Reporting and Analysis with SAP BusinessObjects

... Introduction ... 13

1 ... Introduction to the SAP BusinessObjects Reporting and Analysis Tools ... 19
... 1.1 ... Overview of the SAP BusinessObjects Tools ... 19
... 1.2 ... Other Capabilities of the SAP BusinessObjects Tools ... 28
... 1.3 ... Summary ... 30

2 ... Customer Requirements and Usage Scenarios ... 31
... 2.1 ... General Guidelines for Establishing Business Requirements ... 31
... 2.2 ... Matching Business Requirements to BI Products ... 33
... 2.3 ... Mapping SAP BusinessObjects BI Tools to Capabilities ... 37
... 2.4 ... Mapping SAP BusinessObjects Tools to the Audience ... 42
... 2.5 ... Summary ... 48

3 ... The Role of the Semantic Layer ... 49
... 3.1 ... Semantic Layer Technology ... 49
... 3.2 ... Data Connectivity Options for SAP Systems ... 53
... 3.3 ... Recommendations for Semantic Layer Usage ... 55
... 3.4 ... Summary ... 56

4 ... Enterprise Reporting with SAP Crystal Reports for Enterprise ... 57
... 4.1 ... SAP Data Connectivity ... 57
... 4.2 ... Assessing the Business Requirements ... 62
... 4.3 ... Introduction to the Tool ... 65
... 4.4 ... Building a Report for Financial Analysis ... 87
... 4.5 ... Building a Report for HR Analysis ... 101
... 4.6 ... Summary ... 118

5 ... Interactive Analysis with SAP BusinessObjects Web Intelligence ... 119
... 5.1 ... SAP Data Connectivity ... 119
... 5.2 ... Assessing the Business Requirements ... 124
... 5.3 ... Introduction to the Tool ... 128
... 5.4 ... Building a Report for Sales Analysis ... 154
... 5.5 ... Building a Report for Financial Analysis ... 170
... 5.6 ... Summary ... 179

6 ... Dashboarding and Data Visualization with SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards ... 181
... 6.1 ... SAP Data Connectivity ... 181
... 6.2 ... Assessment of Business Requirements ... 189
... 6.3 ... Introduction to the Tool ... 193
... 6.4 ... Building a Dashboard for Sales Planning ... 224
... 6.5 ... Summary ... 250

7 ... Using SAP BusinessObjects Analysis, Edition for Microsoft Office ... 251
... 7.1 ... SAP Data Connectivity ... 251
... 7.2 ... Assessing the Business Requirements ... 256
... 7.3 ... Introduction to the Tool ... 259
... 7.4 ... Building a Workbook for Financial Analysis ... 272
... 7.5 ... Building a Workbook for Sales Analysis ... 284
... 7.6 ... Summary ... 295

8 ... Using SAP BusinessObjects Analysis, Edition for OLAP ... 297
... 8.1 ... SAP Data Connectivity ... 297
... 8.2 ... Assessing the Business Requirements ... 302
... 8.3 ... Introduction to the Tool ... 305
... 8.4 ... Building a Workbook for Financial Analysis ... 317
... 8.5 ... Building a Workbook for Sales Analysis ... 327
... 8.6 ... Summary ... 338

9 ... Data Exploration and Searching with SAP BusinessObjects Explorer ... 339
... 9.1 ... SAP Data Connectivity for SAP BusinessObjects Explorer ... 339
... 9.2 ... Assessing the Business Requirements ... 344
... 9.3 ... Introduction to the Tool ... 347
... 9.4 ... Creating an Information Space for Sales Analysis ... 368
... 9.5 ... Summary ... 383

10 ... Using SAP BusinessObjects Live Office ... 385
... 10.1 ... SAP BusinessObjects Live Office Configuration ... 385
... 10.2 ... SAP BusinessObjects BI Platform Content and Microsoft Office ... 387
... 10.3 ... Introduction to the Tool ... 388
... 10.4 ... Summary ... 419

11 ... Using SAP BusinessObjects BI Workspaces ... 421
... 11.1 ... Overview ... 421
... 11.2 ... Creating Content for Your First SAP BusinessObjects BI Workspace ... 427
... 11.3 ... Creating Your First BI Workspace ... 440
... 11.4 ... Summary ... 447

12 ... Navigating the BI Launch Pad ... 449
... 12.1 ... User Authentication ... 449
... 12.2 ... User Interface (UI) Overview ... 452
... 12.3 ... Folders and Categories ... 455
... 12.4 ... Using Search in the BI Launch Pad ... 456
... 12.5 ... Configuring User Preferences ... 462
... 12.6 ... Summary ... 467

13 ... Best Practices and Tips and Tricks for SAP BusinessObjects BI Tools ... 469
... 13.1 ... Selection of the Right Tool ... 469
... 13.2 ... SAP NetWeaver BEx Query Design ... 470
... 13.3 ... Data Connectivity ... 475
... 13.4 ... User Security ... 478
... 13.5 ... Performance Considerations ... 479
... 13.6 ... Known Limitations ... 481
... 13.7 ... Report Design Topics ... 488
... 13.8 ... Tracing and Troubleshooting ... 488
... 13.9 ... Summary ... 489

14 ... Integration Outlook ... 491
... 14.1 ... SAP Crystal Reports for Enterprise ... 491
... 14.2 ... SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards ... 492
... 14.3 ... SAP BusinessObjects Web Intelligence ... 492
... 14.4 ... SAP BusinessObjects Analysis Suite ... 492
... 14.5 ... SAP BusinessObjects Explorer ... 492
... 14.6 ... Semantic Layer ... 493
... 14.7 ... Summary ... 493

... The Author ... 495

... Index ... 497