Validate Financial KPI Definition

Explanation

This activity is used to validate a specific Financial KPI Definition by transferring the KPI definition to the SQL Server database and then build the Multi Dimensional eXpression (MDX expression) that represents the new measure and test the expression on the target OLAP cube.

The result of the validation will be reported to the end user.

This activity should be made for each new and modified definition to ensure that it will be possible to publish the Financials KPI as a measure in the target OLAP cube.

The result of the KPI validation is reported in a dialog box with the following labels:

• VALID: The KPI is regarded as valid OLAP cube measure.
• NO ERROR: No errors were found while validating the KPI but the MDX expression did not return any data. A typical case is when the referenced OLAP cube measures are based on time intelligence, e.g. YTD measures, then the MDX expression will not return any data.
• ERROR: An error was found in the KPI definition, i.e. it cannot be validated as a measure in the OLAP cube. The Details field in the dialog box shows the built MDX expression that can be useful. Check measure names, dimension, hierarchy names and calculation definitions.

Prerequisites

This activity has the following prerequisites:

• Configuration Settings must be have been defined, i.e. SQL Server database and servers
• A Financial KPI Definition must be available

System Effects

As a result of this activity:

• A successfully validated Financial KPI Definition can, together with all other valid KPI definitions in the current cube, be published to the target OLAP cube in the Analysis Services database.

Window

Financial KPI Definition

Related Window Descriptions

Financial KPI Definition
Connection Settings

Procedure

To perform this activity,

1. Open the Financial KPI Definition window.
2. Populate the window with the required KPI ID in the accurate cube (Cube ID) and Company Group (Company Group ID).
3. Right click and select Validate KPI.
4. If the definition is valid, continue defining other KPIs or publish all valid cube KPIs.
5. If the definition is not valid, analyze why and modify the calculation details.
   
   Note: A warning does not necessary mean that anything is wrong. A typical case is when the referenced OLAP cube measures are based on time intelligence, e.g. YTD measures. In that case the MDX expression will in most cases return no data, since the measure will only be useful when combined with a time dimension hierarchy.