BI Cards#

Estimated time to read: 29 minutes

With the use of BI Cards you have a flexible infrastructure that will permit the definition and visualization of KPIs, as well as other data.

Available as widgets, BI Cards can be used in a dashboard to create and define KPIs with different dimensions, collect data from different data sources and apply business rules for complex data calculations, and present information using a set of visually rich widgets. All of this provides you with increased visibility and monitoring possibilities.

This document will guide you through the setup and usage of BI Cards.

Overview#

BI Cards are a visual representation of KPI values that display real-time information. They provide a low-effort way of building highly visual dashboards, by displaying data for several KPIs using different visualization options. This enables the highlight of the performance of an entity so that key users can control the production status and take preventive or corrective actions.

A UI Page can contain multiple BI Cards displaying different KPIs for the same or different entities. The UI Page can be made dynamic by linking other widgets (for example, a Query) with the BI Card widgets. Thus, a visual-rich and powerful dashboard can be easily created and made available for several users.

The image below shows an example of a dashboard with BI Cards:

Concepts#

The table below describes the main concepts related to BI Cards:

Table: BI Cards main concepts

KPI#

A KPI is an object that can be used to store and organize data in order to be displayed in reports and widgets. The KPI object model is shown in image below.

There are two types of KPIs: Static and Dynamic.

graph LR
    A1[Parameter] --> Main[KPI Static]
    A1 --> L1[KPI Dynamic]
    Main --> Main2[KPI TimeFrame]
    L1 --> L2[KPI Dimension] --> L3[KPI Timeframe]

classDef mermaid_title color:#000, fill:#fafafa, stroke:#fafafa, stroke-width:0x, font-size:100%, font-weight:200;
classDef mermaid_start color:#000, fill:#fafafa, stroke:#fafafa, color:#fafafa, stroke-width:0x, font-size:100%, visibility: hidden;
classDef mermaid_businessdata color:#000, fill:#65CDE8, stroke:#65CDE8, stroke-width:0px, font-size:100%;
classDef mermaid_nonbusinessdata color:#000, fill:#B7DEE8, stroke:#B7DEE8, stroke-width:0px, font-size:100%;
classDef mermaid_entity color:#000, fill:#FB9F53, stroke:#FB9F53, stroke-width:0px, font-size:100%;
classDef mermaid_entitylinked color:#000, fill:#FCD5B5, stroke:#FCD5B5, stroke-width:0px, font-size:100%;
classDef mermaid_context color:#000, fill:#B9CDE5, stroke:#B9CDE5, stroke-width:0px, font-size:100%;
classDef mermaid_optional color:#000, fill:#B7DEE8, stroke:#65CDE8, stroke-width:1px, font-size:100%, stroke-dasharray: 5 5;
classDef mermaid_state color:#000, fill:#d7e4bd, stroke:#000, stroke-width:1px, font-size:100%, font-weight:300;
class Main,Main2 mermaid_entity
class A1,A2,A3,A4,A5,A6,A7,A8,A9,A10,A11,A12 mermaid_businessdata
class L1,L2,L3,L4,L5,L6 mermaid_entitylinked
class C1,C2,C3,C4,C5,C6 mermaid_context
class N1,N2,N3,N4,N5,N6 mermaid_nonbusinessdata

click Main "../../userguide/business-data/kpi"
click A1 "../../userguide/business-data/parameter"

Static KPIs store data in defined time frames for a configured numeric Parameter. You must select a Frequency calculation (Daily, Weekly, Monthly, or Yearly) that defines the time interval for which data will be inserted into the KPI. Dynamic KPIs are associated with an Entity Type and KPI Dimensions. Each KPI Dimension corresponds to a variation of the scope of the KPI.

For both KPIs, a goal type (KPI Type) needs to be defined, such as maximization, minimization, or deviation from a target value.

KPIs are referenced in Widgets of UI Pages and, during runtime, the GUIs will request the application server to retrieve the KPI values.

Setting Up BI Cards#

Create the KPIs#

As BI Cards display information that is obtained from KPIs, you need to ensure that the desired KPIs are available before creating the BI Card itself.

For a KPI, it is mandatory to define the KPI Type (Maximum, Minimum, or Deviation) and, for each KPI Type, targets must be configured to allow you to visually assess, on the BI Card, how the current value compares with the target value.

For the KPI of type Maximum, the limits, as shown below, should be configured:

For the KPI of type Minimum, the limits, as shown below, should be configured:

For the KPI of type Deviation, the limits, as shown below, should be configured:

For a KPI linked to a Parameter with Data Type DateTime, the KPI Type should be defined as Minimum. The limits, as shown below, should be configured:

Static and Dynamic KPIs have different configurations, as explained in the sub-sections below.

Static KPIs#

For a Static KPI you should define:

• The Parameter - a numeric value that will be monitored in the KPI. Its data type and boundaries must be aligned with the KPI scope.
• The Frequency - defines the time intervals for which values will be specified for the KPI.

The next image shows the creation page for a Static KPI:

After creating the KPI, data must be inserted into its time frames, as shown below:

Dynamic KPIs#

For a Dynamic KPI you should define:

• The Entity type - system's entity for which the KPI will be applied.
• The Parameter - a value that will be monitored in the KPI. Its data type and boundaries must be aligned with the KPI scope.

• For each Dimension you need to define:

  • The Value Type - if the KPI calculation will return a Data Value (single value) or Data Series:

    • Data Value - the dataset is expected to have only one row representing a single value. If multiple rows are present, only one is presented.

    • Data Series - the dataset is expected to have multiple rows. Each row representing a value of the current dimension.

      • The Source - which source will be considered for calculating the KPI:

    • Business Rule - will execute a Rule.

    • Operational Data Store - will trigger a T-SQL query in the ODS Database.
    • Data Warehouse - will trigger a T-SQL query in the DWH Database.
    • Cubes - will trigger an MDX query in the Data Warehouse Cubes.
      If the source is not a Business Rule, you need to enter the Source Command, otherwise, a Business Rule must be selected from the ones available in the system.
      • The Default Visualization - the default visualization for the presentation of the BI Card.

The image below shows the Create New KPI wizard for a Dynamic KPI:

To add a KPI Dimension, you can do it through the Create KPI wizard, through the Edit KPI wizard, or through the Manage Dimensions and Time Frames wizard, as displayed in the image below:

The source code snippet below shows an example of a Source Command that calculates the total primary and secondary quantity of WIP for the Area of a certain Facility (supplied as the variable @EntityName) for the current Employee's User (variable @UserId). In this example, the KPI type should be configured as a minimum and must be linked to the Entity Type Facility. For the KPI Dimension, it must be configured to return a Data Value and the Source must be defined as the Operational Data Store.

SELECT f.[Name], (SUM(ISNULL(m.PrimaryQuantity,@)) + SUM(ISNULL (m.SecondaryQuantity, @) )) AS [Value]
FROM CoreDataModel.T_Material m
INNER JOIN CoreDataModel .T_StepArea sa ON sa.SourceEntityId = m.StepId
INNER JOIN CoreDataModel.T_Area a ON sa.TargetEntityId = a.AreaId
INNER JOIN CoreDataModel .T_Employee e ON e.ArealId = sa.TargetEntityId
INNER JOIN CoreDataModel.T Facility f ON f.FacilityId = m.FacilityId AND f.FacilityId = a.FacilityId
INNER JOIN Security.T_User u ON u.UserId = e.UserId
WHERE u.UserId = @UserId AND f.[name] = @EntityName AND m.UniversalState <> 4
GROUP BY f.[Name];

Although it is mandatory that the Source Command returns the Entity Name and Value columns, it is also possible to override the KPI, KPI Time Frames, and KPI Parameter's definitions by specifying these values in the correct column of the Dimension's Source Command. For example, if the Units column is added in the Source Command, and it is the specified value to be shown in the BI Card, that value will be shown instead of the Unit defined in the associated Parameter. For more information, see the table below:

Table: Dynamic KPI output definition

For Dynamic KPIs, Time Frames can be added, as shown in the image below. When adding a Time Frame for a Dynamic KPI, you can define specific target values to be applied when displaying data for that corresponding Time Frame.

If an Entity is selected, then the Time Frame will only be applied for this Entity.

It is only possible to define one default Time Frame per Entity. If there are other Time Frames defined for a KPI which have a default Time Frame, then the non-default target values will be applied when displaying data for those Time Frames.

Out-of-the-Box Dynamic KPIs#

There is a set of available Dynamic KPIs that are provided out-of-the-box and that are ready to use, as listed in the table below:

Table: Dynamic KPIs available out-of-the-box

A set of available industry-specific Dynamic KPIs is included and provided out-of-the-box. These are linked to Business Rules (deployed as DEE Actions) in order to retrieve data from shop-floor Equipment which must be integrated with the Critical Manufacturing MES. The limits for the out-of-the-box KPIs (In Target, Close to Target, and Target) are taken automatically for the ones linked to the Parameter KPI Percentage. For other KPIs, the limits should be manually defined so you can correctly compare the current value to the target value.

In the above table, the KPIs marked with a need to be calculated by the user through the following steps:

1. Storing the necessary data in a database where the data will be accessed;
2. Creating a DEE Action to perform the required calculation on that data;
3. Attaching that DEE Action to a Rule;
4. Changing the Source Type of the KPI Dimensions to Rule, and associating the created Rule.

This leads to the data being displayed in dashboards with out-of-the-box KPIs not being ready to be used unless there are extra steps performed to allow applying the calculations to the retrieved values.

For more information, see the Cubes section.

Configure the BI Card Widget#

Having the necessary KPIs available, their visualization can be configured in a UI Page, using the BI Card widget.

Creation of a UI Page#

When creating a UI Page, enter Build mode to drag and drop the BI Card widget.

To start configuring the BI Card, select Settings as shown below:

Configuration of the BI Card#

In the Setup tab, select an Entity Type that has associated KPIs and, optionally, an Entity for which the information is going to be displayed.

In the Layout tab add the desired KPIs, as shown in the image below.

For Dynamic KPIs, the properties listed in the table below should be defined.

Table: Dynamic KPIs BI Cards properties

For Static KPIs, the properties listed in the table below should be defined.

Table: Static KPIs BI Cards properties

In the Links tab, you can pass the Entity to be considered, by linking the widget from another source.

Available visualizations#

The table below presents the available KPI visualization options:

Visualization	Example	Description
Vertical bars		This visualization displays in the graph each value of the series of the KPI, in its own bar. Hovering the mouse over the bar displays the value and the delta to the target value.
Area		This visualization displays the points in the graph for each value of the series of the KPI.
Line		This visualization displays the points in the graph for each value of the series of the KPI.
Donut		This visualization slices a pie according to the proportion of each value of the series.
List		This visualization lists the values of the KPI for the dimension or time frame defined.
Value display		This visualization displays the current value of the KPI.
Delta indicator		This visualization displays the absolute difference of the KPI (actual value vs. target). Note: The color is associated with the limits defined for the KPI (green, yellow and red).
Delta percentage display		This visualization displays the current value of the KPI, and the absolute and percentage delta to the target value are shown at the bottom.
Number and delta indicator - side by side		This visualization displays the current value side by side with the KPI percentage delta to the target value.
Number and delta indicator		This visualization displays the KPI percentage delta to the target value.
Full circle		This visualization displays the percentage completion for the KPI target, in the circle bar, and the current value.
Half circle		This visualization displays the percentage completion for the KPI target, in a half-circle bar, and the current value.
Radial gauge		This visualization displays the current value of the KPI, in a radial gauge control, and the absolute and percentage delta to the target value.
Linear gauge		This visualization displays the current value of the KPI, in a linear gauge control, and the absolute and percentage delta to the target value.
Bullet linear gauge		This visualization displays the current value of the KPI, in a bullet linear gauge, and the absolute and percentage delta to the target value.
Progress bar		This visualization displays the percentage completion for the KPI target and the current value.
Vertical bar		This visualization displays the percentage completion for the KPI target and the current value.
Thermometer		This visualization displays the current value of the KPI.
Timeline chart		This visualization displays the values of the KPI for the defined time frame (time interval or last number of occurrences).
Text		This visualization displays the current text of the KPI.
Tree map chart widget		This visualization displays a rectangle with different areas according to the percentage of each value of the series. Hovering the mouse over the area displays the value.
Timer		This visualization displays the countdown timer to the target date of the KPI.

Table: KPI visualization options