Reports can be viewed as a selection of specific members of a dimension, including some while excluding others

Description

This functionality provides the user with powerful data filtering and presentation capabilities using dimensions in the CPM tool. It allows for the selection of specific members (attributes, options, children, etc) of a dimension, such as selecting “Mountain, Southwest, Pacific Northwest” while excluding “Southeast, Northeast, Midwest” for a dimension called Region.

Example Use Case

Scenario: An international manufacturing company uses CPM software to monitor its operations. They want to differentiate their sales data to compare performance between their product categories, excluding certain underperforming departments from their analysis for specific revenue reports.

Solution: The CPM software enables selection and exclusion of specific dimension members in the creation of reports. For instance, if they select the dimension Product Category, they could include Automotive and Home Appliances while excluding Personal Care. Consequently, they analyze targeted performance data with no 'noise' from less relevant sectors.

Considerations

Some products on the market will make this unnecessarily difficult, requiring custom views and other administrative activities in order to create the filter. This is a major waste of time, adding far too many clicks and maintenance burden to make the reporting tool useful.

The best systems will allow the user to simply select the members that they want to include with a checkbox, arrow, or some other type of UI element. The report can then be saved with this selection for re-use.

Questions to Ask a Vendor

• Usability: How straightforward is your system's process for including and excluding specific members of a dimension in a report? Can we do it right in the report, or do we need to build out special hierarchies for the members we want first?
• Versatility: Does your system allow for selection and exclusion of members across different dimensions? For example, what if we wanted to select 3 specific products and 2 specific locations?
• Saving Reports: How are the reports saved once members are included or excluded?