ARCHIVED: In EBI, how are reports developed?

In Indiana University's Enterprise Business Intelligence (EBI) service, report developers and functional analysts build and publish reports through a three-tiered publication process. After a report is published to the appropriate report server (i.e., Tableau or SSRS), it is published to the Consolidated Business Intelligence (CBI) portal.

Report developers and functional analysts build reports, tools, and dashboards (including KPIs, charts, etc.) using Tableau, SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS/Report Builder), or Microsoft Excel. Reports and dashboards are then published using the Business Intelligence Centers.

Publishing cycle

Reports are promoted or published using a three-tiered (development, test, and production) server architecture. Tableau and SSRS each has its own suite of servers. For specific information about publishing Tableau reports, see Publish in Tableau

Development (Tier 1): The development server is used for developing and further evaluating and refining reporting solutions. Functions include collecting benchmark data, evaluating proof of concept, refining goals, and developing infrastructure requirements. After a report's security and metadata requirements have been collected using the EBI Reports Request, the report can be published to the development server; this requires DB_OWNER access to the BI Center.

Test (Tier 2): The test server is a staging area, used for determining whether the reporting solution meets business needs and what modifications may be appropriate before moving to production. This environment is also used to conduct report performance testing by EDSS and report owners.

The topology should be as similar to the production environment as possible. Testers should verify that all solution elements function as expected in network and security conditions that match the conditions of the production environment. The report can then be published to the test server; this requires DB_OWNER access to the BI Center.

Production (Tier 3): For information about the production environment, contact EDSS.