Introduction nalytics (or business intelligence) is one of the hottest topics in corporate boardrooms around the world. It seems that the ability to report on business data is a base requirement for many software purchase decisions, and is a differentiating factor in the hosted CRM or Software as a Service (SaaS) selection criteria. The ability to build powerful reports is something that is becoming more common as this trend continues. The additional ability to deliver these powerful reports to the users of the systems is a bit more elusive. Well-built, insightful analytic reports are only useful if the individuals who need that information are able to access and understand the reports without a great deal of effort. Software as a Service is quickly becoming a norm, rather than an emerging trend. The current economy may have driven more companies to this software model whereby companies pay for licenses to access software on external servers rather than pay for an installation of the software on their own servers. This is often a more economical model, as companies do not have the additional cost of software, hardware, and support personnel. Oracle CRM On Demand is one such SaaS application, and the topic of this book. With Oracle CRM On Demand, users have access to a world-class customer relationship management application that includes an extremely robust business intelligence tool called Answers On Demand. Answers On Demand is included with each license, rather than as a separate cost. With the latest version of Oracle CRM On Demand, users have the ability to create custom dashboards within which to deliver their reports to the screen. A xv Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. Oracle-Regular / Oracle CRM On Demand Dashboards / Michael D. Lairson / 174 534-3 xvi Oracle CRM On Demand Dashboards Oracle-Regular / Oracle CRM On Demand Dashboards / Michael D. Lairson / 174 534-3 Introduction xvii About Oracle CRM On Demand Oracle CRM On Demand’s roots begin with Sales.com. Sales.com was the first hosted CRM product for Siebel Systems. Siebel Systems was the leader in the CRM industry at the time, but the world was not yet ready for Sales.com, and that service shut down in 2001 due to a lack of interest. A mere two years later, in 2003, Siebel reemerged in the CRM Software as a Service market with Siebel CRM OnDemand. Shortly thereafter, Siebel Systems acquired UpShot, another trailblazer in the hosted CRM industry. UpShot’s technology was rolled into Siebel CRM OnDemand. The next acquisition affecting the hosted CRM product was the purchase of Ineto. Ineto’s technology added call center hosting to the Siebel CRM OnDemand offering. Fast-forward to early 2006 and Oracle’s completed acquisition of Siebel Systems, and we see a leading hosted CRM application suddenly gain the backing of a huge software empire and the support and research and development that comes with it. Rather than get lost in the rich mix of Oracle software products, and a set of products and services already bearing the “On Demand” moniker, Siebel CRM OnDemand became Oracle CRM On Demand and continued to thrive. Since that acquisition, Oracle has continued to push out additional versions of the application with aggressive and impressive enhancements that continue to set the standard for hosted CRM applications. Oracle CRM On Demand is a full-service suite of hosted CRM that includes core service, sales, and marketing components. Hosted call center and e-mail marketing are two additional options that fully integrate with the application. The extensive CRM functionality of Oracle CRM On Demand includes marketing campaign management, lead management, revenue forecasting, sales opportunity management, account management, contact management, service request and solution management, and quota management. Offline access and integration with e-mail applications and mobile devices are also available. Seamless integration with back-office applications is available using prebuilt integration points (PIPs) or custom web services. Most important to the readers of this book, Oracle CRM On Demand includes the Answers On Demand tool, which offers extensive and powerful embedded analytics functionality. Reports developed within Answers On Demand may be run from within Oracle CRM On Demand by clicking a hyperlink on the reports screen, or as I will describe in this book, embedded into dashboards that present one or more reports to the user on a single screen. The functionality of the Oracle CRM On Demand dashboard is the focus of this text. I believe that you will find this book not only an informative read, but also an indispensable reference as you expand your own dashboard and report development skills. Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. Oracle-Regular / Oracle CRM On Demand Dashboards / Michael D. Lairson / 174 534-3 xvi Oracle CRM On Demand Dashboards Oracle-Regular / Oracle CRM On Demand Dashboards / Michael D. Lairson / 174 534-3 Introduction xvii About This Book A couple of years ago, I began keeping notes of tips and tricks and things I learned as I struggled to develop reports for my customers. That effort led to my first book, Oracle CRM On Demand Reporting (McGraw-Hill, 2008), as I found myself overwhelmed with the features and possibilities of analytics in Oracle CRM On Demand and the functions at my disposal. I wrote that book in order to have a single resource that I could reference as I built reports. As a nice secondary benefit, I was able to assist many others with their reports in the form of that reference. I have continued to teach reporting workshops and keep up with the enhancements within Oracle CRM On Demand and the ever-expanding demands of the users of the application. With the introduction of custom dashboards in Release 16 of the application, it became increasingly obvious to me that there is a demand for more information on this awesome feature, which brings me here, again developing a reference for you, and me, so that we can continue to support the needs of our users and deliver to them the powerful and insightful business intelligence tools that they demand from us, the faithful report developers. My desire is to continue the earlier effort to create a comprehensive guide to the features of Answers On Demand coupled with planning and design strategies that will serve you well as you build reports and dashboards in Oracle CRM On Demand. Oracle CRM On Demand dashboard developers, from novices to experts, should find something in this book that will make the next dashboard a little easier, a little more useful, and maybe even fun to build. The book begins with a description of the reporting tools available in Oracle CRM On Demand and the user settings that are required for access to Answers On Demand and dashboard management. Then we explore the prebuilt default dashboards in Oracle CRM On Demand. We will also take a look at the Answers On Demand tool and the subject areas available for reporting, since we typically include some reports in our dashboards, and you will need some familiarity with the subject areas and the Answers On Demand tool for developing dashboard filter prompts. Of course, you cannot just start building a dashboard without a plan. So the second chapter helps you understand the importance of knowing why you need your dashboard, how it will be used, who will use it, and what needs to be in it. Of course, you will have already done some this planning when you built the reports for the dashboard, right? We’d better review it anyway. Next up, we begin with basic dashboard development on the Manage Dashboard screen with creating, designing, and deleting dashboards. In this chapter you explore adding elements to your dashboard. Now that you have a dashboard canvas to work with, in Chapter 4, we will expand that canvas by adding pages to the dashboard and setting the properties for the dashboard’s appearance and behavior. Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. Oracle-Regular / Oracle CRM On Demand Dashboards / Michael D. Lairson / 174 534-3 xviii Oracle CRM On Demand Dashboards Chapter 5 is the heart of the book, as it describes in detail each of the available dashboard objects outside of reports. Here you will learn about each object, how it is used and configured, and what options are available for each. The next chapter focuses on the adding and arranging of reports on the dashboard pages. Here you will explore the various display techniques and properties for reports embedded onto a dashboard screen. Here also you will find a report development overview to help build, refresh, or renew your report-building skills as they pertain to dashboards. In Chapter 7 we will dive into the more technical topic of developing dashboard filter prompts. We will return to the Answers On Demand tool to develop prompts as well as configure our dashboard reports to be prompted. Some advanced topics such as using SQL and presentation variables are included here. In the final chapter, we will discuss the different methods of deploying a dashboard to the users of Oracle CRM On Demand. How to Use This Book This book is more than just a detailed explanation of the features of Oracle CRM On Demand dashboards. As in my first book, which I hope you already have a well- worn copy of, this book contains valuable experience from hours upon hours of struggle with the most interesting and challenging reporting and dashboarding requirements. As with any skill, the best way to develop is through practice, and it is my hope that you will benefit from the many hours of my own practice. It is not a replacement for your time and effort, of course, but it certainly is a nice head start. The strategies for report planning, design, and development, as well as the abundance of information and examples of the many functions available to you in your Oracle CRM On Demand reporting tool that are included in Oracle CRM On Demand Reporting, will serve you well as you expand your abilities into dashboard development, and I highly recommend that you pick up a copy of that book, if you have not already. Building on that foundation, this book takes you through the process of designing your custom dashboards with a detailed explanation of all of the available features. Examples and sample strategies for successful dashboards are offered, as well as some deep technical instruction on filtering and prompting the reports embedded in your dashboards. Novice or seasoned veteran, whether you read it to learn or use it as a reference tool, I hope and believe your dashboards, and ultimately your users, will benefit from the information offered herein. Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. / Oracle CRM On Demand Dashboards / Michael D. Lairson / 174 534-3 / Blind folio:  Chapter 1 Getting Started 1 Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. / Oracle CRM On Demand Dashboards / Michael D. Lairson / 174 534-3  Oracle CRM On Demand Dashboards / Oracle CRM On Demand Dashboards / Michael D. Lairson / 174 534-3 Chapter 1: Getting Started  his chapter describes some of the basic information about the report development environment within Oracle CRM On Demand. If you have read, or keep for reference, a copy of my first book, Oracle CRM On Demand Reports (McGraw-Hill, 2008), you have some familiarity with Answers On Demand and have my permission to skim this chapter. If you are new to Oracle CRM On Demand and picked up this book to learn how to build dashboards using existing reports, read on. First, we will discuss some basic information about Oracle CRM On Demand and the administrative settings that are necessary for access to report and dashboard development tools within the application. After that bit of housekeeping, we will take a look at some of the default dashboards and the Answers On Demand screen.  One of the most difficult concepts that my customers struggle with is also a most basic and core concept that is critical for the report and dashboard developer to comprehend. Oracle CRM On Demand is a hosted application. That means that the software you are accessing when you sign in to Oracle CRM On Demand is not installed on your computer. You are, in most cases, not accessing servers owned by your company. In fact, you are accessing software installed on servers in an Oracle data center, and you are most likely sharing that server space with several other companies also using Oracle CRM On Demand. This is how a multitenant software- as-a-service environment works, and many companies are benefiting from the reduced hardware costs and overhead that comes with this type of software service. Using an Oracle CRM On Demand license is very much like renting an apartment. You can arrange the furniture, decorate, and maybe even paint your apartment and remain within the terms of your rental agreement. However, the owner of the apartment building is not going to allow you to knock down walls, add on rooms, or open your own night club in the building. As a tenant, you rent a specific space and there are limits on what you are able to do with the space that you occupy. In Oracle CRM On Demand, your company has licensed a space on the Oracle CRM On Demand server (or pod). Within your instance of Oracle CRM On Demand, you can configure the screens, add new fields and remove fields; change the names and appearance of screens; and build your own lists, reports, and dashboards. These are the things you do to make Oracle CRM On Demand fit your business. Some things, however, you are not able to do within your rented space. You cannot, for example, change the underlying schema of the database. You cannot configure the underlying data warehouse or change the ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) schedule. We have to work within these boundaries when developing our reports and dashboards. This often means using a little creativity to overcome some of your T Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. / Oracle CRM On Demand Dashboards / Michael D. Lairson / 174 534-3  Oracle CRM On Demand Dashboards / Oracle CRM On Demand Dashboards / Michael D. Lairson / 174 534-3 Chapter 1: Getting Started  reporting challenges. The information in the chapters that follow will certainly help you with this. That being said, it is impossible to anticipate every possible use of the dashboards feature in Oracle CRM On Demand. I encourage you to explore and try new things, but always work toward meeting your company’s reporting needs rather than reporting for the sake of reporting because you discovered a cool new trick and want to show it off.   Each user of Oracle CRM On Demand is assigned a role. Roles in Oracle CRM On Demand are part of the access control mechanisms that define the levels of access to records and screens in the application. The privileges identified in your user role control your ability to access and use the report and dashboard development screens and tools. Each individual user has a single role, but a single role may be assigned to many users. Your system administrator is typically the individual who manages these role privileges. If you are unsure if you have the necessary access, ask your administrator to review the settings for your role. Figure 1-1 shows a portion of the Role Privileges screen. There are eight Analytics privileges that affect your ability to access, create, and modify reports and dashboards in Oracle CRM On Demand. Most users will have at least some of these privileges, even if they are not responsible for creating or managing reports and dashboards. The  privilege gives the user access to all data within reports. This bypasses some of the other access control mechanisms to expose data in reports that users may otherwise not have access to within Oracle CRM On Demand.  User role Analytics privileges Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. / Oracle CRM On Demand Dashboards / Michael D. Lairson / 174 534-3  Oracle CRM On Demand Dashboards / Oracle CRM On Demand Dashboards / Michael D. Lairson / 174 534-3 Chapter 1: Getting Started  The  privilege gives the user access to the dashboards on the Dashboard tab within Oracle CRM On Demand. This privilege does not grant the user the ability to create or modify dashboards, only view them. The  privilege gives the user access to the shared reports on the Reports tab within Oracle CRM On Demand. This privilege does not grant the user the ability to create or modify shared reports, only view them. Reports must be in a shared folder that is accessible to the user role. A user can have access to reports but not have access to a specific folder. In this case, the folder and reports therein will not be visible to the user. The  privilege gives the user access to the prebuilt reports on the Reports tab within Oracle CRM On Demand. This privilege does not grant the user the ability to edit and create new reports based on the prebuilt reports, only view them. The  privilege grants the user the ability to embed HTML and JavaScript into reports. Some views in Answers On Demand are not available to the report developer unless this privilege is enabled. The Narrative view, for example, accepts HTML and JavaScript code. While developers need this privilege to develop reports and dashboards using HTML and scripting, users do not need this privilege to use reports and dashboards containing these advanced features. The  privilege grants the user the ability to create custom reports and save these reports into the shared folders so other users may access them. Without this privilege, a user may be able to execute and view custom shared reports, but cannot open the reports in Answers On Demand to modify them, nor can the user create a new custom report. The  privilege grants the user the ability to create, edit, and delete custom dashboards from the dashboard tab in Oracle CRM On Demand. The Manage Dashboards link appears on the Dashboard tab only if this privilege is enabled on the user’s role. The  privilege grants the user the ability to create custom reports and save these reports into their personal reports folder. Reports in your personal reports folder, named My Folders and appearing on the Reports tab as the My Analyses hyperlink, are not accessible to any users other than you. For this reason, reports saved in your personal folder are not good candidates for inclusion on dashboards. Dashboards are accessible by all users with the Access Analytics Dashboards privilege, so dashboards containing personal reports will not operate properly for other users. In addition to the role settings, there are a couple of other places that affect data visibility in reports and dashboards that you should be aware of. First, there is the Company Profile. The Company Profile may be modified by your system administrator. Second is the User Profile. Each user has a profile (record) in Oracle CRM On Demand that may be modified to provide specific data access within reports and dashboards. Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. / Oracle CRM On Demand Dashboards / Michael D. Lairson / 174 534-3  Oracle CRM On Demand Dashboards / Oracle CRM On Demand Dashboards / Michael D. Lairson / 174 534-3 Chapter 1: Getting Started    The Company Profile contains three analytics visibility settings. The Reporting Subject Areas settings controls the data visibility of real-time reports. These are the reports built within the reporting subject areas. The Historical Subject Areas setting controls the data visibility of the reports, pulling data from the data warehouse. These are the reports built within the analytics subject areas. The third setting has to do with the ability to see all records in reports. When set to Yes, the Role-Based Can Read All Records setting enables a record-type specific setting of all record access based on the Record Type Access settings in the role definitions. The options within the Reporting Subject Areas settings are Manager Visibility or Team Visibility. With the Manager Visibility option, users are able to view data in both their reports and those of their subordinates. Essentially, they will see data owned by anyone in the user hierarchy below them within their reporting line. With the Team Visibility option, users are able to view data in the reports that they have access to within Oracle CRM On Demand by virtue of their team membership. In other words, if Dave owns an account, and Doug is on the account team for that account, then Doug will be able to see that account on reports because of his membership on the account team. One additional option is available within the Historical Subject Areas setting. The Full Visibility option allows users access to all data, regardless of ownership for historical (analytics) reports. This is useful when you are using the analytics subject areas to report on companywide trends and summary-type data that is not reported at the owner level. It is common to allow all users to see high-level sales data—for instance, at an aggregate level—but to only provide access to the opportunity- specific details to the owners of those opportunities.   On the User Profile, you will find several fields that affect data visibility in reports. First, within the Key User Information section, the Default Analytics Look In setting allows you to set the default Book Of Business User Book for the user’s reports. Generally, this will be the user’s own book. Also, in the Key User Information section, the Reports To field identifies each user’s direct superior in the reporting hierarchy. This setting affects report data visibility when Manager Visibility is enabled. Further down the User Profile, in the User Security Information section, you will find two fields that also appear on the Company Profile. When no values are selected on the User Profile, the data visibility settings on the Company Profile are used to determine which records should appear in a report for the current user. Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. / Oracle CRM On Demand Dashboards / Michael D. Lairson / 174 534-3  Oracle CRM On Demand Dashboards / Oracle CRM On Demand Dashboards / Michael D. Lairson / 174 534-3 Chapter 1: Getting Started  When User Profile settings are present, they will take precedent over the Company Profile settings. Just like the fields on the Company Profile, the options available for reporting subject areas are Manager Visibility and Team Visibility. The options available for historical subject areas are Manager Visibility, Team Visibility, and Full Visibility.  Let’s shift gears just a bit now and explore the default dashboards that come prebuilt in Oracle CRM On Demand. The Dashboard tab contains six dashboards. Each of these dashboards contains several reports that are stored on the analytics server and are not accessible through any other links within Oracle CRM On Demand. One might assume that the dashboards contain the prebuilt reports that also come with your Oracle CRM On Demand instance. You might have noticed that the six dashboards are somewhat aligned with the six groups of prebuilt reports. While there are certainly prebuilt reports in Oracle CRM On Demand that are similar, or even exactly the same, as the reports that appear in the dashboards, it really is a moot point, since neither prebuilt dashboards nor prebuilt reports can be modified. They can, however, serve as wonderful examples of the analytics and dashboard capabilities within the application, and for this reason, merit examination. To access the dashboards, click the Dashboard tab. If you do not see the Dashboard tab, you may need to add it to your layout by clicking the My Setup link at the top-right area of the Oracle CRM On Demand screen. Once on the Personal Homepage, click the Personal Layout link. On the Personal Layout screen, click the Tab Layout link. Locate Dashboard in the Available Tabs list, and move it to the Selected Tabs list by selecting it and then clicking the arrow pointing to the right located between the lists. You can position the tab by clicking the up and down arrows to the right of the Selected Tabs list. If you do not see the Dashboard tab listed in either the Available Tabs or Selected Tabs list, you will need to contact your system administrator to have it added to the list of tabs available in your role. Once on the Dashboard tab, you will see the Select Dashboard field at the top of the screen. In this drop-down list you will find the names of all of the available dashboards, both prebuilt and custom. The first six in the list are the prebuilt dashboards. These six dashboards (as of this writing) cannot be renamed, edited, moved, removed, or deleted from Oracle CRM On Demand. Let’s examine each of these six dashboards.  The Overview Dashboard, shown in Figure 1-2, is designed to provide a summary view of opportunity revenues, service request aging, and top ten lists of customers and opportunities. The elements displayed on the Overview Dashboard include a dashboard filter prompt, four reports, and a static text view. Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. [...]... with which reports are affected by the selections The reports must be configured to receive the filter from the dashboard prompt Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark 9 10   Oracle CRM On Demand Dashboards Figure 1-3.  Pipeline Dashboard Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark D Lairson / 174 534-3 Chapter 1:  Getting Started ... comparison by month of closed revenue in the selected quarter and the previous quarter Now, this is a little confusing because the month listed on the chart is the current month, but the green bar on the chart is actually showing closed revenue for the month three months prior So, if you are viewing this report for the second quarter (calendar months April through June), you will see Month 6 as one of... to help you identify Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark 11 12   Oracle CRM On Demand Dashboards Figure 1-4.  Sales Effectiveness Dashboard Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark D Lairson / 174 534-3 Chapter 1:  Getting Started  why you are winning or losing deals The elements displayed on the Sales Effectiveness Dashboard... informative pie chart with different-sized wedges for each value Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark D Lairson / 174 534-3 Chapter 1:  Getting Started  Figure 1-5.  Customer Dashboard Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark 15 16   Oracle CRM On Demand Dashboards This report allows you to navigate to another report In this case,...D Lairson / 174 534-3 Chapter 1:  Getting Started  Figure 1-2.  Overview Dashboard Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark 7 8  Oracle CRM On Demand Dashboards Overview Dashboard Filter Prompt Just below the static text view on this dashboard you will find the dashboard filter prompt that allows you to filter the reports embedded on the dashboard The... hierarchy to view This concept can be a bit confusing at first, but is actually rather elegant in its design The user hierarchy in Oracle CRM On Demand is defined by the Reports To field on all of the user records As a user, your direct manager, or the individual identified in the Reports To field on your user record, is your Level 1 manager His or her manager is your Level 2 manager This continues for as... as not filtering or including the Skip Prompt option on a column filter prompt Also notice that the Fiscal Year column only offers 20 years’ worth of options The Date Domain columns in Oracle CRM On Demand reports operate with a rolling 20-year window You are able to filter your reports using these date domain columns using a year within ten years on either side of the current year Opportunity vs Expected... months April through June), you will see Month 6 as one of the values on the bottom axis in the chart The blue bar on Month 6 would depict closed revenue for June, as you would expect The green bar on Month 6 would depict closed revenue for March March is the third month of the first quarter, and June is the third month of the second quarter This way, you can see the quarter-over-quarter change in closed... your Level 0 manager According to Oracle CRM On Demand, every user reports to themselves at Reporting Level 0 Also, notice the “ . Oracle CRM On Demand Dashboards Oracle- Regular / Oracle CRM On Demand Dashboards / Michael D. Lairson / 174 534-3 Introduction xvii About Oracle CRM On Demand Oracle. watermark. / Oracle CRM On Demand Dashboards / Michael D. Lairson / 174 534-3  Oracle CRM On Demand Dashboards / Oracle CRM On Demand Dashboards