SSAS Joining Facts at different granularity to a single dimension:

Standard

Problem:

You have a Fact Sales and Fact Target in your data mart. Fact Sales stores values are product sub category level and fact target stores values at product category level because business sets “sales targets” at a higher (rolled up) level. How do you connect it to a single dimension at different granularity?

Solution:

Here’s the table structure, I just made this up for the demo purpose:

Fact Sales Table

1. Fact Sales

Fact Target

2. Fact Target

Product Sub Category Table

3. Dim product sub category

so, you went ahead and tried testing by creating relationship’s to single dimension at different granularity in the cube:

SSAS Dimension Usage RelationshipsNote how the relationship was specified between Fact Target and Product Sub Category Dimension – it’s joined at a different granularity compared to fact sales. it would be help you from a performance standpoint if the fields that you are using to join the fact and dimension is an int.

SSAS Relationship Dimension Usage Regular

So, you browse the cube and here’s what you get:

Excel SSAS Analysis Services

Note the problem: the target values are being repeated for sub categories but that shouldn’t be happening, right? that’s misleading to business users…ok, to recap what we need to do here: hide target values for subcategories since targets are not set at that granularity. but we do need to show them if the business users pulls in product category.

So here’s a measure group property that comes to the rescue!

Go to Fact Target Measure group’s property > Set IgnoreUnRelatedDimension to False

SSAS Ignore Unrelated Dimension Property

deploy and browse your cube again, here’s what you will see now:

Excel SSAS Analysis Services Pivot Table

That’s it! you have successfully joined facts at different granularity to a single dimension.

What do you think? Leave a comment below.