Strategy ONE
Translating Characteristics to Strategy
| SAP BW ---> | ODBO ---> | Strategy |
|
Characteristic |
Dimension |
Dimension |
-
SAP BW: Characteristic
Characteristics in SAP BW are similar to attributes in Strategy. For example, an InfoCube might include the Month characteristic, which represents months just like it does in a Strategy attribute called Month.
A characteristic appears as a dimension for Strategy users. Each characteristic (dimension) has at least one hierarchy with two levels: the first level is an aggregate of all the data related to the characteristic, and the second level is the detailed data.
When you import an MDX cube into Strategy, you can control whether a characteristic's first level of aggregate data is imported and whether the second level is imported with a Level 01 suffix. For more information on setting import options for characteristics, see Importing Levels and Suffixes for Characteristics.
A characteristic can have any number of additional hierarchies, each with an arbitrary number of levels. The SAP BW characteristic hierarchies appear as Strategy hierarchies to Strategy users.
For example, in SAP BW you can build a Time hierarchy that is attached to the Month characteristic. The Time hierarchy defines a number of levels including Year, Quarter, and Month. These same levels could either be specifically defined as part of the hierarchy, or they could be other characteristics that are used to define the levels of this one hierarchy.
Shared dimensions allow a designer to use only one definition for a dimension across multiple cubes. Each characteristic in SAP is modeled as a dimension in ODBO and is shared across cubes. Therefore, all dimensions in cubes coming from SAP BW are shared.
-
ODBO: Dimension
A dimension in ODBO defines a logical category of analysis. For example, Time and Geography are dimensions along which you can slice data.
Measures (metrics) are stored in a special measure dimension. In this way, measures are yet another dimension of a cube.
Measures in ODBO are called key figures in SAP BW, which are similar to metrics in Strategy, and they are represented as physical columns.
If your SAP BW MDX cube source includes variables, there are times when these variables specify a name other than
[Measures]for the measure dimension name. You can specify the measure dimension name in your SAP BW MDX cube source using the VLDB properties Name of Measure Dimension and MDX Remember Measure Dimension Name. For information on how to use these VLDB properties to specify the measure dimension name, refer to the Supplemental Reference for System Administration. -
Strategy: Dimension
A dimension object in Strategy is similar to an ODBO dimension. It is used to group attributes and relate them to each other by defining parent-child relationships.