Mastering Enterprise BI: Time Intelligence Pt. II - Page 3March 12, 2007 Add Time Intelligence with the Business Intelligence Wizard We will return to the Solution Explorer, from which we will launch the Business Intelligence Wizard. 1. Within the Solution Explorer, expand the Cubes folder, as required. 2. Right-click Adventure Works.cube within the folder. 3. Select Add Business Intelligence... from the context menu that appears, as depicted in Illustration 11.
The Welcome to the Business Intelligence Wizard page appears, as shown in Illustration 12. 4. Click Next.
The Choose Enhancement page next appears. Here we instruct the Business Intelligence Wizard to add Time Intelligence to our cube. 5. Ensure that the top item in the Available enhancements list, Define time intelligence, is selected, as depicted in Illustration 13.
6. Click Next. The Choose Target Hierarchy and Calculations page appears. As we noted in our introduction, we have several items to consider before and during our implementation of Time Intelligence through the mechanism of the Business Intelligence Wizard. Some of those considerations confront us here, where we must indicate the target Time Hierarchy, as well as which Calculations to generate. 7. Click the downward pointing arrow on the right side of the selector labeled Use the following hierarchy to analyze time calculations. 8. Click-select the Calendar item (second from the top) under the Date dimension (expanded at the top of the selection list that appears), as shown in Illustration 14.
While we would typically do as we have done here, and select multi-level hierarchies (so that we can provide relative time aggregations at multiple time levels), we can see that we have other options to more precisely fit our business needs. We also select the specific calculations we want to create, which we will accomplish in the next steps. NOTE: We will need to execute the Time Intelligence creation steps individually for each hierarchy. As an example, say we wanted to perform these steps for the Fiscal hierarchy, in addition to the Calendar hierarchy with which we are working at present, should business requirements dictate that we generate calculations for multiple hierarchies. 9. Click OK to accept the choice of Calendar hierarchy. 10. Within the Available time calculations selection list, just below the hierarchy selector, place a check in the checkbox to the immediate left of each of the following calculation selections:
The Choose Target Hierarchy and Calculations page appears, with our selections, as depicted in Illustration 15.
Because the Time Intelligence enhancement capability of the Business Intelligence Wizard is based upon a template, TimeIntelligence.xml (found at C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\90\Tools\Templates\OLAP\1033 in a default installation), we can add additional calculations to customize the selections to meet the specific needs of our own environments, just as we can customize other Analysis Services capabilities and characteristics. A small sample of the .xml template, with Description and View Name enclosed in red rectangles, appears in Illustration 16.
11. Click Next to accept our input and proceed. The Define Scope of Calculations page appears next. Here, we essentially “assign” the Time calculations we have specified to the desired measures. The Wizard presents the option to select from both regular and calculated measures, so that our only real limitations here are our business requirements (and, of course, the state of whether or not a given calculation / measure juxtaposition is logical in nature). 12. Within the Available measures selection list of the Define Scope of Calculations page, place a check in the checkbox to the immediate left of each of the following measure selections:
The Define Scope of Calculations page appears, with our selections, as depicted in Illustration 17.
13. Click Next to accept our input, once again, and proceed. The Completing the Wizard page appears next. At this point we can overview the changes that are about to be undertaken, based upon our selections within the pages of the Business Intelligence Wizard. Proposed changes to structural elements within the three main locations that house them, including the Data Source View, the Time Dimension, and the MDX Script, are presented within the Changes list, which appears as partially shown in Illustration 18.
14. Click Finish to execute the changes and to dismiss the Business Intelligence Wizard The Wizard closes and we are returned to the Cube Designer, Calculations tab. 15. Right-click the Adventure Works.cube (Design) tab. 16. Select Close from the context menu that appears, as depicted in Illustration 19.
17. Click Save on the Microsoft Visual Studio dialog that next appears, asking if we wish to save changes to cube “Adventure Works,” as depicted in Illustration 20.
The dialog disappears, and the Cube Designer closes. Having completed Time Intelligence implementation for the Calendar hierarchy, we are ready to examine the areas we previewed in the previous section to confirm our understanding of the changes made to the cube model. We will perform this examination, together with a review of various settings and properties that may be considerations, in our next article, Mastering Enterprise BI: Time Intelligence Pt. III. Our extended examination will support a compelling case for our exploiting the Time Intelligence capabilities of the Business Intelligence Wizard in Analysis Services 2005. 18. Preview the changes within the Date Dimension Designer and the Cube Designer, (which we will examine together as one objective in our next article), as desired. 19. Select File -> Save All from the main menu, to save our work through this point, as shown in Illustration 21.
20. Select File -> Exit, when ready, to leave the Business Intelligence Development Studio. ConclusionIn this article, we continued the examination, begun in Mastering Enterprise BI: Time Intelligence Pt. I, of Analysis Services 2005 features that support the Time dimension within our Analysis Services 2005 cube models. Our focus extended into further enhancements introduced in Analysis Services 2005 to specifically support virtually any “custom” relative time aggregation requirement that we might encounter within our respective business environments. Our examination of new features that support the easy addition of Time Intelligence within our cube models began with a discussion surrounding the concept of relative time aggregations, and how the Time dimension in general, and custom time periods specifically, have been accommodated in formerly dominant BI applications, such as Cognos Transformer / PowerPlay. We then touched upon general approaches to meeting the requirement for relative time aggregations in Analysis Services 2005. Next, we provided a general introduction to the Business Intelligence Wizard in Analysis Services 2005, narrowing our focus to one of its many cube enhancement capabilities, the implementation of Time Intelligence in general, and the accommodation of custom relative time aggregations specifically. We previewed various perspectives in the cube structure that we had expected to be altered by the Business Intelligence Wizard, concomitant to its implementation of Time Intelligence, to provide a basis of comparison in our next article, where we will examine the structures put into place by the Business Intelligence Wizard, together with relevant properties and settings that form considerations surrounding their successful use. We then performed a practice exercise, whereby we added relative time aggregations support with this straightforward method. Throughout the steps of our practice session, we touched upon various details to consider when implementing Time Intelligence in our respective business environments. » See All Articles by Columnist William E. Pearson, III Discuss this article in the MSSQL Server 2000 Analysis Services and MDX Topics Forum. Introduction to MSSQL Server Analysis Services Series
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Cube Storage: Planning Partitions from a SQL Server Management Studio Perspective Cube Storage: Planning Partitions (Business Intelligence Development Studio Perspective) Cube Storage: Introduction to Partitions Introduction to Cube Storage Attribute Discretization: Customize Grouping Names Attribute Discretization: Using the "Clusters" Method Attribute Discretization: Using the "Equal Areas" Method Attribute Discretization: Using the Automatic Method Introduction to Attribute Discretization More Exposure to Settings and Properties in Analysis Services Attribute Relationships Attribute Relationships: Settings and Properties Introduction to Attribute Relationships in MSSQL Server Analysis Services Attribute Member Values in Analysis Services MSSQL Analysis Services - Attribute Member Names Attribute Member Keys - Pt II: Composite Keys Attribute Member Keys - Pt 1: Introduction and Simple Keys Dimension Attributes: Introduction and Overview, Part V Dimension Attributes: Introduction and Overview, Part IV Dimension Attributes: Introduction and Overview, Part III Dimension Attributes: Introduction and Overview, Part II Dimension Attributes: Introduction and Overview, Part I Dimensional Model Components: Dimensions Part II Dimensional Model Components: Dimensions Part I Manage Unknown Members in Analysis Services 2005, Part II Manage Unknown Members in Analysis Services 2005, Part I Alternatively Sorting Attribute Members in Analysis Services 2005 Introduction to Linked Objects in Analysis Services 2005 Distinct Counts in Analysis Services 2005 Positing the Intelligence: Conditional Formatting in the Analysis Services Layer Administration and Optimization: SQL Server Profiler for Analysis Services Queries Mastering Enterprise BI: Time Intelligence Pt. II Mastering Enterprise BI: Time Intelligence Pt. I Design and Documentation: Introducing the Visio 2007 PivotDiagram Actions in Analysis Services 2005: The URL Action Actions in Analysis Services 2005: The Drillthrough Action Mastering Enterprise BI: Introducing Actions in Analysis Services 2005 Mastering Enterprise BI: Introduction to Translations Mastering Enterprise BI: Introduction to Perspectives Introduction to the Analysis Services 2005 Query Log Mastering Enterprise BI: Working with Measure Groups Mastering Enterprise BI: Introduction to Key Performance Indicators Mastering Enterprise BI: Extend the Data Source with Named Calculations, Pt. II Mastering Enterprise BI: Extend the Data Source with Named Calculations, Pt. I Process Analysis Services Objects with Integration Services Usage-Based Optimization in Analysis Services 2005 Introduction to MSSQL Server Analysis Services: Named Sets Revisited Introduction to MSSQL Server Analysis Services: Migrating an Analysis Services 2000 Database to Analysis Services 2005 Introduction to MSSQL Server Analysis Services: Introducing Data Source Views Introduction to MSSQL Server Analysis Services: Reporting Options for Analysis Services Cubes: MS Excel 2003 and More ... Introduction to MSSQL Server Analysis Services: Mastering Enterprise BI: Create Aging "Buckets" in a Cube Introduction to MSSQL Server Analysis Services: Mastering Enterprise BI: Relative Time Periods in an Analysis Services Cube, Part II Introduction to MSSQL Server Analysis Services: Mastering Enterprise BI: Relative Time Periods in an Analysis Services Cube Introduction to MSSQL Server Analysis Services: Process Analysis Services Cubes with DTS Introduction to MSSQL Server Analysis Services: Presentation Nuances: CrossTab View - Same Dimension Introduction to MSSQL Server Analysis Services: Point-and-Click Cube Schema Simplification Introduction to MSSQL Server 2000 Analysis Services: Manage Distinct Count with a Virtual Cube Introduction to MSSQL Server 2000 Analysis Services: Distinct Count Basics: Two Perspectives Introduction to MSSQL Server 2000 Analysis Services: Semi-Additive Measures and Periodic Balances Introduction to MSSQL Server 2000 Analysis Services: Performing Incremental Cube Updates - An Introduction Introduction to MSSQL Server 2000 Analysis Services: Partitioning a Cube in Analysis Services - An Introduction Introduction to MSSQL Server 2000 Analysis Services: Basic Storage Design Introduction to MSSQL Server 2000 Analysis Services: Derived Measures vs. Calculated Measures Introduction to MSSQL Server 2000 Analysis Services: Creating a Dynamic Default Member Introduction to MSSQL Server 2000 Analysis Services: Another Approach to Local Cube Design and Creation Introduction to MSSQL Server 2000 Analysis Services: Introduction to Local Cubes Introduction to MSSQL Server 2000 Analysis Services: Actions in Virtual Cubes Introduction to MSSQL Server 2000 Analysis Services: Putting Actions to Work in Regular Cubes Introduction to MSSQL Server 2000 Analysis Services: Reporting Options for Analysis Services Cubes: ProClarity Part II Introduction to MSSQL Server 2000 Analysis Services: Reporting Options for Analysis Services Cubes: ProClarity Professional, Part I Introduction to MSSQL Server 2000 Analysis Services: Using Calculated Cells in Analysis Services , Part II Introduction to MSSQL Server 2000 Analysis Services: Using Calculated Cells in Analysis Services, Part I Introduction to MSSQL Server 2000 Analysis Services: MSAS Administration and Optimization: Toward More Sophisticated Analysis Introduction to MSSQL Server 2000 Analysis Services: MSAS Administration and Optimization: Simple Cube Usage Analysis Introduction to MSSQL Server 2000 Analysis Services: Build a Web Site Traffic Analysis Cube: Part II Build a Web Site Traffic Analysis Cube: Part I Reporting Options for Analysis Services Cubes: Cognos PowerPlay Reporting Options for Analysis Services Cubes: MS FrontPage 2002 Reporting Options for Analysis Services Cubes: MS Excel 2002 Introduction to MSSQL Server 2000 Analysis Services: Drilling Through to Details: From Two Perspectives Introduction to MSSQL Server 2000 Analysis Services: Custom Cubes: Financial Reporting - Part II Introduction to MSSQL Server 2000 Analysis Services Custom Cubes: Financial Reporting (Part I) Introduction to SQL Server 2000 Analysis Services: Exploring Virtual Cubes Introduction to SQL Server 2000 Analysis Services: Working with the Cube Editor Introduction to SQL Server 2000 Analysis Services: Parent-Child Dimensions Introduction to SQL Server 2000 Analysis Services: Handling Time Dimensions Introduction to SQL Server 2000 Analysis Services: Working with Dimensions Introduction to SQL Server 2000 Analysis Services: Creating Our First Cube |
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