It is a known fact that a low rate of user adoption is a major issue in less than successful BI implementations. The most significant cause could arguably be the lack of simple, intuitive and flexible tools at the reporting/presentation layer. With PowerPivot, Microsoft gave us an easy way to mash-up data models, create Excel reports and surface them through Sharepoint.Now, with Power View in SQL 2012 we have an easy, sexy and compelling way for true business users visualise and present this information. With interactive demos you will learn about Power View, understand its dependencies, learn data model design tips and be made aware of any pitfalls and limitations.
2012-04-21 (SQL Saturday 138 Sydney) Accelerated BI Growth with Power View and PowerPivot
1. Accelerated BI Growth with
Power View and PowerPivot
Bhavik Merchant
Bhavik.merchant@csg.com.au
@BhavikMerchant
my other passions
• Cricket (Watching), Squash (Playing)
• Travelling.. Anywhere
• Whisky
4. A little about me..
Background
I’m from Zimbabwe (explains the accent?)
BI Team Manager and Lead MSBI Consultant at CSG
Certified End-to-End Microsoft BI practitioner
Microsoft vTSP for BI
Trainer (SSAS, SSIS, SSRS, PowerPivot, Sharepoint BI)
Experience
Started in Web Development and SysAdmin
Thereafter, been in BI for about 7 years. SQL 2000 to 2012;
MOSS 2007 to SP2010
5. Presentation Goals
Identify a major issue in BI
Understand problem/solution domains
Learn about new paradigms/tools in SQL 2012
See them in action
Learn some tips
Identify shortcomings and pitfalls
6. Audience Poll
Roles
IT/Infrastructure
Data Analyst/Power user
Information Worker/End(ish) User
BI Professional
Exposure
Traditional SSAS
PowerPivot (v1, v2)
SSAS Tabular
Non Microsoft Visual Tools – Tableau, QlikView, BO
Explorer etc
8. Q: How do you measure BI success?
“Overall adoption has been static since 2008, with
under 30% of potential users making use of BI.”
Gartner BI Adoption Trends, 2011
Why? Both approach and tools
Low buy-in
Bottom-up approach
Lack of agility in traditional architectures
13. BISM - The BI Semantic Model
Client Tools
Data model
Business logic Personal BI Team BI Organizational BI
PowerPivot for PowerPivot for Analysis
and queries Excel SharePoint Services
Data access
14. Guises…
Its all SSAS! 3 modes, at INSTANCE level:
Multidimensional
Tabular
PowerPivot
15. Scenario
Assume we are an end(ish) user
We have data models accessible from Sharepoint
We want an intuitive, ad-hoc way to visualise data
1. Toy Sales Data
2. OECD data
Demographics such as mortality, fertility rates
Big thanks to Cathy Dumas for this model
16. Ok I get it, Power View! Where to Start?
We need one of these in SharePoint to kick off a
Power View Report
PowerPivot workbook
.BISM connection (i.e. to Tabular SSAS or PPVT). Note
bypass Kerberos
.RSDS connection to Tabular SSAS or PPVT
These are (or point to) tabular models, implying
Power View ONLY works on tabular models
17. DEMO – Start your engines…
Table, Matrix, Chart, Card
New Views
18. DEMO – Put your foot on it…
Linked filtering, View/Object Filtering, Slicers
Tiling
Multiples (Trellis Charts)
19. DEMO – Speeding!
Scatter Plot Animation
Life Expectancy vs Fertility
Life Expectancy vs Infant Mortality
Export to PowerPoint
Can Print too!
20. Development Tips
Power View
Explore! Options grey out/appear
Cant convert back from Slicer or Tile
Use Textbox to hack chart title (text, style)
Tabular/PPVT
Mark your date table
Use views to reduce dev model size
Workspace db for Tabular (set in workspace). No local
storage like PPVT
Excel Advanced Mode
21. Model Design Tips
Usability
Name fields meaningfully, hide keys and intermediate calcs
Format numbers in model – saves time later
Use Default Columns for Power View consumption
Use dummy tables to group calcs
Setup Unique Identifier
Use Perspectives
Performance
Don’t include unneeded columns in model - Go deep, not wide
Limit column width = less memory use
Avoid high cardinality columns and large strings
Pre-sort your table keys where possible
General
Binary data and URLs work for images
22. Architecture/Maintenance Tips
For In-memory, have memory = 2x size of model
Can restore from PPVT to Tabular SSAS via SSMS
Restore, or convert via SSDT
Use BISM Normalizer from CodePlex to diff and
merge models into one SSAS database
Tabular databases are processed on a schedule like
classic SSAS
DirectQuery is an option similar to ROLAP
conceptually. Consider with ColumnStore indexes.
BUT, there are hybrid modes and complications
23. Limitations and Pitfalls
Cant change speed of Play axis
Beware of Interpolation (Cyprus 1960-1970)
Cant change anything in slicers
No custom colour, logos, fonts (except textbox)
View Filters sorted alphabetically by title
Calculated Columns cant be View Filters
Cant control partitions, roles from Excel
24. Technical Requirements
SQL Server 2012
Tabular SSAS instance
Sharepoint 2010 (at least SP1). Enterprise features
turned on
PowerPivot Services
Reporting Services Integration
Power View Integration
PowerPivot 2012 RTM Client
SQL Server Data Tools (Standalone )
25. Tying it all back together .. !
New tools like Tabular Power View are great and will
help increase agility and adoption, but they augment
sound BI processes
I think dimensional models are still important
(debated)
Prototype heavily
Balance needed: Formal warehouse (centralisation,
security) vs total empowerment
Plan, Plan, Plan!
Understand user base and requirements before choosing
the tools
26. Resources
Dan English: http://denglishbi.wordpress.com
Marco Russo:
http://sqlblog.com/blogs/marco_russo/
Kasper de Jonge: www.powerpivotblog.nl
Cathy Dumas on Hans Rosling:
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/cathyk/archive/2011/12/2
1/the-hans-rosling-project.aspx
DirectQuery White Paper:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-
us/library/hh965743.aspx
Data Viz people: Stephen Few, Edward Tufte, Jen
Stirrup
27. Questions?
Please complete an evaluation form for this session
…and thanks again to our awesome sponsors!