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Oracle Analytics and AI

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Ability to save workbook calculations to datasets and subject areas

Branden Pavol

Organization Name (Required - If you are an Oracle Partner, please provide the organization you are logging the idea on behalf of):

Worthington Industries

Description (Required):

There are many times my analysts will create custom calculations in a workbook that would be useful for others to use in the future. Current state, we have to either go back to our RPD developer and ask to have that same calculation added to the subject area. If it's a dataset, it's a little easier but you still have to go back to the dataset and add it as a step in your preparations.

If there's an option, after creating a custom calculation, to push that back to the dataset or subject area, this would be a fantastic way to prevent duplication and mismanaged calculations by other users.

Use Case and Business Need (Required):

Improved consistency in measures

Enhancement Request / Service Request:

Enhancement Request

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Delivered

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Data Modelling and Datasets

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Data Preparation and Flows

Status: Delivered

Comments

Michal Zima

@Branden Pavol Definitely good idea, but I guess not that easy to implement exactly as described. Calculation in workbook can potentially "span" multiple data sets/subject areas (used in workbook), so those calculations can not be thus "saved" within one single data set definition. And some calculations within single data set cannot be performed at data set granularity (aggregation needs to be applied before the calculation itself - see: https://blogs.oracle.com/analytics/post/two-ways-to-create-custom-calculations-in-oracle-analytics) and thus cannot be defined as another column in data sets. We are simply here hitting the limits of simplified modeling within data sets (as opposed to more complex possibilities in RPD/semantic model).

Back to your idea - i think this could be done in similar way as custom calculations in Answers tool - where you have the option to save it as object in BI catalog (for easy way to reuse it in another analysis).

Branden Pavol

@Michal Zima Thanks for the quick reply. I definitely understand that it would be complicated when it comes to workbooks with multiple datasets in them. My assumption would be that if you create a calculation that uses two different subject areas, you would just get denied to save it. The part that you brought up about saving the custom calculations in the Answers tool is actually what sparked my idea. We started to use that a long time ago; however, we stopped doing it because the calculated fields were buried in a folder and not easily accessible. If there was an option to save a custom calculation and have them always be available in an area like the "My Calculations", that would be ideal. Then any new workbook someone wants to create using that subject area will be able to see saved calculations other people have created. You could go a step even further and have some sort of certification option so that others can endorse the calculation if they prove it's useful/valid.

This is all in attempt to prevent someone from creating a new calculation if they can search for one already saved.

I'm not looking for one simple answer but hoping to achieve something similar to my suggestion to solve a problem when it comes to democratizing our data.