chart – scaling Manual Scaling:
If data doesn’t require the scales to change Auto Scaling: If data feeds of the chart change and scaling has to be adjusted automatically

Chart Components Column Chart – layout
Adjust the color of your slices, chart background, title or plot area Adjust format for your titles Adjust data type of the values

Single Value Components
Single value components overview Can be used for adding user interactivity to visualizations Components are linked to a single cell in the spreadsheet If cell content is a formula, component is an output component, no modifications possible If cell content includes a plain value, component is an input component, modification possible

Gauges Gauges as input component represent a variable that can be modified to affect other components. By dragging the needle users can interact with the Gauge to change the value Gauges as output components represent a value that changes and moves the needle if underlying data changes

Gauges: Data binding and scaling Bind data to a single cell Set minimum and maximum values, e.g. 0 and 1 if a percentage between 0 and 100% is displayed

Text Components Overview text components
Placing labels and typing text into the dashboard Input Text Area: input multiple lines of text Label: add text to the dashboard, e.g. for titles, explanation, help, etc. Input Text: input one line of text

Alerts Alerts overview
Used to call the attention of the user to a specific item that has reached a pre-defined limit Limits are e.g. budgets or benchmarks, plan data, etc. Alerts can be defined for different components, including most charts and single-value components and some selector components Customization of different alert levels and colors possible Configuration takes place on the Alerts tab of the Properties panel

Alerts Defining Alerts for a Gauge
Activate Alerts on the Alerts tab in the Properties panel Define Alert method: as percent, if evaluated values are percentages as value, if evaluated values are integers Define Alert levels and colors Select if high/middle/low levels are good

Selector Components Selector components overview
Selector components let you create interactive dashboards with multiple selections Radio Button: users can select from a horizontal or vertical group of selections Combo Box: provides a vertical list of items, when it is clicked, users can select an item from the list Accordion Menu: provides a two-level menu, users first select a category and then select items within that particular category

Interactivity with Selector Components
Example: Radio button selector The user can select by a radio button selector if the share per model is shown by revenue or by pieces sold

Source, destination and insertion type A selector component can be linked to a data source, that represents the available data, and a data destination, representing the selected data The values inserted into the data destination depend on the chosen insertion type Insertion types: Row/column: The selected row/column of the data sources is inserted into the data destination Filtered rows: A set of rows from the data source that meet the selected filter criteria are inserted into the data destination Label/position: The label/position of the selected radio button is inserted into the data destination

Source, destination and insertion type Insertion types ROW: Each row is linked to a radio button, the selected row is inserted into the data destination Insertion type POSITION: The position of the selected radio button (e.g. 1 or 2 in this example) is inserted into the data destination, the result can be used for further processing

Settings for radio button selector 1. Customize the title and the name of the labels

Settings for radio button selector 2. Select Insertion Type and bind data to source and destination 3. Use this range as source for your visualization. Each time the user changes the selection, the selected row is inserted here

Dashboard Layout Art and background components
Art and backgrounds can be used to enhance the dashboard layout Background: add backgrounds to dashboard to improve the design, can be used to create divisions and designate groups of related components Image: display JPEG images or SWF files Rectangle, Ellipse, Lines: layout element that outlines, defines, or contains sections

Dashboard Layout Themes
Allow a global change of the appearance of components Each theme has a number of different components with a look and feel of that particular theme Themes can be combines with different Color Schemes

Basic components for visualization Charts components Single value components Text components Alerts Selector components Dashboard layout Case study: Sales Dashboard Sales Simulation

Example of a Dashboard -> Here you see exactly the same data visualized as dashboard Source:

Other Dashboard Examples
Daily executive report Summarizes the daily status of a hospitality company's key performance indicators across different locations Gives the executive an interactive view of the daily and monthly metrics Standard income statement Highlights a new way of presenting typical income statements By selecting a region from a map, the viewer can see its P&L and net income trend over the last six quarters and compare it with the target values Source:

Display Media for Dashboards
Medium Description Example Graphs Visualize quantitative data, e.g. one single key measure or data series Images Useful if images provide additional information Icons Visualization of alerts or status (e.g. on/off) Drawing objects Arrange and connect different elements on the dashboards, e.g. to visualize processes or hierarchical relationships between elements Text Used for labels or to report single measures on the dashboard USD Organizers Arrange related business information, e.g. as tables or geographically in maps Source: adapted from Few (2006), p. 124 ff

SAP BusinessObjects Dashboard Design (Xcelsius)
Extremely attractive Highly interactive Feather light Highly scalable Easy to build and maintain Source: K. Jason, M. Ty (2008). Which BI Client To Use. Retrieved 02/15/2009 from

Case Study 2: Sales Simulation
What-if scenarios Case study: Sales Simulation

Case Study 2: Sales Simulation What-if Scenarios
What-if scenarios let users adjust conditions on the dashboard and view the results, conditions are altered by interactive components What-if scenarios include one or more input component and one or more output components Examples: Calculation of the monthly rate for a home loan, based on different conditions like loan amount, term in years and interest rate Calculation of the average profit margin, based on different conditions including gross sales, discount and costs

What-if Scenarios Example 1: Calculation of a monthly rate for a home loan Source: SAP BusinessObjects - samples

What-if Scenarios Example 2: Calculation of the average profit margin

MVC (Model View Controller) Pattern used as basis for what-if scenarios
View (befor adjustment) View (after adjustment) Model

What-if Scenarios Input components
Dial, Slider, Spinner, Gauge, Value and Play Control are suitable as input components Input components need to be linked to cell including a plain value, not a formula! The scale of input components is limited by maximum and minimum values, limits can be entered manual, linked to a cell in the spreadsheet, or determined automatically During runtime, limits can be defined as fix, adjustable by the user, or as open, meaning there is no limit

What-if Scenarios Output components
Charts, Single Value components (Progress bar, Gauge, Value) Output Components can be linked directly to the cell that is changed by an input components, or a cell that refers to the input cell by a formula Single value output components have the same limit properties than input components, input and output limits should correspond to each other!

What-if Scenarios Setting up the business scenario for a sales simulation Step 1: Define the depended and independent variables of your simulation scenario Step 2: Decide if you want to use absolute values or percentages as input/output values Result of step 1 + 2: Input (%), Output (absolute) Input (%), Output (absolute) Output (absolute) Input (%), Output (absolute) Output (absolute, %)

What-if Scenarios Setting up the business scenario for a sales simulation Step 3: Create a paper based draft of the visual model that presents your simulation General example for draft: Progress Bar 1 Progress Bar 3 Progress Bar 2 Dial to manipulate progress bar 2

What-if Scenarios Setting up the business scenario for a sales simulation Step 4: Create the underlying spreadsheet model for your input/output components Initial starting values Conditions that can be adjusted using a dial Adjusted values that are displayed as output values

What-if Scenarios Setting up the business scenario for a sales simulation Step 5: Defining limits for your simulation model in the spreadsheet Limits can be based on the initial values and calculated in the spreadsheet E.g. the user is able to increase gross sales to a maximum of 200 % Limit for gross sales in % = 200 % Limit for gross sales absolute = 2 * original value of gross sales Example:

What-if Scenarios Setting up the business scenario for a sales simulation Step 6: Create the visual model for your simulation on the canvas and bind data to the input/output components

Exercises: (Due date 3/25/2013)
Case study 1: Sales dashboard (Basic concept) Case study 2: Sales simulation (What-if scenarios)

Report Design & Data Monitor using BusinessObjects Dashboard Design EGN 5622 Enterprise Systems Integration Spring, 2013.

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