Designing Perspectives

Perspectives in SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS) provide a way to define specific, user-centric views of a multidimensional model. They allow you to tailor the presentation of data to different user groups by including only relevant cubes, dimensions, measures, and attributes, and by providing user-friendly names and descriptions.

What are Perspectives?

A perspective is a subset of a cube's objects, such as dimensions, measures, and attributes, that can be presented to end-users. Think of it as a lens through which users interact with the data. Instead of exposing the entire, complex model, you can create simplified perspectives for different roles or business functions.

Benefits of Using Perspectives

Simplified User Experience: Hides unnecessary complexity, making it easier for users to find and analyze the data they need.
Improved Performance: By reducing the number of objects that need to be processed and rendered, perspectives can sometimes improve query performance.
Enhanced Security: While not a primary security mechanism, perspectives can complement security by limiting what users see, reducing accidental access to sensitive data.
Customized Views: Allows for the creation of domain-specific views, such as "Sales Manager View" or "Finance View," each with its own set of relevant objects.
User-Friendly Naming: You can rename objects within a perspective to be more intuitive for the target audience.

Creating Perspectives

Perspectives are created and managed within SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT) or SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) when working with an Analysis Services project.

Steps to Create a Perspective (using SSDT):

Open your Analysis Services project in SQL Server Data Tools.
In the Solution Explorer, right-click on the Perspectives folder.
Select New Perspective.
A new perspective item will be added to the folder. Double-click to open the Perspective Designer.
In the Perspective Designer, you'll see a list of all available objects (cubes, dimensions, measures, attributes).
Check the boxes next to the objects you want to include in your perspective.
Optionally, you can:
- Rename objects by right-clicking and selecting "Rename."
- Add or modify descriptions for objects.
Save your changes.
Deploy your Analysis Services project to apply the new perspective.

Figure 1: Example of the Perspective Designer interface in SQL Server Data Tools.

Managing Perspectives

Once created, perspectives can be edited, deleted, or deployed. When users connect to the Analysis Services database using a BI tool (like Excel, Power BI, or Tableau), they can choose which perspective to use.

Key Considerations:

Granularity: Decide on the appropriate level of detail for each perspective.
Naming Conventions: Use clear and consistent naming for perspectives and their included objects.
Target Audience: Design perspectives with the end-user's needs and knowledge in mind.
Testing: Thoroughly test each perspective with representative users to ensure it meets their requirements.

Note: Perspectives are primarily for presentation and simplification. They do not replace the need for robust security roles if you need to restrict access to specific data.

Example Scenario

Consider a retail company with a large sales data warehouse. They might create the following perspectives:

Sales Analyst Perspective: Includes all sales measures, time dimensions, product dimensions, and customer dimensions.
Marketing Manager Perspective: Might focus on campaign performance, customer segmentation, and promotional measures, excluding detailed transactional sales data.
Executive Dashboard Perspective: A highly simplified view showing only key performance indicators (KPIs) like total revenue, profit margin, and sales growth over time.

By using these perspectives, each user group interacts with a model that is relevant to their job, leading to greater efficiency and accuracy in their analysis.

Conclusion

Perspectives are a powerful feature in SQL Server Analysis Services that enhance usability, simplify model interaction, and provide tailored views of your data. By carefully designing perspectives, you can significantly improve the experience for your business users.