Data Analyzer Getting

Started

Informatica® PowerCenter®
(Version 8.6)
Informatica PowerCenter Data Analyzer Getting Started
Version 8.6
June 2008
Copyright © 2001-2008 Informatica Corporation. All rights reserved. Printed in the USA.
This software and documentation contain proprietary information of Informatica Corporation and are provided under a license agreement containing restrictions on use and disclosure and are also
protected by copyright law. Reverse engineering of the software is prohibited. No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, by any means (electronic, photocopying,
recording or otherwise) without prior consent of Informatica Corporation. This Software may be protected by U.S. and/or international Patents and other Patents Pending.

Use, duplication, or disclosure of the Software by the U.S. Government is subject to the restrictions set forth in the applicable software license agreement and as provided in DFARS 227.7202-1(a) and
227.7702-3(a) (1995), DFARS 252.227-7013(c)(1)(ii) (OCT 1988), FAR 12.212(a) (1995), FAR 52.227-19, or FAR 52.227-14 (ALT III), as applicable.

The information in this product or documentation is subject to change without notice. If you find any problems in this product or documentation, please report them to us in writing.
Informatica, PowerCenter, PowerCenterRT, PowerCenter Connect, PowerCenter Data Analyzer, PowerExchange, PowerMart, Metadata Manager, Informatica Data Quality, Informatica Data Explorer,
Informatica Complex Data Exchange and Informatica On Demand Data Replicator are trademarks or registered trademarks of Informatica Corporation in the United States and in jurisdictions
throughout the world. All other company and product names may be trade names or trademarks of their respective owners.

Portions of this software and/or documentation are subject to copyright held by third parties, including without limitation: Copyright DataDirect Technologies. All rights reserved. Copyright © Sun
Microsystems. All rights reserved. Copyright © Aandacht c.v. All rights reserved. Copyright 2007 Isomorphic Software. All rights reserved.

This product includes software developed by the Apache Software Foundation (http://www.apache.org/) and other software which is licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"). You
may obtain a copy of the License at http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0. Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software distributed under the License is distributed on an
"AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations under the
License.

This product includes software which was developed by Mozilla (http://www.mozilla.org/), software copyright The JBoss Group, LLC, all rights reserved; software copyright, Red Hat Middleware, LLC,
all rights reserved; software copyright © 1999-2006 by Bruno Lowagie and Paulo Soares and other software which is licensed under the GNU Lesser General Public License Agreement, which may be
found at http://www.gnu.org/licenses/lgpl.html. The materials are provided free of charge by Informatica, “as-is”, without warranty of any kind, either express or implied, including but not limited to the
implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose.

This product includes software copyright (C) 1996-2006 Per Bothner. All rights reserved. Your right to use such materials is set forth in the license which may be found at http://www.gnu.org/software/
kawa/Software-License.html.

This product includes software licensed under the terms at http://www.bosrup.com/web/overlib/?License.

This product includes software developed by the Indiana University Extreme! Lab. For further information please visit http://www.extreme.indiana.edu/.

This product includes software licensed under the Academic Free License (http://www.opensource.org/licenses/afl-3.0.php).
This Software is protected by Patents including US Patents Numbers 6,640,226; 6,789,096; 6,820,077; and 6,823,373 and other Patents Pending.

DISCLAIMER: Informatica Corporation provides this documentation “as is” without warranty of any kind, either express or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of non-
infringement, merchantability, or use for a particular purpose. Informatica Corporation does not warrant that this software or documentation is error free. The information provided in this software or
documentation may include technical inaccuracies or typographical errors. The information in this software and documentation is subject to change at any time without notice.

Part Number: DA-GES-86000-0001

Table of Contents
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v
Informatica Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v
Informatica Customer Portal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v
Informatica Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v
Informatica Web Site . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v
Informatica Knowledge Base . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v
Informatica Global Customer Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi

Chapter 1: Tutorial Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Before You Begin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Setting Up the Sample Data Warehouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Using the Sample Data Analyzer Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Logging In . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Chapter 2: Tutorial Lesson 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Creating a Data Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Creating a Data Connector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Option 1. Creating a Tutorial Data Connector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Option 2. Adding the Tutorial Data Source to a Data Connector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Chapter 3: Tutorial Lesson 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Adding Table Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Defining Dimension Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Setting Up a Time Dimension Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Defining a Time Dimension Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Adding the Time Dimension to a Data Connector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Defining a Fact Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Creating a Drill Path . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Creating a Schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Testing a Schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Chapter 4: Tutorial Lesson 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Creating a Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Running a Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Modifying a Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Changing Chart Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Sorting Report Columns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Altering Filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Drilling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Creating Custom Metrics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Creating an Analytic Workflow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

iii
 Using an Analytic Workflow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Highlighting Metric Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Chapter 5: Tutorial Lesson 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Saving a Report as a Cached Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Creating an Alert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Viewing Report Alerts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Subscribing to a Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Chapter 6: Tutorial Lesson 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Creating a Report with Time Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Editing Time Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Chapter 7: Tutorial Lesson 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Creating an Indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Creating a Dashboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Adding Comments for a Dashboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

iv Table of Contents
Preface
Data Analyzer Getting Started contains tutorials to demonstrate the basic steps for defining tables, creating and
running reports, and creating schedules and alerts. It also contains tutorials to create indicators and dashboards.

Informatica Resources
Informatica Customer Portal
As an Informatica customer, you can access the Informatica Customer Portal site at
http://my.informatica.com. The site contains product information, user group information, newsletters, access
to the Informatica customer support case management system (ATLAS), the Informatica Knowledge Base,
Informatica Documentation Center, and access to the Informatica user community.

Informatica Documentation
The Informatica Documentation team takes every effort to create accurate, usable documentation. If you have
questions, comments, or ideas about this documentation, contact the Informatica Documentation team
through email at infa_documentation@informatica.com. We will use your feedback to improve our
documentation. Let us know if we can contact you regarding your comments.

Informatica Web Site

You can access the Informatica corporate web site at http://www.informatica.com. The site contains
information about Informatica, its background, upcoming events, and sales offices. You will also find product
and partner information. The services area of the site includes important information about technical support,
training and education, and implementation services.

Informatica Knowledge Base

As an Informatica customer, you can access the Informatica Knowledge Base at
http://my.informatica.com. Use the Knowledge Base to search for documented solutions to known technical
issues about Informatica products. You can also find answers to frequently asked questions, technical white
papers, and technical tips.

v
 Informatica Global Customer Support
There are many ways to access Informatica Global Customer Support. You can contact a Customer Support
Center through telephone, email, or the WebSupport Service.
Use the following email addresses to contact Informatica Global Customer Support:
♦ support@informatica.com for technical inquiries
♦ support_admin@informatica.com for general customer service requests
WebSupport requires a user name and password. You can request a user name and password at
http://my.informatica.com.
Use the following telephone numbers to contact Informatica Global Customer Support:

North America / South America Europe / Middle East / Africa Asia / Australia

Informatica Corporation Informatica Software Ltd. Informatica Business

Headquarters 6 Waltham Park Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
100 Cardinal Way Waltham Road, White Waltham Diamond District
Redwood City, California Maidenhead, Berkshire Tower B, 3rd Floor
94063 SL6 3TN 150 Airport Road
United States United Kingdom Bangalore 560 008
India

Toll Free Toll Free Toll Free

+1 877 463 2435 00 800 4632 4357 Australia: 1 800 151 830
Singapore: 001 800 4632 4357

Standard Rate Standard Rate Standard Rate

Brazil: +55 11 3523 7761 Belgium: +32 15 281 702 India: +91 80 4112 5738
Mexico: +52 55 1168 9763 France: +33 1 41 38 92 26
United States: +1 650 385 5800 Germany: +49 1805 702 702
Netherlands: +31 306 022 797
United Kingdom: +44 1628 511 445

vi Preface
CHAPTER 1

Tutorial Overview
This chapter includes the following topics:
♦ Overview, 1
♦ Before You Begin, 2
♦ Logging In, 3

Overview
This tutorial walks you through the basic functionality of Data Analyzer. In the tutorial, you learn how to
perform the following tasks:
♦ Create data sources and data connectors.
♦ Import table definitions and define fact, time dimension, and dimension tables.
♦ Create drill paths.
♦ Create and run reports.
♦ Drill into report data.
♦ Add analytic workflows to reports.
♦ Create schedules.
♦ Add reports to schedules.
♦ Add time settings to a report.
♦ Create report alerts.
♦ Create a dashboard.
For more information about these tasks and other Data Analyzer features, see the Data Analyzer User Guide.
For more information about Data Analyzer, see the Data Analyzer Administrator Guide and the Data Analyzer
User Guide. For more information about data warehouses and fact and dimension tables, see the Data Analyzer
Schema Designer Guide.

1
Before You Begin
Before you start the lessons in this tutorial, complete the following tasks:
1. Install PowerCenter and create a Reporting Service from the PowerCenter Administration Console.
For more information about creating a Reporting Service, see the PowerCenter Administrator Guide.
2. Set up the sample data warehouse for the tutorial.
This tutorial uses data in a sample data warehouse provided with Data Analyzer. You must set up the
sample data warehouse before you can use the tutorial. The instructions in the tutorial assume that you
have access to the sample data warehouse.

Setting Up the Sample Data Warehouse

When you install PowerCenter, the installer installs DataWarehouse.zip in the following directory:
<PowerCenterInstallationDir>/DA-tools/GettingStarted

DataWarehouse.zip contains the SQL script files for the different databases. When you extract the data
warehouse files, you can see the SQL files under the subdirectories for the different databases.
Use the SQL scripts to build a sample data warehouse in any of the databases that Data Analyzer supports. The
SQL scripts build a data warehouse that contains information about the sales and inventory of a fictional
company named Betton Books.
The script files include a text file that lists the order in which to run the SQL scripts. To avoid problems when
creating the data warehouse tables, run the SQL scripts in the order listed in the text file.
The following table shows the subdirectories that contain the SQL script files and the files that list the order in
which you run the SQL scripts:

File Showing Order of

Database System Directory for SQL Script Files
SQL Scripts to Run

Oracle <GettingStartedDWDir>/oracle main_oracle.txt

IBM DB2 UDB <GettingStartedDWDir>/db2 main_db2.txt

Microsoft SQL Server <GettingStartedDWDir>/sqlserver main_sqlserver.txt

Sybase ASE <GettingStartedDWDir>/sybase main_sybase.txt

Teradata <GettingStartedDWDir>/teradata main_teradata.txt

<GettingStartedDWDir> is the directory where you extract the SQL files.

To use the SQL script files, set up an empty database and run the script for the specific database to build the
sample data warehouse tables.
Note: If you do not have access to a database, ask the database administrator to run the scripts and provide you
with the database connection information.

Using the Sample Data Analyzer Objects

The Data Analyzer tutorial files include a set of exported repository objects in XML files. If you want to quickly
learn to use the features in Data Analyzer, you can import sample objects into the Data Analyzer repository. The
sample objects include the same schemas, reports, and dashboards as those you create during the tutorial.
The sample objects are based on the Betton Books data warehouse that you can create with the SQL script files.
You must create the Betton Books data warehouse to use the sample Data Analyzer objects.
When you install PowerCenter, the installer installs the XML files in the following directory:
<PowerCenterInstallationDir>/DA-tools/GettingStarted/application

2 Chapter 1: Tutorial Overview

 The following XML files contain the sample Data Analyzer objects:
♦ Betton_Books_Schemas.xml
♦ Betton_Books_TimeDimensions.xml
♦ Betton_Books_Reports.xml
♦ Betton_Books_Dashboards.xml
To use the sample repository objects, import the XML files into the Data Analyzer repository. You must import
them in the order listed above. For more information about importing XML files into Data Analyzer, see the
Data Analyzer Administrator Guide.
After you import the sample repository objects, you can use them to explore Data Analyzer features. You do not
have to use the tutorial to create the schema tables and reports. You can use the imported sample schemas and
run the sample reports. However, need to verify that a data connector is available to run the reports. For more
information about data connectors, see “Creating a Data Connector” on page 7.

Logging In
To log in to Data Analyzer, you need the Data Analyzer URL, a user name, and a password. To complete the
tutorial, you need a user name with the System Administrator role for the Reporting Service.

To log in to Data Analyzer:

1. Launch a web browser.

2. Enter the URL in the Address field of the browser.
3. The Data Analyzer URL is similar to the following format:
http://<hostname>:<port>/<reporting_service_name>

The Login page appears.

4. Enter your user name and password.
The user name may be case sensitive, depending on your system configuration. Verify with the Data
Analyzer system administrator.
5. Select Native or the name of a specific security domain.
The Security Domain field appears when the PowerCenter domain contains an LDAP security domain. If
you do not know the security domain that your user account belongs to, contact the PowerCenter domain
administrator.
6. Click Log In.
The View tab displays the personal dashboard.
When you log in the first time, the personal dashboard is empty.
Note: You can log out at any time during your session. However, you should complete an entire section of a
chapter before you log out.

Logging In 3
4 Chapter 1: Tutorial Overview
CHAPTER 2

Tutorial Lesson 1
This chapter includes the following topics:
♦ Creating a Data Source, 5
♦ Creating a Data Connector, 7

Creating a Data Source

Before you can import table definitions to create reports, you need a data source to access the tables you want to
use in the data warehouse. A data source contains the connectivity information that enables Data Analyzer to
connect to a data warehouse. Data Analyzer uses a Java Database Connectivity (JDBC) driver to connect to the
data warehouse.
This tutorial uses the sample data warehouse that you created from the SQL scripts provided with PowerCenter
Advanced Edition. For more information about the sample data warehouse, see “Before You Begin” on page 2.
When you create a data source, you need the following information for the data warehouse you want to access:
♦ Type of database server
♦ JDBC connection string
♦ Database login account

To create a tutorial data source:

1. Click Administration > Schema Design > Data Sources.

The list of data sources defined in the repository appears. The list indicates the data source name and
connectivity information. If you are creating the first data source in the repository, the list is empty.
2. Click Add.

5
 The Data Source properties page appears.

3. Enter the following data source properties:

Property Description

System Name Enter the data source name: Tutorial.

Description Enter the description for the data source: Data source for tutorial reports.

Server Type Select the type of database server for the data warehouse.

Driver Name Data Analyzer displays the JDBC driver name for the selected server type.
Use the default driver name.

JDBC Connection String JDBC driver connection string. The connection string must include the JDBC
driver URL and database server information.

User Name User name for the account to use to connect to the database.

Password Password for the user name.

Test Table Table used to test the connection between Data Analyzer and the data
warehouse or PowerCenter repository. When you select the server type,
Data Analyzer supplies the table name. Use the default table name.

PowerCenter Repository Use the default value.

Disabled Use the default value.

For more information about supported databases for the data warehouse, see the Data Analyzer Schema
Designer Guide.
When you select the database server type, Data Analyzer supplies the database driver name and the JDBC
connection string syntax for the database server. Replace the sample server name, database name, and other
elements in the JDBC connection string with values appropriate for the data warehouse. If you do not have
this information, contact the database administrator.
For example, the data warehouse is in an Oracle database with a system identifier (sid) of CustWarehouse.
It runs on the server Polaris at port 1521. Use the following JDBC connection string for the JDBC driver:
jdbc:informatica:oracle://Polaris:1521;SID=CustWarehouse

4. Click Test Connection to make sure that Data Analyzer can connect to the data warehouse.
If the Connection failed message appears, make sure the JDBC driver is installed properly and the data
source properties are correct. See the database administrator or the data warehouse administrator for the
correct database connectivity properties.
You cannot create a data source that fails to connect to a database.
5. Click OK to save the data source.

6 Chapter 2: Tutorial Lesson 1

 Data Analyzer displays the new data source in the Data Sources list.

Creating a Data Connector

A data connector describes the data source and time dimensions for schemas. When you run a report, Data
Analyzer uses a data connector to connect to the data warehouse for the metrics and attributes in the report. A
data connector can access data from a single data source or multiple data sources.
When you create a data connector, you select a primary data source. You can restrict the schemas accessed by the
data connector or allow the data connector access to all schemas in the data warehouse. When you want Data
Analyzer to analyze data in different data warehouses, you can add additional data sources to the data connector
and specify the schemas that you want to use.
A data connector that is available to all users is called a system data connector. When you create the first data
connector, Data Analyzer marks it as a system data connector and activates it. If there is only one system data
connector in Data Analyzer, you cannot delete it or modify the list of users.
To run the reports created in this tutorial, you need to use a data connector to access data in the tutorial
schema. Depending on the current use of Data Analyzer, choose how you want to access tutorial data:

Data Analyzer Suggested Data Connector Options

Has no data connectors. Create a tutorial data connector as the system data connector.

Has one or more data connectors. Add the tutorial data source to the system data connector.

Note: Consult the Data Analyzer system administrator before performing either action.

Option 1. Creating a Tutorial Data Connector

Create a tutorial data connector to run tutorial reports only when Data Analyzer does not run other
development or production reports.
When Data Analyzer runs other reports, add the tutorial data source to the existing data connector to run
tutorial reports. For more information, see “Option 2. Adding the Tutorial Data Source to a Data Connector”
on page 8.

Creating a Data Connector 7

 To create a tutorial data connector:

1. Click Administration > Schema Design > Data Connectors.

The list of data connectors defined in the repository appears. If you are creating the first data connector in
the repository, the list is empty.

2. Click Add.
The Data Connector page appears.

3. Enter the following data connector properties:

Property Description

System Name Enter the data connector name: Tutorial.

Description Enter the description: Data connector for tutorial reports.

Primary Data Source Select the data source you created for the tutorial. Data Analyzer connects
to this data source for the metrics and attributes used in reports.

Primary Time Leave blank. You will enter a value for this field after you define the time
Dimension dimension table in the schema. For information about setting up a time
dimension table, see “Setting Up a Time Dimension Table” on page 16.

For this tutorial, you do not add additional schema mappings.

4. Click OK.
Data Analyzer saves the data connector in the repository.

Option 2. Adding the Tutorial Data Source to a Data Connector

If Data Analyzer is already configured to run reports, you can add the tutorial data source to the existing system
data connector.
Check with the Data Analyzer system administrator before editing the system data connector.

8 Chapter 2: Tutorial Lesson 1

To add the tutorial data source to an existing data connector:

1. Click Administration > Schema Design > Data Connectors.

The list of data connectors defined in the repository appears.

2. Click the name of the system data connector.

3. To add the tutorial data source, click Add in the Additional Schema Mappings task area.

The Available Schemas list is empty if there are no schemas in the repository. In that case, use a repository
that already has BettonBooks schemas.
4. Select the Tutorial data source from the Data Source list.

Creating a Data Connector 9

 5. In Available Schemas, select the Sample_Sales_Fact table and click Add.

6. Click Add and then click OK to save the data connector in the repository.

10 Chapter 2: Tutorial Lesson 1

CHAPTER 3

Tutorial Lesson 2
This chapter includes the following topics:
♦ Adding Table Definitions, 11
♦ Defining Dimension Tables, 13
♦ Setting Up a Time Dimension Table, 16
♦ Defining a Fact Table, 19
♦ Creating a Drill Path, 24
♦ Creating a Schedule, 26

Adding Table Definitions

After you create a data source, add the definitions of the data warehouse tables to Data Analyzer. These tables
contain the metrics and attributes that you use for reports. When you add the table definitions, Data Analyzer
stores the definitions in the repository.
After you add the table definitions, define the fact and dimension tables and specify the metrics and attributes
for Data Analyzer reports.
The sample data warehouse for the tutorial includes a fact table named Sample_Sales_Fact and several
dimension tables. For this tutorial, you use the Tutorial data source to connect to the data warehouse and select
the tables. You then add the table definitions available in the sample data warehouse to the Data Analyzer
repository.

11
 To add table definitions:

1. Click Administration > Schema Design > Table Definitions.

The Table Definitions page appears. If you are adding the first table definition to the repository, the list is
empty.

2. Click Add.
The Add Tables page appears

3. Select the Tutorial data source.

The list of tables in the sample data warehouse appears.

Expand Button

You can load tables owned by other database users. To view these tables, click the Expand button. For this
tutorial, you do not need to load tables owned by other users.
4. Click the Select check box at the top of the list to import all the tables in the list.
5. Click OK.
Data Analyzer adds the definitions of the tables you selected to the Data Analyzer repository.

12 Chapter 3: Tutorial Lesson 2

 The Table Definitions page displays the table definitions in the Data Analyzer repository.

Defining Dimension Tables

Dimension tables contain the elements, or attributes, that characterize the business metrics in the reports.
Define the dimension tables and attributes in Data Analyzer based on the imported table definitions in the
repository. To define a dimension table, select from the list of table definitions. To define the attributes in the
dimension table, you select from the columns of the table definition.
Define two dimension tables for this tutorial: Sample_Customer and Sample_Product.

To define a dimension table:

1. Click Administration > Schema Design > Analytic Schemas.

Data Analyzer displays a list of dimension tables.

The Show search option displays the types of

analytic schema tables available.

If the Dimension Tables page does not display, select Dimension Tables from the Show search option.
2. Click Add.

Defining Dimension Tables 13

 The Dimension Table page appears.

3. Click the Select button next to Table Name.

The list of all table definitions in the repository appears.

4. Select the Sample_Customer table, and click OK.

If Data Analyzer prompts you to select a primary key, select Cust_ID, and click OK.
Data Analyzer sets the default properties of the dimension table based on its table definition.

5. In the Attributes task area, click Add from Table.

14 Chapter 3: Tutorial Lesson 2

 The Select Attributes for Sample_Customer page appears with a list of columns in the table.

6. To select all attributes in the table, select Attribute at the top of the list.
The column Cust_ID is the primary key for the table. It is not an attribute.
7. Select Don’t Use next to Cust_ID to remove Cust_ID from the list of attributes for the Sample_Customer
table.
8. Click OK.
The Dimension Table page displays the list of attributes in the Attributes task area.
9. Click OK.
Data Analyzer saves the definition of the dimension table and its attributes in the repository and takes you
back to the Dimension Table page. It adds the Sample_Customer table to the list of dimension tables.
10. Click Add again.
11. Repeat steps 3 to 10 to define the Sample_Product dimension table. Select all columns of the table, except
Product_ID, as attributes of the table.

Select Don’t Use

for Product_ID.

Defining Dimension Tables 15

 After you define the Sample_Customer and Sample_Product dimension tables, Data Analyzer lists both
dimension tables on the Dimension Tables page.

Setting Up a Time Dimension Table

The time dimension contains date- and time-related attributes that describe the occurrence of a metric and
establish the time granularity of the data in the fact table.
You define the time dimension tables in Data Analyzer based on the imported table definitions in the
repository. To define a time dimension table, you select from the list of table definitions.
You define one time dimension table for this tutorial: Sample_Date_Time. After you define the time dimension
table, you add the time dimension table to the data connector.
For more information about time dimension tables, see the Data Analyzer Schema Designer Guide.

Defining a Time Dimension Table

To define a time dimension table:

1. Click Administration > Schema Design > Analytic Schemas.

2. From the Show search option, select Time Dimension Tables.
The Time Dimension Tables page appears. If you are defining the first time dimension table in the
repository, the list is empty.

3. Click Add.

16 Chapter 3: Tutorial Lesson 2

 The Time Dimension Table page appears.

4. In the Time Dimension Table task area, enter the following properties:

Property Description

Time Dimension Type Select Date and Time in Separate Tables. After you select this option, the
Time of Day task area appears in the page.

Table Name Click Select. Select Sample_Date_Time table.

System Name Use the default (Sample_Date_Time).

Display Label Use the default (Sample Date Time).

Description Leave field blank.

Primary Key Use the default (Date_ID).

Primary Date Select Date_Desc.

Disable Leave check box clear.

5. In the Time of Day task area, enter the following properties:

Property Description

Table Name Click Select.

Select Sample_Time_Of_Day.

Primary Key Use the default (Time_Key).

Hour Select Hour_12_Num.

Minute Select Minute_Num.

Second Select Second_Num.

The Time of Day task area only appears if you selected Date and Time in Separate Tables for the Time
Dimension Type field in the Time Dimension Tables task area.
For this tutorial, you do not add secondary attributes.

Setting Up a Time Dimension Table 17

 6. In the Today task area, enter the following properties:

Property Description

Get Today Using Select System Time.

Include current day for Leave check box clear.

period to date

7. In the Calendars task area, select Add.

The Calendar page appears.

8. In the Calendar task area, select the following properties:

Property Location Description

Calendar Name Select Common.

Day Number of Year Select Day_Num_Of_Year.

Day Number of Month Select Day_Num_Of_Month.

Week Number Select Week_Num.

Month Number Select Month_Num_Of_Year.

Quarter Number Select Qtr_Num_Of_Year.

Year Number Select Year_Num.

9. Click OK.
The Time Dimension Table page appears.
10. Click OK.
Data Analyzer saves the definition of the time dimension table in the repository, returns you to the Time
Dimension Tables page, and adds the Sample_Date_Time table to the list of time dimension tables.

Adding the Time Dimension to a Data Connector

To use the time dimension in reports, you must add it to the data connector where you added the tutorial data
source. For more information about the data connector with the Tutorial data source, see “Creating a Data
Connector” on page 7.

18 Chapter 3: Tutorial Lesson 2

 To add the time dimension table to the data connector:

1. Click Administration > Schema Design > Data Connectors.

2. Click the data connector containing the Tutorial data source.
The Data Connector page appears.

3. Select Sample_Date_Time for Primary Time Dimension.

4. Click OK to save the changes to the data connector.

Defining a Fact Table

A fact table contains the metrics by which you measure how well the business is doing. It can contain four types
of columns:
♦ Metrics. Measurements to evaluate a business process.
♦ Attributes. Attributes that are tied to a metric and do not easily fit in dimension tables.
♦ Dimension keys. Foreign keys that join the fact table to its associated dimension tables.
♦ Time keys. Foreign keys that join the fact table with a time dimension table.
You define the fact table in Data Analyzer based on the imported table definitions in the repository. To define a
fact table, you select from the list of table definitions. To define the metrics, attributes, and dimension keys in
the fact table, you select from the list of columns in the table definition. You can also define a new metric and
set its properties.
For more information about fact tables, see the Data Analyzer Schema Designer Guide.
For this tutorial, define the Sample_Sales_Fact table and create a new metric called Profit. Define the Profit
metric as the Product_Selling_Price minus Product_Price.

To define a fact table:

1. Click Administration > Schema Design > Analytic Schemas.

2. From the Show search option, select Fact Tables.

Defining a Fact Table 19

 The Fact Tables page appears. If you are creating the first fact table in the repository, the list is empty.

3. Click Add.
The Fact Table page appears.

Metrics task area Time Keys task area

4. Click the Select button next to Table Name.

The list of all table definitions in the repository appears.
5. Select the Sample_Sales_Fact table, and click OK.
Data Analyzer sets the default properties of the fact table based on its table definition in the repository.
6. In the Time Keys task area, click Add from Table.

20 Chapter 3: Tutorial Lesson 2

 The Fact Table Columns for Sample_Sales_Fact page appears with a list of columns in the table.

Select Add
for Date_ID.

7. If the Time Dimension list appears, select Sample_Date_Time.

If multiple time dimension tables are defined in the repository, the Time Dimension list appears.
8. From the list of time key columns, select Add next to Date_ID.
9. Click Next.
The Map Time Keys for Sample_Sales_Fact page appears.
10. Select Second for Granularity.
11. Select Time_Key for Time of Day Key in Fact Table.

12. Click Done.

13. In the Metrics task area, click Add from Table.

Defining a Fact Table 21

 The Fact Table Columns for Sample_Sales_Fact page displays the list of columns in the table.

14. Select the attributes, metrics, and dimension keys in the list as shown in the following table:

Column Type

COST Metric

CUST_ID Dim Key

DATE_ID Don’t Use

DATE_ORDERED_ID Don’t Use

DATE_SHIPPED_ID Don’t Use

DISCOUNT Metric

MONTH_ID Don’t Use

PAYMENT_ID Don’t Use

PRODUCT_AGE_GROUP Metric

PRODUCT_COST Metric

PRODUCT_ID Dim Key

PRODUCT_PRICE Metric

PRODUCT_SELLING_PRICE Metric

PROMO_ID Don’t Use

REVENUE Metric

SALES_QTY Metric

STORE_ID Don’t Use

TIME_KEY Don’t Use

15. Click Next.

22 Chapter 3: Tutorial Lesson 2

 The Map Dimension Keys for Sample_Sales_Fact page appears.

16. Select the dimension tables to which the dimension keys join as shown in the following table:

Fact Column Dimension

Cust_ID Sample_Customer

Product_ID Sample_Product

17. Click Done.

On the Fact Table page, the metrics display in the Metrics task area, the time key appears in the Time Keys
task area, and the dimension keys display in the Dimension Keys task area. Since you did not select any
column as attribute, the Attributes task area is empty.
18. In the Metrics task area, click Add New.
The Add a Metric page appears with the properties of the metric.

19. In the Metrics task area, enter the metric properties as shown in the following table:

Property Value

System Name Sample_Sales_Fact.Profit.

Display Label Profit.

Description Leave field blank.

Defining a Fact Table 23

 Property Value

Usage Description Leave field blank.

Aggregation SUM.

Additive Use the default. Leave check box selected.

Time Key Use the default. Do not select a time key.

Use Different Aggregation for Time Dimensions Leave check box clear.

20. In the Expressions task area, enter the following expression in the Default field:
Sample_Sales_Fact.Product_Selling_Price - Sample_Sales_Fact.Product_Cost

21. Click OK.

On the Fact Table page, the new metric Profit appears in the Metrics task area.
22. Click OK.
Data Analyzer saves the definitions of the fact table, its columns, and the metrics in the repository and
returns to the Fact Tables page. It also adds Sample_Sales_Fact to the list of fact tables.

Creating a Drill Path

Drill paths are logical groupings of attributes. Create a drill path when you want to analyze the same metrics
based on different attributes. After you create a drill path, use it with any report in the repository.
When you run a report that includes an attribute in a drill path, you drill into a report using a different
attribute in the drill path. For example, you might want to see revenue by three different time attributes:
quarter, month, and year. Instead of creating three different reports, you can create a Time drill path that
includes quarter, month, and year. You can then create a report to display revenue by year. After you run the
report, you can drill to view revenue by quarter or by month.
When you create a drill path, consider the metric or metrics you want to analyze, and then determine how to
logically group the attributes you want to use during the analysis.

24 Chapter 3: Tutorial Lesson 2

You might want to create more than one drill path for a given metric. For example, in addition to the Time drill
path, you might create a Product drill path to view revenue by book division, group, and individual titles.
For this tutorial, create an AgeGroup_to_Gender drill path. This drill path includes both the customer age
group and gender attributes. It enables you to examine purchasing patterns across age group and gender by
allowing you to drill from one attribute to another in any report.
After you create the AgeGroup_to_Gender drill path, create a report that includes the age group attribute. After
you run the report using the age group perspective, use the AgeGroup_to_Gender drill path to view the same
report from the gender perspective.

To create the AgeGroup_to_Gender drill path:

1. Click Administration > Schema Design > Drill Paths.

The Drill Paths page appears.

2. Click Create New Drill Path.

The Create New Drill Path page appears.

Attribute folders

3. Enter the drill path name: AgeGroup_to_Gender.

4. Enter the drill path label: Age Group to Gender.
5. To add attributes to the drill path, open the Sample Customer attribute folder.

Creating a Drill Path 25

 Data Analyzer displays all attributes in the Sample Customer table.

Attributes in the Sample Customer table

6. Locate the Cust Age Group attribute, and click Add.

7. Locate the Cust Gender attribute, and click Add.
Cust Age Group and Cust Gender attributes appear under Content.
8. Click Save.
Data Analyzer saves the AgeGroup_to_Gender drill path in the repository.

Creating a Schedule
You can update report data using a schedule. You can attach a report to a time-based schedule to run the report
at regular intervals or to an event-based schedule to run it after a PowerCenter session or worklet completes.
For this tutorial, create a time-based schedule that runs the first day of every quarter at 12:00 a.m. (midnight).
You will attach the tutorial report to this schedule later. For more information, see “Tutorial Lesson 4” on
page 47.

26 Chapter 3: Tutorial Lesson 2

 To create a time-based schedule:

1. Click Administration > Scheduling > Time-Based Schedules.

The Time-Based Schedules page appears.

2. Click Add.
3. In the Properties task area, enter the following schedule properties:

Property Enter

Name Enter the name: Beginning of Every Quarter.

Description Enter the description: Runs the first day of every quarter at midnight.

Start Date Leave on the current date. By default, Data Analyzer starts the schedule on the
current date.

Start Time Set the start time to 12:00 a.m.

Business Day Only Do not select. When selected, the schedule runs only on business days.

4. In the Repeating task area, select the Repeat on 1 (# of ) Days from the Beginning of the First Month of
Each Quarter.

5. In the Continue Repeating task area, select the Until option, and select a date three months from today.

6. Click OK.
The new schedule appears in the list.

Testing a Schedule
You can test a schedule by starting it manually. When you start a schedule manually, Data Analyzer runs all the
reports attached to the schedule and sends all related report alerts. After the reports run, you can view the report
results.

Creating a Schedule 27
 To test the tutorial schedule:

1. Select Administration > Scheduling > Time-based Schedules.

2. Click Run Now next to the Beginning of Every Quarter schedule.
The following message appears:
The schedule has been placed in queue to be run.

3. Click OK.
Data Analyzer runs all reports attached to the schedule and saves the results of each report in the repository.

28 Chapter 3: Tutorial Lesson 2

CHAPTER 4

Tutorial Lesson 3
This chapter includes the following topics:
♦ Creating a Report, 29
♦ Running a Report, 34
♦ Modifying a Report, 36
♦ Creating an Analytic Workflow, 41
♦ Highlighting Metric Values, 44

Creating a Report
In Data Analyzer, a report consists of a set of related metrics and attributes.
For this tutorial, create a report with two metrics and two attributes from the tables in the sample data
warehouse. Then create a filter that you can alter at run time to limit the types of books to include in the report.
You also set up a bar chart to display the report data in a chart format.
When you create a report, you can save it as one of the following types of report:
♦ On-demand. Runs when you view the report.
♦ Cached. Runs according to a schedule. You can attach a report to any schedule in the repository.
You can create indicators and data alerts for both types of reports. You can create prompts for on-demand
reports. When you view a report with prompts, Data Analyzer prompts you to select the components for the
reports at run time.
For this tutorial, first save the report as on-demand. You will create a prompt for the report based on an
attribute filter.

29
 To create a report:

1. Click Create > Report.

The Select Metrics page displays available metrics organized in folders.

Available Metric Folder

2. Enter the report name: Tutorial - Sales by Age Group.

3. Open the Sample Sales Fact folder to view metrics in the folder.
4. Click Add next to the Profit metric.
5. Click Add next to the Revenue metric.
The selected metrics appear under Select Metrics.

Selected Metrics Profit and Revenue Metrics

6. Click Select Attributes.

7. Click the Sample Customer folder to view customer-related attributes.

30 Chapter 4: Tutorial Lesson 3

8. Click Add next to the Cust Age Group attribute.

9. Click the Sample_Product folder.

10. Click Add for the Group Desc attribute.

11. Click Select Time, Filters, and Rankings > Filters.

12. Select the Group Desc attribute.

Add Filter Task Area

Creating a Report 31
 13. In the Attribute Filter task area, click Select Attribute Values.
A list of attribute values appears.

14. Ctrl-click to select the following attribute values:

♦ Business
♦ Kids/Family
♦ Literature
♦ Science and Technology
♦ Sports and Health
15. Click OK.
16. Select Prompt this filter before running.
17. Click Add.
The filter condition is added to the Report Filters task area.

18. Click Layout and Setup.

19. To make the types of books appear along the top of the report table, drag the Group Desc attribute from
the Row Attribute area and drop it in the Column Attribute area.

32 Chapter 4: Tutorial Lesson 3

 By moving an attribute to the Column Attribute area, you create a cross tabular report table. For more
information about the different types of report tables, see “Understanding Data Analyzer” in the Data
Analyzer User Guide.

Row Attribute area Column Attribute area

20. Click the Charting tab, and then click Add New.
Data Analyzer creates a new chart and displays the Chart options button.

Chart options button Default chart type

21. Use the default chart type (Standard Bar) and click the Chart options button.
Data Analyzer displays all Chart fields.

22. Enter the title for the chart in the Main field: Sales by Age Group. Click OK.
23. Click Publish.

Creating a Report 33
 Data Analyzer displays the Properties page.

24. Enter comments and description for the report. Use the default report update setting.
25. Click Save, and then click OK.
Data Analyzer saves the report as an on-demand report.

Running a Report
To view the results of an on-demand report, locate and run the report. Data Analyzer runs an on-demand report
each time you view the report. This differs from cached reports that run on a set schedule. When you view a
cached report, Data Analyzer displays the data saved in the repository from the last scheduled run.
You can locate reports on the Find tab of Data Analyzer. On the Find tab, reports are organized in the Personal
Folder or Public Folders. In this case, you saved the tutorial report in your Personal folder. When you do not
know where to find a report, use the Search option to locate the report.
You created the tutorial report with a prompt based on an attribute filter. When you run a report with prompts,
Data Analyzer prompts you to select the values you want to display in the report. If you select certain values,
you can choose to display those same values the next time you run the report. When Data Analyzer prompts
you the next time you run the report, Data Analyzer displays the values you selected the last time you ran the
report.

34 Chapter 4: Tutorial Lesson 3

To run the tutorial report:

1. Click the Find tab.

The Find tab appears.

Personal
Folder

2. Open the Personal Folder.

3. Right-click the tutorial report name, and click View to display the report on the View tab.
Because this report includes a prompt based on attribute values, Data Analyzer prompts you to add or
remove values for the Group Desc attribute.

Attribute
Values

Delete
Button

4. From the list of values, click Sports and Health, and then click the Delete button.
Data Analyzer removes the Sports and Health attribute value from the list of prompt values.
5. Select Prompt Me With These Settings the Next Time I Run the Report.
When you run this report the next time, Data Analyzer excludes Sports and Health in the list of prompt
values.
6. Click Display Report.

Running a Report 35
 Data Analyzer displays the report on the View tab.

Note: The report does not display any data for the Science and Technology attribute value because the data
warehouse does not contain any data for this attribute.

Modifying a Report
After you run a report, you can modify the report data in the following ways:
♦ Changing chart type. Modify a report by changing the chart type.
♦ Sorting report columns. Sort the report data by any column in the report.
♦ Altering filters. Alter the results of the report by adding, modifying, or removing filters.
♦ Drilling. View the metrics in the report based on attributes in the available drill paths.
♦ Creating custom metrics. Create custom metrics for the report.
To modify the report, you must first display it on the Analyze tab.

Changing Chart Type

You can change the type of chart that appears in a report. By default, Data Analyzer displays the chart type you
selected when you created the report.

36 Chapter 4: Tutorial Lesson 3

 To change chart type:

1. On the View tab, click Display on Analyze to open the report on the Analyze tab.
2. In the report chart, click the Show Chart Toolbar button.

Show Chart Toolbar Button

3. From the list of chart types, select Standard Line.

Data Analyzer displays the report chart as a line chart.

Sorting Report Columns

Sort by any column in the report to see data displayed in ascending or descending order. To sort a report by
column, click the up or down arrow buttons for the column.

Sort Buttons

Modifying a Report 37
 Altering Filters
Data Analyzer displays all filters associated with a report in the Filters task area on the Analyze tab.

Filters task area

When you click the Filter button, you can add, edit, or remove filters. For this tutorial, do not change the filter
in the report.

Drilling
Drill into a report to see more details about the report data. When drilling into a report, you select attribute
values from a predefined drill path. The drill path lists the attributes that you can select to display in the report.
With the tutorial report, you want to see the gender breakdown for the 30-39 and 40-49 age groups. To add the
Gender attribute to this report, you use the AgeGroup_to_Gender drill path.

To compare genders in the 30-39 and 40-49 age groups:

1. On the Analyze tab, ctrl-click 30-39 and 40-49 in the report table.

30-39 and 40-49 age ranges

2. Click Drill.

38 Chapter 4: Tutorial Lesson 3

 The Drill tab displays the predefined AgeGroup_to_Gender drill path. Since the drill path contains only
one option, it is already selected.

3. On the Drill tab, click Drill.

Data Analyzer displays the altered report.

4. Click Original Table to display the original report data.

Creating Custom Metrics

You can create custom metrics based on metrics in a report. A custom metric contains a mathematical
expression that includes other metrics or other custom metrics from the report. A custom metric exists in the
report where you create it. By default, Data Analyzer saves a custom metric to the repository but does not add it
to the Schema Directory. You can promote a custom metric to the Schema Directory.
Create a custom metric to perform calculations on the existing metrics in a report. For example, a report
displays the price and cost for each book sold by your organization. In the report, you can create the following
custom metric expression:
Total Discount = Discount * Quantity

Here, the custom metric expression consists of the following elements:

♦ First operand. The first operand is the metric that you use as the basis of the custom metric expression. You
can select any metric in the report, including an existing custom metric, as the first operand. For example, if
you are building a custom metric expression to create a profit custom metric, the price metric is the first
operand for the expression. You calculate the profit based on the price at which a product is sold.
♦ Operator. The operator is a symbol that represents a specific action. Use the + (add), - (subtract), *
(multiply), / (divide), and % (as a percent of ) operators in metric expressions. For the profit custom metric,
you select - (subtract) as the operator, since profit equals sale price minus actual cost price.

Modifying a Report 39
 ♦ Second operand. The second operand is another metric in the report, a numeric attribute, or a numeric
value. For example, for the profit custom metric, the cost price metric is the second operand.
For more information about custom metric expressions, see the Data Analyzer User Guide.

To create a custom metric for a report:

1. From the Analyze tab, click Edit to edit the report on the Create Report wizard.
2. Click Sample_Sales_Fact to view all the available metrics.
3. Click Add next to the following metrics:
♦ Discount
♦ Sales Qty
Discount and Sales Qty appear under Select Metrics.
4. Click Layout and Setup > Calculations.
The Calculations tab appears.

5. In the Add Calculations task area, select Custom Metrics.

The Add Calculations task area displays the fields for creating custom metrics.

6. In the Name this Metric field, enter Total Discount.

7. From the Make Selection list, select Discount as the first operand for the custom metric expression.
8. From the Select Operator list, select * (multiplied by).
9. From the Make Selection list, select Sales Qty.
10. Click OK.

40 Chapter 4: Tutorial Lesson 3

 The custom metric is shown in the Summary task area.

11. Click Save As.

12. Change the report name to Tutorial - Discount and click OK.
13. Click Display on View to display the report with custom metrics.
Data Analyzer prompts you to add or remove values for the Group Desc attribute.
14. Select Business.
15. Click Display Report.
The report appears on the View tab.

Creating an Analytic Workflow

An analytic workflow is a list of reports linked together in a hierarchy. The first report in the hierarchy is the
primary report, which contains data you want to analyze to answer business questions. The workflow reports are
the other reports in the hierarchy.
Create an analytic workflow in a report to save common analyses you want to make with the report. You might
create an analytic workflow when you perform the same drill patterns for a report. For example, if you always
want to check inventory in relation to a product sales report, you can create an analytic workflow for the
inventory analysis.
When you create an analytic workflow, you can create a workflow report or add a report as a workflow report.
With the analytic workflow, you can view report data with other metrics and attributes. For more information
about analytic workflows, see the Data Analyzer User Guide.
For this tutorial, create Sales by Gender as a workflow report for the Tutorial - Sales by Age Group report.

Creating an Analytic Workflow 41

 To create an analytic workflow for the tutorial report:

1. Click the Find tab and select the Tutorial - Sales by Age Group report from the Personal Folder.
2. Right-click the report name, and click Analyze to display the report on the Analyze tab.
3. Click Display Report.
The report appears on the Analyze tab.

Workflows button

4. Click the Workflows button.

Data Analyzer displays the Analytic Workflows tab.

5. Click Edit Workflow.

Data Analyzer displays the report on the Create Report wizard.

Add Workflow Node button

6. Click the Add Workflow Node button.

42 Chapter 4: Tutorial Lesson 3

 Data Analyzer adds a node to the analytic workflow. By default, the workflow report in the analytic
workflow is called New Node 1.

7. Enter the name of the workflow report: Sales by Gender.

8. Click Create Report to create the workflow report.
Data Analyzer displays the Create Report wizard in workflow mode.
9. Click Sample Sales Fact and select Revenue and Profit as the metrics for the report.
10. Click Select Attributes.
11. Click the Sample Customer folder.
12. Select Cust Gender as the attribute for the report.
13. Click Return to Workflow.
Data Analyzer displays the workflow you created on the Workflows tab.

14. Click Save to save the report.

Using an Analytic Workflow

Use analytic workflows to analyze report data by displaying other attributes and metrics in the report. Before
you view a report in the workflow, select attribute values from the previous report in the workflow. You can
select a single attribute value or multiple attribute values. The selected attribute values determine the data you
see in the workflow report. If you do not select any attribute values, Data Analyzer displays data for all attribute
values.

To use an analytic workflow:

1. Click Display on Analyze to display the Tutorial - Sales by Age Group report on the Analyze tab.
2. Click Display Report.

Creating an Analytic Workflow 43

 3. In the report table, ctrl-click 30-39 and 40-49 to select these age groups as the attribute values for the
analysis.

4. Click the Workflows button.

The Analytic Workflows tab displays the workflow you created earlier.

5. Click Sales by Gender.

The Analytic Workflows tab displays the Sales by Gender report for the selected attribute values.

Highlighting Metric Values

You can highlight metric values in a report that are above, below, or within a range. Highlighting lets you draw
attention to critical data in a report or pinpoint problem areas.
Create a highlighting rule to highlight metric values. When you create a highlighting rule, you specify the
ranges low, medium, and high for the values that you want Data Analyzer to highlight.

44 Chapter 4: Tutorial Lesson 3

For the Tutorial - Sales by Age Group report, create a highlighting rule for the Revenue metric. Highlighting
the Revenue metric can help monitor the revenue values as low, reasonable, or high. Use the colors red, yellow,
and green to highlight the values, where red means low, yellow means reasonable, and green means high.

To highlight the Revenue values:

1. Click the Find tab and select the Tutorial - Sales by Age Group report from the Personal Folder.
2. Right-click the tutorial report name, and click Analyze to display the report on the Analyze tab.
3. Click Display Report.
4. In the report table, click the Revenue metric name in any of the columns.

Highlighting button

5. Click the Highlighting button.

Data Analyzer displays the Highlighting tab.

6. Enter the name for the highlighting rule: Revenue Highlighting.

7. In the Specify Values field, enter 0, 5000, 10000, 20000 as the ranges for the highlighting rule.
8. Click OK.

Highlighting Metric Values 45

 The report table displays highlighted Revenue values.

46 Chapter 4: Tutorial Lesson 3

CHAPTER 5

Tutorial Lesson 4
This chapter includes the following topics:
♦ Saving a Report as a Cached Report, 47
♦ Creating an Alert, 49
♦ Viewing Report Alerts, 49
♦ Subscribing to a Report, 50

Saving a Report as a Cached Report

Schedule a report by saving it as a cached report and attaching a schedule to it. When you schedule a report,
Data Analyzer runs the report according to the schedule and caches the results. When you view a cached report,
you view the cached results, unlike on-demand reports that refresh the results each time you view the report.
For this tutorial, attach the Beginning of Every Quarter schedule to the tutorial report. You created the
Beginning of Every Quarter schedule earlier. For more information, see “Creating a Schedule” on page 26.
You cannot save reports with prompts as cached reports. For this tutorial, remove the prompt from the Tutorial
- Sales by Age Group report before you save it as a cached report.

To save the tutorial report as a cached report:

1. Click the Find tab and select the Tutorial - Sales by Age Group report from the Personal Folder.
2. Click Edit.
The report appears on the Create Report wizard.
3. Click Select Time, Filters, and Rankings > Filters.
4. In the Report Filters task area, click Group Desc show only (‘Business’, ‘Kids/Family’, ‘Literature’, ‘Science
and Technology’, ‘Sports and Health’).

47
 Data Analyzer displays the filter details in the Edit Filter task area.

5. Clear the Prompt this Filter Before Running check box.

6. Click Update.
7. Click Publish.
Data Analyzer displays the Report Properties tab.

List of schedules

8. Select Cached, and then select Beginning of Every Quarter from the list of schedules.
Use the default security setting for cached reports.
9. Click Save.
Data Analyzer saves the report as a cached report in the repository.

48 Chapter 5: Tutorial Lesson 4

Creating an Alert
You can create the following types of alerts for a report:
♦ Report update alerts. Inform you when the report is updated.
♦ Data alerts. Inform you if data falls below or rises above a particular value.
When an alert triggers, Data Analyzer displays the alert notification on the Alerts tab. You can also register
other alert delivery devices to get alert notifications on those devices.
For this tutorial, create a report update alert to get the alert notification on the Alerts tab.

To create a report update alert:

1. Click the Find tab and select the Tutorial - Sales by Age Group report from the Personal Folder.
2. Right-click the tutorial report name and click Analyze.
Data Analyzer displays the report on the Analyze tab.

Alerts task area

3. In the Alerts task area, right-click Report Update Alert.

A shortcut menu appears.

4. Click Make Alert Active.

On the Analyze tab, the Report Update Alert icon changes from red to green.
To test alert delivery, run the Beginning of Every Quarter schedule. For more information, see “Testing a
Schedule” on page 27.

Viewing Report Alerts

When an alert triggers, Data Analyzer sends you a notification. By default, all alert notifications appear in the
Alerts container on the Alerts tab. After running the reports in the Beginning of Every Quarter time-based
schedule, Data Analyzer sends you a report update alert notification. The notification informs you that the
tutorial report updated on schedule.

Creating an Alert 49
 You can set up alert delivery devices to have Data Analyzer alert you by phone or email. For this tutorial, click
the Alerts tab for the alert notification.

Alerts tab

From the Alerts tab, you can read an alert notification. By default, all unread alert notifications display in the
Alerts tab. When you read an alert notification, you indicate to Data Analyzer that you have seen the
notification.

To view the report update alert for the tutorial report:

1. Click the Alerts tab.

Data Analyzer displays all unread triggered alert notifications.

Mark as
Read button

2. To read the report update alert notification, select the alert notification and click the Mark as Read button.
3. To view the tutorial report that triggered the alert notification, double-click the alert notification.
The report appears on the Analyze tab.

Subscribing to a Report
Data Analyzer subscribes you to a cached report when you create, update, or view a report. If you are the owner
of a report, you can subscribe to an on-demand report by selecting the report in your personal folder and
clicking View > Subscribe to This Item. If you are not the owner of a report, you can subscribe to a report by
asking the report owner to manually subscribe you to a cached or on-demand report.

50 Chapter 5: Tutorial Lesson 4

As a report owner you can subscribe another user to a report by adding user names to a subscribers list. The
subscribers list is shown on the Subscription tab of the Publish page. When you create a new report or when you
edit an existing report, you can configure the Publish page of the Create Report wizard.

To manually subscribe users to a report:

1. Click the Find tab and select the Tutorial - Sales by Age Group report from the Personal Folder.
2. Click Edit.
3. Click Publish > Subscriptions.
The Subscriptions tab appears.

4. To add users, select the user name you want to subscribe and click Subscribe.
-or-
To add all user names, click Subscribe All.
Data Analyzer displays the selected names under Current Subscribers.
5. Click Save.

Subscribing to a Report 51
52 Chapter 5: Tutorial Lesson 4
CHAPTER 6

Tutorial Lesson 5
This chapter includes the following topics:
♦ Creating a Report with Time Settings, 53
♦ Editing Time Settings, 55

Creating a Report with Time Settings

Reports with time settings allow you to analyze and compare metrics over a period of time. Add time settings to
a report to display data for a selected time period. Within a report, you can compare data over multiple time
periods.
You can add time settings when you create a report. You can also add time settings after you run the report. For
this tutorial, create a new report with time settings.
Add time settings to the tutorial report by selecting values for the following options:
♦ Calendar. The calendar defines when a year begins and ends for your organization. The tutorial report uses
the Gregorian calendar, the standard calendar used internationally.
♦ Time period. The period of time for which you want to display data in the report. In the tutorial report,
display data for the current quarter.
♦ Granularity for the time period. Granularity lets you divide the data into smaller, independent parts. In the
tutorial report, display the data for each month within the current quarter.
♦ Refinements for the time period. Refinements allow you to enhance the data in the report. In the tutorial
report, display the data from the most recent to least recent time.
For more information about time settings, see “Adding Time Settings to a Report” in the Data Analyzer User
Guide.

To create a report with time settings:

1. Click Create > Report.

2. Enter the report name: Tutorial - Sales for Current Year.
3. Open the Sample_Sales_Fact folder.
4. Click Add next to the Revenue metric.
5. Click Select Attributes.
6. Open the Sample_Product folder.
7. Click Add next to the Group Desc attribute.

53
 8. Click Select Time, Filters, and Rankings.
The Time tab appears.

When you add time settings to a report, Data Analyzer displays report data based on the time series
configuration for the metrics in the report. In this tutorial, use the default time series value (Date ID) for
the Revenue metric and use the default value of the Calendar list (Common).
9. Click Add Time Setting.
10. Select For Current Year as the time period.
11. Select Quarter by Quarter as the granularity.
12. Click the Expand button to display refinement options.

Expand button

Data Analyzer displays the refinement options.

13. Select the Time from Most Recent to Least Recent check box.
14. Click Save, and then click OK.

54 Chapter 6: Tutorial Lesson 5

 Data Analyzer saves the report and displays a summary of the time setting on the Create Report wizard.
15. Click Display on Analyze.
Data Analyzer displays the report on the Analyze tab.

Editing Time Settings

Edit time settings on the Create Report wizard or the Analyze tab. When you edit time settings, you can edit an
existing time period or add additional time periods to the report. You can add up to four time periods to a
report. In this tutorial, edit the time settings on the Analyze tab to add the current month as another time
period in the report.

To edit time settings:

1. Click the Find tab and select the Tutorial - Sales for Current Year report from the Personal Folder.
2. Right-click the report name and click Analyze to display the report on the Analyze tab.
3. Click Time.
Data Analyzer displays the time setting for the report on the Time tab. Data Analyzer displays the option to
add another time setting below the existing setting.

Button for adding another time setting

4. Click Add Time Setting.

5. Select For Current Month as the time period.
6. Click OK.

Editing Time Settings 55

 Data Analyzer displays data for the current month in the report table.

Current year, quarter by quarter Current month

56 Chapter 6: Tutorial Lesson 5

CHAPTER 7

Tutorial Lesson 6
This chapter includes the following topics:
♦ Creating an Indicator, 57
♦ Creating a Dashboard, 59
♦ Adding Comments for a Dashboard, 62

Creating an Indicator
An indicator is a visual representation of metric values in a report. Indicators help you track key metric values.
You can create the following types of indicators for Data Analyzer reports:
♦ Chart indicators. A chart indicator lets you see report data in chart format.
♦ Table indicators. A table indicator lets you see report data in table format.
♦ Gauge indicators. A gauge indicator lets you see if a metric value is within a range.
When you create an indicator, you can add it to your personal dashboard. You can also add indicators to a
dashboard when you create the dashboard. After you create an indicator, the indicator name appears in the
Indicators task area on the Analyze tab.
For the tutorial report, create a chart indicator to track profits for the Business group. Later in this tutorial, you
create a dashboard and add the chart indicator to the dashboard.

To create a chart indicator for the tutorial report:

1. Click the Find tab and select the Tutorial - Sales by Age Group report from the Personal Folder.
2. Click Analyze.

57
 3. In the report table, click the Profit for the Business attribute column.

Indicator button

4. Click the Indicator button.

The Indicator tab appears.
5. Select Chart as the indicator type.

List of chart indicator types

6. Enter the indicator name: Business Group Profits.

7. Select Standard Line from the list of chart indicator types.
8. Click Preview to preview the indicator.
The Preview window appears.

58 Chapter 7: Tutorial Lesson 6

 9. Click Close to close the Preview window.
10. Click OK.
Data Analyzer saves the indicator and displays the indicator name in the Indicators task area on the Analyze
tab.

Indicators task area

Creating a Dashboard
You can create a dashboard to display reports, shared documents, and indicators. When you create a dashboard,
you can select a layout from a set of predefined layouts. Each layout consists of one or more containers. A
container is a task area on the dashboard. Use a container to group dashboard content. You can assign names to
the containers.
After you select layout and content, you can preview the dashboard and refine it. When you preview a
dashboard, Data Analyzer displays the dashboard as seen by the user. If necessary, you can modify the
dashboard.
For this tutorial, create a Sales dashboard. Add the tutorial report and indicator to the dashboard.

Creating a Dashboard 59
 To create a dashboard:

1. Click Create > Dashboard.

The Dashboard wizard displays a new dashboard with the default layout.

Enter a name for the dashboard.

2. Enter the dashboard name: Sales.

3. Click Layout to change the layout of the dashboard.
4. Select the following layout:

Select this
layout.

60 Chapter 7: Tutorial Lesson 6

5. In the left container, enter the name for the container: Reports.

Left container Right container

6. Click the right container to select it.

7. Enter the name for the container: Indicators.
8. In the work area, click Add next to the Business Group Profits indicator.
Data Analyzer adds the indicator to the Indicators container.
9. Click the Reports container.
10. In the work area, use the Show search option to display all reports.

11. Click Add next to the Tutorial - Sales by Age Group report.
12. Click Preview.
The Preview page appears.

Creating a Dashboard 61
 You can also publish a dashboard to other users. When you publish a dashboard, you can set access
permissions for the dashboard. For this tutorial, do not publish the dashboard.
13. Click Save.
Data Analyzer saves the dashboard in the repository and displays it on the View tab.

14. Click Set as Default to set the dashboard as the default dashboard.

Adding Comments for a Dashboard

You can add comments for a dashboard. You can also view the comments entered by other users. These
comments can be notes or additional information about the dashboard that you want to share with other users.
When you add a comment, Data Analyzer adds the current date and time to the comment.
For this tutorial, add comments for the Sales dashboard to remind yourself to add other reports to the
dashboard.

To add comments for a dashboard:

1. Click View.
The Sales dashboard appears.

Click to add comments

for the dashboard.

62 Chapter 7: Tutorial Lesson 6

2. Click Discussion.
Data Analyzer displays all comments for the dashboard. Each comment is followed by the date and time it
was entered. If this is the first comment for the dashboard, the text box is empty.

Add Comment button

3. Click Add Comment.

Data Analyzer displays a text box where you can enter comments.
4. Enter the following comment in the text box: Add Sales by Gender report to dashboard.
5. Click OK.
The Discussion tab displays comments along with the date and time you entered it.
6. Click Close.
Data Analyzer closes the Discussion tab.

Adding Comments for a Dashboard 63

64 Chapter 7: Tutorial Lesson 6
NOTICES
This Informatica product (the “Software”) includes certain drivers (the “DataDirect Drivers”) from DataDirect Technologies, an operating company of Progress Software Corporation (“DataDirect”)
which are subject to the following terms and conditions:

1. THE DATADIRECT DRIVERS ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE
IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

2. IN NO EVENT WILL DATADIRECT OR ITS THIRD PARTY SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE TO THE END-USER CUSTOMER FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL,
CONSEQUENTIAL OR OTHER DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF THE ODBC DRIVERS, WHETHER OR NOT INFORMED OF THE POSSIBILITIES OF DAMAGES IN
ADVANCE. THESE LIMITATIONS APPLY TO ALL CAUSES OF ACTION, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, BREACH OF CONTRACT, BREACH OF WARRANTY,
NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY, MISREPRESENTATION AND OTHER TORTS.