Enterprise Reporting: How to Choose Reporting Methods

This article highlights reporting options available to the University community and covers the difference between application-level reporting, Pre-defined operational reports and dashboards from UM Analytics and ad hoc reporting methods (UM Analytics, DW queries).

 

 

Reporting

Visualization and Analytics

Reporting tool

Peoplesoft Query

BI Publisher

Tableau

(note: not an enterprise supported tool)

UM Analytics

What is this tool best used for?

  • Ad-hoc and "Canned" reports
  • Real-time queries and reporting
  • Queries needed to monitor and manage business tasks and operational needs
  • Reports that will be printed
  • Reports where exact formatting is important
  • Data discovery, validation, and visualizations
  • Offers an intuitive interface that is easy to understand and consume
  • Integrates analysis, reports and dashboard components
  • Multidimensional analysis (e.g., tuition by College by Fiscal Year)
  • Drillable reports (hierarchical data)

What data sources can be used?

  • Transactional data from PeopleSoft enterprise system
  • Transactional systems (Compass, PeopleSoft)
  • XML files
  • Excel/CSV files
  • Legacy Data Warehouse data
  • Transactional systems (Compass, PeopleSoft)
  • XML files, Excel/CSV files
  • Legacy Data Warehouse data
  • Full range of data sources
  • Enterprise Data Warehouse (dimensionally modeled data)
  • All data subject area sources that have advanced through the EDMR prioritization process

What are some benefits of this tool?

  • Users get real-time information
  • Access directly to PeopleSoft data used for reporting
  • Can be scheduled and distributed to groups of people
  • Can report against many different types of data sources
  • Solution to desktop somewhat faster than UM Analytics solution

 

  • Can report against many different types of data sources
  • Easier to develop and deliver reports
  • Increased speed of solution to desktop
  • Helps users see and understand data easily
  • New reports/dashboards can be developed in a distributed manner as the data is staged behind-the-scenes
  • Distributed development of ad hoc analysis enables a variety of user questions to be addressed
  • Scheduled email notifications
  • A variety of output formats

What are some drawbacks of this tool?

  • Limited query design complexity
  • Access  limited to PeopleSoft
  • Output options are rigid
  • Ad hoc capabilities limited
  • Limited feature set with fewer capabilities for analysis and user data manipulation
  • Reports accessing large amounts of data or many different tables may take a long time to run
  • May require SQL skills and/or direct knowledge of data structure
  • Current licensing costs
  • Slower to incorporate new data elements/data sources due to up-front modeling and ETL requirements
  • All data and reporting assets are hosted from a single location/platform

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