This document evaluates four options for creating charts and reports from SharePoint list data: 1) SharePoint chart web part, 2) Power Pivot using Excel 2010, 3) MS PerformancePoint, and 4) Excel pivot published using Excel web services. It recommends the Excel web access & pivot chart solution which involves exporting SharePoint list data to Excel, connecting the Excel to automatically refresh from the list, creating pivot tables and charts in Excel, publishing the Excel file using Excel web access, and manually refreshing the data. This allows for interactive charts and reports directly on SharePoint pages without coding or extensive IT support.

1. Charting Solutions
Evaluation Report of available solutions

2. Solutions available
Column1
Column2
Pros
a)Easy to implement
b)Requires little or No IT support
Cons
a)Limited or no interactivity
b)For the chart data to show meaningful data the data
should be consolidated and grouped
c)The chart draws data from SPS lists which by itself are
not consoldiated
1 Sharepoint Chart Webpart
2 Power Pivot using Excel 2010
a)Easy to implement
b)Requires little or No IT support
c)Can create powerful BI reports
d)Can work over raw sharepoint list data and create
consoldiated pivots
a)Will not work with Forms Based authentication enabled
thereby severely affecting two of our requirements
b)GC Contractor forms and Access request forms need
Forms based authenticatio to be enabled and hence
conflicts with the Powerpivot
3 MS Performance Point
a)Powerful BI tool which can create all kinds of
dashboards and scorecards
b)Can work over sequel server data
a)Required professional help in creating the datacubes
b)Will not work directly over sharepoint List data
c)Overkill solution for a requirement as the feedback loop
requirement
a)Easy to implement
b)Need little of no IT help
c)No limit to the pivots and charts that can be created
4 Excel pivot published using Excel web services d)Can work directly over sharepoint Lists
a)Involves manual data refresh to reflect the changes
made to the sharepoint List

3. Microsoft Recommendations

4. Excel Web access & Pivot chart
solution
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The SharePoint list is exported to Excel
This excel is connected to the SharePoint list
The user can create pivot tables and pivot charts out of this data from the list
Data changes in the list gets reflected in the excel sheet
The excel sheet is stored in the SPS2010 Doc library
The excel sheet is then embedded in the webpage using Excel web access web
part
The viewer can see the charts and pivot tables on the webpages
To refresh the data:
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User opens the excel sheet from the excel web access web part
Refreshes the data
Saves the sheet

5. Excel Web access & Pivot chart solution

6. SharePoint List
Excel stored in a
SPS Doc library
Exported to
Excel
The excel is
published using
Excel web access

7. SharePoint List
Excel stored in a
SPS Doc library
Exported to
Excel
The excel is
published using
Excel web access