Customize business data lists, Web Parts, and sites

Article
01/10/2017

Applies To: Office SharePoint Server 2007

This Office product will reach end of support on October 10, 2017. To stay supported, you will need to upgrade. For more information, see , Resources to help you upgrade your Office 2007 servers and clients.

Topic Last Modified: 2016-11-14

In this article:

Create business data lists
Create KPIs and KPI lists
Create and configure reports in the Report Center site
Create and configure dashboard sites
Create other business data sites

After configuring access to business data and registering applications in the Business Data Catalog, business data is available for use in lists, Web Parts, and sites in your deployment. The initial creation and customization of lists, Web Parts, and sites is performed by site administrators, designers, and contributors. While these tasks are daily operations for different users, and not the responsibility of IT professionals, it is important to set up key lists, Web Parts, and sites as part of an initial deployment of Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007.

The relevant customization tasks during deployment include:

Creating SharePoint lists that use business data that can be used by business data Web Parts and sites that use business data.
Creating key performance indicators (KPIs) based on business data lists, other SharePoint lists, Excel workbooks, or data sources made available in data connection libraries.
Creating reports and adding KPI lists and business data lists to the Reports Library of the Report Center site or any site that uses the Report Center template.
Creating and configuring dashboard sites in the Report Center site.
Creating additional Report Center sites and other sites that use business data.

Create business data lists

Business data lists are any SharePoint lists that include business data. The data is imported from properties of line-of-business applications registered in the Business Data Catalog. Business data lists are typically stored in document libraries for sites related to the applications that are the source of data, and can also be used to configure business data Web Parts that are used in sites, such as personalization sites and the Report Center site.

Use the following procedure to create a business data list.

Create a business data list

In the Quick Launch, click Lists.
On the All Site Content page in the list view, click Create to create a custom list, or click the link to an existing list.
On the list page, on the Settings menu, click Create Column.
On the Create Column page, in the Name and Type section, type a name and then select the Business data check box.
In the Additional Column Settings section, select the business data type and field that contains the data you want to add to the list.
To display the action menu for the selected business data type, click Display the actions menu.
To link the column to the business data profile for the type, click Link this column to the profile page.
Click OK.

You can add as many business data columns as you want. For more information about business data lists, see the User's Guide.

Create KPIs and KPI lists

KPIs provide a quick graphical indication of the state of a key business process. KPIs calculate a single value based on a range of data from one of several sources, and then test that value against a value that represents progress toward a business goal.

For each KPI planned in your initial configuration, you create a KPI list. Then, you add one or more KPIs to the list, grouping KPIs for related business processes. For organizational purposes, each KPI list is typically created and stored in the site that will be displaying KPIs, such as the Reports Library of a Report Center site.

Use the following procedure to create KPIs and KPI lists.

Create KPIs and KPI lists

On the Quick Launch, click Lists.
On the All Site Content page, click Create.
On the Create page in the Custom Lists section, click KPI list.
On the New page, in the Name and Description page, type a name and description.
In the Navigation section, click Yes if you want the KPI to be visible on the Quick Launch.
Click Create.
On the KPI list page, click the New menu, and then click the type of indicator that you want to add. You can use data from a SharePoint list, an Excel workbook, a SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services cube from a data connection library, of from a manual list of values.
On the New Item page, enter values for the relevant properties.

For more information on creating and configuring KPIs, see the User's Guide.

Create and configure reports in the Report Center site

For business data lists and KPI lists that are based on data from the Business Data Catalog that you plan to use in the Report Center site, you can create the lists the Reports Library of the Report Center site. These lists can then be used in dashboards for the Report Center site.

In the Report Center site, you can also create reports based on Excel data Use the following procedure to create a report.

Create a report in the Report Center site

In the Reports Library, click the New menu, and then click Report.
On the Reports Library: Report page, enter properties for the report, and then click OK.
In the Reports Library, click the menu for the report, and then click Edit in Microsoft Office Excel to add data to the report.

During deployment, you will only add the key reports that you identified during planning. The other reports can be added by users during normal operations.

For more information about using reports to display Excel data, see Configure Excel Services.

Create and configure dashboard sites

Dashboard sites are configured by adding and configuring the relevant Web Parts.

Dashboard sites use filter Web Parts to provide both automatic and user-selected filtering of data displayed in KPI List Web Parts and Excel workbooks. In some cases, they may also include business data Web Parts. Each filter is connected to the Web Parts it filters by the site administrator. Dashboard sites can be created from the Report Center site, or from any site that is created by using the Report Center template.

KPI List Web Parts are used to display either a list of several KPIs for your organization, or the details of a single KPI from a KPI list. Excel Web Access Web Parts are used to display information from Excel workbooks. Business data Web Parts can be used to display data from line-of-business applications, by using a business data list that includes data from the relevant applications.

Use the following procedure to create and configure a dashboard site.

Create and configure a dashboard site

On the home page of the site, in the Quick Launch, click Reports to open the Report Center site.

Note

If your site template does not include a Report Center site, you must first create a site by using the Report Center template, and then open that site.
On the home page of the Report Center site, in the Quick Launch, click Dashboards to open a list of dashboards in the Reports Library page of the Report Center site.
On the Reports Library page, click the New menu, and then click Dashboard Page.
On the New Dashboard page, in the Page Name section, provide a name, title, and description for the dashboard site.
In the Key Performance Indicator section, select Allow me to select an existing KPI later.

Note

Alternatively, you can select Create a KPI list for me automatically, and then configure the KPI list later.
Click OK.
On the Dashboard page, in the Site Actions menu, click Edit Page.
For the Web Part Page zone in which you want to add a Web Part, click Add a Web Part.
On the Add Web Parts Web page, in the Suggested Web Parts section, select the check box for the type of Web Part you want to add, and then click Add.
To configure the Web Part, click the Edit menu, and then click Modify Shared Web Part.

For more information about the configuration options for Business Data Web Parts, see Plan business data Web Parts.

Use the following procedure to configure filter Web Parts.

Configure filter Web Parts

On the Add Web Parts Web page, select the checkbox for the filter Web Part that you want to add, and then click Add.
On the filter Web Part, click Edit, point to Connections, and then select the Web Part to connect to the filter.

For more information about the configuration options for filter Web Parts, see Plan dashboards and filters.

For more information about configuring Excel Web Access Web Parts, see Configure Excel Services.

Create other business data sites

Business data Web Parts and KPI List Web Parts can be used in any site. Site administrators can add business data to personalization sites so that each person views a personalized view of the data in each Web Part. KPIs for key business processes are often available on portal home pages, or pages in the Search Center site organized around business data. Refer to your site hierarchy plan for your initial deployment, and add business data and KPI Web Parts for each relevant site.

Download this book

This topic is included in the following downloadable book for easier reading and printing:

Deployment for Office SharePoint Server 2007

See the full list of available books at Office SharePoint Server technical library.

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