Introduction to Business Objects

Introduction to Business Objects Web-based Training This is a web-based training course for University of California Santa Cruz employees desiring access to UCSC’s Data Warehouse. This information is designed as a prerequisite to UCSC’s Business Objects™ Basics course. To ensure you are able to view all of the links in this documents, please use Netscape 6.0 or higher or Internet Explorer. Use of the Business Objects name, logos, screenshots are by permission. All Rights Reserved. BUSINESS OBJECTS is a trademark of Business Objects SA. WEB INTELLIGENCE is a registered trademark of Business Objects SA. Other Business Objects product names may be trademarks of Business Objects SA. Business Objects is not responsible for the content of these materials. Prepared by Kimberly Register, UCSC Planning & Budget 10/31/2002 1 Welcome n This presentation was created to provide you with preliminary information about how Business Objects™ report software is utilized at UC Santa Cruz in connection with the campus’ data warehouse. It is recommended that you review all of the materials, including exploring the web links, prior to your first day of class. Most of the information will not be repeated in the classroom. Depending on the browser you’re using, navigate through this presentation by n n n n n Clicking on the presentation page to proceed to the next page; or Clicking on the Backward and Forward buttons at the top or botto m of the screen; or Using the Sidebar to change slides or jump ahead; 10/31/2002 2 Comfort Suggestions n Please proceed at your own pace. For optimal viewing, maximize your browser window. Take frequent breaks to prevent eye strain -- You can stop at any point during the presentation and quickly find your place again by using the sidebar. You may need to adjust the volume on your desktop settings when playing the audio segments. Note: Audio is not included in this presentation at this time. 10/31/2002 3 n n n Content The content of this presentation is organized as follows: n n n n n n n General Overview of “What the Data Warehouse Can Do For You” UCSC’s Data Warehouse Model “Getting to Know Your UCSC Data” FIS/PPS/SIS/FDX Analyzing Report Styles Business Objects™ Toolbar and Navigation Preview Corporate Documents “UCSC Standard Report Samples” Validating Reports and Assessing Integrity 10/31/2002 4 General Overview n “What the Data Warehouse Can Do For You” What is the Data Warehouse? n As you know, there is a massive amount of information generated on a daily basis at UCSC. Whether it’s financial transactions, personnel hires, student enrollments, facility use, etc., each day the amount of data increases. With more data comes the need to analyze it for informed decision making and reporting purposes. UCSC’s data warehouse (“DWH”) is an Oracle database that receives copies of data from various source systems (FIS, PPS, SIS, etc.) on a regular basis. From the DWH, the information is made available to licensed Business Objects™ users. n 10/31/2002 5 General Overview n “What the Data Warehouse Can Do For You” What is Business Objects™? n Business Objects™ is the software application that UCSC utilizes to manage the data in the warehouse. It permits users to run queries and write/run reports to access the data. 10/31/2002 6 General Overview n “What the Data Warehouse Can Do For You” Can the DWH make my job easier/better? n Business Objects™ is a fairly complex software application and our campus data can be confusing. However, the benefits of using the DWH include: A reduced need for shadow-systems Accessing and distributing reports on your own timeline Using reports customized to your unit’s specific needs Creating reports in response to ad hoc business analysis needs • Using data from different campus source systems and combining it for analysis and decision-making • • • • n 10/31/2002 7 UCSC’s Data Warehouse Model Query PC User Mac User Citrix Results Results Licensed Business Objects™ users can access data from their desktop, be it a Mac, PC or other workstation, by connecting through our Citrix server to the warehouse. Data is sent to Bobcat, our warehouse server, on a regular basis from various UCSC source systems. If you’d like to see the schedule for when data is loaded, go to: Bobcat F D I S F 10/31/2002 P P S S I E S t X http://planning.ucsc.edu/dwh/dwh_techinfo.htm 8 c. “Getting to Know Your UCSC Data” FIS/PPS/SIS/FDX/Next? n Analyzing information is a daily function at UCSC which is vital to the well-being and continued growth of the campus. Let’s face it, we are all seeking better ways to accomplish our unit’s goals and tasks. In using Business Objects™ as a tool, the key to getting the your desired results, is to select the correct set(s) of data for your analysis. To prevent that “Garbage In – Garbage Out” scenario, it is crucial that you have a firm understanding of all of the data elements you’ll want to include in your report before you begin. UCSC’s data warehouse currently contains the following types of data (a.k.a. Universes): 10/31/2002 9 n n n “Getting to Know Your UCSC Data” FIS n FINITE (the FIS Universe) n n n n n Transaction Detail: Exact mirror of transaction detail from UCSC’s financial system SCT Banner Transaction Rollup: Exact mirror of above, modified to rollup encumbrances and payroll expenses to reduce report size GL FGBOPAL: Summary totals from SCT Banner’s OPAL tables – for managerial-style reports, this set of data returns results quickly Payroll Expense, Payroll Encumbrance, and Payroll Combined: Detailed payroll information in support of the monthly expenses and encumbrances fed into SCT Banner in lump amounts. Various FOAPAL hierarchies and calendar objects to mix and match if/as needed. 10 10/31/2002 “Getting to Know Your UCSC Data” PPS n PPS (Central) n n n n n n EDB Root Monthly: Basic information about an employee’s status (such as hire date, birth date, citizenship, union representation, etc.) EDB Appt/Dist Monthly: Appointment and Distribution information for employees, updated monthly EDB Actions Monthly: Recent history of payroll actions for employees, updated monthly Salary Expense: Monthly salary expense and salary encumbrance information calculated for the DOPE/Distribution of Payroll Expense extract Payroll Daily: Appointment and Distribution information for employees, updated daily Various DOS Code, Title Code, Chart of Account and Calendar objects to mix and match if/as needed. 11 10/31/2002 “Getting to Know Your UCSC Data” FDX n FACILITIES (the FDX Universe) n n n n n Building: Basic information about campus buildings, such as building name, location, room square footage, functionality, maintenance, condition, etc. City: City code and name County: County code and name Programs: Program code, name, standard, etc. Various Extract Date objects to include if desired 10/31/2002 12 “Getting to Know Your UCSC Data” SIS/Next? n What’s Next? n STUDENT (the SIS Universe) • Student demographic and enrollment information extracted from SIS/Student Information System is to be rolled-out in the very near future n PPS (Departmental) • We plan to modify the account management and security structure so that the PPS Universe can be distributed out to campus units later this year n BUDGET (the Permanent Budget and Staffing List Universe) • Permanent budget, operating budget and staffing list information extracted from FMW and PPS will be implemented later this year n SCIPI (the Instructional Activity Universe) • Instructional Activity, Space Utilization, and Faculty Workload information extracted from SCIPI (a new Planning and Budget system under development) n PURCHASING (additional to the FIS Universe) • Vendor information from FIS for tracking purchasing trends, use in vendor contract negotiations and for making projections 10/31/2002 13 Analyzing Report Styles Master Detail vs. Table vs. Cross-tab Charts and Graphs n When using Business Objects™, you’ll notice that reports generally fall into three design styles: Master Detail, Table, or Cross-tab (a.k.a Matrix). When creating a report, it’s a good idea to decide at the start what style you will use for that particular report. It can be difficult to switch styles in the middle of a project. There is no right or wrong as to which style to choose and sometimes you can mix them to get a desired result. It mainly depends on what you want the outcome to look like, or on your unit’s style preferences, if any. A variety of charts and graphs can also be created using Business Objects™. Now, let’s explore some of the differences in the design styles -10/31/2002 14 n n n n Analyzing Report Styles Master Detail n The report is separated into distinct header, footer and data sections. For example, if you want to see financial information sorted by Org, Fund and Activity Codes, the report could have three header levels, three footer levels and a data section for the financial information. Sometimes these levels can be combined depending on the desired outcome. The header and footer sections are free-form. You drag and drop the cells (ex: Org Code and Org Title) into the desired sections and then align and format them. They do not automatically align with each other. Each section uniquely responds to the specific data in that section. For example, if your report is designed to be financial totals by month, then only those months that had financial data in them will appear. The result is a crisp and concise appearance for summary reports. More detailed reports created in this Master Detail style tend to be long because of the limited space remaining on a page after the headers and footers pop in. Here’s a visual sample of a Master Detail style report: http://planning.ucsc.edu/dwh/intro_PDFs/Master_Detail_Sample.pdf 10/31/2002 15 n n n n Analyzing Report Styles Table n Unlike the Master Detail style, the Table style maximizes the space on the page. In other words, all of the data elements are kept together and they respond uniformly with each other. You determine and control how the data is organized, and the header and footer placement, by using break and sort functions within the table area. Table reports tend to take longer to create until you become familiar with how sorts and breaks work. The result is a controlled appearance customized by the report creator. When creating reports that have a lot of data, Table reports have fewer pages that Master Detail reports because the full page can be used to display the data. Here’s a visual sample of a Table style report: http://planning.ucsc.edu/dwh/intro_PDFs/Table_Sample.pdf n n n 10/31/2002 16 Analyzing Report Styles Cross-tab (a.k.a. Matrix) n Cross-tab or Matrix style reports display data across columns rather than down in rows. For example, if your report is designed to be financial totals by month, using a Cross-tab style report you would display the totals in individual columns by month across the page. The report can be created using either the Master Detail or the Table style, or a combination of both. Here is a visual sample of a Cross-tab report in two different styles http://planning.ucsc.edu/dwh/intro_PDFs/CrossTab_Sample.pdf n n 10/31/2002 17 Analyzing Report Styles Charts and Graphs n Business Objects™ has a variety of chart and graph formats available for your use through it’s “Wizard” tool. Use of this tool is covered in UCSC’s Business Objects Enhanced course. Charts and graphs can be added to reports that display data or they can be the only visual result desired. Here is a sample of how a graph and chart can be used in a report accompanying displayed data or as a single page: http://planning.ucsc.edu/dwh/intro_PDFs/Graph_Sample.pdf n n 10/31/2002 18 Business Objects™ Toolbar and Navigation Preview n There are several ways to navigate through Business Objects™ such as n n n n Drop-down menus Quick Keys Right-Mouse clicks Toolbars To view a 10 minute demo of these functions, click here: http://pbsvcs.ucsc.edu/KimWeb/Sandbox/Toolbars_Sample.vp/Viewlet/Toolbars_Sample_viewlet.html When finished, close the Demo window to return to this page. If the browser has timed-out, refresh the presentation and use the slide bar to advance quickly to this page. 10/31/2002 19 Corporate Documents “UCSC Standard Report Samples” n Corporate Documents is a set of reports prepared by various Business Objects™ licensed users at UC Santa Cruz. They are intended to be used as a starting point for other UCSC licensed users. The reports have not been audited, nor are there any assurances of 100% accuracy at this time. However, this is a goal of the DWH Team this year. The reports should be reviewed carefully and modified to meet the particular needs of the user or unit. To see a table that describes these reports and to see samples, go to our web site http://planning.ucsc.edu/dwh/dwh_support.htm 10/31/2002 20 n n n n Validating Reports and Assessing Integrity n Since the Data Warehouse contains a substantial amount of data from several sources, a crucial part of running or creating a report is validation and assessing integrity. It is important to ask yourself these questions: n n n n Exactly what type of information do I need to include in the report? Are there any unusual aspects that I need to consider? The report looks and works great, but does it really return the information I intended/need? n It is highly recommended that you compare your report (especially a new one) against other sources to ensure accuracy. These sources can be centrally distributed reports, the data source system, other reports created in the past, etc. This review should be done periodically and not just the first time you use the report. 10/31/2002 21 Are You Ready?? n This concludes the overview of the UC Santa Cruz Data Warehouse , including an exposure to the use of Business Objects™. Are you ready to give it a try? n n You’ll find our training schedule and information on signing up for the Business Objects Basics course at http://planning.ucsc.edu/dwh/dwh_training.htm Or you can call our Data Warehouse Help Line at 459-5083 if you have training questions. n • See you in class soon! 10/31/2002 22