This document provides a summary of MicroStrategy, a business intelligence reporting tool. It discusses MicroStrategy's architecture, including its use of a dimensional data model and common table expressions in generated SQL. It also summarizes MicroStrategy objects like tables, attributes, metrics, reports, filters, intelligent cubes, and dashboards. Debugging tips are provided for interpreting MicroStrategy's generated SQL.

1. MicroStrategy
for
Data Engineers
Francesco Mucio
London, 10 June 2016

2. What is MicroStrategy
- Born in 1989
- BI Reporting Tool
- The last of the old one not acquired and not acquiring
- Etc...

3. MicroStrategy Architecture
dwh MicroStrategy
iServer
web server
with MSTR webapp
user
MicroStrategy
metadata

4. What MicroStrategy do wants!
- A Dimensional model (snowflake flavour)
- Dummy Records for Null values
- Good Data Quality

5. Star vs Snowflake schema
fact
dimension
2
dimension
4
dimension
5
dimension
3
dimension
1
fact
dimension
2 - lvl1
dimension
4
dimension
5 - lvl1
dimension
3
dimension
1 - lvl2
dimension
1 - lvl1
dimension
5 - lvlb
dimension
5 - lvl2a
dimension
2 - lvl2
dimension
2 - lvl3

6. Star vs Snowflake schema
Star Schema Dimension Snowflake Schema Dimension
date_id day_of_week month_id month_name quarter_id
20160101 Friday 201601 January 20161
20160102 Saturday 201601 January 20161
20160103 Sunday 201601 January 20161
date_id day_of_week month_id
20160101 Friday 201601
20160102 Saturday 201601
20160103 Sunday 201601
month_id month_name quarter_id
201601 January 20161
201601 January 20161
201601 January 20161
quarter_id quarter_name
20161 2016-Q1
20161 2016-Q1
20161 2016-Q1
DIM_CALENDAR
DIM_DATE
DIM_MONTH
DIM_QUARTER

7. MicroStrategy Objects
➔ Schema Objects
◆ mapping of physical objects: Tables, Columns, etc…
➔ Public Objects
◆ application objects: Metrics, Reports, Dashboards, etc…

8. MicroStrategy Schema - Tables
A MicroStrategy Tables maps a
database table or view.
Multiple physical tables can be
mapped as partition of a
MicroStrategy table.

9. MicroStrategy Schema - Logical Tables
A Logical Table allows to use a
query as a table.
In the definition you must:
- Set the database instance to use
- Map all the columns returned by
you query

10. MicroStrategy Schema - Attributes
- A level of a Dimension.
- Needs a lookup table.
- Can have parents and children.
- Has multiple forms.
- Each form can have multiple
expressions.

11. MicroStrategy Schema - Facts
A numeric* value that needs to be
measured by the business.
Can have multiple expressions.
Doesn’t know how it will be used.
Can be extended, if required.
* usually

12. MicroStrategy Schema - Facts
A numeric* value that needs to be
measured by the business.
Can have multiple expressions.
Doesn’t know how it will be used.
Can be extended, if required.
* usually

13. MicroStrategy Schema - Advanced topics
Expressions can contain intra-row operations.
Expressions can contain 1-1 functions.
Attributes determine the Logical Weight of a table.
Transformations defines ways to transform an attribute
element to one or more elements of the same attribute:
i.e. Previous Year or Year-to-date.

14. MicroStrategy Metrics
A Fact defines which column of
which table we want to use.
A Metric defines what, how,
where, when to do with that
fact/column.

15. MicroStrategy Metrics
How to aggregate?
The Formula defines the kind
of aggregation we want to use.
Metrics can be compound of
other metrics:
Profit = Revenue - Cost

16. MicroStrategy Metrics
Where to aggregate?
The Level allows to fine tune
the aggregation, depending on
attributes/dimension.
Filtering: ignore or not a
where condition?
Grouping: aggregate using the
standard grouping or not.

17. MicroStrategy Metrics
When to aggregate?
Condition: a where condition.
This can become a CASE statement or a
separated sub-query.
Transformation: a rule to
transform an attribute value

18. MicroStrategy Reports
Reports or Datasets are glorified
SQL queries.
Components:
- Report Objects
- Filter
- Template

19. MicroStrategy Reports
OLAP capabilities:
- Moving objects in template
- Moving objects between Report
object and template
- Modify the View Filters
Non-OLAP:
- Add new objects
- Change the Report Filter

20. MicroStrategy Reports: SQL
...
Pass0 - Query Pass Start Time: 09/06/2016 23:22:50
Query Pass End Time: 09/06/2016 23:22:52
Query Execution: 0:00:01.78
Data Fetching and Processing: 0:00:00.00
Data Transfer from Datasource(s): 0:00:00.00
Other Processing: 0:00:00.02
Rows selected: 131
with gopa1 as
(select /*Administrator - job 1049 - New Report - 20160609:232250*/ a13.PROFILE_GENDER_ID
PROFILE_GENDER_ID,
a12.ACQUISITION_BRAND ACQUISITION_BRAND,
a11.PROFILE_REGISTERED_DT Reporting_Date_DT,
count(distinct a11.PROFILE_USER_ID) n_users
from MICRO.MS_F_PROFILE_REGISTRATION a11
...
For the full SQL code click here.

21. MicroStrategy Intelligent Cubes
In memory copy of a query result.
Can be also partially re-published.
A report based on an Intelligent Cubes:
- has access only to that cube objects
- generates an MDX query
Dynamic Sourcing allows also not cube-based reports to use
available cubes.

22. MicroStrategy Reports - Free Form SQL
A FFSQL is a report created
starting from an existing query.
Very good for prototyping
Very bad for maintenance
You can also have FFSQL cubes.

23. MicroStrategy Reports - Free Form SQL
Things to define:
- Database Instance
- Query
- Free form objects

24. MicroStrategy Filters
Filters are like where
conditions.
Multiple filters can be
combined, using AND,
OR, and NOT, to make
complex ones.

25. MicroStrategy Filters: Advanced
Reports can be used as
filters.
Set Qualification are
used to filter
attributes based on
elements not always
present in the final
report.

26. MicroStrategy Filters: Advanced
gopa1 as
(select /*Administrator - job 2158 - All TYPE REG Active with Revenue - 20160610:132345*/ a11.PROFILE_USER_ID PROFILE_USER_ID
from MICRO.MS_F_PROFILE_REGISTRATION a11
group by a11.PROFILE_USER_ID
having sum(a11.PROFILE_PHOTOS_TOTAL_COUNT) >= 3.0
),
gopa9 as
(select /*Administrator - job 2158 - All TYPE REG Active with Revenue - 20160610:132345*/ a15.REGISTRATION_METHOD REGISTRATION_METHOD,
a13.PROFILE_REGISTERED_DT first_click_date,
a14.ACQUISITION_BRAND ACQUISITION_BRAND,
a14.ACQUISITION_TRANSLATION ACQUISITION_TRANSLATION,
a13.PROFILE_GENDER_ID PROFILE_GENDER_ID,
count(distinct a11.PROFILE_USER_ID) WJXBFS1
from INGRES.MS_DIM_PROFILE a11
join gopa1 pa12
on (a11.PROFILE_USER_ID = pa12.PROFILE_USER_ID)
join INGRES.MS_DIM_PROFILE a13
on (a11.PROFILE_USER_ID = a13.PROFILE_USER_ID)
join ingres.DIM_ACQUISITION_PLATFORM a14
on (a13.PROFILE_ACQUISITION_PLATFORM = a14.ACQUISITION_PLATFORM)
join ingres.MS_DIM_PROFILE_EXTRA a15
on (a11.PROFILE_USER_ID = a15.PROFILE_USER_ID)
where (a13.PROFILE_REGISTERED_DT >= DATE '2016-01-01'
and a13.PROFILE_IS_TEST_USER_ID = 0
and a14.ACQUISITION_TRANSLATION in ('Android', 'iOS', 'Webapp', 'Windows')
and a14.ACQUISITION_BRAND in ('Badoo'))
group by a15.REGISTRATION_METHOD,
a13.PROFILE_REGISTERED_DT,
a14.ACQUISITION_BRAND,
a14.ACQUISITION_TRANSLATION,
a13.PROFILE_GENDER_ID
)

27. MicroStrategy Dashboards
A more modern tool for data exploration.
- Simpler to develop and use
- Slick design
- Just nicer

28. MicroStrategy Dashboards

29. MicroStrategy Dashboards
A dashboard has at least one tab.
A tab has one or more panels.
A panel contains visualizations.
Each visualization is based on one
or more datasets.

30. MicroStrategy Dashboards
A dashboard has at least one tab.
A tab has one or more panels.
A panel contains visualizations.
Each visualization is based on one
or more datasets.

31. MicroStrategy Debugging
A simple report sql .
[originally here there was a link to a SQL report were I was discussing the
different sections, results and how to interpreter the SQL, with common
table expressions, generated by MicroStrategy]