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MOTIVATION
LEARNING METHOD
Requirements
Product
Install Interactive
Analysis
Level
Beginner
Focus
Report Development
Author
Paul Hawking
Version 3
Paul Hawking
June 2012
http://www.sap.com/solutions/sap-crystal-solutions/query-reportinganalysis/sapcrystalinteractive/index.epx
Reporting Scenario
Global Bike International (GBI) is a world class bicycle company
serving both professional and amateur cyclists. The company
sells bicycles and accessories. In the touring bike category,
GBIs handcrafted bicycles have won numerous design awards
and are sold in over 10 countries. GBIs signature composite
frames are world-renowned for their strength, low weight and
easy maintenance. GBI bikes are consistently ridden in the Tour de France and other major
international road races. GBI produces two models of their signature road bikes, a deluxe and
professional model. The key difference between the two models is the type of wheels used, aluminium
for the basic model and carbon composite for the professional model. GBIs off-road bikes are also
recognized as incredibly tough and easy to maintain. GBI off-road bikes are the preferred choice of
world champion off road racers and have become synonymous with performance and strength in one
of the most gruelling sports in the world. GBI produces two types of off-road bike, a mens and
womens model. The basic difference between the two models is the smaller size and ergonomic
shaping of the womens frame.
GBI also sells an Accessories product line comprised of helmets, t-shirts and other riding accessories.
GBI partners with only the highest quality suppliers of accessories which will help enhance riders
performance and comfort while riding GBI bikes. Figure 1 displays the GBI range of products.
Paul Hawking
June 2012
GBI
GBI
BIKE
BIKE
Bicycles
Bicycles
TOUR
TOUR
Touring
Touring
DXTR
DXTR
Deluxe
Deluxe
touring
touring
bike
bike
ACCR
ACCR
Accessories
Accessories
ORBK
ORBK
Off
Road
Off Road
PRTR
PRTR
Professiona
Professiona
ll touring
touring
bike
bike
DXTR
1000
DXTR 1000
Black
Black
PRTR
PRTR 1000
1000
Black
Black
DXTR
2000
DXTR 2000
Silver
Silver
PRTR
PRTR 2000
2000
Silver
Silver
DXTR
3000
DXTR 3000
Red
Red
PRTR
PRTR 3000
3000
Red
Red
PROT
PROT
Protective
Protective
ORMN
ORMN 1000
1000
Mens
Mens
standard
standard
PADS
PADS
Pads
Pads
ORWM
ORWM
1000
1000
Womens
Womens
standard
standard
HLMT
HLMT
Helmets
Helmets
UTIL
UTIL
Utilities
Utilities
SHRT
SHRT 1000
1000
T-shirt
T-shirt
EPAD
EPAD 1000
1000
Elbow pads
pads
Elbow
OHMT
OHMT 1000
1000
Of
Of f
f road
road
helmet
helmet
RKIT
RKIT 1000
1000
Repair
Repair kit
kit
KPAD
KPAD 1000
1000
Knee
Knee pads
pads
RHMT
RHMT 1000
1000
Road
Road
helmets
helmets
PUMP
1000
PUMP 1000
Air
pump
Air pump
CAGE
1000
CAGE 1000
Water
Water
bottle
bottle cage
cage
BOTL
1000
BOTL 1000
Water
Water
bottle
bottle
FAID
FAID 1000
1000
First aid
aid kit
kit
First
Traditionally GBI was a wholesaler who sold their bikes to retailers who then resold the bikes to the
end consumers. Recently GBI has decided to sell their bike to the end consumer via the internet.
Organisational Structure
GBIs headquarters are located in Dallas and the European subsidiary company (GBI Europe) is
based in Heidelberg, Germany. In regards to the GBI sales process there are two sales organisations
for America (Eastern US and Western US) and two for Germany (Northern Germany and Southern
Germany). All sales organisations have a wholesale distribution channel responsible for delivering the
products to the customers. However only one sales organisation is required in each country to
support internet sales. The diagram below displays the GBI organisation to support the sales
process.
Paul Hawking
June 2012
Requirements
GBI management currently SAP ECC to manage and automate their business processes.. The
Department Heads have indicated that while SAP ECC provides a range of reports containing all the
required sales information. These reports are sometimes not easy to interpret or manipulate the data.
They would like the information provided in a more user friendly format. This will facilitate them to
gain greater insight to their sales data to understand the trends and sales performance. In response
to these concerns, it was decided to build a number of reports using SAP Business Objects Interactive
Analysis.
Sales Report; This report is required to analyze data related to the sales of materials (bikes and
accessories) in relation to Sales Organisations, Distribution Channels for different Time periods.
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June 2012
Depending of which version of SAP Business Objects Interactive Analysis and alternate path is
Start Programs SAP Business Objects Enterprise XI 4.0 SAP Business Objects
Enterprise Client Tools Interactive Analysis Desktop.
SAP Business Objects Interactive Analysis uses queries to retrieve data from a data source to be
displayed in a report (document). The data source could be a
Relational database including those that underpin ERP systems.
Local data source such as text files or Microsoft Excel files
SAP InfoCube in a SAP NetWeaver Business Information Warehouse (BW)
Web service
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June 2012
One way the data from the data sources is represented in the queries is through the use of a
universe. The universe provides a non-technical interface for users to run queries against a
database to create reports and perform data analysis. The universe design tool contains objects that
represent database structures, for example columns and database functions, that users need to
access and query, to get the information necessary to meet their business requirements. The objects
created in the universe are described from a business perspective providing a business focussed
front end to the SQL structures in the database.
For the purpose of this tutorial a universe has been created based on the GBI data structures.
2.
Click
3.
Click
4.
Click
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June 2012
Dimension object - A dimension object represents data that provides the basis for analysis
in a report. Dimension objects typically retrieve character-type data that provide meaning to
the key measures, For example; Material Group, Product Category and Material provide
meaning to a Sales Quantity. Dimension objects appear as follows:
Detail Object - A detail object provides descriptive data about a dimension. A detail object
is always attached to the dimension for which it provides additional information. For example,
the Material dimension contains the Material Description, Standard Price, and Unit Cost detail
objects. Detail objects appear as follows:
Measure Object - A measure object is numeric data that is the indicates a value in a
transaction. They can be the result of calculations on data in the database. There is a
relationship between the dimensions and the measures. Measure objects can be
aggregated in the query. The most common types of aggregation are; sum, count, average,
maximum and minimum. There are two types of measure:
classic measures - calculated by Interactive Analysis
smart measures - calculated by the database on which the universe is based.
Examples of measure objects in the GBI universe are quantity, revenue, and cost. Measure
objects appear as follows:
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June 2012
Creating a Query
You create a query to answer a business question that requires data from a data source. The query
is your means to ask the database for information. The universe is a representation (semantic layer)
of the data and its structures in the data source. The universe is displayed in the Query Manager
for you to select the dimensions, details and measures that represent the information that you want
to retrieve. These objects are added to the Results Objects pane. Once you have constructed your
query, you then run the query against the database to retrieve the data.
The request for information is processed in the data source, and the results are sent back to the
Interactive Analysis in the form of a document. The document contains all the information that you
asked for in the query, arranged in table columns and rows.
You are now going to create a simple sales report. The first step is to drag the required objects to the
Result Objects pane.
5.
Click
6.
Drag
next to the
You can get a preview of the impact of including this dimension in your query by using the Data
Preview pane.
7.
Click
Click
9.
Double Click
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next to the
June 2012
10.
Object
Distribution Channel
Material Group
Product Category
Material
Quantity
Revenue
Cost
You can remove an object from the Result Objects Pane by dragging the object back to the Data
Manager Pane. You can also rearrange objects by drag and drop.
11.
Click
Running a Query
When you run a query for the first time Interactive Analysis creates a report based on the objects you
included in the query. The order in which the objects are arranged in the Result Objects pane
determines the order of the columns in the report.
12.
Click
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June 2012
You will notice there are a number of tabs and controls which are available to improve the format and
functionality of your report. We will cover some of this functionality in later exercises.
Before you continue you should save your report.
13.
Click
14.
Type
GBI Sales <your name> in the File Name: text field to replace the default name.
Click
Editing a Query
At the moment your report uses the abbreviation codes for Sales Organisation, Distribution Channel,
Material etc. Using these abbreviations require the report user to remember the associated data with
each abbreviation. It would be better if the actual descriptions were included in the report. To achieve
this you will need to edit the original query.
16.
Click
17.
Click
18.
Click
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19.
Click
next to the
detail objects.
20.
Double Click
pane.
Material Group Description to add the detail object to the Results Objects
It appears at the end of the existing objects. At this stage we are not concerned with its location.
21.
Detail Object
Distribution Channel
Description
Sales Organisation Description
Product Category Description
Material Description
22.
Click
Your report appears. Notice that the detail objects do not appear in the report. However they do
appear in the Available Objects pane.
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The additions of objects to your query are not automatically inserted in the report. That is why the
order they were inserted in the query was not important. There are a number of techniques which can
be used to insert objects into a report.
23.
Right Click
24.
Drag and drop Material Description detail object onto the heading of the blank column.
Now you have included the Material Description in your report it is no longer necessary to include the
Material code.
26.
Right Click
27.
Select Delete.
Paul Hawking
any of the values in the Material column to display the context menu.
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June 2012
The Material column is removed from the report. However notice that this dimension still appears in
the Available Objects pane meaning that it can be added to the report at any stage.
28.
Click
To make the report more meaningful you need to add the other detail objects to the report and
remove their corresponding dimensions. It is important that the objects are kept in the same order
as the calculation of measures will change if they are not.
29.
Add
Distribution Channel
Description
Sales Organisation Description
Product Category Description
Notice that some of the fields have been truncated because the column is not wide enough. If this is
a problem with measures then the data is displayed as
. One way to resolve this is by
widening the relevant columns. An easy technique to achieve this by double clicking the column
heading vertical border.
31.
Double click
32.
Drag
33.
Repeat this process for the Sales Organisation Description, Material Group Description,
Product Category Description columns.
30.
Click
the column heading border between Material Description and Quantity until the data
is displayed.
Analysing Data
You currently have a summary of sales transactions for 2009 and 2010 grouped week, Sales
Organisations, Material Group, Product Category, and Material Description. Interactive Analysis
provides a range of functionality to further analyse this data. However before you perform the
different analysis you need to make a copy of the report.
31.
Right Click
32.
Another copy of the report appears on screen. You need to label the different reports to make them
easy to distinguish.
33.
Right Click
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34.
35.
Type
36.
Click
38.
Click
Currently the measures (Quantity, Revenue and Cost) are aggregated for each week. If you remove
the Date dimension then the measures would be re-calculated for a summation based on the 2
years of values.
39.
Right Click
40.
Notice that the measures have been recalculated and that the Date dimension still appears in the
Available Objects pane for later use.
41.
Insert
column.
the date dimension in report to the right of the Sales Organisation Description
The measures are recalculated. Using the techniques just covered to analyse by removing/inserting
or re-arranging dimensions answer the following questions.
Test Your Skills
What is the total sales revenue for the week starting 5/2/09?
What quantity of t-shirts have been sold?
What are the total sales revenue of Air Pumps sold through the Internet Distribution Channel?
What is the total sales revenue for 2010?
What is the total quantity sold via the Wholesale Distribution Channel?
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Filtering Data
There are a number of ways to restrict the values displayed in report through the use of Filters. You
can apply Filters at the query and or report level. Query Filters are defined in the Query Manager
screen and limit the data retrieved from the data source and returned to Interactive Analysis. This
means that you only retrieve the data you need to answer a specific question and minimize the
quantity of data returned to the document to optimize performance. Report Filters limit the values
displayed on reports, tables, charts within a document. They do not modify the data that is retrieved
from the data source. They simply hide the values not required on the report level. You are now
going to create a Query Filter to limit the range of dates (weeks in 2010) retrieved from the data
source. Firstly you need to modify your report.
42.
Click
at the bottom of the screen to move to the last page of your report.
Take note of how many pages are currently contained in your report.
44.
Click
45.
Click
46.
Click
47.
Click
To create a Filter you drag the object relevant to the Filter to the Query Filters pane of the screen.
48.
Drag
You now need to slect the operator which is going to be incoproarted in the Filter. There are a number
of Filters available. These are described below.
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June 2012
Explanation
Equal to one value
Not Equal to
Greater than
Less than
Between
Not Between
In list
Not in List
Is null
Is not null
Matches pattern
Both
Returns records containing both of the two values that you specify.
You must specify two values as the criteria for this operator.
Except
Returns records containing values other than the value you specify
for this operator.
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June 2012
49.
Click
50.
Click
51.
52.
Click
Your report appears. Notice that only dates in 2010 appear and that the number of pages in the
report has been reduced.
You can add more than one object to Query Filter pane to create more complex filters. You can also
prompt the user for the filter values. This provides more flexibility in using the report as the same
report could be used by different users. You are now going to create a filter that prompts the user for
the Year and then the user can select a Material from a list of values.
53.
Click
54.
Click
You want the system to prompt the user for the Year.
55.
Click
A text message appears in the value field. This is the message which appears to the user in the
prompt.
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June 2012
You now need to add the Material Description detail object to the Query Filter pane to be able to
Filter on this object.
56.
Drag
Notice that a link appears between both objects to indicate that both (And) objects contents need to
be satisfied in the filtered data. This could be changed to Or.
You now need to specify the filter properties for the Material Description.
57.
Click
58.
Click
59.
Click
60.
Click
61.
Click
You have now included two objects with prompts in your Filter. You now need to run the query to test
your Filter.
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June 2012
62.
Click
63.
Type
64.
Click
65.
Double Click
list box.
66.
Click
67.
Click
Paul Hawking
Deluxe Touring Bike (Black) to transfer this value to the Selected Value(s)
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68.
Click
Your report should display all sales for 2009 for the Deluxe Touring Bike (Red) and Deluxe Touring
Bike (Black). Remember that the Query Filter you developed limits the amount of data extracted
from the data source. An alternate type of Filter is a Report Filter. Before you build this type of Filter
you will remove the previous Filter objects.
69.
Click
70.
Click
71.
Drag
Filters pane.
72.
73.
Click
74.
Click
The report displays weekly sales for all Materials. There are two types of Report Filters you are going
to create. The first one uses the Filter Bar within the report. This can be accessed from the Interact
tab under the Analysis tab. Once the Filter Bar appears you can drag the objects onto the Filter
Bar to create Filter objects. This type of Filter can use dimension objects. In other words you can
not drag detail or measure objects onto the Filter Bar.
75.
Click
76.
Click
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June 2012
77.
Click
78.
Drag
79.
80.
You can apply more than one dimension in the Filter Bar. You can also apply dimensions in the
Filter that are not displayed in the report.
81.
Drag
82.
83.
Drag
Distribution Channel Description detail object onto your report column headings.
85.
Select All Year of Date and All Distribution Channel to display all sales.
The Simple Report Filter you have been using only allows you to use an equal to operator. In other
words display all values where Year is equal to 2010. A more powerful Standard Report Filter allows
you to apply any filter operator. You access Standard Report Filters by selecting a value in the report
and then selecting Filter from the context menu.
86.
Right Click
87.
Choose
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88.
Double Click
Notice the Air Pump value is copied to the Selected Value(s) list box.
89.
Click
Only sales for the Air Pump are displayed in the report. You can apply other operators to Filters. For
example we can display the weeks when less than Air Pumps were sold.
90.
Right Click
91.
Choose
The Report Filter dialog box displays any filters which are currently applied to the report
You need to change the Filter operator to Less than for Quantity.
92.
Click
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June 2012
93.
Click
94.
Type
95.
Click
Only sales for Air Pumps with less than 20 Quantity are displayed.
96.
Click
Calculations
You can apply calculations and formulas to report to provide a greater level of analysis. For example
your report currently incorporates the measures, Quantity, Cost, and Revenue. GBI management
have requested a report that enables them to view the profit for each record. This is achieved by
creating another column and then populating this column based on a calculation (Revenue Cost).
First you need to remove the Filters you previously applied.
97.
Right Click
98.
Choose
99.
Click
100.
Click
101.
Right Click
102.
Choose
103.
Right Click
104.
Choose
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June 2012
Notice that the Formula Editor has a number of panes. The Formula pane is where the formula is
created. The Available Objects pane lists the objects available in your report. You can drag and
drop or double click an object to include in in the formula. The Functions pane lists available
functions which can be incorporated in your report. The functions available include average, standard
deviation, maximum and minimum. The Operators pane list the available operators including the
common arithmetic operators. You now need to create the calculation for the new column.
105.
Double Click
calculation.
106.
Click
in the Available objects list box to insert this measure into the
107.
Double Click
calculation.
in the Available objects list box to insert this measure into the
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June 2012
Before you apply the formula you should check its validity.
108.
Click
Click
Notice that the column you inserted for the Profit calculation does not have a title. You can easily
create or edit a column heading through the Formula Bar.
110.
Click
111.
Type
112.
Click
Create a column titled % Profit and add a formula that displays the percentage profit.
The formula is (Revenue Cost)/Revenue
113.
Click
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June 2012
Sections
To improve the navigation in reports you can divide the report into sections. Sections group related
data together and only display the data relevant to the dimension on which the section is created.
For example, if you create a section on the Material dimension, the tables and charts in the section
for Air Pump will only display data for the Material Air Pump. Before you create a section in your
report you are going to create a duplicate of your last report.
You can create a section by selecting the dimension and then selecting Set as section from the
context menu.
114.
Right Click
115.
Another copy of the report appears on screen. You need to label the different reports to make them
easy to distinguish.
116.
Right Click
117.
118.
Type
119.
Click
GBI management would like a report created so they can quickly view the Quantity, Revenue, Cost,
Profit, % Profit for each Material for each Distribution Channel for each Year.
121.
122.
Right Click
123.
Click
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Set as section to insert a section in the report based on the select dimension.
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June 2012
Notice that is easier to view the results through the use of Sections. You can also add sub-sections to
improve report navigation.
124.
menu
Right Click
125.
Click
Set as section to insert a section in the report based on the select dimension.
Notice that the report now has an added section related to Distribution Channels.
126.
Click
Formatting Reports
You will notice that although your report has been contains the correct data and has been displayed
correctly its appearance could be improved through the correct formatting. Interactive Analysis
includes all the standard formatting functionality. This functionality can be accessed under the Format
tab
Click
128.
Click
129.
Click
130.
Click
131.
Click
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June 2012
Click
Delete Reportname ()
134.
Type
135.
Click
136.
Resize the report heading text through selecting and dragging to fit the contents.
137.
Click
138.
Click
140.
Click
141.
Click
You need to create a rule to which the conditional formatting will apply.
142.
Click
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June 2012
Type
Sales Loss in the Name: text field to replace the existing text.
144.
Type
This rule formats the values if the costs are greater than the revenue in the
Description: text box.
You now need to create the rule. Notice that the column (Revenue) you selected has automatically
been inserted in the Filtered object or cell field.
145.
Click
144.
Click
You now need to indicate the Operands which in this case is the Cost measure.
145.
Click
146.
Click
147.
Click
148.
Click
Click
You will notice that Knee Pads and Elbow Pads values have now been highlighted so management
can take action.
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June 2012
149.
Click
Inserting a Chart
You can enhance your report through the inclusion of one or more charts on the reports in Interactive
Analysis. You can create a chart when you build or new report or insert charts into an existing report.
To create a chart:
select a chart template
allocate dimensions and measures to the chart axes
view the results displayed on the chart
The chart templates are found under the Chart tab under the Report Elements tab.
GBI management have indicated that they would like a chart sales revenue for a Material for each
month. It has been determined that the best way to create this chart is to include a table of results on
the report which users can filter the data through the Filter Bar. The results of the Filter will then
appear on the chart. First you need to add a new report which you are going to insert a table of results
and a chart.
150.
Right Click
151.
152.
153.
154.
155.
Test
Click
157.
Click
Click
156.
Click
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June 2012
You now need to indicate the dimensions and measures to be included in the chart. To make it easier to
view the results on the chart you need filter the displayed data.
157.
Select
158.
Select
159.
Drag
Revenue measure from Available objects pane onto the Y axis (Vertical) of the chart.
160.
chart.
Drag
Month of Date dimension from Available objects pane onto the X axis (Horizontal) of the
Your chart now displays the Revenue for each Month for the Water Bottle material. You can select another
material via the Filter to display its Revenue in the table of results and the chart.
161.
Select
Notice the chart changes accordingly. You can use the standard formatting functionality through the
context menu to improve the appearance of your chart.
162.
Click
Create another report to Include Year of Date, Material, Material Description, Revenue, Cost and
Profit (calculated). Create a Filter on the Filter Bar for Year of Date. Create a Simple Filter to display
only Bicycles. Create a Chart with Profit (Y axis) and Material Description (X axis). Change the
Format of your Chart.
You have now completed the tutorial on Interactive Analysis. This tutorial was designed to provide an
introduction to this reporting tool and provide the fundamental skills to build reports.
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June 2012
Resources
There are many resources available on the internet that can further enhance your skills. A good place to
start is at the SAP developer Network.
SAP Business Objects Web Intelligence at SDN
http://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/boc/webi
SAP Business Objects Online Tutorials.
http://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/scn/web-intelligence-elearning?refer=main
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June 2012