MicroStrategy ONE
Building a Quick Query for Analysis
This chapter shows analysts and report designers how to create a simple business report. Before you create a report, you must have a business query in mind for that report to answer. You must also have access to various report objects that have already been created, so you can place them on the report and provide that report with the information it needs to gather the right data from your data source. You can use report objects that have already been created by your company's project designers and report designers.
Prerequisites
Make sure you review the following prerequisites before you create a report in MicroStrategy. They can save you time and make your report results more effective, thus making data analysis much easier.
- Define your business query: Before you can determine what objects to place on a new report, you need to know what data you want to see displayed on a report. MicroStrategy reports answer business questions that can be answered with the help of the data stored in your data source. To define your business question, make sure you consider the following questions:
- What is the main topic area the report needs to address? In other words, at a general level, what do you need to know?
- What level of detail do you need? For example, do you want complete details, or do you only want to see a few key measurements of particular data? Key measurements can be useful for a business meeting or high-level presentation.
- Look for existing reports: Before you create a report or document, search through MicroStrategy to see whether a similar report already exists that can serve the same purpose as the report you intend to create. This can not only save you time, it can help you avoid unnecessary duplication in your MicroStrategy project.
- Look for appropriate report objects: Do objects already exist in the project which match what you want to see on a report? If not, a report designer can create them.
- The objects which you will use to create a report must already be created in a MicroStrategy project. Report objects are generally created by the project's designer when the project is first created, and by report designers.
- Understand how your MicroStrategy project reflects your data source: Since you use objects to create reports, it can be useful for you to understand how the project's objects reflect the actual data in your organization's data source. In this way, you can choose objects to use on reports with full knowledge of the data source tables that data is coming from when the report is executed.
It is not necessary to have in-depth knowledge of your MicroStrategy project's design if you are creating quick reports for analysis, but if you desire more details on project design and data modeling, see the Project Design Help.