Page 128 - DCAP606_BUSINESS_INTELLIGENCE

Unit 8: Advanced Measures and Calculations

Self Assessment Notes

Fill in the blanks:
8. A ...................................... command is an MDX script, included as part of the definition of
the cube.

9. The default scope is the whole cube, but you can define a more limited scope, known as a
................................. and then apply an MDX script to only that particular cube space.
10. There are two types of MDX scripts: .................................. and ......................................

8.5 Creating KPIs

KPIs are measurements that define and track specific business goals and objectives that often
roll up into larger organizational strategies that require monitoring, improvement, and
evaluation. Begin the process of meeting your organization’s goals by defining KPIs for
monitoring sales and margins.

To create or edit a KPI:

1. Open a KPI for editing or create a new KPI. To create a new KPI, do one of the following:

(a) In the global header, hover the mouse pointer over the New menu, select KPI, and
from the Select Subject Area dialog, select a subject area for the KPI. The ”KPI
editor” is displayed.
(b) From a scorecard, go to the Scorecard Documents pane or the Catalogue pane, click
the New Object icon list, select KPI, and from the Select Subject Area dialog, select a
subject area for the KPI. The ”KPI editor” is displayed.
2. On the ”KPI editor: General Properties page”, specify the business owner, actual value,
and target value, and indicate if you want to enable trending to determine performance
patterns.
3. On the ”KPI editor: Dimensionality page”, select the dimensions (for example, Sales by
Region and by Financial Quarter) that you want to use to aggregate the KPI’s actual and
target values.

Notes Note that you should include a time dimension for most KPIs. Exceptions include
constants or metrics that are defined as current snapshots, such as “Inventory on Hand” or
“Current Phone Support Wait Time.”

4. On the ”KPI editor: Thresholds page”, indicate the desired goal based on KPI values (for
example, “High Values are Desirable”), define the ranges that evaluate KPI values to
determine performance status, and associate performance levels with actions.
5. On the ”KPI editor: Related Documents page”, add any external links or business
intelligence objects to the KPI.

6. Save the KPI. Note the following items:
(a) If you are creating a stand-alone KPI, then click Finish to save the KPI.
(b) If you are creating a new KPI, then the ”Save As dialog” is displayed where you
specify the KPI’s name and where you want to save the KPI. If you want the KPI to

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