When you design a Web Intelligence document, you should consider several factors such as the client on the relevance of the displayed data but also on the performance and how to secure requirements.

Today with Web Intelligence 4, you can create smart documents that meet all of these issues and offer real space analysis while providing an attractive and intuitive visual.

Let’s look more closely at what are the best practices to consider when designing a Web Intelligence document so that it is effective and elegant.

Smart background

You can use visual effects (backgrounds, canvas, patterns, …) to enhance the data blocks and diagrams of your reports. Your Web Intelligence document can even turn into Dashboard with the right background to distract and thus forget that you are viewing a Web Intelligence report operational.

Example 1 :

Example 2 :

Tips 1 : You can use CSS to implement a graphic or to reuse an existing one.

Tips 2 : You can use the 3D format to give value to your diagrams and visualizations provide users with high added value.

Smart data

An elegant document is good, but a stylish and powerful document is better !

When you design your Web Intelligence document, consider not making requests too large to avoid having too large microcubes. Otherwise, the update time will be too long and all interactions (filters, input controls, item link, …) that you configure will be very slow to respond. The end user must be able to quickly see the results of each action and the document must be executed quickly.

Best practices are to partition your queries and rely on innovations 4.x such as Query Stripping.

See more ressources in Help Portal :

SAP BusinessObjects Web Intelligence 4.1 : http://help.sap.com/bowebi

Smart controls

Web Intelligence gives you the ability to create dynamic reports allow you to answer several questions loom with a single document. Avoid multiply static documents if your repository is not relevant and users may get lost in the multitude of objects available.

Several means are available to make your dynamic reports :

– Filter simple report

– Control input

– Element Link

The goal is to let the end user “play” with the report and view the results as required.

Use case : Instead of having 3 documents “CA-2010″;”CA-2011″;”CA-2013” filtered on a dimension value, you can create a document “AC/Year-Interactive” which will filtered using an input control for example.

For this purpose, you can see this document for further use of input controls :

Enabling Comments in Web Intelligence Reports using Input Controls

http://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-48935

Smart analysis

The third phase of designing a document is in the functions of data analysis.

The purpose of a tool to aid the decision is of course to highlight certain data and for this you can filter, sort, aggregating or explore your results.

Just think therefore propose mining data if the data layer allows (custom in the universe eg hierarchies) or if you are connected to an SAP system using the SAP hierarchies directly (BICS to SAP BW).

Feel free to duplicate your reports to present aggregate data for the first and then see details on the following using the “expand / collapse” or using classification and / or filters.

Smart security

Keep in mind that you can dynamically manage restrictions on your data using such internal variables SBOP. Contact your SAP BusinessObjects administrator to speak to you that custom user attributes.

You can simply display secured using variables such as “BOUSER” without necessarily configure an access restriction at the data universe.

In the same vein, you use the profile values ​​with the introduction of publication allows you to distribute it to multiple recipients with a single document, but to secure the inside of each recipient data. This allows to send a large number of containers based on a single Web Intelligence document. You gain in consistency and you Streamline filings.

Smart share

Collaborative think!

The BI platform offers many opportunities to share your documents and distribute your information. Inbox BI is one of the ways you to validate the design of a document before promoting to a new platform (eg DEV to PROD).

The collaboration also involves activation of forums now available directly in the consultation report.

Collaboration options with SAP Social Network (available in Application Tab in CMC > Collaboration)

BI Launch Pad options with Discussions (available in Application Tab in CMC > Bi Launch Pad)

Means sharing may be planning documents to a file system, a box BI reception or an FTP server and on a larger scale, publications.

Do not be shy and feel free to review this document. This will motivate me to share new best practices !

William.