Oracle Hyperion | Edgewater Ranzal Weblog

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CAT EG O RYARCHIVES:O RACLEHYPERIO N

ComeSeeEdgewaterRanzal atKscope11
PostedonMay18,2011byrichardsonjeff ODTUGKscope11isrightaroundthecorner.Kscope11offersthechanceforafulldayEPM SymposiumonSunday,plustheopportunitytolearnfromexpertsintheEPMandBIfieldsona widerangeoftopics. EdgewaterRanzalwillbewellrepresentedattheconference,withourassociatespresentingeight presentationscoveringPlanning,DRM,EPMA,HFM,andFDM.Thesessionsthatwewillbe presentingatKscope11aresummarizedbelow.Eachtitlelinkstoanabstractforthepresentation, providingadditionaldetails.

Session No. 1

Date

Time

Room

Presenter

Title

6/27/11

11:15 12:15

102C

JeffRichardson CalculationManager:TheNew andImprovedApplicationto CreatePlanningBusinessRules

6/28/11

11:15 12:15

103C

TonyScalese

Planning(orEssbase)andFDM andERPiEqualsSuccess!

10 11

6/28/11 6/29/11

4:305:30 8:309:30

101B 103A

ChrisBarbieri PatrickLehner

SecurityandAuditinginHFM BestPracticesforUsingDRMwith EPMA

11

6/29/11

8:309:30

101B

ChrisBarbieri

GettingStartedwithCalcManager forHFM

12

6/29/11

9:4510:45 101B

ChrisBarbieri

AdvancedTopicsinCalcManager forHFM
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12

6/29/11

9:4510:45 102C

JohnMartin

HaveitYourWay:Building PlanningHierarchieswithEPMAor OutlineLoadUtility

13

6/29/11

11:15 12:15

101B

TonyScalese

MaximizingtheValueofanEPM InvestmentwithERPi,FDM,& EPMA

17

6/30/11

8:309:30

101B

TonyScalese

TakingYourFDMApplicationto theNextLevelwithAdvanced Scripting

18

6/30/11

10:30 11:30

101B

PeterFugere

IFRSReportingWithinHyperion FinancialManagement

Inadditiontothepresentationsabove,youcancatchupwithourexpertsatourboothinthe VendorShowcase. WelookforwardtoseeingyouinLongBeach.Ifyouhaventalreadyregistered,youcandoso here. PostedinCalculationManager,DataRelationshipManagement,DRM,EPM,FDM,HFM, Hyperion,IFRS,OracleDRM,OracleHyperion,RanzalOverview|TaggedCalculationManager, DataRelationshipManagement,drm,EPM,FDM,HFM,Hyperion,IFRS,kaleidoscope,Oracle, ranzal|Leaveareply

OracleBusinessIntelligenceEssbase CubeBuilder:ContinuedIntegrations withEssbaseandOBIEE

PostedonSeptember2,2010byMichaelDuong OraclehasbeenbusyfocusingonimprovedconsolidationoftheirBIapplicationsthispastyear.This nextofferingwithinOraclesarsenalofBIappswillallowforenhancedintegrationsbetweenthe multi-dimensionalandrelationalworldsofEssbaseandOBIEE.ThenewapplicationiscalledOracle BusinessIntelligenceEssbaseCubeBuilder(OECB)previouslyreferencedasOracleEssbase Integrator(OEI)duringbetatestinganditspurposewillhelprefineandmakeformoreconsistent Follow

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binaryintegrations.OECBwillpermitOBIappstopushmetadataanddataintoEssbasecubes,a significantadvancementforOBIEEuserswhereleveragingin-depthadhocandwhat-ifscenarios canbeavailable.YoucandownloadOECBontheOraclee-deliverysite: OECBDownload

OECBwillbestowanintegratedBIplatformthatsupportsOLAPcapabilitiesanddashboardsamong others.OECBwillalsoallowEssbasetoleveragemetadataanddatafromOBIandOBIapps.Other supportswillincludewhat-ifscenarios,allocations,spreading,changingattributes,andmultiple hierarchycomparisons. Fromausersperspective,OECBwillprovideseamlessauthenticationfromOBItoEssbasewhich reducesmaintenanceandimprovestheuserexperience.Userscanalsofeelconfidentthat metadataanddatawillhavethesamecontextacrossplatformswhichmeanuserswillseethesame dimensions,membersandmeasuresbetweentheirOBIandEssbaseapps.Theenvironmentswill besynchronizedasupdatedchangeswillberetainedandappliedwithdatavaluesmatching betweenthetwoapps.OBIdashboardmetadataanddatacontentswillbesynchronizedto Smartview.OBIphysical/businessmodelandmapping/presentationlayerswillbesynchronizedto Essbase.Additionalsupportfeaturesindicatedaboveaffordsuserswiththeabilityformorerobust development.Allofthisbecomesavailablestartingwithversion11.1.2.Priorversionswillalso becomeavailableaftertheofficialreleaseofOECB. TheimplicationhereisifyoureatraditionalOBIEEshopwantingtoaddflexibilitytoimproveanalysis withapowerfulapplicationlikeEssbase,OECBwillbeyouropportunity.AsOraclecontinuesto provideexpandedintegrationsbetweenEssbaseandOBIEE,seehowthisnewofferingcalled OracleBusinessIntelligenceEssbaseCubeBuildercanbeleveragedwithinyourorganization. PostedinBIReporting,EPM,OBIEE,OracleHyperion,Planning&Essbase,SmartView| TaggedEssbase,Multi-Dimensional,OBIAnswers,OBIInteractiveDashboards,OBIPublisher, Oracle11g,OracleBIAdministrationTool,OracleBusinessIntelligenceEnterpriseEdition, Relational,Smartview

ORACLEHYPERIONCALCMANAGER
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Part3WorkingwithTemplates
PostedonJuly31,2010byrichardsonjeff InPart1ofthisseries,weintroducedCalcManager,providingageneraloverviewandexplanation ofsomenewterms.Inthesecondpostintheseries,wewalkedthroughthedevelopmentofa Planningrulethatutilizedaruntimeprompt.Inthispost,wellexploretemplatesprovidedwithin CalcManager. AswiththeRuleDesigner,whichisagreattooltohelplessexperienceddevelopersbuildrules, templatesprovideasimplewaytodeveloprulesforbasictasksinPlanningandEssbasetasks suchascopying,clearing,exporting,allocating,andaggregatingdata.Inaddition,youcandesign yourowntemplates. WellbeginbyloggingontoHyperionWorkspaceandnavigatingtoCalcManager.Oncein Workspace,thenavigationpathis:Navigate->Administer->CalculationManager.

OnceinCalcManager,youlllandontheSystemViewtab,whichappearsasfollows:

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Onceagain,IllusemyEPMAenabledversionofmyPlanningappbasedonSample.Basic.

Toaccesspredefinedtemplates,rightclickonRules.Onceyougivetheruleaname,thegraphical designerislaunched.IntheExistingObjectswindow,youshouldfindalistofthepre-existing templates.Alistofthesystemtemplatesfollows:

CLEARDAT A

InordertousethesystemtemplatetoClearData,draganddropClearDatafromtheSystem

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TemplatestotheRuleDesigner.Thiswilltheninvokeamemberselectionwindowaskingyouto specifythedatatoclear.Keepinmindthatthistemplategeneratesacalcscriptutilizingthe CLEARBLOCKcommandasopposedtoaCLEARDATAcommand.

Inmysampleapp,IselectFY11fortheYearsdimensionandFinalfortheVersiondimension. ThedropdownboxforClearblockOptioncanbeusedtodefinetheblockstobeclearedAllis thedefault.Thecodethatisgeneratedappearsbelow.

FIX("FY11","Final") CLEARBLOCKALL; ENDFIX

CO PYDAT A

TheCopyDatatemplatehelpstowalkthecalcdeveloperthroughtheprocessofcopyingdatafrom onesliceofthedatabasetoanother.

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Intheremainderofthewizard,youselecttheCopyFrommemberandtheCopyTomember.The calcscriptgeneratedfollows:

FIX(@RELATIVE("Measures",0),@RELATIVE("Periods",0),@RELATIVE("Product" DATACOPY"Working"TO"Final"; ENDFIX

AMO UNT - UNIT - RAT E

TheAmount-Unit-Ratetemplateallowsthedevelopertobuildacalcscripttosolveforeitheran amount,unit,orrate,basicallywhicheverismissing.Iveaddedacoupleofmeasurestomy applicationtofacilitatethedemo.Usingthememberselectionwizard,IveselectedSalesasmy amount,Casesasmyunit,andRevenueperCaseasmyrate.Thescriptgeneratedbythe templatefollows:

"Sales"( IF("Sales"==#missingand"Cases"!=#missingand"RevenueperCase"!= "Sales"="Cases"*"RevenueperCase"; ELSEIF("Sales"!=#missingand"Cases"==#missingand"RevenueperCase" "Cases"="Sales"/"RevenueperCase"; ELSEIF("Sales"!=#missingand"Cases"!=#missingand"RevenueperCase" "RevenueperCase"="Sales"/"Cases"; ELSE "Sales"="Cases"*"RevenueperCase"; ENDIF )

ALLO CAT IO NS

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TwotypesofallocationtemplatesareprovidedwithinCalcManager.Thefirsttemplate,Allocate LeveltoLevel,allowsyoutoallocatefromoneleveltoanother.InmyexamplewithmyPlanning app,youwouldusethistemplatetoallocatemarketingexpensesfromproductfamilytoproduct usingadriverlikerevenue.Thisapproachutilizes@ANCESTVALtobuildthescript. Thesecondtemplate,AllocateSimple,allocatesvaluesbasedonapredefinedrelationship,suchas Marketing->Market*Cases/Cases->Market. Bothtemplateswalkthedeveloperthroughthesetupoftheallocations,selectingmembersthatare fixedthroughouttheprocess,offsetmembers(ifany),etc.

AG G REG AT IO N

Theaggregationtemplateaidsthedevelopertocreateascripttoaggregatetheapplication.The firstscreenofthewizard,picturedbelow,allowsyoutoselectmembersfortheFIXstatementinthe aggregationhereyouwouldlimitthecalctoaparticularversion,scenario,oryournonaggregating sparsedimensionmembers.

Thenextscreenpromptsfordensedimensionstoaggregate.However,ifdynamiccalcsare properlyutilized,thisshouldnotbenecessary. Thethirdscreenasksforsparsedimensionsfortheaggregation.Youshouldexcludeanynon aggregatingsparsedimensionsfromthisselection.

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Next,yourepromptedforpartialaggregationsofdensedimensions.Againifdynamiccalcsare usedproperly,thisshouldnotbeanissue. Inthefinalscreenofthewizard,thedeveloperselectssettingsforthescript

ThecodegeneratedbyCalcManagerfollows:

SETAGGMISSGON; SETFRMLBOTTOMUPON; SETCACHEHIGH; FIX(@RELATIVE("Years",0),"Working","Budget") CALCDIM("Product"); CALCDIM("Market"); ENDFIX

Pleasenotethatthiscodeisnotoptimized.Inthisexample,Iwouldusethefollowing: AGG(Product,Market); ThecodeasgeneratedbyCalcManagerwillresultinanextrapassthroughthedatabasethecalc canbeaccomplishedwithasinglepass.Additionally,AGGcanbeusedinplaceofCALCDIMif Follow

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therearenoformulasonthedimensionsbeingcalculated.Generallyspeaking,storedformulason sparsedimensionsshouldbeavoidedduetoperformanceissues.
SET CO MMANDS

ThenexttemplatewalkstheuserthroughsettingvariousSETcommandsforthecalc.Thisisafairly straightforwardexercise.
EXPO RT DAT A

Thisisanotherstraightforwardtemplatethathelpscreateadataexportcalcscript.Youneedto definethefixedmembersfortheexport,delimiter,#MISSINGvalue,exporttype(flatfile,relational), etc. Inthefinalpartofthisseries,dueforpostingonAugust13,wellwalkthroughthecreationofa ruleset.Ifyouhaveanyquestionsbeforethenextpost,pleaseleaveacomment! PostedinHFM,OracleHyperion,Planning&Essbase|Taggedcalcmanager,Calculation Manager,Essbase,HFM,Hyperion,hyperionexperts,Oracle,OracleHyperion,Planning, Planning&Essbase|1Reply

ORACLEHYPERIONCALCMANAGER Part2CreatingaPlanningRule
PostedonJuly1,2010byrichardsonjeff InPart1ofthisseriesweintroducedCalcManager,providingageneraloverviewandexplanationof somenewterms.Inthispost,wewillwalkthroughthedevelopmentofaruleforHyperionPlanning usingthegraphicalinterfacewithinCalcManager. Again,inordertoaccessCalcManager,logontoHyperionWorkspace.OnceinWorkspace,the navigationpathis: Navigate->Administer->CalculationManager.

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OnceinCalcManager,youlllandontheSystemViewtab,whichappearsasfollows:

Forpurposesofthisdemonstration,IhavecreatedanEPMAenabledPlanningapplicationfromthe Sample.Basicapplicationthatweallknowandlove.WhenthePlanningnodeisexpanded,thisis whatIsee:

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First,tohelpillustratefunctionalityavailableinCalcManager,Imgoingtocreateascriptcomponent thatcontainsmystandardSETcommandsfortherule.Inordertocreatethescriptcomponent,right clickonScriptsandclickonNew.GiveyourscriptanameandclickonOK.Thiswilllaunchthe ComponentDesigner.

Fromhere,youhavetwooptions.IfyouknowwhatyourSETcommandsneedtobe,yourefreeto typethemindirectly.Ifyouwishtobepromptedthroughtheprocess,clickonthebuttonatthetop leftcorneroftheComponentDesignerwindow.Thiswilllaunchawindowwithallofthecalc functionsandSETcommands.ThefollowingshotdisplaysthefunctionselectioninterfaceforSET commands.

Formypurposes,ImgoingtodirectlytypemySETcommandsintotheComponentDesigner.Once Follow

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complete,saveandvalidate.

ThinkofscriptcomponentsasaneasywaytoreusecodeSETcommands,standardcube aggregationsandthelike. OncewehavesavedthescriptcomponentwithourSETcommands,itstimetodevelopourrule.To begin,rightclickonRulesunderthedatabasenodeandselectNew.Giveyourruleanameand clickonOK.ThiswilllaunchyouintotheRuleDesignerwindow.

Inthisexample,Illcreatearulethataggregatesthecube,usingaruntimepromptfortheVersion dimension.
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Wecannowbegintodevelopourrule.First,wellselectthescriptcomponentforourSET commandsthatwedevelopedearlier.SimplydragthisintotheruledesignertotherightofStart. TheRuleDesignerwindownowlookslikethis:

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LetstakethisopportunitytocreateourvariablefortheVersiondimensionruntimeprompt.Goto theToolsmenuandselectVariables.OncetheVariableNavigatorlaunches,expandthe Planning,application,anddatabasenodes.Imgoingtocreatearuntimepromptvariableforthe Versiondimension.RightclickonyourrulenameandselectNew.OnceIpopulatethefieldson theReplacementtab,myscreenlookslikethis:

Whencomplete,savethevariable.Now,backtoourrule WeregoingtospecifymembersforourFixstatement.Todothis,selectMemberRangeinthe NewObjectsportionoftheRulePalette.

Toaddtotherule,draganddroptotherightoftheSETcommandscript.Myscreenlookslikethis: Follow

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Next,wellpopulatethemembersforourFixstatement.IllstartwithMeasures.Formyrule,Iwant toselectallofthelevel0measures.OnceIclickontheValuefieldfortheMeasuresdimension,an Actionsboxappears.

IwanttoselectaFunction.Thisinvokesthefunctionselectionwindowthatweobservedearlier.I wanttoselect@LEVMBRSfromthelist,whichwillthenpromptforthedimensionandlevelnumber. Follow

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IselectMeasuresfromthedropdownboxandenter0forthelevelname.Imgoingtorepeatthis processforallofmydenseandnonaggregatingsparsedimensions,withtheexceptionofthe Versiondimension.Thiswillbehandledviatheruntimeprompt.FortheVersiondimension,select VariableintheActionsbox.ChangetheCategoryselectiontoRuleandthisiswhatwesee.

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HighlightthevariableandclickOK.Mymemberrangeboxlookslikethis:

Now,welldevelopthescriptcomponenttoaggregatetheProductandMarketdimensions.Im goingtodragascriptfromtheNewObjectsportionoftheRulePaletteintomymemberrange.The graphicaldisplaylookslike:

Again,Imgoingtoselectafunction(AGGinthiscase).IthenselectProductsandMarketfromthe dimensionselector.
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Now,saveandvalidate.TodeploytheruletoPlanning,selectQuickDeploy:

Oncedeployed,therulecanberunfromPlanning.

Inthispost,weveprovidedawalkthroughondevelopinganewruleusingthegraphicaldesigner. Moreexperienceddeveloperscandirectlycodethecalcinscriptmode.Toconverttoscriptmode, selectEditandScriptfromthemenu.

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Inthenextpost,duebyJuly31,wellexploretemplatesandrulesetcreation.Inthemeantime, pleaseleaveacommentifyouhaveanyquestions! PostedinHFM,OracleHyperion,Planning&Essbase|Taggedcalcmanager,Calculation Manager,Essbase,HFM,Hyperion,hyperionexperts,Oracle,OracleHyperion,Planning, Planning&Essbase|1Reply

ORACLEHYPERIONCALCMANAGER Part1
PostedonJune11,2010byrichardsonjeff WiththecontinuedinvestmentintheHyperiontoolsetbyOracle,therewasadesiretocentralize thedevelopmentofcalculationsforHFM,Essbase,andPlanning.Asaresultofthis,Oracle HyperionCalculationManagerwasborn.CalcManagerisapowerfultoolfordevelopingand administeringrulesforPlanningandEssbase.Anintuitivegraphicalinterfaceisavailabletohelpin thedevelopmentprocess,helpingtoexpeditemovementthroughthelearningcurveforpeoplejust beginningtodiptheirtoesintotheworldofOracleHyperionPlanningandOracleEssbase. Overthecourseofseveralpoststhissummer,IllexploreCalcManagerfunctionalityfromthe EssbaseandPlanningpointsofview.ForEPMA-enabledPlanningapplications,useofCalc Managerisrequired.Withversion11.1.1.3,CalcManagercanbeusedwithClassicPlanningapps aswell.However,thefocusofmyblogpostswillbeEPMA-enabledapps,asClassicPlanningrides offintothesunset. CalcManager,acomponentofEPMArchitect,isintegratedintoEPMWorkspace,thestandardentry pointformanyHyperionapplications.InordertoaccessCalcManager,logintoWorkspace,and selectNagivate->Administer->CalculationManager(seescreenshotbelowfornavigationpath). However,beforewegettoofarintoactuallynavigatingthetool,wellneedtogetcomfortablewith theterminologywithinCalcManager.

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TherearethreetypesofobjectswithinCalcManager:components,rules,andrulesets. Componentsaresmallerpiecesofalargerrule.ThingslikeSETcommands,FIXstatements, formulas,etc.areexamplesofcomponents.Illexplorethisinmuchgreaterdetailinafuturepost, butthinkofastandardtypesofSETcommandsthatyouuseinallofyourscriptsthiscanbe savedseparatelyasascriptcomponentandpulledintoanewruleveryeasily.Includedbelowisa shotoftheComponentDesignerwithasampleofsomestandardsetcommands.

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Essentially,rulesarethefinishedcalcscript,similartoBusinessRulesinthepast.Rulesareused formodeling/allocations/aggregationsandthelike.Rulescanbebuiltusingsystemtemplates. Oraclehasprovidedstandardizedtemplatesfortaskssuchasclearing,copying,allocating, aggregating,andexportingdata.Again,thesetemplateswillbeexploredinadditionaldetailina futurepost. RulesetsaresimilartoBusinessRuleSequencesunderHyperionBusinessRules.Rulesetscanbe usedtolaunchrulessequentiallyorsimultaneouslydependingonyourlogicrequirements. NowthatwevecoveredthebasicterminologyrelatedtoCalcManager,inmynextpost,which shouldbeonlinebyJuly4,wellwalkyouthroughcreatingaruleforanEPMAenabledPlanning app.Inthemeantime,ifyouhaveanyquestions,leaveacomment! PostedinHFM,OracleHyperion,Planning&Essbase|Taggedcalcmanager,EPMA,Essbase, HFM,Hyperion,Oracle,Planning|1Reply

UsingHyperionEssbasetoReport ComparableStoreSales
PostedonMay12,2010bybhennigan Oneofthecommonlyusedmeasuresintheretailindustryiscompscomparisonsofactualsales forthisyearversuslastyear.Thegoalofreportingcomparablestoreistoprovideinformationon whatportionofacompanyssalescomesfromincreasingsalesgrowthinexistingstoresversus openingnewstores.Thismetricisusedtomeasurewhetheracompanyssaleswillcontinueto growwhenstorebasereachesasaturationpoint,orthecompanyslowsexpansion. Whataretheconsiderationsindefiningcompstorecalculation? Definitionofcompstore.Inadditiontohavingastoreopenforatleast1year,itsimportantto comparestoresthathavenotchangedsignificantly.Inthiscase,weareusingsquarefootage inthestoretoidentifysignificantchangestoastore.Inourexample,ifsquarefootage changesbymorethan25%,salesarenolongercomparabletopriorperiods.Also,ifthe statusofastorechanges(i.e.opening,closing,moving,temporarilyclosing),compstoresales arenotcomparablewithpriorperiods.
Follow Definitionofapplicabletimeperiods.Inthiscase,weusedmonthtodate,quartertodate,

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andyeartodate.Eachapplicabletimeperiodiscalculatedmonthly.Theapplicabletime periodamountiscalculatedonlyforstoresopenduringtheapplicableperiod.Forexample, theJuneYTDamountfor2010isonlycalculatedforstoresinexistencefromJan2009. Calculationofcompsales.Mostclientsprefertoremovetheeffectsofcurrencytranslationon thiscalculation.Inthiscase,onlynetsalesareusedforcompstoreanalysis. Implementation Thedatabaseoutlineforthecompsalesdatabasecontainsthefollowing10dimensions: Anindividualstoreisuniquelyidentifiedasamemberinthestoresdimension. Compstoreamountsareonlycalculatedforthecompstoresscenario.Actualdataisloadedto thecompstorescenario.

Belowaresectionsoftheaccountsdimensionsusedforthecompstorecalculation. Thecompstorecontrolstatsareusedtocalculatethecompstatuscounter,whichisthefirst determinantofwhetherastoreisacompstore.

Thecompstoremetricshierarchystorestheapplicablecompstoreamountsinlocalcurrencyand USD.LocalcurrencycompstoremetricsshowamountsforcurrentyearandprioryearforMTD, QTD,andYTD.USDcompstoremetricsshowamountsataconstantexchangerate.

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Approach Thereare2differentcalculationsforthecompstoreprocess: Thecalculationofthecompstoresalescounterdetermineswhetherastorequalifiesforcomp storestatusbasedonsquarefootageandstorestatus. Thecalculationofcompstoremetricsisdependentonthecalculationofthecompstoresales counter.Themetricscalculationdeterminescompstoreamounts. Thekeyprocessesforthecompstoresalescountercalculationareasfollows: Calculatemonthlysquarefootageamounts.SetbeginningbalanceequaltopriorDecember. Accountscalculatedare:squarefootage,storestatus,andcompstorecounter. Calculatemonthlysquarefootagechangepercent. Calculateendingstorestatusandcompstorestatuscounterbasedoninputsforsquare footageandchangetype(open,close,move).Thecompstorestatuscounterisusedto identifyqualificationforcomparableperiods. Thefollowingisanexampleofhowthecompstorestatuscounterlogicwouldbeappliedtoastore. Notethatthestorecompcounterisincrementedmonthlyonceastoreisopen,butachangein squarefeetofthestoreresetsthecounter.Thisistoassurethatsalesfromthe2000squarefoot storearenotcomparedwiththe3000squarefootstore.

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Aftercalculatingthestorecompcounter,thekeyprocessesforthecompstoresalesmetricsareas follows: Copyactual(arollupscenarioincludinggeneralledgeramountsandadjustments)to CompStoreAnalysis(anotherscenario).Thisallowsreportingcompstoreresultsinasingle scenario. Createblocksforeveryyearbasedonprioryeargrosssales. Calculatenetsalescurrentyearandnetsalesprioryearinlocalcurrencyforeachappropriate timeperiod,basedoncompstorestatuscounterandtheapplicablecomptimeperiod(MTD, QTD,andYTD). TobeincludedinQTDcomps,astoremusthaveastorestatuscounterof13andhavebeen inexistencesincethebeginningofthecurrentquarterlastyear.ForYTDcomps,thestore musthavebeeninexistencesincethebeginningoflastyear. CalculatecompstoresalesinUSDusingtheprioryearrate. Aggregatecompstoremetricamountsinthecompstoreanalysisscenariobystores,products, geographies,andlegalorganization. Noteinthesamplestoreshownabove,comparablenetsalesonaMTDbasiswouldbecalculated forDecember2008.AmountswouldbecalculatedbothinlocalcurrencyandUSD.TheUSD accountsareforcurrentandprioryearwouldusethesamerate(lastyears). PostedinBIReporting,OracleHyperion,Planning&Essbase|Taggedcompsales,comp store,comparablestoresales,comps,Essbase,Hyperion,Oracle,OracleHyperion,reporting |Leaveareply

AddingDrillThroughtoyourHyperion ImplementationPart2
PostedonJune23,2009byjennyn15 SoIhavebeentoldIblogwiththefrequencyofasolareclipse,andwithrespecttothistwo-part series,severalinterestedpartiesviae-malhaveindicatedIhavedonetheequivalentofanetwork TVseasonendingepisodejustwaitthewholesummerfolksfortheanswertothesequestions. Thankstoallofyouwhogentlypingedmetoremindmetocompletetheblog.
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Implementation: Soforexample,takethefollowingviewonemightseeatthebottomlevel(levelzero,orbaselevel members)ofanEssbasecube:

NoticetheaccrualforRanzalservicesthatisvisible,andmultipletransactionsareavailableatthe weeklylevel.AfurtherexplosionintoAPwouldrevealtheidentityofthevendors,andotherrelevant infolookingsomethinglikethis:

Soascanbeseenfromtheaboveexample,relevantdatafrommultipletablesisrequiredfromthe drillthroughview.Withtheaccrualsthataremade,thereisrelevantinformationinthejournal descriptions;fortheAPsystemthereisvendordetailthatisvalid.Thesolutiontothisdrillthroughis thecreationofaview(calledVendorFactintheaboveschematic)thatisaunionofthetwodata sources,filteringondatasource.Thequerymightlooksomethinglikethis: /**Beginpseudo-code***/ CREATEVIEWVendorFactAS SELECT Company,Dept,FY,Per,Acct,JournalID,JournalDescasDesc,PostingDateasMyDate,00000as Vendor_ID,00000asDoc_Nbr,0Line_Nbr,PostedBaseAmtasAmt From GLTRANS WHERE Source<>AP UNION SELECT

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Company,Dept,Year(Trans_Date)asFY,Month(Trans_Date)asPer,Acct,APasSource,NONE asJournalID,LineDescasDesc,TransDateasMyDate,Vendor_ID,Doc_Nbr,Line_Nbr,Trans_Amt From AP /**Endpseudo-code***/ Thefollowingviewmightresult:

Withtherequiredviewinplace,adrillthroughquerycouldthenbecreatedinHyperionWeb Analysis,usingtherelevantGLchartfields(Company,Department,FiscalYear,Fiscal_Period,and Account)asfiltersintheselectionqueryasfollows: SELECT*fromVendorFact WhereCompany=[CompanyToken]andDept=[DeptToken]andAccount=[AccountToken]and FY=[FYToken]andPer=[Month] Oncethisdrillthroughqueryhadbeencreated,adrill-linkcouldbeaddedasamenuitemonthe SummaryExpenseanalyzerviewthatwasdirectlyqueryingtheEssbasedatabase.Whentheuser haddrilleddowntothebottomofthecube,thenextactionwouldopenupthenewWebAnalysis report,passtherelevantparameterstothequery,anddisplayarelationalgridliketheoneabove. Togiveyouaflavorofwhatthismightlooklike,checkouttheexamplebelowfromanothertypeof application.. Step1CreatetheSummaryEssbaseView,andestablishDrillLinkstotargetdetailreport Thereportissetupsothatalldimensionsexceptforcurrencymustbeselectedatthelowest level.Thisisdoneasasampleandtoputtheconstraintonthereportsothatitreturnsonly expectedrows. Todrillthrough,firstselectdatadowntolevel0foralldimensions.Nextdoubleclicktheactual datacellyouwanttodrillinto. Thedrillthroughreportwillbeinitializedwiththeparameterspassed.Ifdimensionsarenotat Follow

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lowestlevel,anodataavailablemessagewillappearonthedrillthrough. DrillLinkOptionsConfiguration ThisistheconfigurationtopointthereporttotheDrillThroughReport.Itisaccessedby openingthereportandrightclickinginacellselectingDrillandDrillLinkOptions

Thedrilllinkoptionspagepopsup.Youspecifythenameofthereportyouwanttoopen,and whattopassastheWHEREclausetothenextreport.

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Step2CreatethedetailedWebAnalysisviewaccessingtherelationaldata ThedrillthroughreportisaccessedbytheFinPlanreportbasedonthedimensionallythatis picked.Theresa10,000rowlimitondrill-throughs,asanysetofdetailedtransactionsthatcan bedrilledtoshouldneverexceedevenafewhundredrecords.Ifthissettingwasnotenabled, openingthedrillthroughreportdirectlywouldfailastoomanyrecordswouldbeloaded. SQLQueryConfiguration ThisscreenisaccessedbyrightclickingontheDrillThroughReportGridandselectingEdit Query TheJDBC-ODBCbridgedriverisusedtoconnectbacktothehyperiondatamarthousingthe drillthroughdata.Drillthroughuserswillleverageashareddrillthroughconnection..Therow limitandfetchsizearealsoconfiguredhere.

ClicktheQueryBuilderbuttoninthescreenaboveandanotherdialogboxopens.Thisis wherethedrillthroughmappingsareconfigured.ClickMappingsandnoticethatalldimensions areconfiguredtotheirdrillthroughcounterpartsinthevw_GL_Transactions_DTview.

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Whenexecutingthedrillthrough,anoutputlikethiscanbegenerated.

Asafinalnote,inconstructingtheview,particularcaremustbepaidtothestructureofthe membernamesintheEssbaseoutline.For,example,corechartfieldssuchasDepartments andAccountsareoftenprefixedorsuffixedtomakethemunique(e.g.insteadof000610 onemighthaveDept_000610).Inconstructingthedrillthroughview,themembernames mustmatchthoseexactlyasdefinedinEssbase,inorderforthefilteringaspectsofthequeries toexecuteproperly. OtherDrillThroughChoices SooneproblemwithEssbaseisthatithasmultiplewaystodoeverything.Forexample,how manywaysaretheretoloaddata?(Answer:Forblockstoragecubes,flatfileviarulesfile;sql interfacewithrulesfile;EISdataloadviaODBconnection;lockandsendviaExcel;lockand Follow

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sendviasmartview;planningwebforms;FDMadapter;DIMadapter;ODIapdater;HAL adapter;IamsureImissedafew).Thereare2commandlineautomationinterfacesfor goodnesssake(MaxLandEsscmd).Transactiondrillthroughisnodifferent.Approachwise, theoneconsistentthoughtisthis:neverdrillbacktothelivetransactiontables.Ok,soneveris aprettystrongword,butletsjustsayasageneralruleofthumb,doingsoisnotagoodidea forthefollowingreasons: YourEssbasecubeisasnapshotofdatafromaload.Queryingalivedatabaseforopen periodsimpliesthesumofyourdetailsmaynotequalyouraccountbalances Performancetransactiondatabasesareoptimizedforwritebasedoperations,andhighly normalized.Aswehavedefinedintheaboveexample,creatingdenormalizedviewsforspecific querieswillmakeyourDBAsandendusershappier. Now,technologygetsbetter(hardwareandsoftware),andwithsomeofthenewitemscomingfrom Oracle,outofthebox,theyaretryingtogetyoutoaplacewhereEPMappsaremorerealtime,so therulesabovewontalwaysapply,butfornow,itsagoodstartingpoint. Ingeneralwhendecidingondrillthroughoptions,youwanttoaskthefollowingquestions: WhatproductsdoIneedtodrillthroughfrom? oWebAnalysis oInteractiveReporting oFinancialReportsoExcelAdd-In oSmartView oOBIEE WhatisthetypeofcontentIwanttodrillthroughtwo? oTransactionsinarelationaldatabase oSomeothercontentservedupviaaURL(forexample,verycleverwaytoserveup documentimages) WhatlevelofthesourcecubedoIneedtodrillthroughfrom? oEitherlevelzero,orthetopofadimension oEverylevelofanon-raggedhierarchy oCustomgroupsandraggedalternaterollups Whatreleaseofthesoftwareareyouusing(Fusionvs.9vs7.x) Forexample,ifyouwanttoenabledrillthroughfromeveryproduct,andneedtosupportraggedor standardhierarchies,youarelookingatanEssbaseIntegrationServicesorEssbaseStudio solution.RanzalhassomecreativetechniquesforenablingdrillthroughviaEISoncubesnotbuilt withEIS(thankstoourhandyoutlineextractor),whichmakesitusefulforPlanning,butonceyour concernovernewnesshasabetted,EssbaseStudioallowsyoutoenabledrillthroughtheright waybuildyourcubefirst,thenaddthedrillthroughlateron.Nottheotherwayaround.
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Ontheotherhand,ifyouarelookingatsomethingquickanddirty,aWebAnalysisorIRviewinthe shorttermcangetyouwhereyouneedtobe. Eitherway,Oracle,particularlywithitscontinuedemphasisonOBIEE/Essbaseintegration,islooking toprovidemoreoutoftheboxoptionstoenabledrillthrough.Forexample,ifyouhaventseenit, checkouttheRanzalwebinaronFinancialDataManagement;thelatestreleasesaregearedto providedrillbackfromPlanningtoFDM,andthenultimatelyifyouloadfromOracleFinancials,drillall thewaybacktotheERP. Closing Thisblogwasmeanttogiveyouanideaofoptionsandapproachesforenablingdrillthroughon yourHyperionapplication.Whileitsgreattohaveoptions,rememberthegoldenrulewhenyou makeyourchoice,knowWHYyouchosethatpath.Designisbasicallytheoptimizationofan approachagainstonesetofrequirementsoveranother. Untilnexttime,goodluck. Authoredby: MikeKilleenRanzalandAssociates mkilleen@ranzal.com Formorethanelevenyears,MikeKilleenhasscoped,designed,andimplementedPlanning& EssbaseapplicationsforRanzal&Associates,anawardwinning,preferredconsultingpartnerof OracleHyperion.Currentlyservingaspracticedirector,MikeprovidesguidancetoHyperionproduct management,Ranzalcustomers,andinternalconsultingresourcesalikeonbestpracticesrelatedto theimplementationofHyperionSystem9.MikeisacertifiedHyperionProfessional,withcertifications inEssbase,Planning,andHFM.HegraduatedcumlaudefromCornellUniversitywithadegreein engineering,andreceivedhisMBAfromtheUniversityofConnecticut. PostedinOracleHyperion|Leaveareply

BusinessIntelligenceTechnology EnvironmentWelcometotheBuffet
PostedonMarch26,2009bygforkin BusinessIntelligenceTechnologyEnvironmentorBITEismyownlittletaglineandacronym(maybe Follow

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Ishouldcopyrightit)toexpressthehostofsolutionsavailableintheBusinessIntelligence applicationworldtoday.(Itcouldalsobeusedasaverbtodescribetheplethoraofpoorlydesigned solutionsahhbutthatisanotherstory.) MycurrentblogserieswillbeOracleEPM/BI+solutioncentricwhileremainingOracleEPM/BI+ applicationagnostic(nowdictionary.comispayingoff).Ihopethatyouwillenjoythisreallife approachtotheprocessofdecisionmakingonsoftwaresolutionsinterspersedwithsomegenuine tipsandtricksofthetradesomethatyouhaveseenbeforeandsomeyouhaveneverimagined. Inotherwords,Ihopethatyouwillnotfindthisblogtoberepresentedbymynewlycoinedacronym BITE. RulesofconductwhileattheBuffet Firstweneedadefinition.Yesadefinition!Dontbeafraid,definitionsareagoodthing,theykeep usgrounded,theysetlimitsandfinallytheydetermineifwearetruetoourmission.IdefineBITEas processes,softwareandgoalsneededtopreciselysolutionthebusinessdatacriticaltothelegal, accountingandbusinessdecisionneedsofaspecificentity. Inventivetechnojunkies,singletoolconsultantsandonetracksalespeopleCLOSEYOUREYES /SHEILDYOURCOMPUTERSforthisnextstatementelseyoumightgoblind.PreciselySolutionin thedefinitionofBITEincludesthemoralimperativeofnotmisusingsoftwareforintentotherthanits designandpickingsoftwarethatfitsthecurrentbusinesslifecycleofacompany.(Thoseofyouwith SoftwareMisuseproblems,Iwillbepostinganumberyoucancalltogethelp.Rememberthefirst stepisadmittingyouhaveaproblem.) TheapplicationstackforEPM/BI+;HFM,Essbase(withallitsadd-onmodules),SmartView,OBIE, OBAW,FDM,DRM,ODIandafewproductsyoumightnothaveheardaboutoryouveheardabout butneverassessedforyourpurposes.NO,NO,No,nofolksthisisnotasoftwaresalesblog,itsa solutionsblogandinoursolutionstoolboxweneedtodomorethanuseasinglehammercreatively toremaincompetitivefromanefficiencyandbusinesslifecyclestandpoint. ThePersonalitiesintheBuffetLine Nowthatwehavesomeparameters(andIknowitwaspainfulforyouleftbrainers)bywhichwecan solution,weneedsomerealisticcompanysituationstosolution.Letsstartwithfourcompanieseach differentintheirbusinesslifecycle,staffsizesanddemandsforaBITEatsuccess.Youcanemail meifyouwillabsolutelydiewithoutaveryspecificcompanyexamplehowever,Icannotboilthe oceanhereinthisblog(smallpondsareallthatwillbepossible).
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Ourfourcompaniesneedtobedifferenttoseesolutionsinthework.Letspickamanufacturer,a technologycompany,aretailerandacommoditygroup.Inmynextadditionwewilloutlinethe companies,theirmission,theirneedsandtheirresources. Postedin1,BIReporting,EPM,FDM,HFM,OBIEE,OracleDRM,OracleHyperion,Planning& Essbase|TaggedBI,EPM,Essbase,FDM,Fusion,HFM,OBIE,ODI,Oracle,SharedServices, System11|Leaveareply

CreatinganOBIEERepositoryfor RelationalDataSource
PostedonMarch11,2009byMichaelDuong OBIEE(OracleBusinessIntelligenceEnterpriseEdition) InthispartofmyOBIEEblog,IllguideyouthroughbasicstepstocreateanOracleserverrepository anduseittobringoverarelationaldatasourceforuseinOBIAnswers.AsofOBIEEversion 10.1.3.3.2,EssbaseissupportedasanOBIdatasourceallowingtheusertointegrateEssbase datawithOBIAnswers,OBIInteractiveDashboards,andOBIPublisher.Thelatestversionof OBIEEis10.1.3.4x.Refertomypart2blog(OBIEEandEssbaseDefiningOLAPIntegration)for importingEssbasecontentintoOBIEE. Forthebelowsteps,IwillbeusingSQLServer2005relationaldatabaseasmysourcebutyoucan useOracle10gorolderversionsofeithertool. TocreateanOraclerepository,opentheOracleBIAdministrationToolandselectFile|Newand nameyournewrepository.

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SetsecuritybyselectingManage|Security.Assumingyouaretheadmin,selectUsers| Administrator.RightclickAdministrator,selectPropertiestoenteranadminpasswordandconfirm thepassword.CloseoutSecurityManager.

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Toimportarelationaldatasource,selectFile|Import|fromDatabase.

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Selectaconnectiontype.

Selecttherelationaldatasource,enterlogincredentialsandclickOK.

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Entertherelationaltabletoimport.DeselectallbutTables,Keys,andForeignKeysandclickImport. IfyouareusingViewsinsteadofTables,changeaccordingly.

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TherelationaltablewillimportintothePhysicallayeroftheAdministrationTool.

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Testtheimportbyrightclickingacolumn(Branch_Nameisselectedinthisexample)andselectView Data.Valuesfortheselectedcolumnshouldpopulateinaviewdatatable.

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DragtheimportedrelationaltablefolderfromthePhysicallayertotheBusinessModelandMapping (BMM)layer.IntheBMMlayer,hereyoucancreatelogicaltablesandjoinstodevelopthetypeof modelneededforpresentation.

Next,dragtherelationaltablefromtheBMMlayertothePresentationlayertofinalizeits presentationfortheuser.ManipulationbypresentationcanbeperformedinthislayerforSubject AreauseinOBIAnswers.

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Foryourreferenceandasarecapfrommypart2,hereisthesignificanceofeachlayer:

1.Physicallayerimportedtablesandviewscomefromtherelationaldatasource;physicaljoins canbeperformedhere 2.BMMlayerthislayerorganizesimportsfromthephysicallayerintologicalcategories 3.PresentationlayerBMMentitiesareorganizedforuserpresentation

OnceyourPresentationlayeriscomplete,itcanbemadeavailableforOBIAnswerstocreate dashboardcontentbringingbothrelationalandmultidimensionaldatasourcesintooneview.A sampleofanAnswersviewisdisplayedbelowcombiningbothrelationalandmultidimensionaldata sourcesintoacomboboxallowingforchoiceamongregions.Anyselectionofregionupdatesboth relationalandmultidimensionaltablesforview.

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Thisisjustonesimpleexampleoftheproductscapabilities.OBIEEisredefininghowweapproach BIwiththeevolutionofthisproductimprovingonhowwedevelopit.Thereisagreatdealof flexibilitywithinOBIEEforrelationalandmultidimensionalreportingandthosewhounderstandhow toleveragethistoolwillseeitsimpactupontheirorganizationforthebetter. Postedin1,BIReporting,OBIEE,OracleHyperion,Planning&Essbase|TaggedOBIAnswers, OBIInteractiveDashboards,OBIPublisher,Oracle10g,OracleBIAdministrationTool,Oracle Follow

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BusinessIntelligenceEnterpriseEdition,OracleRepository,SQLServer|2Replies

StructuringFlexibilityinYourEPM Project:AGuideforMaximizing ProjectValue

PostedonMarch2,2009byajmason ThegoalofEnterprisePerformanceManagement(EPM)softwareistodriveprofitablegrowthby deliveringpredictableresults,improvingtransparencyandcompliance,andincreasingbusiness alignment.However,thecompetitiveenvironmentishardlypredictableandbusinessobjectives changebasedonenvironmentalfeedback.Asprojectsaretypicallylinkedtobusinessobjectives, functionalrequirementsandneedsmaychangeevenduringtheprojectimplementationcycle.If businessalignmentisaprimaryobjective,thenthesoftwaremustbeadaptiveenoughto accommodatethechangesinordertomaximizevalue. BasedontheresultsofarecentsurveyofITSoftwareProjectFailures,thesecondhighestranked reasongivenforprojectcancellationswastoomanyrequirementsandscopechanges.Project managementisoftenseenasthesolutionforachievingprojectsuccess.Thetraditionalapproachis predominantlytaughtandutilizedinmostorganizations.However,thisapproachhasitslimitations. Thetraditionalprojectapproachisbestusedwhen Thesolutionandrequirementsareclearlydefined Youdonotexpecttoomanyscopechangerequests PriorEPMknowledgeisavailablein-house Youcanutilizeexistingtemplates. Giventheunpredictabilitywithinthecompetitiveenvironment,andthedynamicdiscoveryand deliveryprocessesinherentinanEPMproject,amoreflexibleprojectapproachthatallowsfor changesinscopeisrequired.Thisflexibleapproachworksbestwhen Thesolutionandrequirementsareonlypartiallyknown Theremaybefunctionalitythatisnotyetidentified
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Theremaybeanumberofscopechangesfromthecustomer Theprojectisorientedtonewproductdevelopmentand/orprocessimprovement Thedevelopmentscheduleistightandyoucantaffordreworkorre-planning. AlthoughscopechangesarenecessaryevilswithinanEPMproject,toomanyscopechanges withoutasurroundingprocesscanleadaprojecttofailure.Fromtheviewofabusinessstakeholder, implementinganEPMprojectispartlygettingwhatyouwantandpartlydiscoveringwhatyoureally need.Themoretransparencyobtained,themorelikelybusinessstakeholderswillattempttoenable discoveriesvianewormodifiedrequirements.Nothavingtheappropriateboundariesorstructurein placecaneasilyleadtoexceededbudgets,delayedtimelines,andultimatelyasolidlyimplemented solutionwithnotenoughbusinessvalue. Thekeycomponentsrequiredareadequatelevelsofflexibilityandstructure(otherwiseknownas structuredflexibility). Asthediagramrepresents,structuredflexibility providesprojectstakeholderswithawiderangeof flexibilitytoaidthediscoveryanddeliveryprocesses. However,aboundaryexiststhatallowstheprojectto remainstructuredandmeettheprojecttime,budget, scope,andqualityobjectives.Thepointswhere structuremeetsflexibilityshouldbedeterminedjointly bytheprojectstakeholders.Effectivemethodsshould beusedtoensureadequatecommunicationwithin andaboutthestructure.Thefollowingseven(7)steps, whenusedappropriately,canserveasaguidefor achievingthestructuredflexibilitythatcanmaximize projectvalue: 1. Developtheinitialgroundrulesformaintaining structureattheverystartoftheproject; 2. Obtainbuy-inforthegroundrulesfromallprojectstakeholdersandmodifyifnecessaryto createacommonlanguage; 3. Ensureallprojectmembersareawarethatastructureexistsandwhattheprotocolfor operatingwithinthatstructurewillbe; 4. Allowprojectmemberstobeflexibleintheirthinkingandapproach; 5. Documentandprioritizechangesandnewideas; 6. Focusonthehighestvalueitemsfirst(needsnotwants);and
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7. Enforcegroundruleswhereandwhenflexibilitymeetsstructure. Althoughthesestepsmayappearsimple,highlevelsofprojectmanagementandleadershipskills arerequiredtoimplementthem.Havinganobjectiveprojectmanagementpartnerhelps. PostedinEPM,OracleHyperion,ProjectManagement|Leaveareply

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