OTBI Dashboard prompt - display option of NULL to user instead of *)nqgtn(*

Gary Miller-39965

Description

When using the standard "Specific Column Values" feature to limit the list of values in a dashboard prompt, we include NULL from the picklist as one of the selectable values. When the user goes to use the prompt, instead of seeing NULL they see *)nqgtn(* which obviously makes no sense to them. All other values selected to be available to select display fine.  An example of where a user may want to select NULL is to see for example which employees have no end of year rating if using a "Ratings" dashboard.

The idea is to request that NULL - when picked from the standard selectable values in the dashboard prompt - is displayed to the end user, and not *)nggtn(*.

 

Note: I have raised an SR to check if this should be a bug - SR 3-24577784391 - however the support analyst confirmed it is Oracle's intended behaviour that the end user would see *)nggtn(* in the list of values (which is an OTBI internal representation for NULL), and should select this if they want to see the NULL values.  I can confirm that selecting *)nggtn(* does bring back the NULL values, and they display as NULL in the relevant column on the Analysis report, so the only place *)nggtn(* appears is on the dashboard prompt.

Use Case and Business Need

Our end users of dashboards/dashboard prompts will include the wider HR team and managers - the system should be intuitive for them to use.  Displaying an internal system value of *)nggtn(* makes no sense to them, will compromise their user experience, and may lead to them not being able to use the dashboards correctly.

More details

As mentioned above, displaying an internal system value to end users is not what we would expect to see - and also to have this confirmed as expected/intended system behavior and not a bug is disappointing.  I believe it should be a bug and not an idea, however support have advised the only route to resolve is via an idea.

Original Idea Number: e1cafd226e

Karen Waddell

I personally believe this is a bug because users should not see internal codes simply because they are not user friendly and leads to confusion. If the internal code must be used then a user friendly value should be displayed to users (e.g. Select All Values).