Power Users

[maverick00]

My company is thinking of moving to Business Objects. Our current tool is a SQL writer. The power users love it, because they can write complex SQL. Unfortunately the casual users are left to find a power user to get anything done. By moving to Business Objects it appears that the casual users will be empowered, but will my power users be happy?

 

[blom0344]

Hello Maverick,

The answer is yes and no. It is still possible to have BO using things like free-hand SQL and the SQL that is generated by using the interaction with universes can still be modified if need be.

However, It is a common experience I am facing too. The few people in my company that are real Access guru's seem to find BO a bit restrictive. Not to mention the fact that it sometimes seems to pose a threat to them. Now everybody depends on their skills, which threatens to change if others can make reports without extensive SQL knowledge.

BO is aimed at the masses so to speak, it does some things quite a lot better than just SQL (or tools like Access), but it takes an awful lot of persuasion to point out the benefits to those who are used to solve every issue or demand with some quick remedy.

However the benefits are there, uniformity, security, centralised storage of documents, easy scheduling, some nice report features etc. But as one of my power-users once remarked : What does it give me beyond all my fiddling with my hobby of casual queries, export to other media, cutting and pasting.

I said: maybe not a lot while you are still around, but no one can take your place when you apply for another job, while I can show any manager to run some nice fixed reports which gives him the same information! T. Blom
Information analist
Shimano Europe
tbl@shimano-eu.com

 

[maverick00]

Thank you Blom034. I have a couple hundred of these power users. Many of them will have the same attitude as your power user. Are there any major restrictions that BO has that will take power away from them? I do not want to restrict them and do not want to babysit them ( with Designer changes).

 

[blom0344]

Hello Maverick,

I'm quite a devoted BO fan , so every once in a while I have to remind myself that no tool is perfect. Your question lands me somewhere in my favorite discussion- theme: how good is this tool anyhow?

I sincerely have to admit that given time and talent one could create all or nearly all BO functionality with other tools. To create an analogy: I'm working in the bicycle business and just finished a race bike for my wife, gathering parts from different sources till I finally had it all complete. It took me quite a while, I had to buy some specialist tools and had to ask our service guys advice. But it was on he whole a lot of fun. Switching to BO in this analogy is buying the bike from a store and then modyfing to specific needs.
In other words, BO will let you use a great part of its functionality in a short time-span, without having to dig very deep for that specific Access problem or whatever.

To your question: will BO take power away from super-users (hundreds?, poor soul!)
Again yes and no, In my experience complicated reports with BO are still a step to far for the average manager/user. So here power-users will have to step in. If you get some of them to become design-specialists (universes) they can have a great time together.

But make no mistake; BO is a read-only report tool aimed at producing management reports or for easily creating alternatives for quick queries. (of course , it is much more than that , according to the hyped business intelligence people) People cannot change data directly in a report (no matter how closely crosstabs resemble a spreadsheet) and you do not have the total control of MS Access.

At the risk of completely boring you to death here are my top pro's and con's about BO:

Pro's:

1. Slick interface, stable, runs nicely in background , can handle much more data than Access /Excel
2. Total package: Security,Central storage in Repositry, easy to manage, Scheduling etc, etc.
3. Output looks millions times better than anything from MS (but that's question of taste)
4. No extensive SQL knowledge required, database structure captured in Universes. Everyone is forced to look and handle data the same way.
5. Advanced calculation delivers report functionality beyond anything that SQL can offer.
6. Multidimensional analysis (drilling) brings joyful tears to the eyes of every manager.

Con's:

1. Graphs in BO are sound ,but a bit basic compared with other tools.
2. Filter functionality is somewhat underdeveloped , you can only apply positive filters , which is a bit of a chore if new items keep popping up that you do want to see in the report.
3. There is a slight tendency towards tables / crosstabs getting corrupted if you keep modifying their design over and over and over again (rare but happens)
4. Every change in design is calculated through, so do not use a 1000 page report and start changing it's design, but switch to structure view or limit the amount of data in the report by applying a filter on a section (this is more of a hint than a con , actually)
5. Using mutiple types of data-providers is possible, but you should very WELL know what you are doing within a report, otherwise you start questioning your own abilities.

And finally:

6. If your a small customer with few licencees, they will not remember you after a while, but that stands for every company in the profit market (and probably is not going to be applicable to you with hundreds of users), so I do not hold that against them.

Feel free to let me know if you have any questions.

T. Blom
Information analist
Shimano Europe
tbl@shimano-eu.com