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April 15, 2009
What Users Should Expect of a Good Ad-Hoc Reporting Tool
With an ad hoc reporting solution, users should be guided through an intuitive, wizard-based report builder to get the information they want. Once they build and run a report, they should be able to interactively drill down and further explore the data as needed.
Ad hoc reporting should provide a full-range of capabilities to end users, such as:
- Intuitive wizard-based interface for creating reports
- Ad-hoc dashboards that are easy to create, save and modify
- Summary, crosstab and pivot table reports
- A variety of charts and graphs, plus other rich data-visualization tools like ad-hoc heat maps
- Re-usable report templates
- Export to PDF, Word, and Excel
- Interactive drill-down, sorting and paging
- Data grouping
- Report parameters and filters for returning the most relevant results
- Basic and advanced statistical calculations
- Report management features for saving, archiving, editing and sharing reports
Business end users have come to expect all of these features in the managed reporting applications that are built for them by report developers. They also want these capabilities when they are building their own reports.
Empowered End Users
Business end users know what they want from a reporting system, but they don't always have the technical training to develop their own reports in a managed report environment. That's why it is critical for an ad hoc reporting tool to provide an intuitive wizard-based report builder that guides users through the steps for creating interactive reports.
The report wizard should make it easy to change, save and share reports. If users decide to change a calculation or want to look at a different dimension, they should be able to make adjustments and re-run the report immediately.
And, they should be able to use their own everyday, business terminology without having to know a query language or the technical intricacies of the data structures.
Convenient Access with Web-based Ad Hoc Reporting
Once the user has created reports, they should be available to run and view them in a standard Web browser for convenient access. Older legacy approaches to business intelligence involved heavy client-server software on the end users' computer or at least a browser plug-in.
With pure Web-based business intelligence, the end user has full access to all functionality with just a Web browser. There should be no need for users to download client software or plug-ins to build and view reports.
This model ensures that the user can reach their reports and perform analysis from any Web-accessible location approved by the IT department, inside or outside the corporate firewall. This model also means significantly less maintenance and support work for the IT department when dealing with version upgrades and other configuration changes.
Increased IT Productivity
Business users like ad hoc reporting because of the control it gives them and because of the time it saves. Ad hoc reporting does not just save time for the end user; it also saves time for the IT department and/or report developers. With Web-based ad hoc reporting, the IT department retains the control they need to optimize and manage users, roles and access to data. Now that end users can create their own reports in a controlled environment with a self-guided report wizard, the IT department and report developers are free to focus on other more complex aspects of the business intelligence environment like automating workflow or optimizing their databases.
Posted by The Ad Hoc Reporting Boys at April 15, 2009 12:00 PM
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