Dynamic Sets in MS SQL Server 2005

I was asked last week if there was a way to create dynamic sets using MS SSAS 2205 and Excel similar to the new dynamic set features of SSAS 2008.

The short answer is yes, with custom MDX, but it wont be simple or easy to maintain. A much superior solution is to create dynamic sets using MS ProClarity Desktop Professional. ProClarity is now part of the MOSS 2007 Enterprise Edition CAL. Don't be afraid to use it. 

PDP will allow a user to create a dynamic set using the ProClarity Selector, a simple wizard designed for business users. Members of that set are dynamically generated at runtime. The script for the dynamic set set can be edited by a business user, adding and deleting steps, rearranging execution order. 

Dynamic sets can be published to the ProClarity Server (also part of MOSS now) as shared items and used to create analytic views (in PAS) that can be served up and filtered right inside a PerformancePoint 2007 dashboard (also now MOSS 2007). As a shared item one set definition can be used in multiple analytic reports with one point of maintenance and security.

I will add some screenshots and examples of dynamic selector sets to another post next week.

With the inclusion of PerformancePoint and Proclarity into MOSS there is an incredible amount of BI capabilities free inside the box. You just have to consider and evaluate which tools best fit each of your separate BI needs to create a composite solution.

I hope this helps.

Pete

Howard's Blog

One of the better BI blogs is authored by Howard Morgenstern. Since he has begun posting, I have used Howard's posts to help many partners and customers struggling with some aspect of a PerformancePoint deployment.

If you are interested in PerformancePoint or using MOSS for BI, you should be reading it for yourself.

Pete

Evernote

Well it doesnt have anything to do with Microsoft or BI but it is certainly one of the more useful services I have recently used on the web.

Evernote, is a cloud-based note archival service similar to OneNote with searchable handwriting recognition built in. It uses a free/subscription based model with a monthly upload limit. I have been a subscriber for a couple weeks during my ongoing career change and it has been incredibly useful.

I strongly recomend giving the free version a try for anyone keeping track of notes and documents across multiple platforms and multiple computers.

Pete

A New Home

Business Intelligence: An Uncommon Approach is now the home for the business intelligence tips, best practices, book reviews and notes that I occasionally posted to Notes from the Field on MSDN while I was with Microsoft.

I will continue to post here with more frequency. The blog will continue to cover Microsoft Business Intelligence. However, I will now focus on applying these technologies to create real solutions for the midsized businesses I work with.

Feel free to contact me with feedback and future topic suggestions.

Peter Sprague