AX1585

Reporting on process information in web reports

You can include process columns in a web report in order to display status information for plan files in a plan file process. You can display information such as:

  • Current process status for a plan file, including the current step name and number
  • Process step history per plan file, including the name and number of each step the plan file has been active in, the plan file's step status, and the time spent in the step
  • Step statistics, such as average time spent in each step and number of workbooks in each step

In order to report on process information, the web report must be associated with a file group. The process columns are then available to be added to the report, and will return information on the designated plan file process for the file group.

Configuring a web report to use process columns

Process columns are not available for use in the Report Builder unless the report is associated with a file group. This association is made in the Report Configuration properties.

Primary table prerequisite

Process reporting will only work if the primary table selected as the Data Context for the report is compatible with the plan code table for the file group. In the majority of cases you should select the plan code table itself. For example, if the plan code table is Dept, then you should select Dept as the primary table for the report. However, if needed you can use a table with a lookup to the plan code table instead.

To associate a web report with a file group:

  1. On the Report tab of the Report Builder, click the gear button at the top of the page to load the Report Configuration properties.

  2. In the Report Configuration properties, click the Edit link above the File group context box.

  3. In the Choose File Group Context dialog, select a file group or a file group alias, then click OK.

    Use the radio buttons at the top of the list to toggle between viewing file group aliases or file groups. When viewing file group aliases, the name of the file group that is currently assigned to the alias displays in parentheses after the alias name.

    Selecting a file group alias means the report will be dynamically associated with the file group that is currently assigned to the alias. For example, if the Current Budget alias is updated so that it points to the Budget 2022 file group instead of the Budget 2021 file group, the report will update to show the process information for the Budget 2022 file group.

    NOTE: The selected file group must have a designated Plan File Process in the file group properties.

Once a file group context has been selected, a new node appears in the Data Panel named Process Management. The process columns are listed under this node, organized into Process Status Columns and Process Step Columns. To use a process column in the report, drag and drop it to the setup boxes at the top of the Report Canvas just like any other column.

Process columns available in the Data Panel

Using process columns

The following tables detail what each process column returns, as well as usage and configuration guidance for each column. Additionally, note the following:

  • When a process column is used in a report, the plan code values are automatically filtered to only return codes that have any activity in the plan file process. It is not necessary to filter the report by a ShowOnList column in order to suppress plan code values that are not active in the file group.

  • Process columns can be used as row dimensions or as column definitions, however, only certain process columns make sense to use as row dimensions. See the column details for more information.

  • Process columns cannot be used in data filters defined in the report—either at the report level or the column level—but end-user filtering can be used with process columns. For example, a user viewing the report could filter the Current Step column to only show plan codes that are in a specific step.

Process status columns

The process status columns can be used to display current process status information for plan codes in the file group. These columns are best used if you want to create a report that shows the current step and status for each plan file.

When using the process status columns, the row dimension for the report should be just the key column of the plan code table for the file group. For example, if the plan code table is Dept, the row dimension should be the Dept key column of that table. This means that each row of the report will be a plan code in the file group, showing the process status for that plan code. Note the following:

Column Name Description

Process Status

Returns the current process status for each plan code. For example: Active, Stalled, Completed, or Aborted.

Current Step

Returns the name of the current step of the plan file.

Current Step Number

Returns the number of the current step of the plan file. Note that this is always a top-level step number.

Process Initiator

Returns the name of the user who initiated the process for the plan file. This column is only available if the associated file group is an on-demand file group.

Process step columns

The process step columns can be used to return process information for each step that a plan file has been active in. When using process step columns, you should set the row dimension as follows, depending on the goal of the report:

  • If the goal of the report is to see step detail by plan code, then the row dimension should be set to both the key column of the plan code table and the Step Name column. (Alternatively, the Step Number column can be used instead of the Step Name column.) This means that the report will contain a separate row for each combination of plan code and step.

  • If the goal of the report is to see grouped information about the step, then the sum level for the query should be set to just the Step Name column. (Alternatively, the Step Number column can be used instead of the Step Name column.) This is useful to see information such as average time in step, and the count of workbooks that have been active in the step.

Column Name Description

Step Name

Returns the name of the step. When using process step columns, either this column or the Step Number column should be a row dimension for the report.

Step Number

Returns the number of the step. When using process step columns, either this column or the Step Name column should be a row dimension for the report.

Sub-steps are returned using decimals, such as 2.1 and 2.2. Even though the Step Number column is a string column, if the report is sorted by the Step Number column the numbers will be sorted in the correct order.

Step Status

Returns the status of the step per plan file. This column is only useful when the row dimension is set to both the key column of the plan code table and the Step Name (or Step Number) column.

Time In Step

Returns the time spent in each step per plan file. Although the raw value for this column is seconds, the total seconds are translated into the highest useful time value for display in the report—whether that is seconds, minutes, hours, or days. Therefore, one plan file may list the time in step as "25 minutes" while another plan file may list the time in step as "2 days".

If the row dimension for the report is set to just the Step Name (or Step Number) column, then the Aggregation for the Time In Step column should be changed to Average so that the column returns the average time spent in the step (for all plan codes that were ever active in the step). Otherwise the column will return the total time spent by all plan codes in the step, which is likely not a useful value.

NOTE: If you use this column in a calculation, the calculation will be based on the raw seconds value. Therefore if you want to return the time in step using the same time unit for all plan codes, regardless of how long they have been in the step, you can use a calculation to do so. For example, divide the time in step by 86400 to convert the seconds to days.

Workbook Count

Returns the count of workbooks that have been active in the step. This column is only useful when the row dimension is set to just the Step Name (or Step Number) column, so that you can see the count for all plan codes that have been active in the step. If the key column of the plan code table is included as the row dimension, then the Workbook Count will always return 1 for each plan code / step combination, which is likely not a useful value.

This column always uses Count aggregation and cannot be changed.

Example process reports

The following screenshots show some of the reports that can be created using process columns. These examples only use process columns, but the reports could contain additional columns from the plan code table or from related data tables, in cases where it makes sense to show this additional information.

The first example shows a report using process status columns, for the purpose of viewing the current status of each plan code. The row dimension is the key column of the plan code table (CapitalID).

Web report with process status columns

The second example shows a report using process step columns, for the purpose of viewing process history for each plan code. The row dimension is set to the step name and the key column of the plan code table (Dept). The end user could filter the Dept column to view the history for a specific plan code.

Web report with process step columns, grouped by key column and step name

The third example shows a report using process step columns, for the purpose of viewing process statistics. The row dimension is set to the step number only, so that the process data is aggregated at the step level. The columns show the count of workbooks that have been active in each step, as well as the average time in step per workbook.

Web report with process step columns, grouped by step number