Building cockpits and

dashboards: Shortcuts,
design best practices, and
guidelines to ensure you pick
the right SAP NetWeaver BI
tool for the job

Dr. Bjarne Berg

2008 Wellesley Information Services. All rights reserved.

What Well Cover

Background, terminology, and examples

Tool options
What makes a good cockpit?
Which tool is right for me?
Wrap-up

1
 Background and Terminology
Dashboard Scorecard Cockpits
Purpose Displays performance Displays progress Displays status and events
Usage Performance monitoring Performance management Performance management
Updates Real-time feeds Monthly snapshots Daily snapshots
Data Events Summaries Summaries and events
Measures Metrics KPIs Metrics & KPIs
Context Exceptions/alerts Targets and thresholds Trends
Source Linked to systems Linked to plans Linked to BI systems
Sources: Wayne Eckerson, 2005;
Bjarne Berg 2006
2008

Many companies and people confuse the concepts of dashboards,

scorecards, and cockpits. They vary in terms of purpose, usage,
source, data, etc.

Most BI systems fall in to the cockpits category

These are typical parameters, and some may be slightly different

(e.g., some metrics in a cockpit may only be updated monthly).
However, such deviations should be exceptions. 2
 Typical Components of a Cockpit: SEM Example

Higher-
level
navigation
between
views

External
data

Graphical
displays
Comparative/ Logical grouping of
benchmarking similar information 3
SEM Management Cockpit

Customized navigation
menus and buttons

Illustrate best
practices, benchmarks,
or target performance

4
Navigations Linked to Multiple Views
Central navigation can
change multiple views

Link more
documentation

Make multiple
measures available

Source: SAP AG, 2005

5
What Well Cover

Background, terminology, and examples

Tool options
What makes a good cockpit?
Which tool is right for me?
Wrap-up

6
Tool Options

SEM CPM
Web Application Designer (Web AD)
SAP NetWeaver Visual Composer
Publishing to the portal
Custom cockpits (BI Java SDK)
Third-party cockpits

7
 Strategy Management and Performance Measurement CPM

The presentation layer in SAP

Management cockpits has
four layers:

Cockpit High-level overview (consists of walls)

Wall A logical grouping of measures
Logical view The display level of the cockpit; consists of frames
Frame Lowest level of individual measure display

These presentation layer objects are already Web-

enabled and integrated with the Portal. They also
provide built-in drill-downs and navigation, based
on how you constructed your measures.
8
 What is SEM CPM?
The Corporate Performance Monitor (SEM-CPM) is part of the Strategic
Enterprise Management BI tool suite. It consists of the Performance
Measurement (PM) area and the Strategy management area (SM).

The Performance Management area consists of four distinct areas:

1. Management Cockpit
2. Measure Builder
3. Benchmarking
4. Delivery of business content

The Strategy Management consists also of four areas

1. Balanced Scorecard
Measure Value Driver Tree

Strategy
2. Strategy modeling
3. Value Driver Tree Objective
Risk

4. Risk Management Initiative

9
Source: J. Lombard, 2006
 SEM CPM Walls
Walls are the highest level of the SEM-CPM Cockpit. Research has
shown that more than 7 walls are hard to read and comprehend. Ideal
numbers are 3, 5 or 7.

Major consideration!!

Humans have a hard

time remembering,
organizing, and retain
information that is
asymmetrical.

This is true for

hearing, seeing,
tasting, feeling and
smelling.
Read more about the cognitive revolution and the article that
started it all: Newell and Simon The magic number 7 (1956) 10
 Rules for Graphs and Real Estate
Try to avoid empty spaces, but dont force unrelated measures
into the cockpit it confuses users

Dont use as many types of graphs as possible,

and never mix more than 3 types of graphs. If you
use more, users have to interpret the pictures as well as the data.

Missing data
points add
irritation

11
 SEM-CPM Rules for Graphs and Real Estate (cont.)

There is nothing wrong with using the same type of graphs

on a cockpit (e.g., tachometers or line charts). Users adapt
quickly and can absorb the information faster.

12
Tool Options

SEM CPM
Web Application Designer (Web AD)
SAP NetWeaver Visual Composer
Publishing to the portal
Custom cockpits (BI Java SDK)
Third-party cockpits

13
Cockpits with Web AD 3.x and SAP NetWeaver 7.0

Web Application Designer can create Web-based

cockpits using BW query data

14
 Cockpits with SAP NetWeaver 7.0 Web AD
New items include improved tab strip container in SAP NetWeaver 7.0
for designing BI Web applications

Reduces the
amount of
custom
coding
required with
the help of
Command
wizards, Auto
complete, and
support for
HTML tags

15
SAP NetWeaver 7.0 Web AD New Features
Web Items: Tab Pages, Button, Script Item (SAP NetWeaver 7.0
Support Package Stack 7)
Drag and drop using Analysis item
New chart types (heat map, Gantt, milestone trend analysis)
Export BI Web applications in PDF format
Command Wizard for generating Web
API commands
Integration with SAP NetWeaver 7.0 BEx Report Designer for
formatted reports

16
 BI Web API Commands

You can use BI Web API commands for carrying out

certain actions in BI Web Applications
Export to Excel, PDF, etc.
OLAP functions: Apply Filter values, remove drill downs
Command Wizards guide you through the steps for
creating a BI Web API command
Commands appear together
for easy access
Data Provider
Web Items
Web Templates
Web cockpits developed by Web AD in SAP
NetWeaver 7.0 can be interactive, include
many data sources, and be very flexible 17
Command Wizard and JavaScript

Use Command Wizard for generating JavaScript code for the

Script Item to use in custom cockpit applications

This is a great feature for

building custom features into
your cockpits based on
standard JavaScript 18
 More New Cockpit Options

Personalize BI query variables

Bookmark the navigational state of the BI Web application
Perform multidimensional analysis of BI query data
Allow users to create exceptions and conditions for BI query data

These features make it

easier to customize the
dataset that queries
return to the Web
cockpit

19
 Web AD Cockpits in SAP Enterprise Portal
Directly publish BI Web cockpits to Portal Content Catalog using the
Publish option from Web AD

Portal and BI system connection should

be set up per SAP Note 917950 20
 Broadcast Cockpit Views Using Web AD

In SAP NetWeaver 7.0, use Information Broadcaster to broadcast BI

Web applications (e.g., cockpit views) to Enterprise Portal KM folders
and via email in various formats (PDF, MHTML, HTML)
Information Broadcaster/Reporting Agent (SAP BW 3.x) can
precalculate BI Web applications to enhance performance

21
Tool Options

SEM CPM
Web Application Designer (Web AD)
SAP NetWeaver Visual Composer
Publishing to the portal
Custom cockpits (BI Java SDK)
Third-party cockpits

22
Visual Composer
A Visual Composer is a tool to visualize the data. It is a browser-based
modeling and design tool for rapid application development & prototyping
in a code-free development environment.

23
 Visual Composer is Easy for Power Users to Learn
Visual Composer is a power user tool that is simple to learn for
someone with a little bit of technical background (i.e. controllers,
report writers, analysts).
No coding required to
create great-looking
Web-based cockpits

Take advantage of prebuilt

analytic business packages
24
Source: SAP
Visual Composer for Complex cockpits
Modeling of BI applications using the BI kit of the Visual
Composer allows business users to create analytical content
for SAP portal. It offers the integration with BI InfoProviders,
views, BEx web applications, PDF and more via WEB API as
access to
other data
sources such
as OLAP and
relational data
sources) via
Java
connectors

25
Image source: Cubeserv
 SAP NetWeaver Visual Composer DataProviders

You can use BI queries and views as DataProviders for SAP

NetWeaver Visual Composer models
You also can use BI query functionalities for exceptions and
variables along with SAP NetWeaver Visual Composer
models

SAP NetWeaver
Visual Composer
allows access to BI
history, favorites,
and roles

26
 Visual Composer Data Methods

Can integrate data from multiple data sources, including

SAP and non-SAP systems, into one model
Different options available for data access include:
BI Extension Kit
Remote Function Call (RFC)
Web services
BI Extension Kit allows access
to the following DataSources
SAP NetWeaver 2004 BI
(BW 3.5 Support Package 14)
SAP NetWeaver BI 7.0
JDBC
XMLA

27
 Details about Visual Composer Cockpits
Delivered as part of Enterprise Portal in SAP NetWeaver BI 7.0 Usage
Type (SPS8 and higher)
Different options available for rendering Visual Composer output
Flash
Web Dynpro (HTML)
Flash provides high-end visualization of Visual Composer models

Since a cockpit may have

many different DataSources
(queries), it can take quite
some time to execute them
if the memory cache is not
used consistently
28
The future of Visual Composer

Source: SAP, July 2008

SAP July, 2008: Composition Environment including

Visual Composer continues to be the go-to product for
creating composite applications.

29
Tool Options

SEM CPM
Web Application Designer (Web AD)
SAP NetWeaver Visual Composer
Publishing to the portal
Custom cockpits (BI Java SDK)
Third-party cockpits

30
 Web Cockpit in the Portal

Integrate queries and

Web applications into the
portal through
publishing, broadcasting,
or Web calls
Publishing
The portal can either
receive designed pages
passively or actively
create communities, Web
pages, collaboration
rooms, or cockpits
Broadcasting 31
 Web Cockpit in the Portal (cont.)

The SEM-CPM cockpits

are already part of the
portal, so you can access
them there
iViews can build custom
portal cockpits with
iViews from many data
sources (Web AD, BW,
SEM, SAP R/3, Web) and
in many formats (graphs,
pictures, figures, tables)
iViews can also be
interactive 32
 SAP NetWeaver 7.0 Visual Composer Portal Publishing

SAP NetWeaver Visual

Composer Design time
deploys Visual
Composer models
directly as iViews to
Portal Content Catalog

You can then use Visual

Composer iViews in
portal pages, roles, etc.

33
 Building a Web Cockpit in the Portal

The trick in developing custom Web

cockpits in the portal is to manage
the real estate carefully

Most pure iView-based cockpits are

cluttered and hard to read and
navigate

1. Start with logical groupings of 3. Share the same navigation menus

items (sales, finance, e.g.) and tabs as the portal

2. Limit colors to complementary 4. Avoid running text, flashes,

formats (we will look at these animations, layering and scrolling
later) text (this is an absolute no-no)
34
Tool Options

SEM CPM
Web Application Designer (Web AD)
SAP NetWeaver Visual Composer
Publishing to the portal
Custom cockpits (BI Java SDK)
Third-party cockpits

35
 BI Java SDK-Based Cockpits

BI Java SDK can be used for custom applications based on SAP BI

and non-SAP data.
BI Java SDK provides access to relational and OLAP data sources
using JDBC, XMLA, ODBO etc.
Access to 200+ data sources using the JDBC drivers.

Java programmers will

recognize the
Software Development
Kit (SDK) main
libraries such as the
abstract windowing
toolkit (AWT) and the
GUI-oriented Swing
object library as well
36
Source: SAP AG, 2005
 BI Java SDK-Based Cockpits (cont.)
SAP NetWeaver Developer Studio can develop BI Java SDK-based
applications
Can use along with SAP Java Web Dynpro

Tip
Interested
developers should
familiarize
themselves with
SAP NetWeaver
Developer Studio
37
Tool Options

SEM CPM
Web Application Designer (Web AD)
SAP NetWeaver Visual Composer
Publishing to the portal
Custom cockpits (BI Java SDK)
Third-party cockpits

38
Third-Party Cockpits

Some best-of-breed cockpit tools incorporate SAP BI as part

of a Web item provider, or more commonly through BW
queries fed by BAPIs or OLE DB for OLAP (ODBO) in BW
Some even provide separate Multidimensional Online
Analytical Processing (MOLAP) solutions tightly connected to
SAP BW
Hint: reading RS_ tables inside BW
Cognos

Microsoft 39
Third-Party Cockpits (cont.)

Other BI and cockpit companies,

such as Corda, are actively
working on creating cockpit
tools for SAP NetWeaver BI

40
What Well Cover

Background, terminology, and examples

Tool options
What makes a good cockpit?
Which tool is right for me?
Wrap-up

41
 War Rooms and External Access

1. Shared cockpits are most

useful

2. External access to information is more common.

Vendors and customers love it!

3. You can build war rooms for collaborative

decision making using cockpits

4. Cockpits require a true BI infrastructure.

It is tempting to jump straight to the
cockpit development, but it is almost
Note
impossible without a well-architected
BW system to support it.
42
 A Good Cockpit Is Simple
The majority of usage of cockpits is in user segments 1 and 5.
You should use BI queries and OLAP for the other segments.

Segment 1: Trackers - 37% Segment 4: Info Gatherers - 4%

Tracking - Characterized by low duration Concentrated in information areas.
overall. Rarely reach transaction areas.

Segment 2: Reservers - 3% Segment 5: Single-clickers - 32%

Low duration per page view. Visit homepage only.

Segment 3: Uncommitted - 10% Segment 6: Wanderers - 15%

Characterized by long duration. Very few, very random pages.
Complex decisions. Few hits, but long duration per page
view. Example source: Dr. Paul Strupp, Sun Microsystems

The average manager navigates in no more than 7 dimensions and only 2 levels deep
(49 views). Therefore, the majority of users of cockpits need a few, simple, but highly
Note informative, views. The other user community is best served by OLAP queries. 43
The Need for Speed

When cockpits bring together data from many sources

during runtime, it can be slow and cumbersome
This is because when your system accesses the portal cockpit,
it may have to execute supporting cockpit queries

Solution: You can present static images (i.e., static HTML

from BEx Broadcaster into a portal iView) or you can
cache queries results by using BEx Broadcaster in SAP
NetWeaver 7.0

44
 The Need for Speed (cont.)

SAP NetWeaver 7.0 allows you to fill the resident memory of

your server with pre-run results (cache). This provides
faster response to the users, since the query result sets are
accessed from memory instead of re-executed on the
database side.
SAP BW 3.5

SAP NetWeaver 7.0

IMPORTANT: Old Reporting Agent scenarios still run in

SAP NetWeaver 7.0. However, Reporting Agent will not be
developed further and is removed from SAP NetWeaver
7.0 Workbench. In SAP NetWeaver BI 7.0 you can only
reach it by transaction code REPORTING_AGENT 45
 The Need for Speed - BI Accelerator
SAP Any
BW tool

The SAP BI
Accelerator makes
query response time
50-10,000 faster.

You use process

chains to maintain
the HPA engine after
each data load

HP, Sun and IBM have standard solutions ranging

from $32K to $250K+ that can be installed and
Breaking news: 32 Gb Blades are
tested in as little as 2-4 weeks (+ SAP license fees)
now certified by SAP (July 2008) 46
What Well Cover

Background, terminology, and examples

Tool options
What makes a good cockpit?
Which tool is right for me?
Wrap-up

47
 What SAP Tool Should I Use?

SAP Net- SAP

Weaver NetWeaver SAP Third-
BW 3.x 2004s Visual SEM- party Java SDK Portal
Web AD Web AD Composer CPM cockpits tools iViews

Multidimensional Analysis (full) J J - - - - J

Portal integration J J J J J - J
Information Broadcaster J J - - - - -
Formatted reporting - J - - - - -
Graphical options (delivered) - J J J J - J
Automatic code generation - J J - - - -
SAP integration J J J J J J J
Direct support for non-BW data - - J - J - J
Simplicity to use and learn - - J - - - J
There are many options and sometimes the choice is based on
what you are familiar with and whether you enjoy using new tools 48
New Tools Roadmap

Source SAP AG, June 2008

49
 BOBJ capabilities Dashboards and Reports
Dashboards can be built using
Xcelsius.
Xcelsius+ will be launched in 2009,
and will be the flagship product for
data visualization & dashboards
BEx Web Application Designer will
not be enhanced further beyond
Release NW 7.1 in 2008.

Crystal Reports for pixel formatted

reports has been available with SAP
BI/BW since 2002. This tool can be
integrated into your tool portfolio using
existing SAP NetWeaver BI queries

(NOTE: Crystal & Crystal Light will be the core tools for
formatted reports starting 2010)
Source SAP AG, 50
June 2008
What Well Cover

Background, terminology, and examples

Tool options
What makes a good cockpit?
Which tool is right for me?
Wrap-up

51
Resources

COMERIT (Presentations, Articles and Accellerators)

http://csc-studentWeb.lrc.edu/swp/Berg/BB_index_main.htm

SAP Online Help BW and EP Integration

http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nw04/helpdata/en/a3/7b583c2439e66fe1
0000000a114084/content.htm

SDN BW How to Guides - How to integrate Visual Composer

Applications and BEx Web Templates
https://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/servlet/prt/portal/prtroot/docs/library/uui
d/ad182ac7-0a01-0010-4fb8-8a4d217b19c1

BW Expert (www.BWExpertOnline.com)*
Create Unparalleled Analytical Applications with SAP NetWeaver BI,
Visual Composer, and Macromedia Flex by Moya Watson and Judy
Kestecher, SAP Labs, January 2006 issue
* Requires access to credentials to view full article text

52
7 Key Points to Take Home

There are many ways to build Web cockpits and SAP has
tools for them all
Look at in-house Web skills before you decide on
the tool
SAP Performance Management is a great tool for those
with limited Web skills, but requires consistency in
performance measures (roll-ups) and structured
navigation
SAP NetWeaver Visual Composer is great for complex
graphing
Web AD is the tool of choice by experienced Web
programmers who want total design freedom
53
 7 Key Points to Take Home

Third-party tools for Web cockpits are emerging and some

are quite advanced (Cognos, e.g.)

While all these tools gives you a great deal of flexibility, it is

the use of the real estate, colors, graphs, and consistency
that is going to determine if your cockpit is successful:

Spend serious time designing instead of coding!

54
Your Turn!

How to contact me:

Dr. Bjarne Berg
bberg@comerit.net