Master data Modeling
Master data modeling should be done is such a way that it is integrated across various modules. For example, there is only one customer for entire business regardless of module whether AR or Sales etc.
The master data info objects should be checked against business content and existing objects. If there are already existing objects which fulfill your requirement, then you should avoid creating new objects.
You can use the SAP metadata repository to search for the business content and existing objects.
Options for Modeling Dependent Attributes
Dependent Attributes | ||
| Reporting Requirement | BW Design Solution | Advantages / Drawbacks |
| key figures should be aggregated according to the value of the attribute at the time of the transaction. (Yesterday’s transactions with yesterday’s master data.) | Model the dependent attribute as a characteristic in a dimension on the InfoCube: • Place dependent attributes with one-to-many cardinality in the same dimension as their parent attribute. • Place attributes with many-to many relationships in separate dimensions. | Advantages: • Queries run faster (improved performance) compared to navigational attributes or hierarchies. • You can build aggregates on dimension characteristics to further improve query performance. Disadvantages: • You cannot report yesterday’s transactions according to today’s value of the master data attribute. • Other standard InfoCubes cannot share the attribute values, because dimensions belong to a single InfoCube. |
| key figures should be aggregated according to the current value of the attribute, regardless of the date on the transaction (yesterday’s transactions with today’s master data.) | Model the dependent attribute as a master data attribute (non-time dependent) • If users must group by, or filter / restrict by, this attribute, then it must also become a navigational attribute in the appropriate InfoCube(s). | Advantages: • Reduces the overall size of the InfoCube and may reduce the time to load it. • Other InfoCubes can use the attribute, if they include the master data characteristic on which the attribute resides. • You can build aggregates on navigational attributes to improve query performance. • Realignments (changes) in dependent attributes immediately affect all the transactions in the InfoCube. Disadvantages: • You cannot report yesterday’s transactions according to yesterday’s value of the master data attribute. |
| key figures should be aggregated according to the value of the attribute as it appears today or at any arbitrary point in the past (today’s transactions with yesterday’s master data.) | Model the dependent attribute as a time dependent master data attribute. • If users must group by, or filter / restrict by, this attribute, then it must also become a navigational attribute in the appropriate InfoCube(s). | Advantages: • Queries can summarize transaction data based on any point in time view of the dependent attribute. • Reduces the overall size of the InfoCube and may reduce the time to load it. • Other InfoCubes can use the attribute, if they include the master data characteristic on which the attribute resides. Disadvantages: • You cannot build aggregates on time dependent attributes to improve query performance. • Loading master data becomes somewhat more complex and more prone to error, because you must specify a date range for time dependent attributes on every load. |
BW InfoObject Configuration Options
Below table lists the uses, advantages, and disadvantages of most of the master data configuration option available in the SAP BW Info object settings.
| InfoObject Settings | ||
| Options | Purpose and Effects | Restrictions / Advantages / Drawbacks |
| General Tab: Attribute Only | Checking this flag tells the BW system that this InfoObject acts only as an attribute of another characteristic | • You cannot use InfoObjects that have this flag set as characteristics in an InfoCube. • InfoObjects with this flag set cannot have master data or texts |
| General Tab: Lowercase letters | Allows the BW system to accept mixed case values for the InfoObject when it occurs as an attribute of another InfoObject | • You can only set this option for InfoObjects with the exclusively attribute flag set. • You cannot use InfoObjects that have this flag set as characteristics in an InfoCube. • InfoObjects with this flag set cannot have master data or texts |
| General Tab: Conversion Routine | Specifies a pair of function modules (input and output) to apply to this InfoObject when storing values or displaying values on the screen. The most common options include ALPHA, a delivered conversion routine which adds leading zeros on input and strips leading zeros on output. | • The use of conversion routines can affect whether characteristic values in hierarchies and transaction data match to the same values loaded in the master data tables. BW Administrators must ensure that the same conversion routine applies to InfoObject values loaded as primary keys in master data and as foreign keys in attributes, characteristics, and hierarchies. |
| General Tab: Person Responsible | For documentation purposes, this field identifies the person responsible for configuring or maintaining the InfoObject and its master data. It has no effect on security, activation, etc. It does not necessarily identify the person who made the most recent change to the object | • Useful for documentation purposes only. |
| General Tab: Constant | Assigns a permanent, fixed value to a characteristic. The characteristic becomes available on the database side (for example, with verification), but no longer relevant to Reporting (no aggregation / drilldown with reference to this characteristic). | • Useful for constant attributes compounded onto other InfoObjects. • Since this attribute will only ever have one value, query users cannot drilldown or filter on it in queries. • To assign the constant SPACE (Type CHAR) or 00..0 (Type NUMC) to the characteristic, specify the character # in the first position. |
| General Tab: Transfer routine (create button) | Specifies a globally valid transfer routine for the Characteristic. | • BW executes this transfer routine for all loads to this InfoObject, regardless of source. • If you also specify a local transfer routine in the transfer rules for a specific InfoSources, BW applies the code in the local transfer routine first, then applies the global transfer routine. • You can also create the global transfer routine by using Transfer Routine / Create from the Edit menu, rather than clicking on the create button. |
| Business Explorer Tab: Display | Specifies the default appearance of the data values for this InfoObject in query results. Options include Text, Key, Key and Text, Text and Key, etc. | This setting determines the default appearance of data values for this characteristic in the BEx Analyzer. Query authors and users can select a different display option if they wish. |
| Business Explorer Tab: Text Type | Determines whether the short, medium, or long text appears by default in query results. | If you choose “Default” for this setting and specify “Key and text” or “Text and key” for the Display property, then BW uses the shortest possible text available. If you select the “Text” option for Display and the “Default” text type, BW uses the longest available text. |
| Business Explorer Tab: BEx description | Specifies the metadata description for this InfoObject that appears in the BW query designer and in column and row headings in query results. | This setting determines whether query authors and users see the long or short metadata description for a characteristic. |
| Business Explorer Tab: Selection | Describes if and how queries should restrict the values of a characteristic. The value ‘Clear for every cell’ specifies that all queries must restrict the characteristic to one value in every column and in every structure. | The following considerations apply only when you choose the value ‘Clear for every cell:’ • This option allows you to segregate transaction data by value type, version, etc., and force queries to filter on one and only one value, to avoid “double counting” the data. • You cannot build aggregates on characteristics configured with the value ‘Clear for every cell.’ |
| Business Explorer Tab: Query Def. Filter Value Selection | Specifies the table from which F4 popup help will display values for this InfoObject during query definition. The dropdown list provides two options: Values in master data table and Only Values in InfoProvider. | • To use the Values in master data table option, you must also set the With master data switch on the Master Data tab. • Values in master data table – a query author can select filter values for a characteristic from all the values available in the master data. • Only values in InfoProvider – a query author can select filter values for a characteristic, restricted to the values actually present in the InfoProvider attached to the query. |
| Business Explorer Tab: Query Execution Filter Val. Selection | Specifies the table from which F4 popup help will display values for this InfoObject during query execution. | • Only Posted Values for Navigation – limits the list of values that appear in F4 popup help to those for which retrieved data exists in the current query navigation state. • Only values in InfoProvider – limits the list of values displayed in F4 popup help to those for which data exists in the underlying InfoProvider. • Values in master data table – displays all available values from the master data table in F4 popup (selection) help. This may allow the user to select value(s) for which no data exists in the InfoProvider. |
| Business Explorer Tab: Filter Display | Determines the default appearance of filter selections for this characteristic | |
| Business Explorer Tab: Base Unit of Measure | You can specify a unit InfoObject of type unit of measure. The unit InfoObject must be an attribute of the characteristic. | BW uses this unit InfoObject when converting quantities for the master data bearing characteristic in the Business Explorer. |
| Business Explorer Tab: Currency attribute | Specifies a unit InfoObject of type currency which the Business Explorer will use as the default target currency for currency translation. | • You must also make the unit InfoObject you specify in this field an attribute of the current InfoObject. • This allows you to tell the Business Explorer to use the currency value found in this attribute as the target currency for currency translation when this characteristic appears in a query. |
| Business Explorer Tab: Authorization relevant | Specifies whether you want to create authorizations that restrict access based on values of this characteristic. | • Flag a characteristic as authorization relevant if you want to create authorizations that restrict the selection conditions for this characteristic to single characteristic values. |
| Master data/texts Tab: With master data | Specifies whether master data exists for this InfoObject. If checked, the system creates master data and SID tables for the InfoObject. | • If you want the characteristic to have attributes, you must also check this flag to create the master data table. |
| Master data/texts Tab: With texts | Specifies whether BW should store texts associated with this InfoObject. | • If you select With texts, you must also specify at least one text field: short text (20 characters) medium text (40 characters) or long text (60 characters) |
| Master data/texts Tab: Texts language dependent | Specifies whether texts for this InfoObject should support multiple languages. | • Setting this flag causes BW to add a language field to the key of the text table. |
| Master data/texts Tab: Texts are time dependent | Specifies whether texts for this InfoObject vary over time and instructs BW to store both current and previous text values for the InfoObject. | • Setting this flag causes BW to add Valid From and Valid To dates to the text table, and makes the Valid To date part of the primary key of the text table. |
Courtesy: SAP BW project and software help documents
Tag:master data
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