Designer

In Designer, objects are qualified as one of three types: dimension, detail, or measure.

Dimension Parameters for analysis. Dimensions typically relate to a hierarchy such as geography, product, or time. For example Last Name and City_Id

Detail Provide a description of a dimension, but are not the focus for analysis. For example Phone Number

Measure Convey numeric information which is used to quantify a dimension object. For example Sales Revenue


The universe design methodology described in this manual consists of one planning stage, and three implementation phases:

• Analysis of business problem and planning the universe solution

• Designing a schema
• Building the universe
• Distributing the universe to users

Each implementation phase is based on an assumption that you have completed an initial planning phase. The planning phase can be done without using Designer, and is the decisive phase for the success or failure of your universe. A poorly planned universe that is not based on a study of user reporting needs will be difficult to design, implement, maintain, and will not be useful to your target users.