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Student Guide
SAP BusinessObjects XI 3.0 –
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Table of Contents—
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C O N T E N T S
Lesson 1
Understanding BusinessObjects Universes Lesson introduction.......................................................................................................1
BusinessObjects universe concepts.............................................................................2
What is a universe?................................................................................................2
The Semantic Layer................................................................................................3
What type of database schema is used?..............................................................4
Classes and objects ................................................................................................5
How universes are used .......................................................................................5
Advantages of a universe .....................................................................................5
BusinessObjects Universe Designer components .............................................6
Starting Universe Designer ..................................................................................6
Using the Quick Design Wizard..........................................................................8
Using Universe Designer module commands ..................................................8
Saving and exporting a universe.......................................................................11
Importing a universe ..........................................................................................12
Universe file names as identifiers .....................................................................12
Saving a universe definition as PDF .................................................................13
Giving all users access to a universe ................................................................13
Activity: Viewing a universe in Designer.........................................................14
The Universe Development Cycle.............................................................................15The Universe Development Cycle process ......................................................15
Preparation phase ................................................................................................16
Analysis phase......................................................................................................17
Planning phase.....................................................................................................19
Implementation phase.........................................................................................20
Implementation phase 1: schema design..........................................................20
Implementation phase 2: building the universe..............................................22
Testing phase........................................................................................................23
Deployment phase...............................................................................................24
Updating/maintenance.......................................................................................25
Prepackaged solutions.........................................................................................25Activity: Planning a universe.............................................................................26
Quiz: Understanding BusinessObjects universes...................................................27
Lesson summary..........................................................................................................28
Lesson 2
Creating the Course Universe Lesson introduction.....................................................................................................29
The course database and universe ...........................................................................30
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Course database description...............................................................................30
Creating the universe .................................................................................................32
Creating a new universe......................................................................................32
Defining universe parameters ...........................................................................33
Identifying the universe......................................................................................33
Setting the database connection.........................................................................34
Data access drivers...............................................................................................34ODBC connection drivers...................................................................................36
More about connection types.............................................................................38
Viewing, modifying, and deleting available connections..............................38
Universe parameters............................................................................................40
Definition tab........................................................................................................41
Summary tab.........................................................................................................42
Strategies tab.........................................................................................................43
Controls tab...........................................................................................................44
SQL tab...................................................................................................................44
Links tab................................................................................................................45
Parameters tab......................................................................................................46Activity: Creating a new universe and defining its connection....................47
Quiz: Creating the course universe...........................................................................48
Lesson summary..........................................................................................................49
Lesson 3
Building the Universe Structure Lesson introduction.....................................................................................................51
Populating the universe structure.............................................................................52
Designing a schema ............................................................................................52
Schema design and the universe creation process..........................................52
Adding tables .......................................................................................................52
Manipulating tables in the universe structure.................................................55
Activity: Populating the universe structure.....................................................58
Defining joins in a universe........................................................................................60
About joins and SQL WHERE clauses .............................................................60
Creating joins........................................................................................................61
About join properties...........................................................................................63
Editing the join expression .................................................................................64
Using the Join SQL editor ..................................................................................64
Detecting joins .....................................................................................................65
Setting join cardinalities......................................................................................66
About cardinality.................................................................................................66
Setting cardinality manually or with the automatic detection tool..............67
Displaying cardinalities ......................................................................................69
Detecting cardinality automatically..................................................................71
How is cardinality detected?..............................................................................71
Detect cardinality for all joins.............................................................................72
Best practice for setting join cardinality ...........................................................73
Join types ..............................................................................................................74
Equi-joins ..............................................................................................................74
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Outer joins ............................................................................................................75
Theta joins.............................................................................................................77
Shortcut joins........................................................................................................78
Self-restricting joins .............................................................................................79
List Mode...............................................................................................................81
Checking integrity ...............................................................................................83
Activity: Defining joins in a universe................................................................83Quiz: Building the universe structure......................................................................86
Lesson summary..........................................................................................................87
Lesson 4
Creating Dimension Objects Lesson introduction.....................................................................................................89
Classes and objects ......................................................................................................90
Classes....................................................................................................................90
Objects....................................................................................................................91Creating classes and objects ......................................................................................93
Creating classes....................................................................................................93
Automatically creating classes and objects from a table ...............................95
Defining a new object as a detail object............................................................95
Working with classes and subclasses................................................................96
Editing the object properties...............................................................................97
Edit Properties: Properties................................................................................100
Edit Properties: Advanced................................................................................101
Edit Properties: Keys..........................................................................................102
Edit Properties: Source Information................................................................103
Copying and pasting objects.............................................................................104
Find and replace ................................................................................................104
Checking object integrity .................................................................................105
Viewing parent tables........................................................................................106
Testing objects ....................................................................................................107
Activity: Creating and testing classes and objects.........................................107
Quiz: Creating dimension objects...........................................................................113
Lesson summary........................................................................................................114
Lesson 5
Creating Measure Objects Lesson introduction...................................................................................................115Measure object concepts...........................................................................................116
Defining measure objects .................................................................................116
How a measure infers SQL ..............................................................................116
The Query Process .............................................................................................118
Aggregation at SELECT level...........................................................................119
Aggregation at projection level........................................................................119
Setting selection and projection aggregates...................................................120
Creating measure objects..........................................................................................121
Measure objects .................................................................................................121
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Testing measure objects.....................................................................................122
Activity: Creating and testing measure objects.............................................123
Delegated Measures..................................................................................................126
What is a delegated measure?..........................................................................126
How does the delegated measure work?........................................................127
Using a delegated measure as a weighted average.......................................127
Best practices for using delegated measures..................................................130Activity: Creating and using a delegated measure.......................................130
Quiz: Creating measure objects...............................................................................132
Lesson summary........................................................................................................133
Lesson 6
Using Lists of Values Lesson introduction...................................................................................................135
Creating a list of values ............................................................................................136
What is a list of values?.....................................................................................136Using a list of values (LOV)..............................................................................136
Working with LOVs in Universe Designer ...........................................................137
Associating an LOV with an object..................................................................137
Setting options for generating LOVs ..............................................................139
Editing the LOVs for the entire universe .......................................................141
Adding data to the list by adding columns ...................................................142
Creating a cascading LOV .......................................................................................143
Setting up a cascading LOV ....................................................................................143
Activity: Using a cascading LOV in Web Intelligence Rich Client.............145
Quiz: Using lists of values .......................................................................................147
Lesson summary........................................................................................................148
Lesson 7
Resolving Loops in a Universe Lesson introduction...................................................................................................149
Understanding loops ................................................................................................150
Recognizing loops..............................................................................................150
Problems caused by loops ................................................................................150
Loops in a universe schema and not in the database ...................................151
What is the loop doing?.....................................................................................151
Resolving loops ..................................................................................................152Resolving loops using aliases ..................................................................................153
About aliases ......................................................................................................153
Detecting loops and inserting aliases .............................................................153
Redefining objects .............................................................................................156
Listing and renaming aliases ...........................................................................157
Choosing which alias method to use ..............................................................157
Resolving self-join loops using aliases............................................................157
Resolving loops using shortcut joins .....................................................................160
Using a shortcut join..........................................................................................160
Activity: Resolving loops with aliases............................................................161
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Resolving loops using contexts ...............................................................................164
About contexts....................................................................................................164
Detecting and creating contexts ......................................................................167
Creating objects for each context ....................................................................170
Editing a context ................................................................................................170
Testing contexts .................................................................................................171
Updating contexts .............................................................................................172Activity: Resolving loops using contexts........................................................173
Quiz: Resolving loops in a universe .......................................................................178
Lesson summary........................................................................................................179
Lesson 8
Resolving SQL Traps Lesson introduction...................................................................................................181
Understanding SQL traps and universes ..............................................................182
About SQL traps ................................................................................................182Detecting and resolving chasm traps .....................................................................183
Chasm traps .......................................................................................................183
Detecting chasm traps ......................................................................................184
The chasm trap scenario ...................................................................................184
Resolving chasm traps ......................................................................................186
Using multiple SQL statements for each measure to resolve chasm
traps......................................................................................................................187
Drawbacks to the multiple SQL statements for each measure
method.................................................................................................................189
Using contexts to resolve chasm traps ...........................................................190
Activity: Resolving chasm traps.......................................................................191
Detecting and resolving fan traps ..........................................................................195
Fan traps .............................................................................................................195
The fan trap scenario ........................................................................................196
Resolving fan traps.............................................................................................197
Using aliases and contexts to resolve fan traps.............................................198
Solving a fan trap with two tables in a one-to-many relationship..............200
Avoiding fan traps altogether .........................................................................201
Activity: Resolving fan traps............................................................................203
Quiz: Resolving SQL traps ......................................................................................207
Lesson summary........................................................................................................208
Lesson 9
Applying Restrictions on Objects Lesson introduction...................................................................................................209
Restricting the data returned by objects ................................................................210
Defining data restrictions .................................................................................210
Methods of restricting data in end-user modules ........................................211
Drawbacks to applying restrictions to objects ..............................................212
An alternative to applying restrictions to objects .........................................213
Restrictions using condition objects ...............................................................215
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Applying restrictions using the tables button ...............................................216
Applying each type of restriction ...................................................................218
Activity: Applying restrictions.........................................................................218
Quiz: Applying restrictions on objects ..................................................................221
Lesson summary........................................................................................................222
Lesson 10
Using @functions with Objects Lesson introduction...................................................................................................223
Using @functions.......................................................................................................224
Defining @functions ..........................................................................................224
@prompt .............................................................................................................224
@prompt syntax .................................................................................................225
@select..................................................................................................................227
@where.................................................................................................................229
@aggregate_aware..............................................................................................233Activity: Using @functions...............................................................................233
Quiz: Using @functions with objects.....................................................................235
Lesson summary........................................................................................................236
Lesson 11
Using Hierarchies Lesson introduction...................................................................................................237
Understanding hierarchies and universes ............................................................238
Hierarchies..........................................................................................................238Working with hierarchies ........................................................................................240
Default hierarchies ............................................................................................240
Custom hierarchies............................................................................................243
The effect of custom hierarchies on default hierarchies ..............................245
Time hierarchies ................................................................................................247
Testing automatic time hierarchies .................................................................250
Advantages and disadvantages of automatic time hierarchies ..................250
Time hierarchies based on database functions .............................................251
Advantages and disadvantages of database function time
hierarchies...........................................................................................................252
Table-based time hierarchies ...........................................................................252Advantages and disadvantages of table-based time hierarchies ...............254
Activity: Using hierarchies................................................................................254
Quiz: Using hierarchies ............................................................................................256
Lesson summary........................................................................................................257
Lesson 12
Derived Tables and Indexes Lesson introduction...................................................................................................259
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Using derived tables .................................................................................................260
What is a derived table?....................................................................................260
Adding derived tables ......................................................................................260
Derived tables as lookup for multiple contexts.............................................261
Nested derived tables........................................................................................262
Creating nested derived tables.........................................................................262
Activity: Adding derived tables.......................................................................264Applying index awareness ......................................................................................266
What is index awareness?.................................................................................266
Setting up index awareness..............................................................................266
What happens behind the scenes?...................................................................268
Avoiding joins in tables.....................................................................................270
Multiple foreign key entries.............................................................................271
SQL Editor dialog box ......................................................................................273
Using an index awareness WHERE clause.....................................................273
Activity: Setting up index awareness..............................................................274
Quiz: Derived tables and indexes ...........................................................................275
Lesson summary........................................................................................................276
Appendix A
Relational and Dimensional Modeling Understanding the metadata...................................................................................283
Data warehouses........................................................................................................284
Online Transactional Processing systems..............................................................285
Data Marts...................................................................................................................286
Dimensional Modeling..............................................................................................287
Appendix B
Alternative SQL syntaxes for other RDBMS SQL syntaxes for other RDBMS...............................................................................289
Answer Key Quiz: Understanding BusinessObjects universes.................................................295
Quiz: Creating the course universe.........................................................................296
Quiz: Building the universe structure....................................................................297Quiz: Creating dimension objects...........................................................................298
Quiz: Creating measure objects...............................................................................299
Quiz: Using lists of values .......................................................................................300
Quiz: Resolving loops in a universe .......................................................................301
Quiz: Resolving SQL traps ......................................................................................302
Quiz: Applying restrictions on objects ..................................................................303
Quiz: Using @functions with objects .....................................................................304
Quiz: Using hierarchies ............................................................................................305
Quiz: Derived tables and indexes ...........................................................................306
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Lesson 1
Understanding BusinessObjects Universes
Lesson introduction
To design effective and efficient universes for your business users, you need a general
understanding of their structure and application. It is also important to become familiar with
the process involved in building a successful universe.
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
• Define BusinessObjects universe concepts
• Use the Universe Development Cycle
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BusinessObjects universe concepts
This lesson gives a general introduction to universes.
After completing this unit, you will be able to:
• Describe a universe• Describe BusinessObjects Universe Designer interface elements
• Save, export and import universes
What is a universe?
The BusinessObjects universe is the semantic layer that isolates business users from the technical
complexities of the databases where their corporate information is stored.
For the ease of the end user, universes are made up of objects and classes that map to data in
the database, using everyday terms that describe their business environment. This means that
by using a universe to create a query, users can retrieve exactly the data that interests themusing their own business terminology.
A BusinessObjects universe is a file that contains the following:
• Connection parameters to a single data source.
• SQL structures called objects that map to actual SQL structures in the database such as
columns, tables, and database functions. Objects are grouped into classes.• A schema of the tables and joins used in the database. Objects are built from the database
structures that you include in your schema.
Note:
You associate data to universes by mapping to a data source. Data is not stored in the .unv file.
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End users select the universe they are authorized to access in order to build queries. They build
a query by selecting objects defined in the universe, and in this way, they are not required to
see or know anything about the underlying data structures in the database.
BusinessObjects Designer XI Release 2 gives universe designers the ability to build universes
from OLAP and metadata sources. It also offers the ability to build universes against Unicode
databases and run reports that display data in one of many available languages.
BusinessObjects Universe Designer XI 3.0 offers the following additions:
• Personal file universe creation wizard - universes have supported access to csv and xls files
through generic ODBC.
• JavaBean - the JavaBean driver provides the ability to expose data returned by a JavaBean
class and model it through a universe.
• Java database connectivity (JDBC) - access to a standard JDBC connection and JDBC support
to all major sources is provided.
• Microsoft Analysis Services 2005 - Microsoft Analysis Services 2005 support for OLAP
universes is provided.
Universes are used to query the database
The role of the universe is to present a business-focused front end to the SQL structures in the
database. The data used in a universe schema depends greatly on the end user requirements.
It needs to provide an easy-to-use interface for end-users to:
• Run queries against a database
• Create reports
• Perform data analysis
The Semantic Layer
Universe Designer can be seen as the tool which creates the Semantic Layer.
Metadata is imported into Universe Designer, and then the tables structure can be changed
(using Derived Tables) or data can be changed before it is presented to the user (by manipulating
objects). However, the source data essentially remains the same. This is what separates the
Semantic Layer from Data Integrator.
Data Integrator is an ETL Tool which can change the structure of the data, and also cleanse it
from data errors.
The semantic layer is also used for the Performance Management product suite. When building
a Dashboard Manager or Set Analysis Metrics universe, the approach is slightly different to
creating a normal ad hoc reporting universe:
• the Dashboard Manager or Set Analysis Metrics universe requires to have custom tags
embedded within it (which can be considered a form of code), which are used by Dashboard
Manager and Set Analysis products
• a mandatory self join is placed in the Dashboard Manager or Set Analysis Metrics universe
to ensure that calculated metrics apply to one time period granularity in a time dimension,
for example, daily, weekly, or monthly.
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• custom filters are placed into the Dashboard Manager or Set Analysis Metrics universe to
be able to compare sets (Joiner Filter, Leaver Filter, and so on), and to build metrics.
This is why it is advisable not to use the same ad hoc reporting universe as your Dashboard
Manager or Set Analysis Metrics universe.
Information on building a Dashboard Manager or Set Analysis Metrics universe can be found
in the Creating universes for use as metrics chapter of the BusinessObjects XI 3.0 Designer's Guide.
What type of database schema is used?
Before developing a universe you must familiarize yourself with the underlying data. Which
type of database schema is going to be used for the universe? Will this be a Data Warehouse
model, an Online Transactional Processing system (OLTP), or a Data Mart? How can you best
implement the metadata into a universe schema to meet the end user requirements?
Star Schemas
The star schema is the simplest data warehouse schema. It is called a star schema because thediagram resembles a star, with points radiating from a center. The center of the star consists
of one or more fact tables and the points of the star are the dimension tables.
A star schema consists of fact tables and dimension tables:
• Fact tables
A fact table typically has two types of columns: numeric facts and foreign keys to dimension
tables. Facts can become measure objects in a BusinessObjects universe file.
• Dimension tables
Dimension tables contain the qualitative descriptions that can be applied to the facts.
Hierarchies may also be built into dimension tables. Dimension table data can becomedimension or detail objects in a BusinessObjects universe file.
Snowflake schemas
The snowflake schema is a variation of the star schema used in a data warehouse. It is more
complex than the star schema because the tables which describe the dimensions are normalized.
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Data modeling
The traditional entity relationship (ER) model uses a normalized approach to database design.
Database normalization is a technique for designing relational database tables to minimize
duplication of information and to avoid data anomalies. Higher degrees of normalization
typically involve more tables and create the need for a larger number of joins, which can reduceperformance.
Denormalization is the process of taking a normalized database and modifying table structures
to optimize the performance by keeping a minimum relationship between tables; one dimension
table versus one fact table. Another method is to use prebuilt summarized data in the schema.
Classes and objects
A universe contains the following structures:
• Classes
• Objects
As the universe designer, you use Universe Designer to create objects and classes that represent
database structures. The objects you create in the universe must be relevant to the end user‟s
business environment and vocabulary.
Classes
A class is a logical grouping of objects within a universe. It represents a category of objects.
The name of a class should indicate the category of the objects that it contains. A class can be
divided hierarchically into subclasses.
Objects An object is a named component that maps to data or derived data in the database. The name
of an object should be drawn from the business vocabulary of the targeted user group.
How universes are used
A universe defines the connection to the database. By selecting a universe when creating new
documents or editing existing documents, the business users automatically receive access to
the data. The access to data, in turn, is restricted by the objects that are available in the universe.
These objects have been created by you, the universe designer, based on the needs profile for
a defined user group.
Advantages of a universe
The advantages of a universe are:
• Only the universe designer needs to know how to write SQL and understand the structure
of the target database.
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• The interface allows you to create a universe in an easy-to-use graphical environment.
• Data is secure. Users can see only the data exposed by the universe. Users can only read
data, not edit it.
• The results are reliable and the universe is relatively easy to maintain.
• Users can use a simple interface to create reports.
• All users work with consistent business terminology.
• Users can analyze data locally.
BusinessObjects Universe Designer components
You create, modify, and update universes with Universe Designer. Universe Designer provides a
connection wizard that allows you to connect to your database middleware. You can create
multiple connections with Universe Designer, but only one connection can be defined for each
universe. This database connection is saved with the universe.
Universe Designer provides a graphical interface that allows you to select and view tables ina database. The database tables are represented as table symbols in a schema diagram. You can
use this interface to manipulate tables, create joins that link the tables, create alias tables,
contexts, and resolve loops in your schema. Users do not see this schema.
Universe Designer provides an object explorer view. You use the explorer tree to create objects
that map to the columns and SQL structures that are represented in the schema view. Users
select these objects to run queries against a database.
Starting Universe Designer
Universe Designer can only be used with a BusinessObjects repository. You must log onto therepository before starting Universe Designer.
After you start Universe Designer, you can open a universe in one of the following ways:
• Create a new universe.
• Import a universe from the repository.
• Open a universe directly from the file system.
A universe is available to end users once it has been exported to the repository. Importing a
universe, making changes, then exporting the updated universe to the repository is the most
common way of working with Universe Designer.
Note: You can save a universe to the file system. You do this when you are in the process ofdeveloping the universe locally and when you want to share the universe with other users who
may not have connection rights to the target repository.
Note: You can lock and secure a universe before importing it from or exporting it to the Business
Objects repository for maintenance.
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To start Universe Designer
1. Click the Start button on the taskbar.
2. Select the Programs menu.
3. Select the BusinessObjects XI 3.0 menu.
4. Select the BusinessObjects Enterprise menu.
5. Select the Designer menu.
The login dialog box for the repository appears.
Login information
System name of the repository server
User Name your repository user name
Password your repository password
Authentication authentication method
Note: This information is normally provided to you by the Business Objects administrator.
Note: You can also use Designer standalone. Use the authentication method Standalone
(No CMS).
6. Click the OK button.
The Universe Designer start-up screen appears, and an empty Universe Designer session
opens. The user name and repository name appear in the title bar.
Note: Depending on options set for Universe Designer, the Quick Design Wizard can start
automatically when you start in Universe Designer. Click Cancel to close the wizard.
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Using the Quick Design Wizard
When you start a Universe Designer session for the first time, the QuickDesign Wizardappears
by default. You can use the wizard to quickly create a universe or to familiarize yourself with
Universe Designer. However, unless your data source is a very simple model, it is not an
appropriate tool for creating a complete universe that responds to end-user reportingrequirements.
Once you are familiar with Universe Designer, you will probably decide to disable the wizard
and not use it to design universes. All the universe design, building, maintenance information,
and procedures in this training manual are structured with the assumption that you have
disabled the Quick Design Wizard.
To deactivate the Quick Design Wizard
You can prevent the wizard from appearing automatically when you create a new universe as
follows:
1. Select Tools ➤ Options . Select the General tab.
2. Clear the Show Welcome Wizard check box, and click OK.
Note: This check box is already cleared if you have cleared the Run this wizard at startup
check box from the Startup Wizard Welcome page.
Note: You can activate the Quick Design Wizard at any time by selecting the above check
boxes from the General page of the Options dialog box.
Using Universe Designer module commands
There are three ways to issue commands in Universe Designer:
• Menu options
• Toolbar buttons
• Right-click menus
Menu options
You can perform most tasks by choosing options from the menu. The Universe Designer menu
bar looks like this:
Toolbar buttons
The toolbar gives you quick access to many tasks. Universe Designer has three toolbars: the
Standard toolbar, the Editing toolbar, and the Formula Bar toolbar.
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Right-click menus
Right-click menus display on your screen when you click the right mouse button. These menus
usually give you access to options related to the task you are currently performing. For example,
if you right-click in the Universe pane, a drop-down menu for creating classes and objects is
displayed:
Universe Designer window
The Universe Designer window is made up of two segments.
• On the right-hand side is the pane in which you insert the database tables and then view
the universe structure that infers the FROM and SELECT clauses into a Select statement.
This is known as the Structure pane.
• On the left-hand side is the pane in which you create the classes and objects that users will
see when they build queries using this universe. The objects physically point to the tables
you see in the Structure pane.
This is known as the Universe pane.
Manipulating the structure view
There are three ways to manipulate the Structure pane in the Universe Designer window:
toolbar buttons, drag and drop, and by using the Options panel.
Zoom
Often it is not possible to view the entire schema at normal magnification due to its size. Zoom
in or out using the drop-down list on the toolbar to choose your percentage view for the schema.
Arrange tables
You can select this button to have Universe Designer automatically organize your tables
sequentially and horizontally.
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Note: You can undo only the last command. If you do not like the arrange tables results, choose
Undo from the Edit menu.
Drag and Drop
Different views of the universe structure can be achieved by selecting items and applying a
command using one of the following methods:• Double-clicking
• Dragging and dropping
• Right-clicking
For example:
Procedure Action
To mark a single table Click the header of the table.
To mark a join Click it.
To mark more than one table or joinCtrl-click the header of each table (or join) you
want to highlight.
To mark all tables and joins Ctrl-A.
To move a tableClick the header of the table and drag and drop
the table to the desired position.
To roll up a table
To view the columns of a table
To view the remaining columns
By default, the table header and a specified
number of its columns are shown for all tables
contained in the universe structure segment.
This view can be altered for an individual table
by double-clicking the table header.
Double-click once to roll up a table so that only
the header is shown. Double-click twice so that
only the table header and key columns are
shown. Double-click three times to return to
an unrolled view of the table.
If the view of a table does not show all thecolumns contained within that table, this is
signified by three dots at the bottom of the
table.
Click the header of the table; a scroll bar
appears on the right of the table. Alternatively,
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Procedure
To gain a partial view of the data content of
the table
Action
place the pointer on the bottom margin of the
table and a double-headed arrow appears. You
can then drag the bottom margin down to
expand the number of columns shown in the
table.
To achieve this the table header must not be
highlighted.
Right-click the table header and choose the
View Table Values option.
Right-click the column required and choose
the View Column Values option.
To view the data values for a single column
By default, data is only displayed for the first
100 rows of the table. This number can be
expanded or reduced using the Tools ➤
Options ➤ Database tab.
To view the number of rows for a table in the
database
Right-click the table header (or structure
segment background if you want the number
of rows for all tables) and then choose the
Number of Rows in Table option.
If you are front ending a large database, this
may not be advisable due to the time it takes
to process.
Saving and exporting a universe
Regularly save your universes during a work session. When you save a universe, Universe
Designer stores it as a file with a .unv extension in your local file system. This is usually a
universe folder in the BusinessObjects installation path. Any changes you have made to the
universe file are saved locally but are not propagated to the universe version in the repository
until you choose to export it.
When you export the universe, the updated version is saved on the local file system, but it is
copied to the BusinessObjects repository as well. This version is then available to end usersconnecting to the universe.
It is also made available to other universe designers who are authorized by the BusinessObjects
Administrator to access it.
Regularly save your changes to a universe locally. When you have finished updating the
universe, export the latest saved version to the repository.
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If you choose to browse to a copy of that universe file on your local file system and open itdirectly in Universe Designer, the file may not be the latest version of the universe. If you want
to make changes to a universe that has already been exported to the repository, do not open a
universe file directly using File ➤ Open menu. Instead, use File ➤ Import to ensure that you
are viewing the most recent version. Make your modifications and export your universe againto make your changes available in the repository.
Importing a universe
When you import a universe, you import the latest version of the universe from the repository.
The universe is copied to the local file system, and this file is opened in Universe Designer.
You can import one or more universes stored in a universe folder in the repository.
To import a universe
1. Select the Import command from the File menu.The Import Universe dialog box appears.
2. Select a universe folder from the drop-down list.
Note: You can also import a universe by clicking the Browse button to select the universe
you would like to import.
Note: If you want to lock the universe, double-click the universe name. A locked universe
appears with a padlock symbol. Locking a universe prevents other designers from importing
or exporting this universe. The locked universe can still be read by users and other designers.
To unlock a universe, double-click it again.
3. Click the universe name.
This is the universe that you want to import.
4. Verify the file path for the import folder in the Import Folder box.
This points to the location where the universes are exported.
5. Click OK.
Universe file names as identifiers
Do not change the universe file name after reports have been created based on that universe.If you change the file name, any report built on the universe with the old name does not point
to the universe after its name has been changed.
The universe name can be different from the .unv file name.
When you use Save As to save the universe under a new name, the new universe is not
associated in the repository. You must export the new universe to the repository to create a
version of the new universe.
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You can use the following methods to save a universe:
1. Select File ➤ Save from the menu bar.
2. Click the Save icon.
3. Press CTRL+S on the keyboard.
Do not save two different universes with the same file name. This leads to conflicts when youattempt to export these universes to the repository.
Saving a universe definition as PDF
You can also save the universe information in Adobe PDF format. This allows you to save to
a PDF file with the same attributes that are defined for printing purposes.
Note: You can view the default attributes by selecting the Tools ➤ Options menu and selecting
the Print/PDF tab. The Options dialog box will be presented in detail in a later lesson.
The attributes that you can print or save to a PDF file include:
• General information - parameters, linked universes, and the graphical table schema.
• Component lists - lists of components in the universe including objects, conditions,
hierarchies, tables, joins, and contexts.
• Component descriptions - descriptions for the objects, conditions, hierarchies, tables, joins,
and contexts in the universe.
Saving these attributes as a PDF file may be helpful for troubleshooting or maintenance purposes.
To save universe information as a PDF file
1. In Universe Designer, open the universe you want to save as PDF.
2. Select File ➤ Save As.
3. Select Portable Document Format (PDF) from the Save As type drop- down list.
4. Click Save.
Giving all users access to a universe
If you want to make a universe available to universe designers who may not have access to
your Central Management Server, you must save the universe with an unsecured connection.
To make a universe accessible to all Universe Designer users
1. Verify that the universe that you want to make available to all users does not have a secured
connection.
Secured connections are required to export universes to the repository. If a universe has a
secured connection, select or create a new personal or shared connection.
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Note: Creating connections is discussed in detail in a later lesson.
2. Select File ➤ Save As.
3. A File Save dialog box appears.
4. Select the Save For All Users check box.
5. Click OK.
Activity: Viewing a universe in Universe Designer
Objective
• Open a universe and identify universe elements in Universe Designer
Instructions
1. Open Universe Designer.
2. In Universe Designer, click File➤ Open. Browse to the eFashion.unv file found in the
default installation folder:
C:\Program Files\Business Objects\BusinessObjects Enterprise
12.0\Samples\en\UniverseSamples
Or, find the same file on the Resource CD for this course.
3. Explore the menu options, toolbar buttons, and right-click drop-down menus.
4. Select View ➤ Toolbars, and ensure that all three toolbars are selected.
5. Zoom to 125% (type directly into the field instead of using the drop-down list).
6. Click View ➤ Arrange Tables to automatically organize tables.
7. Click View ➤ List Mode to list all Tables, Joins, and Contexts.
8. Click the Article_Color_Lookup table in the Tables list and to see it highlighted in the
structure below.
9. Select Tools ➤ Options and click on the Graphics menu tab.
10. Select the Show row count check box, and click OK.
11. Right-click the Article_Color_Lookup table to view the number of rows in the table (Refresh
row count for all tables).
12. Right-click the Article_Color_Lookup table to view a sample of the table values.
13. Open the Product class to view the objects it contains.
14. Double-click the Color object (notice the name, description, and select fields).
15. Select Parameters on the File menu and change the universe long name to New eFashion.
16. Close the universe.
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The Universe Development Cycle
Universe development is a cyclical process that includes planning, designing, building,
distribution, and maintenance phases. Use Universe Designer to design and build a universe.
However, the usability of any universe is directly related to how successfully the other phases
in the development cycle interact with each other.After completing this unit, you will be able to:
• Use the Universe Development Cycle
The Universe Development Cycle process
This unit presents an overview of a universe designing methodology that you can use to plan
and implement a universe development project.
The diagram below outlines the major phases in a typical Universe Development Cycle:
The analysis of user requirements and design are the most important stages in the process.
Users must be heavily involved in the development process if the universe is going to fulfill
their needs both with the business language used to name objects and the data that can be
accessed.
Implementation will be successful if the first three stages are carried out properly. It is advisable
to spend 80% of the time allocated to the development of a universe on the first three stages:
• preparing
• analyzing
• planning
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If you have spent the appropriate amount of time in laying the foundation for your universe,
the remaining 20% of the time spent actually using Universe Designer to build your universe
will be much more productive.
Preparation phase
During the preparation phase, the scope of a BusinessObjects universe is defined. The production
and development architectures are identified and reviewed. Project teams are assembled and
the initial task plan is defined.
Identify universe scope
The definition and communication of project scope eliminates risk associated with deploying
the universe to pilot users during the Implementation phase. The scope is defined in terms of
intended functionality of the universe. Identification of target users of the universe also helpscreate a shared understanding of project objectives.
Key managers should be involved in the scoping process. Once formulated, the objectives of
the project are communicated to everyone involved, directly or indirectly.
Build a project team
In designating the team members, individuals must be chosen to fill the following roles. One
person may fill multiple roles.Role Task
Sponsor
Usually the individual funding the project. The project
sponsor makes any final decisions regarding scope or
unresolvable issues.
Project LeaderThe project leader develops the project plan, assigns
resources, tracks, and reports on progress.
AnalystIndividual who gathers requirements in the form of
candidate objects.
Data Expert An individual familiar with the data structures.
Key UserProvides ongoing “business” perspective for
developers.
Pilot UsersUsers who will work with the universe during the
universe build and development phase.
QA Reviewer
An individual with BusinessObjects experience who
is not part of the development process will perform a
technical review of the final product.
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In most cases, a single person will be responsible for the bulk of the work, filling the roles of
Analyst, BusinessObjects Administrator, and Data Expert.
In designing and building the universe, this person will maintain a relationship with the Key
User, who should also be one of the Pilot Users.
This developer usually reports to a Manager or IS Director, who serves as Project Leader. The
Leader maintains a close relationship with the Sponsor.
Other roles that will be impacted by the project include the Database Administrator, the System
Administrator, and the Data Administrator.
Adopt standards
Standards for the components of a BusinessObjects universe will help to guarantee consistency
and stability in the final product. During preparation, the team adopts a set of standards for
BusinessObjects components. Standards can be specified for:• Universe names
• Object definition guidelines
• Names for objects
• Class names
• Alias names
• Help text
The standards may be revised during the course of the first universe development project as
the team becomes more familiar with the product.
Conduct a meeting
Communicate the preparation phase strategy in a meeting. This is your opportunity to gather
all interested parties (developers, users, the sponsor) to ensure that everyone understands the
scope of the endeavor.
You can use this meeting to demonstrate BusinessObjects products and to help set expectations
of the user community.
Analysis phase
The primary objective of analysis activities is to identify user requirements for the ad hoc query
environment.
These requirements are captured in the form of candidate classes and objects.
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Identify candidate objects
There are many places to look for candidate objects. The best way to identify them is by talking
to the end users. When interviewing end users, the type of questions to ask are: “What type of
information do you need to do your job?”, “How do you know you are doing well?”, “How
does your boss know you are performing well?”, or “What kind of information do others ask
you for?”
As users answer these questions, document their answers in terms of class and object
requirements. For example, if a user states, “We require to retrieve information on employees
by department and hire date” you have identified a potential class (“information about
employees”) and an object or two (“department” and “hire date”). When you identify a potential
class, probe for objects. For example, “What kind of information about Employees do they
want?”
Candidate classes and objects can also be identified by reviewing existing reports.
Document your classes and objects. For example:
Type
Class
Name
Customer
Description
Information on a customer, including location,
credit ratings, and shipping preferences.
Source
Interview #1
Object
(Measure)
Total
Revenue
This object can be combined with date ranges,
customers, and/or products to provide
meaningful measures.
Interview #3, #4
You should also try to document the qualification of objects (dimension/detail/ measure) andany potentially identified hierarchies.
Relational modeling versus multi-dimensional modeling
The questions asked during BusinessObjects interviews are similar to those asked in the
development of OLTP applications. What is done with the answers is very different.
When conducting Analysis for an OLTP application, analysts document data requirements in
entity relationship diagrams. Rules of normalization are applied to the items that users request,
breaking them down to an atomic level, or eliminating calculated objects. These activities
optimize the data for storage in a relational database.
By contrast, requirements for an ad hoc query environment should be expressed in terms that
are optimized for retrieval of the information.
A successful BusinessObjects universe presents information to a business person using user
specific business terminology. The developer must “unlearn” analysis techniques used for the
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development of application systems. User requirements must be taken at face value, remaining
in business terms.
Basic rules of thumb:
• Do not normalize
• Do not eliminate objects that can be derived from other objects
• Do not try to figure out where this data can be found in the database
For example: in an interview, a user states “I need to look at annual sales figures by region.”
Document this at face value; identify the requirements, but do not attempt to transform them
in a manner appropriate for storage in a relational database. You can identify three candidate
objects: “Year of Sale,” “Sales Amount,” and “Region”. Do not eliminate “Year of Sale” because
you have already documented a “Date of Sale” object. Do not reduce “Sales” to the components
from which it is calculated (perhaps “quantity” multiplied by “price”). Instead of normalizing
object requirements, identify how they will support on-line analysis by end users.
Identifying candidate objects as dimensions, details or measures will facilitate end user reporting
and analysis flexibility. You can also plan for scope of analysis (drill-down and drill-up options)
by identifying dimensional hierarchies.
Once you have gathered and documented requirements in the form of candidate objects, you
are ready to begin to plan the BusinessObjects universe requirements.
Planning phase
The planning phase will be used to identify a project strategy and determine resource
requirements.
Create a project plan
The project plan is the key to timely implementation. For each task, the plan should assign
responsibility and target dates. Creation of the plan and the tracking of progress against the
plan are the primary responsibilities of the project leader.
Plan the BusinessObjects architecture
Technical architecture requirements may have been looked at in general in the preparation
phase. A review of the technical architecture should take place during the planning phase of
the project. Items to review include:
Development
environmentIdentify resources required to support a universe development
environment.
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Production
environment Identify resources required for a universe production environment.
Computers Review required computing resources for developer and user workstations.
Connectivity
Ensure infrastructure is in place to support connectivity between users/developers
and the repository and data stores, including appropriate middle-ware to support
communication between clients and servers.
ConfigurationIdentify planned configuration for client software. Ensure appropriate resources are
available.
Security Initiate a first look at security requirements.
Support plan Develop support policy for when the universe goes into production.
Change management
plan
Identify procedures for the request, review, approval, and implementation of changes
to the universe when in production.
Training plan Plan for a user training program.
Implementation phase
The implementation phase can be split up into two stages:
1. Designing the schema
2. Building the universe
Implementation phase 1: schema design
The first task during schema design is to determine and document the data source for each
candidate object. If requirements were gathered in a tabular format, add a column to the table
where you can indicate the SQL fragment and source tables that will be used to retrieve the
object.
Type
Class
Name
Customer
SQL fragment Description
Information on a customer,
including location, credit ratings,and shipping preferences.
Source
Interview
#1
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Type Name SQL fragment Description Source
Object
(Measure)
Total
Revenue
SQL:
sum(order_lines.quantity*
products.price)
Source Tables: Order_Lines,Products
This object can be combined with
date ranges, customers, and/or
products to provide meaningful
measures.
Interview
#3,4
Any candidate classes that were captured as general requirements without specific objects
must be expanded now. For example, suppose there was a candidate class called “Customer”
and the specific objects within this class were not identified. During the schema design stage,
the developer must “fill out” this class. The developer might fill it out based on knowledge of
the business by including all columns from one or more tables, or the developer might go back
to users for more detail.
There are several ways that objects can be mapped to enterprise data. Simple objects map back
to a single column in the database. An example would be “Customer First Name,” which mapsback to the First_Name column in the Customers table. Complex objects make use of SQL to
manipulate data that comes from one or more columns. For example, a Customer Full Name
object might connect the First_Name and Last_Name columns from the Customers table.
Aggregate objects involve SQL GROUP functions. Counts, sums, and averages are all aggregate
objects. The Total Revenue object is an aggregate object; it uses the SQL SUM function.
Plan for object qualifications and drill-down functionality
As you design the universe, you must complete the process you began during analysis. Identify
each object as a measure, a dimension or a detail. For each detail object, identify the dimension
it is associated with.
Similarly, you need to identify hierarchies within your dimensions. These hierarchies will later
enable users to “drill-down” and “drill-up”.
Design a table diagram
Now that the objects are mapped back to data sources, the developer reviews all the objects
and produces a table-diagram of the database objects that will support the universe. Joins
between the tables are then added to the diagram. The table diagram is a valuable tool for
resolving loops and SQL traps in the model. It will also become an important reference for
developers.
Note: This diagram design is usually done on paper, however this can be created directly in
the BusinessObjects Universe Designer software.
Tip: If you find that you have documented a vast amount of classes and objects based on user
requirements you may consider designing schemas that can be used to build:
1. Multiple universes which cater to a specific function within the business, reducing the
complexity and amount of classes and objects.
2. Multiple universes specific to a business function, as this will prevent users from creating
queries that can span the spectrum of the business.
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Revise objects and table diagram
Once loops and SQL traps are resolved, the design of some objects will require modification.
Any object based on a table that was replaced by an alias must be updated. Consult your table
of objects created in the preparation phase for such objects.
Note: If you are already using Universe Designer for the schema design you can view a table‟sassociated objects to identify which objects require changes.
Some objects may be applicable in the context of more than one of the aliases; these objects will
be split into multiple objects. Make sure that object names make it clear what each one represents.
Review join strategy
Where table relationships are optional, the type of join to use must be chosen carefully. The
use of standard (or inner) versus outer joins will impact the results of user queries. Using the
wrong type of join may provide results that are not what users expect.
In SQL, a standard join between two tables will return only rows where both tables meet the
join criteria. If one of the tables has no corresponding row in the second table, its data will notbe returned.
An outer join tells the database processing the SQL query to substitute a “null” row if one of
the joined tables has no corresponding row in the other table. With an outer join, information
in one table that does not have corresponding data in the second table is returned with “blanks”
in columns from the second table.
The developer must review join possibilities with a key user wherever optional relationships
exist. The chosen solution should produce results that users are most likely to expect.
Identify allowable object usage
The developer may identify certain objects that should not be used in qualifications by endusers. Certain complex objects may not be usable in qualifications for technical reasons, or there
may be performance considerations.
Determine security approach
Security requirements must also be addressed during the Implementation phase. Solutions to
security requirements may involve complex object definition, reliance on database-level security,
use of BusinessObjects access levels (public, private, controlled), restriction sets or the
development of multiple universes. Chosen solutions may impact the database administrator
and developers.
Implementation phase 2: building the universe
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Once the schema design stage is complete, the development team is ready to begin using the
BusinessObjects Universe Designer software to build the universe.
Tip: Remember that it is better to have several smaller less complex universes than one large
universe. This will reduce maintenance, avoid potential security impacts and will improve
overall usability.
Pilot users then begin to use the universe. They provide feedback to developers who refine the
universe until build is completed.
Build the universe
The BusinessObjects Universe Designer software is used to actually build the universe. The
developer must:
• Name the universe.
• Set up the universe parameters and connect to the relevant data source.
• Create aliases and contexts as identified in the schema design.
• Create joins as identified in the schema design.
• Create classes, subclasses and objects as identified in the schema design.
• Define objects as dimensions, details, or measures.
• Define hierarchies.
• Define lists of values and help text.
• Define conditions and implement user security, where applicable.
Supply prebuilt queries and reports
During the build stage, the team may identify certain queries and reports that will be of value
to the entire enterprise. Created at anytime throughout the build, these queries and reports are
re-checked after the universe is finalized to ensure that objects used have not been renamed or
removed. They are then exported to the repository so that they are available to all users.
Testing phase
The pilot testing and refinement phase follows universe design implementation.
Once an initial universe is built, it is deployed to the pilot users. These users work with the
universe and provide feedback to the developers.
Types of feedback include:• Better names for classes and objects.
• Objects not in the universe that should be added.
• Objects that can be removed.
• Better ways to organize objects (for example, move an object from one class to another,
reclassifying a dimension as a detail, and so on).
• Objects or queries that do not behave as expected.
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Based on this feedback, the universe is modified. The modified universe is made available to
the pilot users for further evaluation. The testing phase can also address potential performance
issues. As a developer you can look at implementing performance enhancements to the universe.
Quality assurance
After the build is finalized, the universe is reviewed for quality assurance.An independent reviewer makes the following checks:
• Corporate standards for universe, object, class, and alias naming are followed.
• Objects are only defined with tables that are referenced in the select text or Where condition.
• Objects return results without syntactic error.
• Objects return intended business results.
• Objects are correctly classified as dimensions, details or measures.
• Defined hierarchies make sense.
• Objects have help text.
• Aliases are used appropriately.
• Join syntax and foreign keys are accurate.• Standard and outer joins are used appropriately.
These checks are best made by an individual who was not part of the development of the
universe, guaranteeing an objective perspective. Any issues that are identified are reported to
the developers for correction and review.
Deployment phase
The universe has been built, and has passed all quality assurance checks. It is now ready for
deployment.
The final deployment of the universe cannot begin until any architectural issues identified
during planning phase have been addressed. These issues include the establishment of user
connectivity, planning the installation configuration, preparation of a training program, and
identification of support and change management processes.
Architecture
Architectural considerations identified during the planning phase are reviewed. Any issues
that have not been resolved will delay the deployment phase.
Production environment
The production environment has been set up in accordance with the architecture and security
plans identified during preparation and planning. The universe is modified to access data from
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production systems, rather than from development systems and is exported to the production
repository.
Granting user access
Any database accounts that will be required for BusinessObjects users should be created by
the database administrator. These accounts should be given appropriate access privileges to
the data objects used by the universe.
Users are also added to the Central Management System (CMS) and granted access to the
universe.
Conduct training
The release of the BusinessObjects universe to production users is coordinated with system
and database administrators as appropriate. The user training program is executed in conjunction
with the roll-out of the universe. Without appropriate training, users will not derive benefits
from BusinessObjects, regardless of the quality of the universe.
Updating/maintenance