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MicroStrategy Quick Start Guide
MicroStrategy Quick Start Guide

MicroStrategy Quick Start Guide: Data analytics and visualizations for Business Intelligence

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MicroStrategy Quick Start Guide

Project Design - Creating Your Project Foundation

Technically speaking, MicroStrategy's core task is to translate business questions into the language that databases speak: SQL. In other words, MicroStrategy offers a logical bridge between business users and the data. This bridge is possible because of MicroStrategy's Objects, which in turn reside in its metadata database.

This chapter will establish the base for designing and building a MicroStrategy project. It will first define and explain the concept of MicroStrategy Objects and then describe the main object categories. Then the main Schema Objects, such as Attributes and Facts, will be covered. The following topics will be the focus of this chapter:

  • What is a MicroStrategy Object?
  • Which are the main object categories?
  • Understanding a MicroStrategy Project and how to create one
  • Understanding a MicroStrategy Schema...

MicroStrategy Objects

MicroStrategy Objects are logical abstractions of mainly database components, such as tables and columns. However, there are some objects that represent other things such as databases (connections), users, server nodes, schedules, and devices, to mention a few. All MicroStrategy Objects are stored in the MicroStrategy metadata database. In other words, if it is stored in the metadata then it must be a MicroStrategy Object.

This wide variety of MicroStrategy Objects are grouped into the following three main categories:

Three categories of Microstrategy
  • Schema Objects: These objects directly represent database objects such as columns, tables, and partitions. Some examples are: Tables, Attributes, Facts, Hierarchies, and Transformations.
  • Application Objects: Also known as Public Objects, these objects represent reporting and visualization objects. Some examples...

MicroStrategy Analytics Modules

When MicroStrategy is installed, there is the option to install MicroStrategy Analytics Modules. Basically, this option will install two sample projects: MicroStrategy Tutorial and Human Resources Analysis Module. These two projects are installed and configured automatically. Both the data warehouse and the metadata databases reside on Microsoft Access. In addition, a 2-Tier Project Source is also created and accessible from MicroStrategy Developer. The login is Administrator with a blank password.

It is recommended to leave these sample projects to perform testing of MicroStrategy Features and self-training in a DEV or System Test environments, never in Production. Otherwise, these could be uninstalled. Throughout this book, we will use these two projects to describe examples and perform exercises.

...

MicroStrategy Developer

MicroStrategy Developer is a client interface that was conceived while thinking of an interface that the majority of the developers and users are familiar with: Windows Explorer. Microsoft Windows Explorer is a tool that helps the user to visualize, manage, organize, create, and delete files in a PC. Similarly, MicroStrategy Developer (which by the way was called MicroStrategy Desktop for many years before version 9.5) is a tool that helps the user to visualize, manage, organize, create, and delete MicroStrategy Objects in the metadata.

Although other MicroStrategy clients, covered in Chapter 1, Architecture – Installing and Configuring MicroStrategy, will offer some specific functionality and interaction with the MicroStrategy Objects, MicroStrategy Developer is the main client to develop and manage all three object categories, as shown in the following...

MicroStrategy Projects

MicroStrategy Projects are Configuration Objects, which group all other objects within (Public and Schema).The following is a quick reference table for this MicroStrategy Object:

The Projects are usually created according to a business area (such as marketing, finance, and human resources) or, in some organizations, by the technology that supports its data source (such as Teradata, Oracle, SQL Server). In any case, a MicroStrategy Project helps developers and users to organize their reporting and analytics applications. There are other Configuration Objects, but these will be covered in Chapter 6, Security – Managing Your Users and Their Access and Chapter 7, Administration – Maintaining and Monitoring Your Project.

Project structure

...

Your building blocks – Schema Objects

The MicroStrategy Schema Objects are going to be the foundation of any project. These objects serve as building blocks on which other objects will be erected. Generally speaking, Schema Objects are mapped to database structures such as tables or columns with a few exceptions in which other Schema Objects are used as part of their components. Usually, there is only one person at a time creating or modifying Schema Objects. This person is called the project Architect. It is not recommended to have multiple persons modifying Schema Objects since this could lead to metadata inconsistencies and eventually corruption. Once any change has been performed to a schema object, it is necessary to commit this change into the metadata. To do so the Architect must Update Schema.

...

The Source – Tables

The first Schema Object to be created must be a MicroStrategy Table. The following is a quick reference table for this MicroStrategy Object:

This object is simply the logical representation of a table in the database (data warehouse). MicroStrategy imports into the object definition the table name, structure, columns, and data types. In addition, MicroStrategy assigns a value to the table based on the fields and Attributes mapped to it. It is important to mention that this number doesn't represent a measure of megabytes or number of rows but instead a conceptual value; this is why it is called the logical table size. This number is utilized by the MicroStrategy SQL Engine to choose which table should be used for the query when two tables are available to get the same data. MicroStrategy chooses the table with the smaller logical table size to...

Business raw measures – Facts

MicroStrategy Facts are objects that represent a business measure stored in a database table. The following is a quick reference table for this MicroStrategy Object:

These measures usually have the following characteristics:

  • They are numerical
  • They can be aggregated (summed up or operated in some way)

The Facts usually map directly to one or more columns in a Fact table. The Fact is defined with a MicroStrategy expression. An expression could be:

  • Base: an expression which is represented as a single table field
  • Derived: an expression in which two or more table fields are operated or a function is applied to them

The Fact on its own is meaningless. It needs a context and a rule of aggregation in order to be useful. In the following sections, we will learn about which other MicroStrategy Objects serve this purpose.

...

MicroStrategy Objects


MicroStrategy Objects are logical abstractions of mainly database components, such as tables and columns. However, there are some objects that represent other things such as databases (connections), users, server nodes, schedules, and devices, to mention a few. All MicroStrategy Objects are stored in the MicroStrategy metadata database. In other words, if it is stored in the metadata then it must be a MicroStrategy Object.

This wide variety of MicroStrategy Objects are grouped into the following three main categories:

Three categories of Microstrategy

  • Schema Objects: These objects directly represent database objects such as columns, tables, and partitions. Some examples are: Tables, Attributes, Facts, Hierarchies, and Transformations.
  • Application Objects: Also known as Public Objects, these objects represent reporting and visualization objects. Some examples are: Reports, Templates, Metrics, Filters, Prompts, and Documents.
  • Configuration Objects: These objects represent...

MicroStrategy Analytics Modules


When MicroStrategy is installed, there is the option to install MicroStrategy Analytics Modules. Basically, this option will install two sample projects: MicroStrategy Tutorial and Human Resources Analysis Module. These two projects are installed and configured automatically. Both the data warehouse and the metadata databases reside on Microsoft Access. In addition, a 2-Tier Project Source is also created and accessible from MicroStrategy Developer. The login is Administrator with a blank password.

It is recommended to leave these sample projects to perform testing of MicroStrategy Features and self-training in a DEV or System Test environments, never in Production. Otherwise, these could be uninstalled. Throughout this book, we will use these two projects to describe examples and perform exercises.

MicroStrategy Developer


MicroStrategy Developer is a client interface that was conceived while thinking of an interface that the majority of the developers and users are familiar with: Windows Explorer. Microsoft Windows Explorer is a tool that helps the user to visualize, manage, organize, create, and delete files in a PC. Similarly, MicroStrategy Developer (which by the way was called MicroStrategy Desktop for many years before version 9.5) is a tool that helps the user to visualize, manage, organize, create, and delete MicroStrategy Objects in the metadata.

Although other MicroStrategy clients, covered in Chapter 1, Architecture – Installing and Configuring MicroStrategy, will offer some specific functionality and interaction with the MicroStrategy Objects, MicroStrategy Developer is the main client to develop and manage all three object categories, as shown in the following screenshot:

Using MicroStrategy Developer to manage all three categories

Notice that the MicroStrategy Developer tree...

MicroStrategy Projects


MicroStrategy Projects are Configuration Objects, which group all other objects within (Public and Schema).The following is a quick reference table for this MicroStrategy Object:

The Projects are usually created according to a business area (such as marketing, finance, and human resources) or, in some organizations, by the technology that supports its data source (such as Teradata, Oracle, SQL Server). In any case, a MicroStrategy Project helps developers and users to organize their reporting and analytics applications. There are other Configuration Objects, but these will be covered in Chapter 6Security – Managing Your Usersand Their Access and Chapter 7, Administration – Maintaining and Monitoring Your Project.

Project structure

When a MicroStrategy Project is created, a general folder structure common to every project is generated:

  • My Personal Objects: This set of folders is meant to save objects that are not shared among other users. Meaning, whatever is saved within...
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Key benefits

  • Learn the fundamentals of MicroStrategy
  • Use MicroStrategy to get actionable insights from your business data
  • Create visualizations and build intuitive dashboards and reports

Description

MicroStrategy is an enterprise business intelligence application. It turns data into reports for making and executing key organization decisions. This book shows you how to implement Business Intelligence (BI) with MicroStrategy. It takes you from setting up and configuring MicroStrategy to security and administration. The book starts by detailing the different components of the MicroStrategy platform, and the key concepts of Metadata and Project Source. You will then install and configure MicroStrategy and lay down the foundations for building MicroStrategy BI solutions. By learning about objects and different object types, you will develop a strong understanding of the MicroStrategy Schema and Public Objects. With these MicroStrategy objects, you will enhance and scale your BI and Analytics solutions. Finally, you will learn about the administration, security, and monitoring of your BI solution.

Who is this book for?

This book is for Business Intelligence professionals or data analysts who want to get started with Microstrategy. Some basic understanding of BI and data analysis will be required to get the most from this book.

What you will learn

  • Set up the MicroStrategy Intelligence Server and client tools
  • Create a MicroStrategy metadata repository and your first Project
  • Explore the main MicroStrategy object types and their dependencies
  • Create, manipulate, and share Reports
  • Create and share Dashboards
  • Manage Users and Groups

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Length: 218 pages
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Length: 218 pages
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Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781789136241
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Table of Contents

9 Chapters
Architecture - Installing and Configuring MicroStrategy Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Project Design - Creating Your Project Foundation Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Basic Reporting - Building Your First Reports Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Advanced Reporting - Interacting with and Improving Your Reports Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Dashboarding - Creating Visual Reporting Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Security - Managing Your Users and Their Access Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Administration - Maintaining and Monitoring Your Project Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Quick Reference Tables by Object Type Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Other Books You May Enjoy Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Customer reviews

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Cynthia Gonzalez Dec 17, 2020
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
This is a book with the basics to get started with MicroStrategy. It guides you on how to create all objects, how to use them and what are their components. I recommend it for anyone who is interested in learning this technology from scratch.
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