How to Build an SAP BW/4HANA Data Model: A Step-by-Step Guide

How to Build an SAP BW/4HANA Data Model: A Step-by-Step Guide

How to Build an SAP BW/4HANA Data Model: A Step-by-Step Guide

SAP BW/4HANA is a powerful data warehousing solution that enables you to integrate, transform, and analyze data from various sources. It also provides a flexible and scalable platform for building advanced analytics applications. However, to leverage the full potential of SAP BW/4HANA, you need to design and implement a robust and efficient data model that suits your business needs.

A data model is a logical representation of the data and its relationships in SAP BW/4HANA. It defines how the data is stored, processed, and accessed by different users and applications. A good data model can improve the performance, usability, and maintainability of your SAP BW/4HANA system.

In this blog post, we will show you how to create a simple but effective data model in SAP BW/4HANA using the following steps:

  1. Define the business requirements and scope of the data model
  2. Identify the data sources and extract the relevant data
  3. Create and activate the InfoObjects for master data and key figures
  4. Create and activate the Open ODS views for virtualization
  5. Create and activate the Advanced DSOs for data persistency
  6. Create and activate the CompositeProviders for logical layer
  7. Test and validate the data model

Let’s get started!

Step 1: Define the business requirements and scope of the data model

The first step in developing a data model is to understand the business requirements and scope of the project. You need to answer questions such as:

  • What are the main objectives and goals of the data model?
  • Who are the target users and what are their expectations and needs?
  • What are the key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics that need to be measured and analyzed?
  • What are the dimensions and attributes that need to be included in the data model?
  • What are the sources of data and how frequently do they change?

For example, let’s assume that we want to create a data model for analyzing the sales performance of a retail company. The target users are the sales managers who want to monitor and improve their sales results. The KPIs are revenue, profit, margin, quantity, and average price. The dimensions are product, customer, region, time, and sales organization. The sources of data are SAP ERP, SAP CRM, and external files.

Step 2: Identify the data sources and extract the relevant data

The next step is to identify the data sources that provide the required data for the data model. You need to check the availability, quality, and format of the data sources. You also need to define how to extract, transform, and load (ETL) the data from the sources to SAP BW/4HANA.

SAP BW/4HANA provides various options for connecting to different types of data sources, such as:

  • SAP sources: You can use Operational Data Provisioning (ODP) framework to extract data from SAP systems such as SAP ERP, SAP CRM, SAP S/4HANA, etc.
  • Non-SAP sources: You can use Smart Data Integration (SDI) or Smart Data Access (SDA) to access data from non-SAP systems such as Oracle, SQL Server, Hadoop, etc.
  • File sources: You can use File Interface or Flat File DataSource to load data from flat files such as CSV, TXT, etc.

For example, let’s assume that we have three data sources for our sales data model:

  • SAP ERP: We can use ODP to extract sales order data from table VBAK in SAP ERP.
  • SAP CRM: We can use ODP to extract customer master data from table BUT000 in SAP CRM.
  • External file: We can use File Interface to load product master data from a CSV file.

Step 3: Create and activate the InfoObjects for master data and key figures

The third step is to create and activate the InfoObjects for master data and key figures in SAP BW/4HANA. InfoObjects are the smallest units of information in SAP BW/4HANA. They represent the characteristics (dimensions) and key figures (measures) of the data model.

Master data is the descriptive information about the characteristics, such as product name, customer name, region name, etc. Key figures are the numerical values that measure the performance of the characteristics, such as revenue, profit, quantity, etc.

You can create InfoObjects using the BW Modeling tools in Eclipse or using transaction RSD1 in SAP GUI. You need to specify the technical name, description, type (characteristic or key figure), length, aggregation type (sum or average), currency/unit (if applicable), etc.

You also need to activate the InfoObjects after creating them. Activation is a process that generates database tables and metadata for storing and managing the InfoObjects.

For example, let’s create some InfoObjects for our sales data model:

  • Product ID: A characteristic that represents the unique identifier of a product. It has a length of 10 characters and no currency/unit.
  • Product Name: A characteristic that represents the name of a product. It has a length of 40 characters and no currency/unit.
  • Revenue: A key figure that represents the sales revenue of a product. It has a length of 15 digits and a currency/unit of USD.
  • Profit: A key figure that represents the sales profit of a product. It has a length of 15 digits and a currency/unit of USD.

Step 4: Create and activate the Open ODS views for virtualization

The fourth step is to create and activate the Open ODS views for virtualization in SAP BW/4HANA. Open ODS views are virtual InfoProviders that allow you to access data from various sources without persisting it in SAP BW/4HANA. They are useful for scenarios where you need to access real-time or near-real-time data, or where you need to combine data from multiple sources.

You can create Open ODS views using the BW Modeling tools in Eclipse or using transaction RSO2 in SAP GUI. You need to specify the technical name, description, type (query, join, union, or consumption), source system, source object, fields, etc.

You also need to activate the Open ODS views after creating them. Activation is a process that generates database views and metadata for accessing and managing the Open ODS views.

For example, let’s create some Open ODS views for our sales data model:

  • Sales Order: A query type Open ODS view that accesses the sales order data from table VBAK in SAP ERP. It has fields such as order number, order date, sales organization, product ID, quantity, revenue, etc.
  • Customer: A query type Open ODS view that accesses the customer master data from table BUT000 in SAP CRM. It has fields such as customer ID, customer name, region, etc.
  • Product: A query type Open ODS view that accesses the product master data from a CSV file. It has fields such as product ID, product name, category, etc.

Step 5: Create and activate the Advanced DSOs for data persistency

The fifth step is to create and activate the Advanced DSOs for data persistency in SAP BW/4HANA. Advanced DSOs are physical InfoProviders that allow you to store and manage data in SAP BW/4HANA. They are useful for scenarios where you need to persist data for historical analysis, performance optimization, or data quality improvement.

You can create Advanced DSOs using the BW Modeling tools in Eclipse or using transaction RSDS in SAP GUI. You need to specify the technical name, description, type (standard, write-optimized, or inbound), fields, keys, partitions, indexes, etc.

You also need to activate the Advanced DSOs after creating them. Activation is a process that generates database tables and metadata for storing and managing the Advanced DSOs.

For example, let’s create some Advanced DSOs for our sales data model:

  • Sales Data: A standard type Advanced DSO that stores the sales order data from the Sales Order Open ODS view. It has fields such as order number (key), order date (key), sales organization (key), product ID (key), quantity (data), revenue (data), etc.
  • Customer Data: A standard type Advanced DSO that stores the customer master data from the Customer Open ODS view. It has fields such as customer ID (key), customer name (data), region (data), etc.
  • Product Data: A standard type Advanced DSO that stores the product master data from the Product Open ODS view. It has fields such as product ID (key), product name (data), category (data), etc.

Step 6: Create and activate the CompositeProviders for logical layer

The sixth step is to create and activate the CompositeProviders for logical layer in SAP BW/4HANA. CompositeProviders are logical InfoProviders that allow you to combine data from multiple InfoProviders using join or union operations. They are useful for scenarios where you need to create complex queries or reports based on multiple sources of data.

You can create CompositeProviders using the BW Modeling tools in Eclipse or using transaction RSLIMO in SAP GUI. You need to specify the technical name, description, type (join or union), source InfoProviders, join/union conditions, output fields, etc.

You also need to activate the CompositeProviders after creating them. Activation is a process that generates database views and metadata for accessing and managing the CompositeProviders.

For example, let’s create some CompositeProviders for our sales data model:

  • Sales Analysis: A join type CompositeProvider that combines data from the Sales Data Advanced DSO, the Customer Data Advanced DSO, and the Product Data Advanced DSO using inner joins on product ID and customer ID. It has output fields such as order number, order date, sales organization, product ID, product name
  • , category, customer ID, customer name, region, quantity, revenue, profit, etc.
  • Sales Summary: A union type CompositeProvider that aggregates data from the Sales Analysis CompositeProvider by product, customer, region, and time. It has output fields such as product ID, product name, category, customer ID, customer name, region, year, quarter, month, quantity (sum), revenue (sum), profit (sum), margin (calculated), average price (calculated), etc.

Step 7: Test and validate the data model

The final step is to test and validate the data model in SAP BW/4HANA. You need to ensure that the data model meets the business requirements and scope, and that the data quality and performance are satisfactory.

You can test and validate the data model using various tools and methods, such as:

  • Data Preview: You can use the Data Preview feature in the BW Modeling tools in Eclipse or in transaction RSA1 in SAP GUI to view the sample data of the InfoProviders. You can also apply filters, aggregations, calculations, etc. to check the data logic and consistency.
  • Query Designer: You can use the Query Designer tool in the BW Modeling tools in Eclipse or in transaction RSRT in SAP GUI to create and execute queries on the InfoProviders. You can also use various query elements such as characteristics, key figures, variables, formulas, conditions, exceptions, etc. to check the data analysis and reporting capabilities.
  • Data Load Monitor: You can use the Data Load Monitor tool in transaction RSMO in SAP GUI to monitor and troubleshoot the data loading process from the sources to the InfoProviders. You can also use various options such as display logs, display records, display errors, display statistics, etc. to check the data extraction and transformation quality and performance.

By following these steps, you can create a simple but effective data model in SAP BW/4HANA that can help you to achieve your business goals and insights.

Disclaimer: This content is generated by AI.

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