Hello again!
In my last blog (link to Part 1), I introduced the new BW data connector in Lumira 1.27 which allows users to access their data via the BEx queries. You saw a quick overview of the simple steps involved in connecting to the queries. That is straightforward. Let's take a visit of some of the feature capabilities driving data acquisition. A specific area we will focus on today is the Metadata Explorer.
Once connected to the query, users will choose specific Dimensions and Measures in the Metadata Explorer dialog to acquire BW data into Lumira.
On the left-hand side, you see the BW Measures and Dimensions available for selection from the query. For Dimensions, this includes the associated attributes and hierarchies. On the right-hand side, you easily see the specific selections made by the user. The selection of Dimensions and Measures drive considerations of data volume at acquisition time. Hint: the BW safety belt is respected at acquisition time. Users are encouraged to think about acquiring a "slice" of their BW data.
Here are highlights on feature capabilities within the Metadata Explorer which you may not be aware about!
1) Hierarchy level selection
Hover over a selected hierarchy, and a gear option for Level Selection will appear.
A BW hierarchy is acquired into Lumira and flatten into level-based dimensions. Users can control how many levels of the hierarchy to acquire. By default, the Expand to Level value setting in the query is used for a selected hierarchy. Users can override the default, and provide a custom value (0 - 99) if more levels are desired.
2) Presentation options
Hover over a Dimension and a gear option for Presentations will appear.
Users can control whether to acquire the Dimension members as friendly Text or by Key. Why is this important? Users may have the need to join the BW data with other sources in Lumira, including data from other BW queries. Being able to join by the Key value of Dimension members will come handy here.
3) Dimension ordering & BEx Conditions
Users can order the selected Dimensions by using the Move Up and Move Down arrows as highlighted below. The ordering of Dimensions is important when there is presence of BEx Conditions active in the query. Acquisition of data will take into account the BEx condition rule defined in the query (i.e. Top n Product Sales), how the aggregation will be applied based upon the Dimension order (i.e. Top n per Region for all Countries).
Hint: Information on active BEx conditions in the query can be shown by clicking on the filter icon below.Here you can see an active condition along the row will influence the acquired data set result, while the condition along the column is not supported (not applied).
Data acquisition design behaviors and known limitations
Acquired BW data is stored locally in Lumira Desktop via an in-memory data engine. The in-memory engine is embedded with the Lumira Desktop product, and is used by Lumira to enable users to open, refresh, edit, create new visualizations and stories with the acquired BW data. New features such as Data Blending and Running Calculations take specific advantage of this in-memory engine.
Calculations on the BW data is performed locally, and does not involve delegation back down to the BW OLAP Engine. For information on key design behaviors and limitations while interacting with local BW data, please see the following links:
SAP Lumira, desktop edition User Guide - BW Hierarchy Support
SAP Lumira, desktop edition User Guide - BW Filtering Support
SAP Lumira, desktop edition User Guide - BW Measures
SAP Lumira, desktop edition User Guide - Mixed Units and Currencies
For documented BEx query functionality support for Lumira BW Data Acquisition, please reference the following SAP Note: http://service.sap.com/sap/support/notes/1869560
Enjoy!
Eric
PS: Part 3 of my blog post is now available - saving Stories to different Lumira Server editions
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