Data modeling

Dashboard – Asset management & planning for a global crisis response team:

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Problem:

Asset (Volunteers, Field offices & Equipments) management & planning for a global crisis response team.

Solution:

Working in a team, we created statistical surveys for field works to collect data about current state & estimated future needs. We also helped them with data gathering & cleaning tasks. After that, we helped them analyze & visualize the data to find actions for executives leading the global crisis response team.

Here’s a mockup of one of the ten data visualization created for them:

Asset Management Global crisis response

Notes from Atlanta SQL BI meeting: “Bus Matrix”

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Bus matrix is a very important (if not the most important) topic for a Data Warehouse Developer/Architect. And it was great to re-visit and grow knowledge around this topic at Atlanta SQL BI meeting presented by Bill Anton (b|t).

Here are some of my notes:

  • Dimensional Modeling is more important than ever specially w/ the rise in self-service BI. it’s important to lay out data in an intuitive way to business users.
  • Dimensional Modeling is great! But at the same time it’s important to communicate this to business users. The solution doesn’t involve teaching ER diagrams to users, simplified designs, offloading mapping data to business processes work to business users. So, what’s the solution? That’s where Bus Matrix comes into picture!
  • Bus Matrix is a 2 dimensional intersection of Facts & Dimensions.
  • Bus matrix can not only help in communication w/ Business users, it can also be useful for IT in project planning and documentation purposes.
  • In the requirement gathering phase, a Bus Matrix could be a 2 dimensional intersection of Subject Areas (Sales, Inventory, etc) by Source Systems w/ priorities shown at the intersection. It’s great for road-mapping a BI/DW project.
  • Business Matrix is created during requirements gathering stage (subject area vs source systems), before development (Facts vs Dimensions) and needs to be kept updated over time. After the solution is live, it could be one of the important end-user documentation.

Also, Here’s a great resource page posted by the Presenter (includes his slides): http://byobi.com/blog/bus-matrix/ – check it out! it has some great resources in there.

Thank you Bill & Meeting organizers!

Mapping Business Intelligence Developer’s Tools: Microsoft SQL server & SAP Netweaver BW

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This Post is NOT about Microsoft BI VS Sap BI. Then What is it?

well, I have been playing with SAP’s Netweaver BW Tools for past three months now as a part of a Business Intelligence class that’s about to conclude – Also, I have been involved with work on Microsoft’s SQL server Business Intelligence Tools. So I thought – it would be FUN to map  SAP Netweaver BW Tools (that I got to play with in an academic capacity) and Microsoft’s Business Intelligence Tools (which is currently what I am working on) – so, here you go:

Tool in Microsoft BITool in SAP Netweaver BW
ETL (Extract, Transform, Load)SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS)SAP Netweaver BW: Data Warehousing Workbench
CubeSQL Server Analysis Services – Multidimensional Mode (SSAS)SAP Netweaver BW: Data Warehousing Workbench: Modeling
Report Design Tool and Reporting Layer(It’s not an exhaustive list and does not include third part tools)
  • SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS)
  • Report Builder
  • Excel (Excel Services/Pivot Tables)
  • PerformancePoint
Business Explorer (BEx):

  1. BEx Query  Designer
  2. BEx  Analyzer (Excel Add-in)
  3. BEx web Analyzer

 

Data MiningData Mining Projects in SQL Server Analysis ServicesSAP Netweaver BW: Data mining – Analysis Process Designer

Note about SAP BusinessObjects: I mapped the Tools in Microsoft BI with the tools that I got to study in my SAP class. Then I was searching what’s the current scenario in SAP world (I know about Microsoft’s!)– I learned that SAP BI world is comprised of TOOLS in SAP Netweaver BW + SAP BusinessObjects (BO). And in the course I studied the following components of Business Objects:

  1. Web Intelligence for ad-hoc query and reporting
  2. Crystal Reports for enterprise reporting
  3. Xcelsius (BO Dashboard) for Dashboard designing

For those interested I am also mapping few terms used while cube development in Microsoft BI and SAP Netweaver BW

Microsoft: SSAS Multidimensional mode
SAP Netweaver BW
CubeInfoCubes
DimensionsCharacteristics
MeasuresKey Figures
Data Source Views (DSV’s)Data Source

Note:

1) I have not mapped the Tools in Self Service BI space.

2) This comparison is not for deciding between Microsoft BI vs. SAP Netweaver BI/SAP BusinessObjects – this post is just meant for mapping tools available in Microsoft BI and SAP Netweaver BW and so if you are an expert in say Microsoft BI – this post will help you see what corresponding tool are available in SAP Netweaver BW world. Consider it as a starting guide for your research.

3) Note the date the post was written – the name of the products may have changed in future. refer to official sites for latest & greatest!

Thanks for reading.