TestProNews Q4 - 2007
How Would You Build an Enterprise Reporting System for Test Data?
Most engineers and managers would answer the above question with a gamut of tools. Microsoft Excel would probably be at the top of the list followed by some complex, networked, directory structures with access privileges. More specialized users would probably mention advanced analysis, mathematical packages, and statistical process control (SPC) tools in their answers. But to answer the question completely, one would need to address how members of the enterprise would gain access to the information obtained through these tools.
Design engineers typically have rather advanced tools on their desktops that they use to massage the data and, essentially, create their own reports. However, managers needing timely access to reports and test results often do not have such advanced tools, nor do they have the time to wait for someone to put reports together. An enterprise reporting system must ensure maximum visibility of information with minimal interaction. So back to our original question: How would you build an enterprise test data reporting system?
In essence, what you want to achieve is a simple user interface where anyone—from test engineers to managers—can look at reports in a timely manner as new data becomes available. This tool should be able to retrieve, organize, analyze, and format this data from numerous sources—such as product characterization, performance, specifications, quality, validation, and verification—and present it in a meaningful and useful fashion.
For such a system to be truly useful enterprise-wide, you need three main elements:
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A commercial-grade database to store the large amounts of data generated by automated test systems
A powerful yet simple, interactive way of creating the reports that users will access
A method of publishing reports or making them available to everyone across the enterprise |
Figure 1 shows the main elements of an enterprise test software platform.
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Figure 1: Arendar Enterprise Test Platform |
One of the most trusted database management systems today is Microsoft SQL Server. Its large storage capacity, easy maintenance, consistent reliability, and flexibility make it ideal for the volume and variety of formats in which test data usually comes.
Building reports based on the data contained in the database can be a bit trickier, though. You could create programs that access data tables through SQL Server’s programmatic interfaces and then store the data in a text document or Excel file. These files could even run scripts that automatically format the data into useful graphical representations. This, however, can quickly become cumber-some and difficult to scale, manage, or modify. For this reason, companies have made software prod-ucts in which users can simply select their data sets, drag and drop graphical or other objects onto a template, and even interactively pick subsets of data before generating the reports. One such product is Microsoft Business Intelligence Development Studio (MS BIDS), which comes with Microsoft SQL Server 2005. MS BIDS provides a comprehensive set of tools specifically tailored for report creation.
MS BIDS enables you to create simple to highly complex report templates and publish them for other users to open as reports with actual data. The graphical user interface enables you to drag and drop objects onto a design canvas to interactively create professional-looking reports. MS BIDS also provides query tools, an expression editor, and wizards to help step you through the process. You have complete control over the report layout. You can even add advanced features such as expressions, charts, plots, custom .NET assemblies, and report interaction, allowing users to specify report parameters at run-time or for filtering, drilling down, or linking to related data.
BI Technologies Deliver Real-World Solutions
Creating a Simple Report with MS BIDS
Pick Your Data Set
Start by selecting the data set in the database through intuitive interfaces such as drop-down boxes or tree structures. This is the data with which the report template will be populated. You can also give users the option to select particular data sets before generating the actual report.
Design the Report Template
Using the straightforward, drag-and-drop environment, create report templates with all the necessary elements—including tables, charts, plots, and other graphical elements—for properly representing your data (figure 2). Because MS BIDS is open and relies on industry standards, it can leverage third-party add-ons that provide enhanced functionality. Some examples of third-party visualization, analysis, and reporting add-ons include the following:
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Dundas Chart for Reporting Services—Adds enhanced report visualization features
PowerGadgets—Adds Gadget components such as charts, gauges and maps to your reports
SPC Charts—Provides advanced statistical process control features |
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Figure 2: Report Designer provides an intuitive drag-and-drop environment for creating reports |
Preview the Layout
You can test your report design locally before publishing it to the network. By previewing your template, you ensure that other users will see the report as you intended.
Publish the Report
MS BIDS provides an easy, one-click method for publishing your completed reports to the network through a Web portal residing on the report server. The report server hosts the data and makes the report templates available to other users. Once published, anyone with proper access rights to the Web portal can view reports though a standard Web browser.
Accessing the Reports and the Data
To access published reports, users need the proper credentials for the Web portal. There are many portals for different purposes. Companies like Oracle, SAP, and Microsoft make such portals available for business purposes, as is commonly seen for customer relationship management (CRM) systems. For test data needs, tools like VI Technology’s Arendar are available. Arendar not only provides interfaces for configuring the SQL Server database for your particular test needs, capturing the data from your test systems, and providing test-specific report tools based on MS BIDS, but Arendar also includes a Web portal. This portal, or Arendar Dashboard, enables users to interactively select the subset of data in which they are interested and view it in graphical form for analysis, or simply pull up a pre-configured report and let the system populate the report with the latest data.
By combining a commercial-grade database such as Microsoft SQL Server 2005, an advanced interactive report creation tool such as Microsoft Business Intelligence Development Studio, advanced visualization objects such as those offered by Dundas, and data management and Web portal technology such as that offered by VI Technology Arendar, you can build a robust enterprise reporting system. Such a system brings to the enterprise report creation and accessibility capabilities that historically were reserved for desktop applications only.
Don Holley
Marketing Manager
VI Technology
Gricha Raether
Director - Sales and Marketing
VI Technology
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