@ Everything Xcelsius.com 2010
Presented by: David Lai
Date: September 15, 2010
Dashboard Design EssentialsXcelsius Gurus
@ Everything Xcelsius.com 2010
David Lai
SAP Business Objects Consultant
Xcelsius Enthusiast
Author of web blog http://www.davidlai101.com/blog and coauthor of http://www.myxcelsius.com
Co-authoring an Xcelsius Cookbook for Packt Publishing which will be released mid 2011.
Who are We? Xcelsius Gurus Network
#1 source for Xcelsius community related information http://www.everythingxcelsius.com
@ Everything Xcelsius.com 2010Slide 3
Agenda
Overview of what a dashboard is and why we use dashboards
Dashboard Design and Best Practices
Xcelsius Best Practices
Xcelsius Data Connectivity
Xcelsius Tips and Tricks
Xcelsius Resources
Question and Answer period
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What is a Dashboard?
Visual display
Of
The most important information needed to achieve one or more objectives
Which
Fits entirely on a single computer screen
So it can be monitored at a glance
Stephen Few: Information Dashboard Design
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Why are Dashboards important?
Replacement for hunt-and-peck data-gathering techniques
Provides users with a totally customized experience on
accessing data
Helps users visually identify trends, patterns, anomalies
@ Everything Xcelsius.com 2010
Gather business requirements and
analyze
Whiteboard on paper!
Mockup your whiteboard on Xcelsius
Iterative development is great for
feedback!
Dashboard Design
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Dashboard Best Practices
Must be able to see all information in one screen without scrolling.
Must supply context (Need to compare to something for the metric to be worthwhile)
Start navigation from the top left, as we are accustomed to doing so when reading a book.
Should promote consistency and standards within the company to lower future learning curve.
Use quadrants, align components uniformly, make components of similar size, use colors that are easy on the eyes.
Don’t put too much detail (ie: 10 decimal places)
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Dashboard Best Practices - 2
Use charts that are easy to read!
Example of Pie Chart vs Bar Chart when comparing 8 groups
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Xcelsius Best Practices - 1
Re-use components if possible to reduce footprint.
Choose the right color scheme and theme
Use the Canvas Container to group components if possible
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Xcelsius Best Practices - 2
In Excel, use different colors to represent different types of logic
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Xcelsius Best Practices - 3
Organize your worksheets in Excel
Use the alignment and sizing toolbar in Xcelsius
Avoid using formulas such as VLOOKUP, HLOOKUP, SUMIF, COUNTIF on large datasets
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Data Connectivity
Xcelsius can connect to 12 different types of data sources.
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Xcelsius 12 Connectivity Options
BO Enterprise Non-BO Enterprise
Query as a Web Service
Live Office
SAP Netweaver BW Connection
Crystal Report Data Consumer
Flash Variables
FS Commands
Web Service Connection
XML Data
Portal Data
LCDS Connection (Adobe)
External Interface Connections
Excel XML Maps
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When to use Live Office –Complex formatting
Crosstabs with a dynamic amount of columns or formulas in the cells that require complex formulas that can be done in the WEBI report.
With QaaWS we can use ETL but that would require extra data maintenance and universes/universe objects which some organizations are not okay with.
Can’t have separate QaaWS objects for each sales office since there is a dynamic number of sales offices
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When to use Live Office
We can make use of WEBI report scheduling on queries that take long to run.
The dataset needs to be small enough (less than 500 rows) so that we can just grab the entire set without having to query.
Scheduling
Crystal Reports
Crystal Reports can be utilized when there is no Universe
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When to use Query as a Web Service
Query as a Web Service does not have to build a WEBI report and queries directly
Good for large data sets that need to be broken down with prompt parameters
Performance
Data Logic / Maintainability
Keeps Data Logic in the data layer so that database handles all the number crunching through the ETL
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Thoughts on Live Office and QaaWS
Whether developers are comfortable with WEBI or ETL? Doing one of the other may cost more in the long run
Is it strict where Data Logic should reside?
Is the organization comfortable with managing both to get the best out of both worlds?
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Xcelsius Tips and Tricks
Common that users may want some assistance on a certain component or chart
Mouse Over Help
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Xcelsius Tips and Tricks
Add depth to your chart to give it that WOW factor
Adding depth to your charts
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Tips and Tricks
Using the Canvas Container to group components
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Xcelsius Resources
BusinessObjectsBoard - http://www.forumtopics.com/busobj/
SAP Community Network Forums -http://forums.sdn.sap.com/category.jspa?categoryID=45
Troubleshooting
Tips/Tricks and Best Practices
Xcelsius 2008 Dashboard Best Practices – Loren Abdulezer
Information Dashboard Design – Stephen Few
Everything Xcelsius – http://www.everythingxcelsius.com
MyXcelsius – http://www.myxcelsius.com
Ryan Goodman’s Xcelsius blog – http://www.ryangoodman.net
David Lai’s blog – http://www.davidlai101.com/blog
Disclaimer
This presentation outlines our general product direction and should not berelied on in making a purchase decision. This presentation is not subject toyour license agreement or any other agreement with SAP. SAP has noobligation to pursue any course of business outlined in this presentation or todevelop or release any functionality mentioned in this presentation. Thispresentation and SAP's strategy and possible future developments aresubject to change and may be changed by SAP at any time for any reasonwithout notice. This document is provided without a warranty of any kind,either express or implied, including but not limited to, the implied warrantiesof merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement. SAPassumes no responsibility for errors or omissions in this document, except ifsuch damages were caused by SAP intentionally or grossly negligent.
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