Scenario for Using Standard DataStore Objects

The diagram below shows how standard DataStore objects are used in this example of updating order and delivery information, and the status tracking of orders, meaning which orders are open, which are partially-delivered, and so on.

There are three main steps to the entire data process:

..

       1.      Loading the data into the BI system and storing it in the PSA.

         The data requested by the BI system is stored initially in the PSA. A 

         PSA is created for each DataSource and each source system. The PSA 

         is the storage location for incoming data in the BI system. Requested 

         data is saved, unchanged, to the source system.

       2.      Processing and storing the data in DataSource objects

         In the second step, the DataSource objects are used on two different 

         levels.

                           a.   On level one, the data from multiple source systems is 

                      stored in DataSource objects. Transformation rules permit you to   

                      store the consolidated and cleansed data in the technical format of 

                      the BI system. On level one, the data is stored on the document level 

                      (for example, orders and deliveries) and constitutes the consolidated 

                      database for further processing in the BI system. Data analysis is 

                      therefore not usually performed on the DataSource objects at this 

                      level.

                            b.   On level two, transfer rules subsequently combine the 

                      data from several DataStore objects into a single DataStore object in 

                      accordance with business-related criteria. The data is very detailed, 

                      for example, information such as the delivery quantity, the delivery 

                     delay in days, and the order status, are calculated and stored per  

                     order item. Level 2 is used specifically for operative analysis issues,  

                     for example, which orders are still open from the last week. Unlike 

                     multidimensional analysis, where very large quantities of data are 

                     selected, here data is displayed and analyzed selectively.

       3.   Storing data in the InfoCube

      In the final step, the data is aggregated from the DataStore object on 

      level two into an InfoCube, meaning in this scenario, that the InfoCube 

      does not contain the order number, but saves the data, for example, on 

      the levels of customer, product, and month. Multidimensional analysis  

      is also performed on this data using a BEx query. You can still display 

      the detailed document data from the DataStore object whenever you 

      need to. Use the report/report interface from a BEx query. This allows 

      you to analyze the aggregated data from the InfoCube and to target the 

      specific level of detail you want to access in the data.