Multidimensional (OLAP)

Query and Analysis

IT 6713 BI
Jack G. Zheng
Fall 2019
http://zheng.kennesaw.edu/teaching/it6713
Overview
• What is multidimensional analysis
• Key concepts and operations
– Dimensional model (see module 4)
– Basic operations
– Query results presentation
– Sample queries and analysis
• Source data set model for multidimensional query and analysis
– Using spreadsheet
– Using data mart
– Based on star schema
• Multidimensional query and analysis tools
– OLAP client tools
– Excel as an analysis and reporting tool and OLAP client (module 9)
– Excel multidimensional query and analysis (module 9)

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Types of Analysis in BI
• Descriptive reporting
– Structured and fixed format reports
– Based on simple and direct queries
– Usually involves simple descriptive analysis and transformation of data,
such as calculating, sorting, filtering, grouping, and formatting
– Ad hoc query and reporting

• OLAP (Online Analytical Processing)

– A multi-dimensional analysis and reporting application for aggregated data
– Great for discovering details from large quantities of data

• Business analytics
– Business analytics (BA) is the practice of iterative, methodical exploration of
an organization’s data with emphasis on statistical analysis.

• Advanced and computation intensive: data mining, machine learning,

etc.
– Data mining techniques are a blend of statistics and mathematics, and
artificial intelligence and machine-learning.

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Multidimensional (OLAP) Analysis
• Business analysis based on the dimensional
model, concepts of dimensions and measures
– Review the concepts in module 4
• Kind of descriptive analysis based on historical
data, focusing on aggregated data
• can be the basis to prepare data for more
advanced analysis
• Multidimensional queries can be conducted on
spreadsheets (data table), data mart based on
star schema, or special multidimensional
database (OLAP database)

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Multidimensional (OLAP) Analysis
• OLAP is a function/operation that is optimized to answer queries that
are multi-dimensional
– OLAP solutions traditionally heavily rely on backend processing and
dedicated IT personnel
– Newer OLAP solution can be done in-memory

• Multi-dimensional queries
– A dimension is a particular way (or an attribute) of describing and
categorizing data
– Such queries are usually arithmetic aggregation operations (sum, average,
etc.) on records grouped by multiple dimensions (attributes) at different
aggregation levels.
– A pivot table or crosstab is usually used for OLAP result view (aggregated
data) Descriptive and
operational report
• Example analysis
– "What is the total sales amount grouped by product line (dimension 1),
location (dimension 2), time (dimension 3) and … (other dimensions)?"
– "Which segment of business provides the most revenue growth?"
More open and
exploratory analysis

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Multidimensional Query Results

This is the transactional data

report with line by line data.
It is a normal flat table. A pivot table or crosstab is usually
used for multidimensional result view
(aggregated data by dimensions).
Dimension Dimension

Aggregated data by
dimension members
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Basic Query Concepts and Operations

• Cube
• Slice and dice
• Drill-up and drill-down
• Aggregate (Roll-up or Consolidate)
• Server and client
• Implementation type and architecture

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Cube
• A cube is a presentation of the chosen measure with
associated dimensions.
– Measure is the data item (fact) of interest: sales, cost, etc.
– Dimension is the characteristic of a measure: time, location,
etc.
– Cube is a representation of certain view points.
• Cell
– A single data point that occurs at the intersection defined by
selecting one member from each dimension in a multi-
dimensional structure.
• Data cubes aren't restricted to just three dimensions.
Most OLAP systems can build data cubes with many
more dimensions allows up to 64 dimensions.
– In practice, we often construct data cubes with many
dimensions, but we tend to look at just three at a time.

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Cube Visualizations
1D relational table view

3D cube view
2D Pivot Table view

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Slice and Dice
• Slice and Dice
– Is a term for the user-initiated process of data browsing
and analysis by interactive OLAP operations (slice, dice,
pivot, and drill down/up).
• Slice
– Slice is the act of picking subset of a cube by choosing a
single value for one of its dimensions, creating a new
cube with one fewer dimension
– Like a filter on one dimension
• Dice
– The dice operation produces a sub-cube by allowing the
analyst to pick specific values of multiple dimensions
– Like multiple filters on more dimensions

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Slice and Dice
• Slice

• Dice

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OLAP_cube
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Drill-Up/Down
• Drilling down or up is a specific analytical technique whereby the
user navigates among levels of data ranging from the most
summarized (up) to the most detailed (down) level.
• The drilling paths may be defined by the hierarchies within
dimensions or other relationships that may be dynamic within or
between dimensions.
Drill down along the
product type dimension
to see data by sub
types.

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Drill Up/Down in a Pivot Table
Drill up Drill down along the
hierarchy of the same
dimension (region:
country, state, city)

Drill down between

dimensions (region
and product)

Drill down
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Pivot/Rotate
• To change the dimensional orientation of a report or page display.
• Examples
– swapping the rows and columns
– moving one of the row dimensions into the column dimension
– swapping an off-spreadsheet dimension with one of the dimensions in the
page display (either to become one of the new rows or columns), etc.

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Typical OLAP Results Presentation
• Pivot table (matrix report, cross tab report)

• Pivot chart

• Direct query result with custom presentation

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PivotTable Source
• Multidimensional query and analysis through
pivot tables can use the following types of
data sources
– highly structured and specifically modeled
multidimensional databases (OLAP server)
– highly structured data mart designed based on
star or snowflake schema
– In-memory casual data models based on
star/snowflake schema (like Power BI/Tableau)
– Spreadsheet or flat tables with attributes used
as measures and dimensions

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Results Delivery Format
• Report
– Static or limited interactivity, ready for print
• Dashboard
– A collection of visualizations that support direct
viewing and interaction on screen, visual focused
• Spreadsheet
– Flexible in formatting; supports additional advanced
and custom analysis
• Direct and ad hoc queries
– Custom results based on direct query, usually for
programming needs
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Delivery Medium
• Desktop applications (that may connect to data mart or OLAP servers)
– Tableau, Qlikview, Power BI
– Excel (and third party embedded components in Excel)

• Web applications and portals

– Cognos, OBIEE
– http://www.pyramidanalytics.com
– http://reportportal.com
– Tableau cloud
– https://censuslooker.com
– SharePoint services

• Mobile apps
– Power BI Mobile

• Programming libraries and components

– https://galaktikasoft.com/ranet-olap/
– http://js.syncfusion.com/demos/web/default.htm#!/bootstrap/pivotgrid/relatio
nal
– https://demos.devexpress.com/aspxpivotgriddemos/OLAP/Browser.aspx

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Example OLAP Driven Analysis
• Pattern or distribution analysis
– Comparison among members of a dimension: geographic/location,
category, etc.

• Drill down analysis

– Strength or problem area (weakness) discovery
– Driving/impact (or differentiating) factor: sales growth factor
– Abnormity analysis

• Time dimension driven analysis

– Trend (time serial) analysis, forecasting
• Analysis along the time dimension
• Typical variations
– YTD accumulation analysis
– YoY growth analysis

• Slice based analysis

– Key products analysis
– Key time period analysis

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Types of Usages
Type of user/usage Description
Power user/analyst - To perform free-form ad hoc analysis, power analysts require the full
analysis analytical power of servers and databases. They're willing to learn the
details of the source database design and of the query tool to obtain the
necessary results, and they often create reports that others use.

Report/dashboard user Report users require standard reports that might be brief or extended and
(casual user) - reporting which often include charts as well as tables. These users want to scan
consistently structured reports without needing to drill or slice to find the
desired values. Producing this kind of report typically involves creating
static reports, either in printed form or as static HTML pages or other
documents. Usually, headers and footers (which include such information
as the date the report was generated) and titles that repeat on different
pages are crucial.

Data gatherer - querying Data gatherers have to be able to dynamically query a database without
becoming experts in the source database or the query tool. They want a
guided user experience that permits drill-down and pivoting, yet eliminates
options that might create undesirable results (e.g., restricting the view to
fiscal year 2011 while simultaneously displaying the months from calendar
year 2012).

As you identify which roles are most important in your organization or for your application, you can
focus on the appropriate features of each product - https://www.itprotoday.com/print/88869
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Multidimensional Query Tools
• Traditional OLAP is a typical client/server system
• The server (e.g. SSAS Multidimensional Model) stores
the data, prepares cubes, defines measures and
dimensions, etc.
• Various user-facing client tools interact with the server
– Client programs send queries to the server and present
results to users in various format (pivot tables, charts, etc.)
– They also support user interactions, such as data exploration,
sorting, custom calculation, user defined data, formatting, etc.
– OLAP clients may be as simple as a spreadsheet program or
as high-functioned as a financial modeling or sales analysis
application.

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OLAP Client Functional Features
• Communicate with the OLAP server (or a local data repository)
• Query OLAP cubes using standard languages (MDX)
• Show cube structures (measures and dimensions)
• Accept user inputs and query designs
• Support advanced server side OLAP features
• Present results to users in different formats as reports or spreadsheets
– Support interactive OLAP cube operations
– Customize presentation formats: color scheme, banded row/column, header, etc.

• Visualize results
– Embedded formatting and conditional formatting
– Charts
– Dashboards

• Support custom calculation and query features

– Additional ad hoc calculation based on OLAP results

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OLAP Client Tools by Data Scope
• General-purpose OLAP clients
– These clients work with various data sources and
provide generic operations for all kinds of data and
cubes
– Are usually off-the-shelf commercial products
– Example: Excel, SSRS, Cognos Analysis Studio
• Targeted OLAP clients
– These clients work with a particular data source or
data set, usually customized for a particular
business domain
– Are usually developed in-house or provided as a
special service
– Example: LexisNexis InsurView

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Microsoft OLAP Query
• SQL Server Reporting Services
– Web based enterprise reporting
– Targets casual and regular report users
• Power BI (although typically manages data on its own)
– New addition to the mix
– Interactive dashboard reporting
– Targets less technical users with higher visual needs
• Excel
– Analytical reporting
– Targets wide range of users with flexibility
• Libraries
– ADOMD.Net https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/bi-
reference/adomd/developing-with-adomd-net

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Spreadsheet (Excel) as a Client?
• The debate
– https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/excel-dead-lance-rubin/
– http://www.exceluser.com/ideas/excel-is-great-for-business-intelligence.html
– https://www.investintech.com/resources/blog/archives/5718-experts-predict-
the-future-of-excel-in-business-intelligence.html

• Why Excel?
– Many business currently do various forms of analysis on corporate data
using a spreadsheet.
– Analysts can create macros that treat the data in the desired way, a
template can be designed so that when data is input, formulas calculate the
correct values, and simple calculations don't have to be entered over and
over.
– A great place for ad hoc query and report
– Fast and flexible to analyze and present data
– An intermediate step to get data and conduct additional analysis
– Business user oriented yet supporting power users
– Usually with addons to support additional analysis and query features; a
medium to advanced capabilities, like Power BI, Cognos.

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Is Power BI replacing Excel
• https://powerpivotpro.com/2015/07/power-bi-desktop-designer-
vs-excel-rematch/
• Power BI is in Excel
– the same Data Model, Power Query Editor, and DAX
Measures found in Power BI, are also in Excel? In fact, all these
tools started in Excel first, Power BI came after.
– Excel Power Pivot and Power BI Desktop share the same Vertipaq
Data Model that was originally developed for Excel 2010. The
engine continued to evolve each year, and eventually was used as
the foundation when Power BI was released in 2015.
– Even though Power BI might become the more popular visualization
tool as it continues to improve and gain features, Excel isn't likely to
disappear anytime soon.
– Both tools support a specific need when it comes to reporting. The
decision is more about how to want to present your data, rather than
features or limitations of the data model in either tool.
– http://www.havensconsulting.net/power-bi-vs-excel/

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Good Learning Resources
• Pivot table:
– http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pivot_table
– https://exceljet.net/plc/why-pivot-tables
• Difference between table and matrix
https://medium.com/@raghu.949/power-bi-
table-vs-matrix-9512c2da90ab
• Use the matrix visual in Power BI
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/power-
bi/visuals/desktop-matrix-visual

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