Creating a report for analysis

This section describes how to create a report using the quick report creation tool called Report Builder. MicroStrategy's Report Builder steps you easily through the process of quick report creation, and lets you access a wide variety of report objects in your project to define your report.

Report Builder asks for four specific pieces of information from you:

• The attributes to include on the report
• The metrics to include on the report
• Information to create a filter for one or more attributes; the filter is optional
• Information to create a filter for one or more metrics; the filter is optional

Each of these pieces of information is described more fully, with examples, in the procedure below.

Creating a quick report using Report Builder

To create a report that accurately answers a specific business query, be sure you have access to objects that have already been created, as described above in Prerequisites.

To build a quick report using Report Builder

This procedure assumes that a project designer has created a project in MicroStrategy that reflects your organization's stored data, and the project contains attributes and metrics.

To start Report Builder

1. In MicroStrategy Web, log in to the project that contains the objects you want to use to create a report. To log in to a specific project, see Starting MicroStrategy.
2. Click the MicroStrategy icon and select New Report.
3. Click Report Builder.

The Report Builder steps on the left pane allow you to easily navigate between different sections of the Report Builder.

To include attributes on the report

Attributes are the business concepts reflected in your stored business data in your data source. Attributes provide a context in which to report and analyze business data. While knowing your company's total sales is useful, knowing where and when the sales took place is more helpful.

For example, you have a report containing the Month, Year, and Region attributes, as well as a Revenue metric. When executed, the report displays your company's revenue for each region, during each month and year for which data is available. Because of the attributes on the report, a substantial amount of information is available, including which regions produced the least revenue and which years saw the highest growth in revenue.

1. Under Choose the attributes of the report, in the Search for field, type the name of the attribute. Alternatively, from the Available pane, browse to the attribute that you want to include on your report.
2. Select one or more attributes and click the Add arrow to move them to the Selected pane.

When you are finished adding attributes, add the metrics for your report under Choose the metrics of the report.

To include metrics on the report

Metrics are MicroStrategy objects that represent business measures. Metrics are the calculations performed on data stored in your database, the results of which are displayed on a report. Metrics are similar to formulas in spreadsheet software.

Questions such as "What were the sales for the eastern region during the fourth quarter?" or "Are inventory levels being consistently replenished at the beginning of each week?" can easily be answered by metrics. A metric is made up of facts stored in your data source and the mathematical operations to be performed on those facts, so that meaningful business analysis can be performed on the results.

1. Under Choose the metrics of the report, in the Search for field, type the name of the metric. Alternatively, from the Available pane, browse to the metrics you want to include on your report.
2. Select one or more metrics and click the Add arrow to move them to the Selected pane.

Generally, one or two metrics is sufficient to add to the report, depending on the business query you are trying to answer with the report.

When you are finished adding metrics, you can add filtering conditions to your attributes under Qualify on any attribute.

To include an attribute filter on the report

A filter screens data in your data source to determine whether the data should be included in or excluded from the calculations of the report results. For example, you might filter the Year attribute so that data is only returned for the current year, or for the first three months of last year.

An attribute filter restricts data specifically for the attributes on, or related to, your report. You only need to include an attribute filter if it makes sense with your business query.

If you do not want to include an attribute filter, proceed to the next subtask in this procedure, To include a metric filter on the report. However, most reports use a filter to limit the quantity of data returned from the data source, and to help focus the report on a specific business question.

1. Under Qualify on any attribute, navigate through the hierarchies displayed in the Available pane. Alternatively, type the name of the hierarchy in the Search for field.

   Hierarchies group all the attributes in your project into logical subsets. For example, the Day, Week, Month, and Year attributes might all be grouped into a Time hierarchy.

2. Double-click the hierarchy that holds the attribute you want to filter data for. The attributes within that hierarchy are displayed in the Available pane.

3. Select the attribute you want to use a filter on, and then click the Add arrow to move it to the Selected pane.

   It is generally simplest to select an attribute that is part of your report, unless you need an attribute filter that relies on a different attribute.

4. For each attribute moved to the Selected pane, select one of the following options, depending on how you want to filter the attribute data:

   • Return results that only show data related to specific elements of the attribute. For example, the attribute Customer might have the elements John Smith, Jane Doe, William Hill, and so on. You can filter data to display a list of only those customers (those elements) that you specify.
   • To create this kind of filter, from the filter's expression, first choose Select and then choose the In List operator. Click Empty to display the attribute's elements. Then, select the elements on the left and click the arrow to move them to the right. Click OK.
   • Return results that show all the attribute's data EXCEPT for the specific elements you define. Using the example in the bullet above, you might specify certain customers whose data you do not want to see.
   • To create this kind of filter, from the filter's expression, first choose Select and then choose the Not In List operator. Click Empty to display the attribute's elements. Then, select the elements on the left and click the arrow to move them to the right. Click OK.

When you are finished defining your attribute filter, you can add filtering conditions for your metrics in the report under Qualify on any metric.

To include a metric filter on the report

A metric filter screens data based on a metric's value or rank. For example, you might create a filter that displays sales data for only those products with an inventory count below a specified number.

You only need to include a metric filter if it makes sense with your business query.

If you do not want to include a metric filter, proceed to the next subtask in this procedure, To finish your report.

1. Under Qualify on any metric, in the Available pane, select the metric on which you want to use a filter. Alternatively, type the name of the metric in the Search for field.

2. Click the Add arrow to move the metric to the Selected pane.

   It is generally simplest to select a metric that is part of your report, unless you need a metric filter that relies on a different metric.

3. For each metric moved to the Selected pane, select one of the following options, depending on how you want to filter the metric data:

   • Return results that show all data greater than a specific amount.
   • To create this kind of filter, from the filter's expression, select the Greater than operator. Click Value and in the Enter Value field, enter the number that all calculated values should be greater than.
   • Return results that show data that is outside a particular range of values.
   • To create this kind of filter, from the filter's expression, select the Not Between operator. Click the first Value and in the Enter Value field, enter the number that marks the lower end of the range. Click the second Value and in the Enter Value field, enter the number that marks the higher end of the range.
   • Click the Operator drop-down list to see the many other common operators you can define your filter with. Experiment with other options to create the exact filter you want. For guidance:
     • Metric qualifications are discussed in detail in Filtering data based on attribute relationships or metrics: Set qualifications.

To finish your report

1. Review your selections for the report and make changes, if required.
2. Type a name for the report in the Report Message Name field.

3. Prior to saving the report, you can choose to view the report results and verify your report selections.

   • Web Analyst: If you have Web Analyst privileges, click Run Report. Your report is executed against your data source and your results are displayed.
   • Web Professional: If you have Web Professional privileges (or higher), click Edit in Design Mode. The report opens in Design Mode in the Report Editor, where you can continue to build the report with additional objects and user functionalities.
     • To execute the report without making any further changes, from the toolbar select Run Report.
     • For information on using the Report Editor, adding or creating additional objects, and adding user functionalities, see MicroStrategy Web Report Editor interface.
4. Click Save.