¶ Creating Interactive Stories in SAP Analytics Cloud: Using Filters and Prompts
SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC) empowers business users to explore and present data through interactive, visually rich Stories — dynamic dashboards and reports that deliver insights tailored to diverse user needs. One of the key features that enhances interactivity and usability in SAC stories is the use of Filters and Prompts. These tools allow users to customize the data they see, enabling flexible exploration without needing to build multiple static reports.
This article delves into the fundamentals of creating interactive stories in SAP Analytics Cloud by effectively leveraging filters and prompts, essential elements for delivering personalized, insightful analytics.
¶ What are Filters and Prompts in SAP Analytics Cloud?
Filters in SAC restrict or refine the data displayed in visualizations based on specific criteria. They can be applied globally across a story, to specific pages, or to individual widgets, giving report consumers the ability to focus on relevant subsets of data.
- Example: Filtering sales data by region or product category.
- Types of Filters: Dimension filters (e.g., Time, Customer), measure filters (e.g., Sales greater than $10,000), and advanced filters (complex conditions).
Prompts are interactive user input controls that appear when opening a story or dashboard, asking users to select values or ranges before loading the data. Unlike filters, which users adjust during navigation, prompts allow data to be dynamically loaded based on user selections upfront.
- Example: Selecting a fiscal year or product line at the story start to load relevant data.
- Prompts enhance performance by limiting data queried and improve user experience through targeted views.
¶ Benefits of Using Filters and Prompts in Interactive Stories
- Personalized Insights: Users view data tailored to their specific needs and responsibilities.
- Enhanced Performance: Reducing data volume through filters or prompts leads to faster load times.
- Simplified Story Design: Instead of creating multiple static reports, one interactive story adapts based on filter or prompt selections.
- Improved Decision-Making: Drill down into relevant data points quickly without navigating away.
- Navigate to the Filter Panel in your story.
- Select dimensions or measures to filter on.
- Choose filter criteria, such as specific members, ranges, or conditions.
- Decide the scope: global (all pages), page-level, or widget-level filtering.
- Combine multiple filters for refined data slicing.
- Use Linked Analysis to synchronize filters across charts and tables.
- Enable Hierarchy Filters to filter across levels (e.g., filtering a region filters all its sub-regions).
- In the story builder, insert a Prompt Control.
- Select the dimension or measure that will drive the prompt.
- Configure the prompt type: single-select, multi-select, or range.
- Customize the prompt appearance and default values.
- Place prompts prominently so users see them when opening the story.
- Combine multiple prompts for complex filtering scenarios.
- Use prompts to limit initial data loading, especially for large datasets.
¶ Best Practices for Filters and Prompts
- Keep It Intuitive: Use familiar business terms and logical filtering options.
- Limit Complexity: Avoid overwhelming users with too many filter or prompt options.
- Test Performance: Ensure filters and prompts do not degrade story responsiveness.
- Document Usage: Provide guidance or tooltips for users to understand filter and prompt effects.
- Leverage Smart Insights: Combine filters with SAC’s built-in AI features to highlight anomalies or trends within filtered data.
A sales manager accesses a SAC story designed with prompts asking for the Region and Quarter. Based on selections, the dashboard filters to display only relevant sales KPIs, charts, and tables. The manager can then apply additional filters, such as product category or customer segment, to further refine the data and identify key opportunities or issues.
Filters and prompts are vital tools in SAP Analytics Cloud stories that transform static reports into interactive, user-centric analytics experiences. By thoughtfully implementing these features, organizations can empower users to explore data dynamically, driving faster insights and better business decisions.
Mastering filters and prompts ensures your SAP Analytics Cloud stories are not just visually compelling but also highly adaptable to diverse business needs.