Business Objects - Universe an overview

Business Objects Universe

A Business Objects Universe is the semantic layer that resides between an organization’s database and the end user but more importantly, it is a business representation of data warehouse or transactional database. It allows the user to interact with their data without having to know the complexities of the database or where the data is stored. Data manipulations on the universe will not affect the underlying database. The universe is created using familiar business terminology to describe the business environment and allows the user to retrieve exactly the data that interests them. Universes are made up of objects and classes that are mapped to the source data in the database and accessed through queries and reports. 

A universe contains

• A connection parameter to a single data structure.
• SQL structures called objects that map to actual SQL structures in the database. All objects are grouped into classes and subclasses.
• A schema of the tables and joins from the database. The objects are built from the tables that are included in the schema.

Benefits of using Universe 

• The Universe Designer application allows users to create universes using simple GUI.
• Data security - data exposed by the universe can be limited to a specific group of users.
• All data is secure. The data is read-only so there is no danger of the data being edited or changed by the end user. Changes made to universe data will not affect the original data.  
• Maintenance of the universe is easy. 
• End-users can use a simple interface to create reports and analysis and work with consistent business terminology.

 Where can we use the Universe

 

Best Practices in Building a Universe

1. It is a good practice to build Universe piece-by-piece. 
2. Avoid using automatic universe creation wizard. Universe created using wizard will be complex and difficult to understand.  
3. Insert tables into universe one at a time.  
4. Take each table, joins and cardinality one at a time. 
5. Use short cut joins whenever possible to reduce no. of tables used in a Query. 
6. Name the objects using common business terms as it would be easy for the end-user to understand. 
7. Define measurable objects properly as not every number is a measure. 
8. Maintain object formatting – format the object in the same way every time it is used. 
9. Object formatting should be done at the Universe Level. 
10. While using complex objects – build common calculations into universe where ever possible. 
11. Never load user with complicated queries. 
12. Lock the universe when editing to prevent other users from editing the same universe.

Posted by
Raghavendra Dutt B
Blue Marlin Systems Inc., 
www.bluemarlinsys.com/bi