When you create your own analytical objects such as reports or data sources, you may encounter content issues i.e. the content of your report / data source is not the expected result.

This blog outlines what checks can be done to find the cause for this, and also what information to provide to the support team in case you need to open an incident.

The content of this blog is:

1. 1. Troubleshooting

1. 1. Content Issues – Checks Before Sending to Support
      1. 1. Custom Report on Standard Data Source
      1. 1. Custom Report on Custom Data Source

1. 1. Performance Issues

1. 1. Incident Templates

1. 1. Knowledge Resources

1. Troubleshooting

Usually wrong results in customized analytical objects are caused by the modelling of that particular object. Depending on how complex the setup is and how many layers of data sources are involved, it can be difficult to pinpoint the exact cause of the issue. For example, you could have a setup like below, where it is unclear which of the data sources are responsible for the wrong display in the report:

The purpose of troubleshooting is to determine where exactly (which layer and which data source) the issue happens. Please perform the below checks to find the cause of the issue – however if the cause is still not clear, please provide your results to support via your incident.

2. Content Issues – Checks before Sending to Support

a) Custom Report on Standard Data Source

When you open a preview of the data source, is the data shown the same way? Please preview the data source via the Business Analytics work center, view Design Data Sources. Search for the data source and click on ‘Preview’.

• • If the data is wrong in the data source as well, please check the KBAs listed below and perform a solution search. If no solution is found, please report an incident.

• • If the data is correct in the data source but wrong in the report, please go to the work center Business Analytics, view Design Reports. Edit the report with the report wizard and check the following settings:
    • • Report wizard step 1: Have you checked the “Only for Master Data” check box? This will disable all key figures in this report.
    • • Report wizard step 4: Have you set fixed value selections? Please make sure that the data you are missing is not excluded here.
    • • Report wizard step 4: Have you checked the “Show Master Data Value” check box? This setting will make sure that all values for a characteristic are listed, whether or not there are key figure values for it. See also KBAs 1982957 (listed below).

b) Custom Report on Custom Data Source

When you open a preview of the data source, is the data shown the same way? Please preview the data source via the Business Analytics work center, view Design Data Sources. Search for the data source and click on ‘Preview’.

• • If the data is correct in the data source preview but wrong in the report, please check the settings listed under 2a.

• • If the data source preview shows the wrong data as well, please check the following:
    • • For combined data sources, please see the KBA 2488796
    • • For joined data sources, please check the join conditions: Edit the data source and click on ‘Check’. Any inconsistency has to be adjusted.
    • • If you have several layers of custom data sources as described above, please trace the the field with the wrong data through the layers of data source. Open a ‘Preview’ of every involved data source to find out in which layer the issue occurs for the first time. Once you have found the data source where the issue happens:
        • • If it is custom, please check the join conditions. A common cause is that the join conditions exclude the desired data, so it cannot be passed on to the top-level data source and the report. For information on data source joins and join conditions, please see the help document called ‘Types of Data Sources’ (C4C) or ‘Data Sources’ (ByD).
        • • If it is standard, please check the KBAs listed below and perform a solution search. If no solution is found, please report an incident.

3. Performance Issues

The performance of a custom data source and custom report mainly depends on the following factors:

1. 1. Setup of custom data sources

1. 1. Selections done on report level

The KBA 2366796 has a full list of guidelines, and if you are working with complex data sources and reports (i.e. numerous data sources involved), it is worth checking them all and make sure that as many as possible are applied to your data sources and reports.

However here is a summary of the most important settings that can be done to enhance report performance:

Setup of custom data source(s)

• • Use the inner join if possible.

• • In left outer joins, use the smallest data source (i.e. the one with the least data) as anchor if possible.

• • Check the join conditions: Using a field with a high number of entries as a join condition will use more system resources than a field with less entries.

• • Try to use as few join conditions as are necessary to obtain the desired result. Avoid using additional joins on fields which are present in both data sources if you do not need them.

Selections on Report Level

• • It is strongly recommended to set up variables for the report selections. Please avoid creating reports with no variables.

• • Variables should be set up via the report wizard (step 4). Please limit the number of variables set up via ‘Add Fields’.

• • The variables should come from the anchor data source.

• • If you have used a field

4. Incident Templates

Please note that the responsibility for the content or performance of custom objects lies with the creators of the objects and in Support, we do not provide consulting on how to create custom reports or data sources for specific scenarios.

However if you come across an issue while creating your data source or report and you require clarification even after performing the above checks, you have the following options:

• • You can use the community to either search for an answer or submit a new question. This approach will not only assist you with your specific query, but may also be helpful for other customers and partners with the same question.

• • Alternatively, please create an incident with Medium priority and include the following information – this will help us to address your issue swiftly:

Issue Details:

Please provide at least one example of wrong / missing data in the data source / report, and state what data you would expect instead.

Technical Details:

Report name:

Report ID:

Data Source ID:

Report Field with wrong / missing data:

(The technical ID of reports and data sources can be checked in different ways:

1. 1. They can be made visible in the Business Analytics work center, via the ‘Personalize’ feature.

1. 1. You can open the documentation of your data source or report.

1. 1. You can run the report and open the Technical Details. )

Troubleshooting Results

Please provide the results of the checks outlined in point 2, such as:

• • Issue happens on the report level / data source level (choose relevant option)

• • The field with wrong data comes from the standard data source XYZ (name data source)

• • If several data source layers are present, the first time this issue happens is in the custom data source ABC (name data source)

• • The join conditions were checked and are compatible.

4. Knowledge Resources

KBAs:

• • 2366796 – Best Practices for Modelling Data Sources and Reports – Performance

• • 2444352 – Information required for Designing issues with Report and Key figures in Analytics

• • 2488796 – Multiple Lines in Combined Data Sources

• • 1982957 – How the Show Master Data Value Selection affects the Report Content

Help Center Articles:

• • Custom Financial Reports (ByD)

• Types of Data Sources (C4C) / Data Sources (ByD)