How to Use Characteristics and Attributes in Queries in SAP BW/4HANA for Detailed Reporting

SAP BW/4HANA is a next-generation data warehouse solution that enables you to access and analyze data from various sources in real time. Queries are the main way to create reports and dashboards based on the data stored in SAP BW/4HANA. Characteristics are one of the essential components of queries, as they provide the dimensions or categories that are used to group and filter the data. Attributes are additional properties or descriptions of characteristics that can provide more information or enable further analysis. In this blog post, we will explain what characteristics and attributes are, how to create and use them in queries, and how to optimize them for better performance and quality.

What are Characteristics and Attributes in SAP BW/4HANA?

Characteristics are descriptive fields that identify or classify data, such as customer, product, region, fiscal year, or period. Characteristics can have different types, such as char, numc, date, time, or int. Characteristics can also have different properties, such as master data, texts, hierarchies, compounding, or navigational attributes.

Attributes are characteristics that describe certain properties of another characteristic that has the master data property. For example, customer name, customer group, or customer city are attributes of the customer characteristic. Attributes can have two types: display attributes and navigation attributes. Display attributes provide additional information about the characteristic in the query, but cannot be used for grouping or filtering. Navigation attributes are treated like normal characteristics in the query, and can also be evaluated on their own.

Characteristics and attributes are defined as InfoObjects in SAP BW/4HANA and can be assigned to InfoProviders, such as Advanced DSOs, Composite Providers, or Open ODS Views. Characteristics and attributes can also be created as local objects within queries using the Eclipse-based query modeling tool.

How to Create and Use Characteristics and Attributes in Queries in SAP BW/4HANA?

To create and use characteristics and attributes in queries in SAP BW/4HANA, you need to use the Eclipse-based query modeling tool. This tool allows you to create, edit, and preview queries in a user-friendly and integrated environment. To create a characteristic using the tool, you need to follow these steps:

1. Choose the New Characteristic option from the context menu of the InfoObjects folder in the Project Explorer view. You can also create a characteristic as a copy of an existing characteristic by choosing the Copy To option.
2. Enter a unique technical name and a description for your characteristic. You can also add your characteristic to your local favorites by choosing the Add to Favorites option.
3. Choose Edit. The system will open the Change Characteristic dialog box.
4. Enter your type and length for your characteristic in the Dictionary tab. You can also choose whether your characteristic has master data, texts, hierarchies, compounding, or navigational attributes.
5. Choose OK. The system will create the new characteristic and display its properties in the Properties tab.

To use a characteristic in a query, you need to follow these steps:

1. Choose the New BW Query option from the context menu of a BW project or an InfoProvider in the Project Explorer view. You can also create a query as a copy of an existing query by choosing the Copy To option.
2. Enter a unique technical name and a description for your query. You can also add your query to your local favorites by choosing the Add to Favorites option.
3. Select the InfoProvider that you want to use as the data source for your query. You can search for the technical name or a corresponding search term. The system will display a list of matching items for you to choose from.
4. Choose Finish. The system will open the new query in the Eclipse Editor.
5. Go to the Sheet Definition tab and drag and drop your characteristic from the InfoProvider tab or from the Reusable Components tab to the rows, columns, or free characteristics area of your query layout.
6. Go to the General tab and configure the properties of your characteristic, such as key date parameters, variables settings, filters conditions, etc.
7. Go to the Preview tab and see how your query will look like when executed. You can apply drilldowns, filters, sorting, formatting, charts, etc. to your query result.
8. Go to the Query Monitor tab and analyze the performance and quality of your query. You can view the SQL statement, execution plan, runtime statistics, memory consumption, warnings, errors, recommendations, and best practices of your query.

To use an attribute in a query, you need to follow these steps:

1. Choose the New Attribute option from the context menu of the characteristic that has the master data property in the InfoProvider tab or in the Reusable Components tab. You can also create an attribute as a copy of an existing attribute by choosing the Copy To option.
2. Enter a unique technical name and a description for your attribute. You can also add your attribute to your local favorites by choosing the Add to Favorites option.
3. Choose Edit. The system will open the Change Attribute dialog box.
4. Enter your type and length for your attribute in the Dictionary tab. You can also choose whether your attribute is a display attribute or a navigation attribute.
5. Choose OK. The system will create the new attribute and display its properties in the Properties tab.
6. Go to the Sheet Definition tab and drag and drop your attribute from the InfoProvider tab or from the Reusable Components tab to the rows, columns, or free characteristics area of your query layout, depending on whether it is a display attribute or a navigation attribute.
7. Go to the General tab and configure the properties of your attribute, such as key date parameters, variables settings, filters conditions, etc.
8. Go to the Preview tab and see how your query will look like when executed. You can apply drilldowns, filters, sorting, formatting, charts, etc. to your query result.
9. Go to the Query Monitor tab and analyze the performance and quality of your query. You can view the SQL statement, execution plan, runtime statistics, memory consumption, warnings, errors, recommendations, and best practices of your query.

How to Optimize Characteristics and Attributes in Queries in SAP BW/4HANA?

To optimize characteristics and attributes in queries in SAP BW/4HANA, you need to follow some best practices and recommendations that can improve the performance and quality of your queries. Some of these best practices are:

• Use appropriate characteristic types and data types that match your reporting requirements and avoid unnecessary conversions or calculations.
• Use appropriate key date parameters and variables settings that match your reporting logic and avoid unnecessary lookups or calculations.
• Use filters conditions sparingly and only when necessary and avoid complex filters or expressions that can cause performance issues or errors.
• Use hierarchies wisely and only when necessary and avoid large or deep hierarchies that can cause performance issues or errors.
• Use compounding sparingly and only when necessary and avoid long or complex compounding that can cause performance issues or errors.
• Use navigational attributes sparingly and only when necessary and avoid redundant or irrelevant navigational attributes that can cause performance issues or errors.
• Use HANA views for characteristics and attributes whenever possible and leverage the power of SAP HANA for faster processing and analysis.

Disclaimer: This content is generated by AI.