Chapter 1: Choosing the Right Report Development Tool Contents In this chapter you will learn how to: ƒ Choose the right report development tool for your needs ƒ Identify report development tools that support application areas in Release 4.0B ƒ Use the Tools Summary Matrix to evaluate different report development tools Choosing the Right Reporting Tool: The Big Picture 1–2 Organization of Report Development Tools 1–3 Using the Application Hierarchy 1–6 Using the Tools Summary Matrix 1–9 Using the Tool Summaries 1–11 Learning More About Report Development Tools 1–12 Review 1–13 Report Development Tools 1–1 Chapter 1: Choosing the Right Report Development Tool Choosing the Right Reporting Tool: The Big Picture In Fundamentals of Reporting, the first book of this three-volume guidebook series, we presented a methodology to help you choose a report development tool that fits your reporting needs Chapter (book 1) showed how the process of selecting the right report development tool is an integral part of the tactical approach to reporting Note: Although the tactical approach to reporting is not discussed here, we recommend that you give it consideration The tactical approach can save implementation teams much time and expense as it explains how to make best use of reporting functionality in R/3 For more information on the tactical approach, review chapter (book 1) In this chapter we review the material covered in chapter of book If you have already read chapter in book 1—and understand how to select a report development tool using the tools summary matrix and the application hierarchy—you may want to skip ahead to the other chapters for tool-specific information Choosing the Right Reporting Tool: The Big Picture Follow these steps to help you choose the reporting tool that best fits your needs: Use the Application Hierarchy to Identify the Tools: Starting from the R/3 applications in which you work, you can determine which reporting tools can be used for your business process The application hierarchy matrix helps determine the appropriate R/3 report development tools for a particular application area For more information on the application hierarchy, see page 1–6 Use the Tools Summary Matrix to Help you Decide: For a quick comparison of the features of the reporting tools available for your application area, use the tools summary matrix The tools summary matrix provides a high-level view of the functionality available with different tools For more information on the tools summary matrix, see page 1–9 Review the Tool Summaries: Before finalizing your decision to use a particular tool, you may want to review the tool summaries (chapters through 11 of book 1) to better understand the relative strengths of each tool Learn More About Report Development Tools: For more information on how to get started with the reporting tools, see chapters 2–6 of this guidebook In addition to stepby-step examples, you will also find tips and tricks for efficient report development If you conclude that none of the tools fit your needs, and you want to use ABAP to develop your report, review chapter 12 for information on using ABAP for developing reports Additionally, you will find templates to speed up ABAP report development 1–2 Reporting Made Easy Deleted: Review Tool Summaries Chapter 1: Choosing the Right Report Development Tool Organization of Report Development Tools Use Use the the Application Application Hierarchy Hierarchy to to Identify Identify the the Tools Tools Use Use the the Tools Tools Summary Summary Matrix Matrix to to Help Help You You Decide Decide Review Review Tool Tool Summaries Summaries Learn Learn More More About About Report Report Development Development Tools Tools Read “Using the Application Hierarchy” in chapter Read “Using the Tools Summary Matrix” in chapter See book (chapters through 11) for an overview of reporting tools For in-depth information on reporting tools, see chapters through Organization of Report Development Tools Before getting started with the step-by-step approach to choosing the right tool, it is useful to understand the overall report development landscape in the R/3 System There are several report development tools (for example, Report Painter, ABAP Query, and more) in the R/3 System While many methods can be used to create reports, the tool comparison in this chapter focuses only on the core set of reporting tools Core tools may be defined as tools that are used exclusively to create reports What is a core report development tool? Which reporting tools are part of this core set? What are the factors that determine if a tool belongs to the core set of report development tools? For purposes of this guidebook, the core set of reporting tools is defined as tools which are used exclusively for report development If the tool has alternate uses, it will not be compared here The core set of report development tools being compared in this guidebook includes the following: < ABAP Query < Report Painter/Report Writer < Drilldown Reporting < Logistics Information System—Standard Analyses < Logistics Information System—Flexible Analyses We selected a core set of report development tools to achieve a more focused tool comparison Consequently, certain tools, or tools by other names, are excluded from this list Report Development Tools 1–3 Formatted Chapter 1: Choosing the Right Report Development Tool Organization of Report Development Tools Which reporting tools not belong to this core set? Several tools are not listed in the core set of report development tools Two notable exclusions are: < ABAP (the programming language of R/3) < Business Information Warehouse (for more information, see chapters through 11) There are specific reasons why non-core tools were excluded from the application hierarchy and the overall comparison you find in this guidebook ABAP is not considered a core report development tool because it is not exclusively used for report development While ABAP can be quite useful in developing reports, it includes much functionality (especially the capability to allow users to manipulate data in the database) that extends far beyond information retrieval However, chapter 12 presents tips on creating ABAP reports, including templates to help you get started The Business Information Warehouse also is not used exclusively for report development The BW is a data warehouse which can be used to store data from many systems, including the R/3 database The “front-end” of the BW (the Business Explorer) includes powerful functionality that takes advantage of its environment, Microsoft Excel However, because of the separate environment and the added data warehousing capability, the BW is not considered in this core set What about the other reporting tools I have heard about? The core report development tools listed in this chapter are often known by other names within application areas of R/3 The names of the tools are usually customized to applications because of the data presented For example, the Sales Information System (SIS) is part of the Logistics Information System Similarly, the Executive Information System (EIS) is part of the Drilldown reporting tool Particular names are used within certain application areas, but the core set of the tools is the same As mentioned, it is important to have a clear core set of report development tools in order to effectively compare the relative strengths of each tool As the goal of this chapter is to help you decide which report development tool is most appropriate for your needs, we refine the core set to make the comparison easier The table on the next page presents a quick overview of the core report development tools With the help of this table you can: < Learn some of the commonly used names for the core report development tools < Identify the access points for the core report development tools < Find the application areas each core report development tool supports Note: The table shown on the following page is also available as a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet (Core development tools.xls) on the companion CD supplied with the Reporting Made Easy guidebook series In the spreadsheet, you will also find application-specific menu paths you can use to access report creation environments in R/3 System for each tool 1–4 Reporting Made Easy Deleted: Information on BW will be presented in book 2, Report Development Tools, of this guidebook series Deleted: earlier Formatted Formatted Chapter 1: Choosing the Right Report Development Tool Organization of Report Development Tools Core Report Development Tools Some Commonly Used Names/ Access Points for Report Tools Application Areas Supported by Report Tool ABAP Query ABAP Query Adhoc query All application areas Human Resources (HR) Report Painter Report Painter or Report Writer Cost Center Accounting (CO-CCA) and Internal Orders (CO-OPA) Functional area reporting in Cost-of-Sales Accounting Profit Center Accounting (CO-PCA/EC-PCA) Legal Consolidations (FI-LC) Controlling Reconciliation Ledger (CO-CEL) Special Purpose Ledger (FI-SL) Enterprise Controlling module (EC-LC) Financial Accounting (General Ledger) reports by account, company, and business area (FI-GL) Project Systems (PS) Controlling Product Costing module (CO-Costing) Report Painter or Report Writer Report Painter or Report Writer Report Painter or Report Writer Report Painter or Report Writer Report Painter or Report Writer Report Painter or Report Writer Report Painter or Report Writer Report Painter or Report Writer Report Painter or Report Writer LIS Standard Analyses Inventory Controlling (INVCO) Purchasing Information System (PURCHIS) Sales Information System (SIS) Shop Floor Information System (SFIS) Plant Maintenance Information System (PMIS) Quality Management Information System (QMIS) Retail Information System (RIS) Warehouse Management Information System (WMIS) Service Management Information System (SMIS) Materials Management-Inventory Management (MM-IM) Materials Management-Purchasing (MM-PUR) (includes External Services Management) Sales and Distribution (SD) Production Planning (PP) Plant Maintenance (PM) Quality Management (QM) SAP Retail (IS-Retail) Materials Management-Warehouse Management (MM-WM) Service Management (SM) LIS Flexible Analyses Same as LIS Standard Analyses (see above) Same as LIS Standard Analyses (see above) Drilldown Reporting Profitability Analysis Reporting Executive Information System Executive Information System Drilldown Reporting Drilldown Reporting Drilldown Reporting Drilldown Reporting Drilldown Reporting Drilldown Reporting Drilldown Reporting Drilldown Reporting Drilldown Reporting Drilldown Reporting Controlling and Profitability Analysis (CO-PA) Executive Information System (EIS) Profit Center Accounting (EC-PCA) General Ledger (Financial versions) Project Systems (PS) Consolidations (EC-CS) Accounts Payable (FI-AP) Accounts Receivables (FI-AR) Special Ledger (FI-SL) Real Estate (IS-RE) Funds Management (FI-FM) Treasury Management (TR) Investment Management (IM) Report Development Tools 1–5 Chapter 1: Choosing the Right Report Development Tool Using the Application Hierarchy On page 1–2, we introduced the idea of using of a step-by-step approach to help you choose the right report development tool for your needs The table on the previous page is intended to help you get acquainted with the core reporting tools and some of the common names associated with the core tools Next, you will see an application-centric view of the reporting tools comparison You will start the comparison by first looking at the application areas and the tools available for the application Using the Application Hierarchy While the table on the previous page offers a tools-centric view, the application hierarchy presented in this section is centered around application areas and subcomponents The application hierarchy shown on the next two pages is a complete list of all R/3 applications, organized by functional areas Most application modules in the hierarchy are subdivided to show individual areas in the application (for example, shipping and billing are two areas within the sales and distribution [SD] application, and accounts payable is an area within the financial accounting [FI] application) Use Use the the Application Application Hierarchy Hierarchy to Identify to Identify the the Tools Tools Use Use the the Tools Tools Summary Summary Matrix Matrix to to Help Help You You Decide Decide Review Review Tools Tools Summaries Summaries Learn Learn More More About About Report Report Example: If you are interested in choosing the Development appropriate tool for a cash management (CM) Development Tools Tools report in the Treasury (TR) area, then find TRCM in the application hierarchy Next, review the report development tools available for TR-CM From the application hierarchy you can see that ABAP Query and Drilldown reporting are the tools you can choose from More on the SAP application hierarchy R/3’s application areas are divided among business applications, such as financial accounting (FI), sales and distribution (SD), and human resources (HR) To access the complete list of applications in the SAP application hierarchy, choose Tools → ABAP Workbench → Overview → Application hierarchy → SAP from the SAP main menu If you are not familiar with the concept of different applications in R/3, or are unsure of which applications you might be using, we suggest you view the application hierarchy within the R/3 System If needed, ask your system administrator for assistance Note: Since both LIS Standard Analyses and LIS Flexible Analyses use the same applications for report development, they have been combined into a single column in the application hierarchy matrix 1–6 Reporting Made Easy Chapter 1: Choosing the Right Report Development Tool FI General Ledger Accounting Legal Consolidation Accounts Payable Accounts Receivable Bank Accounting Asset Accounting Special Purpose Ledger Funds Management Travel Management X X X X X X X X X Cash Management Cash Budget Management Treasury Management Loans Business Risk Management X X X X X Overhead Cost Controlling Product Cost Controlling Profitability Analysis IM Investment Management EC Enterprise Controlling FA PCA BP CS EIS X X X X X Capital Investments Profit Center Accounting Business Planning Consolidation Enterprise Information System X X X X X X X X X X X X X Rel 4.5A X X X X Real Estate Management Banking Public Sector Retail Information System X X X X X X X X X X Logistics Basic Data Product Data Management Batches Environmental Management Forecast Variant Configuration Engineering Change Management Logistics Information System (LIS) Supply Chain Planning Interfaces (SCPI) Additionals Management Retail Information System (RIS) X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X Sales and Distribution MD BF SLS SHP TRA FT BIL CAS IS EDI POS MM X X X Logistics: General MD PDM BM EHS PR VC ECH LIS SCI ADM RIS SD Rel 4.5A Rel 4.5A Industry Solutions RE B PS Retail LO X X Controlling OM PC PA IS X Treasury CM CB TM LO MRM CO Report Painter/ Report Writer Financial Accounting GL LC AP AR BL AA SL FM TV TR Drilldown Reporting Pick the desired application area from the application hierarchy Note the available reporting tools that support the application area Review the Tools Summary Matrix to compare the relative strengths of each tool Select a report development tool based on your requirements ABAP Query Reporting Tools and R/3 System Application Hierarchy LIS Standard & Flexible Analyses Using the Application Hierarchy Master Data Basic Functions Sales Shipping Transportation Foreign Trade Billing Sales Support Information System Electronic Data Interchange Point-of-Sale Interface X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X Materials Management CBP PUR SRV IM WM IV IS EDI Consumption-Based Planning Purchasing External Services Management Inventory Management Warehouse Management Invoice Verification Information System Electronic Data Interchange Report Development Tools X X X X X X X X 1–7 Chapter 1: Choosing the Right Report Development Tool QM Equipment and Technical Objects Preventive Maintenance Maintenance Order Management Maintenance Projects Service Management Information System Basic Data Sales and Operations Planning Master Planning Capacity Requirements Planning Material Requirements Planning Production Orders KANBAN Repetitive Manufacturing Assembly Processing Production Planning for Process Industries Plant Data Collection Flow Manufacturing Information System Structures Document Production Resources/Tools Costs Revenues and Earnings Payments Dates Capacities Material Confirmation Simulation Versions Progress SAP Business Workflow Connection Information System PY Payroll Accounting PE Training and Event Management Includes all specific countries as well as general Payroll Accounting Includes all areas of Training and Event Management, such as resource management, correspondence, connection to time management, connection to cost accounting, connection to billing, and connection to materials management X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X* X X X X X Basis Components All components X* 1–8 X X X Personnel Time Management Includes all areas of Personnel Time Management, such as work schedule, time data recording and management, shift planning, time evaluation, information system, tools, and integration with other applications BC X X X X X X X Personnel Management Includes all areas of Personnel Management, such as recruitment, personnel administration, benefits, HR information system, personnel development, organizational structure, compensation management, and travel management PT X X X Project Systems ST DOC PRT COS REV CAF DAT CRP MAT CON SIM VER PRG WFL IS PA X X X X X X Production Planning and Control BD SOP MP CRP MRP SFC KAB REM ATO PI PDC FLW IS PS Quality Planning Quality Inspection Quality Control Quality Certificates Quality Notifications Test Equipment Management Plant Maintenance EQM PRM WOC PRO SMA IS PP Report Painter/ Report Writer Quality Management PT IM QC CA QN IT PM Drilldown Reporting Pick the desired application area from the application hierarchy Note the available reporting tools that support the application area Review the Tools Summary Matrix to compare the relative strengths of each tool Select a report development tool based on your requirements ABAP Query Reporting Tools and R/3 System Application Hierarchy (cont.) LIS Standard & Flexible Analyses Using the Application Hierarchy X Reports only; no information structures Reporting Made Easy Chapter 1: Choosing the Right Report Development Tool Using the Tools Summary Matrix Note that within this application hierarchy, several tools can be used for most application areas Therefore, it is up to you to decide which reporting tools are best matched to the reports to you want to develop The report development tool summary matrix covered in the next two pages will give you a quick comparison of tool features Using the Tools Summary Matrix The tools summary matrix provides a quick comparative analysis of the core report development tools As shown on the next page, the tools summary matrix lets you evaluate each tool using a set of features users typically consider It is important to note that the matrix only presents a high-level overview of each tool The aim of this matrix is simply to help users jumpstart the process of comparing different tools Using the information available in the tools matrix, you can then review the tool summaries presented in chapters 7—11 of book 1, Fundamentals of Reporting You can also refer to chapters through of this book for more detailed information on using the report development tools Use Use the the Application Application Hierarchy Hierarchy to to Identify Identify the the Tools Tools Use Use the the Tools Tools Summary Summary Matrix Matrix to to Help Help You You Decide Decide Review Review Tools Tools Summaries Summaries Learn Learn More More About About Report Report Development Development Tools Tools Formatted Deleted: Later Deleted: 2, Report Development Tools Used as a guide, the tools summary matrix can help you narrow your choices down to one or two reporting tools While this matrix is designed to help you find the right tool, it is by no means intended to make a decision for you The relative importance of each feature is likely to vary among users For example, ease-of-use may be important to one user but another user may be primarily concerned with the coverage of applications When using this matrix, you must assign your own weighting to the criteria Report Development Tools 1–9 Chapter 1: Choosing the Right Report Development Tool Using the Tools Summary Matrix Report Painter Report Writer LIS Flexible Analyses LIS Standard Analyses Drilldown Reporting ABAP Query Reporting Tools Summary Matrix Desktop Integration Uses MS Excel as a front-end tool Simple downloads and use of XXL with manipulation None required External system required Integration with spreadsheet programs? Special requirements of external systems? Speed vs Performance Minimal impact Somewhat slowed Significant impact Yes No Speed with heavy data load? Tools to optimize performance? Delivered Integration Online transaction protocol data Meta data plus external data Meta data only All applications Less than all, greater than 50% Less than 50% More than 100 Less than 100 but more than Views "live" data? Coverage of applications Availability of standard reports? Requirements for Development Less than hours 2–4 hours; course suggested At least one day or course required Yes No Difficult to learn to program with tool? Adequate number of characteristics and drilldown levels? If 'meta' data is used, is it difficult to program? Flexibility for modifying reports? (for example, adding fields—beyond basic format changes) Not Applicable Slight changes in configuration Moderately difficult to program Rarely requires reprogramming Somewhat difficult to modify reports Reports should not be modified once created Ease of Use How easily can a user learn to use the reports? Very easy Somewhat difficult; some training suggested Can a query be created from scratch? (without reconfiguration) Yes Yes, with some effort Not possible Drag and drop capability? Yes No All features supported All tools offer: Sorting by rows and columns, column/row resizing, summations, use of selection screen variants, saved results (in cached queries), and a common look and feel among reports Execution Management Authorization control programmable? Alert and monitoring capability? Background or batch job execution? 1–10 Run-time, data control, plus can program more Auth control for run, plus data field control Control authorization to run only Yes No Yes No Reporting Made Easy Chapter 1: Choosing the Right Report Development Tool Using the Tool Summaries Using the Tool Summaries After reviewing the tools summary matrix you are now ready to familiarize yourself with the report development tools that meet your needs To help you get started with the report development tools, we have provided “tool summaries” in chapters through 11 of book 1, Fundamentals of Reporting The tool summaries cover basic information and answers questions related to the features shown in the tools summary matrix The tools summaries are by no means meant to provide the definitive answer to which report development tool(s) you should use We suggest that you use tool summaries in conjunction with other information about the report development tools to help you make an informed decision Use Use the the Application Application Hierarchy Hierarchy to to Identify Identify the the Tools Tools Use Use the the Tools Tools Summary Summary Matrix Matrix to to Help Help You You Decide Decide Review Review Tools Tools Summaries Summaries Learn Learn More More About About Report Report Development Development Tools Tools Deleted: this Formatted Deleted: This chapter is by no means intended to fully determine which report development tool is appropriate for the needs of all companies It is intended as a springboard for the chapters that follow We provide the summary matrix before the tool summaries because it is often useful to see the big picture (the overview) before jumping into detailed information Note: You may have heard about other report development tools such as the Open Information Warehouse (OIW) and the Extended Export of Lists (XXL) which have not been included in the tool comparison XXL has been excluded from the reporting tools comparison because it is a supplement to other R/3 reporting tools, not a tool used exclusively to create reports The OIW has not been included in the comparison because it was a predecessor to the Business Information Warehouse and is no longer being developed For more information on XXL and OIW, see appendix B and C respectively in this book Report Development Tools 1–11 Deleted: book of this guidebook series Chapter 1: Choosing the Right Report Development Tool Learning More About Report Development Tools Learning More About Report Development Tools Subsequent chapters in this guidebook provide overview information about each of the report development tools considered in this chapter If you are new to reporting tools, you may want to look through the tools summaries (book 1, chapters 7–11) to learn more Deleted: this In this guide, you will find information on the following reporting tools: Chapter Reporting Tool Covered Chapter ABAP Query Chapter Report Painter/Report Writer Chapter Drilldown Reporting Chapter Logistics Information System—Standard Analyses Chapter Logistics Information System—Flexible Analyses Chapters 7–11 Business Information Warehouse R/3 Report Development Tools LI S An Stan aly da se rd s er aint r ort P te Rep ort Wri Rep LIS Fl Ana exible lyse s ABAP Query n ow g illd rtin r D po Re This book presents in-depth information on the tools In chapters through of this book, you will find more information about the core set of report development tools, including: 1–12 < Information on how to create a report with the report development tools < Step-by-step examples of creating reports with each tool < Tips and tricks on further report development with each tool < Guidance on where to find additional information on the tools Deleted: Book 2, Report Development Tools Deleted: book Formatted Deleted: you will find Reporting Made Easy Chapter 1: Choosing the Right Report Development Tool Review Beyond the tools specifically intended for report development, this book also provides: < Templates for programming in ABAP (chapter 12) < Hints on using the ABAP List Viewer (ALV) (appendix A) < Information on the use of the XXL interface (appendix B) < Information on the use of web reporting (appendix D) Deleted: book Future editions of this guidebook series will contain more information on reporting and report development Review This chapter presents a step-by-step approach to choosing the right report development tool The following steps are recommended: Use the application hierarchy matrix to determine which report development tool(s) can be used within the application component(s) of your interest Use the tools summary matrix to gain an overview of the features available within the report development tools Read chapters 7–11 of book 1, Fundamentals of Reporting, to learn summary information about each of the report development tools Read chapters through of this book for more detailed information on the core set of report development tools Users should be familiar with the applications they are responsible for in an R/3 implementation The application hierarchy matrix helps users determine which report development tool(s) are intended for use in their component areas Formatted Deleted: book Deleted: of the Reporting Made Easy guidebook series Formatted The features outlined in the tools summary matrix were identified by customers, consultants and developers as being the most important in choosing a report development tool The summary matrix is intended to be a guide rather than an absolute decision tool Report Development Tools Deleted: this guidebook 1–13 Chapter 1: Choosing the Right Report Development Tool Review 1–14 Reporting Made Easy .. .Chapter 1: Choosing the Right Report Development Tool Choosing the Right Reporting Tool: The Big Picture In Fundamentals of Reporting, the first book of this three-volume... Formatted Chapter 1: Choosing the Right Report Development Tool Organization of Report Development Tools Core Report Development Tools Some Commonly Used Names/ Access Points for Report Tools Application... Chapter 1: Choosing the Right Report Development Tool Organization of Report Development Tools Which reporting tools not belong to this core set? Several tools are not listed in the core set of report