1

Chapter :1 Choosing the Right Report

Development Tool

Chapter :2

Contents

Choosing the Right Reporting Tool: The Big Picture.........................................12

Organization of Report Development Tools........................................................13

In this chapter you will learn

how to:

Choose the right report

development tool for your
needs

Identify report
development tools that
support application areas
in Release 4.0B

Use the Tools Summary

Matrix to evaluate
different report
development tools

Using the Application Hierarchy...........................................................................16

Using the Tools Summary Matrix.........................................................................19
Using the Tool Summaries..................................................................................111
Learning More About Report Development Tools.............................................112
Review.................................................................................................................. 113

Report Development Tools

Chapter 1: Choosing the Right Report Development Tool

Organization of Report Development Tools

In Fundamentals of Reporting, the first book of this three-volume guidebook

series, we presented a methodology to help you choose a report development
tool that fits your reporting needs. Chapter 6 (book 1) showed how the process
of selecting the right report development tool is an integral part of the tactical
approach to reporting.
Note: Although the tactical approach to reporting is not discussed here, we
recommend that you give it consideration. The tactical approach can save
implementation teams much time and expense as it explains how to make
best use of reporting functionality in R/3. For more information on the tactical
approach, review chapter 2 (book 1).
In this chapter we review the material covered in chapter 6 of book 1. If you
have already read chapter 6 in book 1and understand how to select a report
development tool using the tools summary matrix and the application hierarchy
you may want to skip ahead to the other chapters for tool-specific information.

Choosing the Right Reporting Tool: The Big Picture

Follow these steps to help you choose the reporting tool that best fits your
needs:
1. Use the Application Hierarchy to Identify the Tools: Starting from the
R/3 applications in which you work, you can determine which reporting tools
can be used for your business process. The application hierarchy matrix helps
determine the appropriate R/3 report development tools for a particular
application area. For more information on the application hierarchy, see page
6.
2. Use the Tools Summary Matrix to Help you Decide: For a quick
comparison of the features of the reporting tools available for your
application area, use the tools summary matrix. The tools summary matrix
provides a high-level view of the functionality available with different tools.
For more information on the tools summary matrix, see page 10.
3. Review the Tool Summaries: Before finalizing your decision to use a
particular tool, you may want to review the tool summaries (chapters 7
through 11 of book 1) to better understand the relative strengths of each
tool.
4. Learn More About Report Development Tools: For more information on
how to get started with the reporting tools, see chapters 26 of this
guidebook. In addition to step-by-step examples, you will also find tips and
tricks for efficient report development.
If you conclude that none of the tools fit your needs, and you want to use ABAP
to develop your report, review chapter 12 for information on using ABAP for
developing reports. Additionally, you will find templates to speed up ABAP report
development.

Reporting Made Easy

Chapter 1: Choosing the Right Report Development Tool

Organization of Report Development Tools

Use
Use the
the Application
Application Hierarchy
Hierarchy
to
to Identify
Identify the
the Tools
Tools

Use
Use the
the Tools
Tools Summary
Summary Matrix
Matrix
to
to Help
Help You
You Decide
Decide

Review
Review Tool
Tool Summaries
Summaries

Learn
Learn More
More About
About Report
Report
Development
Development Tools
Tools

Read Using the

Application Hierarchy
in chapter 1

Read Using the Tools

Summary Matrix in
chapter 1

See book 1 (chapters 7

through 11) for an
overview of reporting
tools
For in-depth information
on reporting tools, see
chapters 2 through 6

Organization of Report Development Tools

Before getting started with the step-by-step approach to choosing the right tool,
it is useful to understand the overall report development landscape in the R/3
System.
There are several report development tools (for example, Report Painter, ABAP
Query, and more) in the R/3 System. While many methods can be used to create
reports, the tool comparison in this chapter focuses only on the core set of
reporting tools. Core tools may be defined as tools that are used exclusively to
create reports.
What is a
core report
development
tool?
Which
reporting
tools are
part of this
core set?

What are the factors that determine if a tool belongs to the core set of report
development tools? For purposes of this guidebook, the core set of reporting
tools is defined as tools which are used exclusively for report development. If
the tool has alternate uses, it will not be compared here.
The core set of report development tools being compared in this guidebook
includes the following:
ABAP Query
Report Painter/Report Writer
Drilldown Reporting
Logistics Information SystemStandard Analyses
Logistics Information SystemFlexible Analyses
We selected a core set of report development tools to achieve a more focused
tool comparison. Consequently, certain tools, or tools by other names, are
excluded from this list.

Report Development Tools

Chapter 1: Choosing the Right Report Development Tool

Organization of Report Development Tools

Which
reporting
tools do not
belong to
this core
set?

Several tools are not listed in the core set of report development tools. Two
notable exclusions are:
ABAP (the programming language of R/3)

Business Information Warehouse (for more information, see chapters 7

through 11)

There are specific reasons why non-core tools were excluded from the
application hierarchy and the overall comparison you find in this guidebook.
ABAP is not considered a core report development tool because it is not
exclusively used for report development. While ABAP can be quite useful in
developing reports, it includes much functionality (especially the capability to
allow users to manipulate data in the database) that extends far beyond
information retrieval. However, chapter 12 presents tips on creating ABAP
reports, including templates to help you get started.
The Business Information Warehouse also is not used exclusively for report
development. The BW is a data warehouse which can be used to store data
from many systems, including the R/3 database. The front-end of the BW (the
Business Explorer) includes powerful functionality that takes advantage of its
environment, Microsoft Excel. However, because of the separate environment
and the added data warehousing capability, the BW is not considered in this
core set.

What about
the other
reporting
tools I have
heard
about?

The core report development tools listed in this chapter are often known by
other names within application areas of R/3. The names of the tools are usually
customized to applications because of the data presented. For example, the
Sales Information System (SIS) is part of the Logistics Information System.
Similarly, the Executive Information System (EIS) is part of the Drilldown
reporting tool. Particular names are used within certain application areas, but
the core set of the tools is the same.
As mentioned, it is important to have a clear core set of report development
tools in order to effectively compare the relative strengths of each tool. As the
goal of this chapter is to help you decide which report development tool is most
appropriate for your needs, we refine the core set to make the comparison
easier.
The table on the next page presents a quick overview of the core report
development tools. With the help of this table you can:
Learn some of the commonly used names for the core report development
tools
Identify the access points for the core report development tools

Find the application areas each core report development tool supports

Note: The table shown on the following page is also available as a Microsoft
Excel spreadsheet (Core development tools.xls) on the companion CD
supplied with the Reporting Made Easy guidebook series. In the spreadsheet,
you will also find application-specific menu paths you can use to access report
creation environments in R/3 System for each tool.

Reporting Made Easy

Chapter 1: Choosing the Right Report Development Tool

Organization of Report Development Tools

Core Report
Development Tools

Some Commonly Used Names/

Access Points for Report Tools

Application Areas Supported by Report Tool

ABAP Query

ABAP Query
Adhoc query

All application areas

Human Resources (HR)

Report Painter

Report Painter or Report Writer

Cost Center Accounting (CO-CCA) and

Internal Orders (CO-OPA)
Functional area reporting in Cost-of-Sales Accounting
Profit Center Accounting (CO-PCA/EC-PCA)
Legal Consolidations (FI-LC)
Controlling Reconciliation Ledger (CO-CEL)
Special Purpose Ledger (FI-SL)
Enterprise Controlling module (EC-LC)
Financial Accounting (General Ledger) reports by account,
company, and business area (FI-GL)
Project Systems (PS)
Controlling Product Costing module (CO-Costing)

Report Painter or Report Writer

Report Painter or Report Writer
Report Painter or Report Writer
Report Painter or Report Writer
Report Painter or Report Writer
Report Painter or Report Writer
Report Painter or Report Writer
Report Painter or Report Writer
Report Painter or Report Writer
LIS Standard Analyses Inventory Controlling (INVCO)
Purchasing Information System (PURCHIS)
Sales Information System (SIS)
Shop Floor Information System (SFIS)
Plant Maintenance Information System (PMIS)
Quality Management Information System (QMIS)
Retail Information System (RIS)
Warehouse Management Information System
(WMIS)
Service Management Information System (SMIS)

Materials Management-Inventory Management (MM-IM)

Materials Management-Purchasing (MM-PUR) (includes
External Services Management)
Sales and Distribution (SD)
Production Planning (PP)
Plant Maintenance (PM)
Quality Management (QM)
SAP Retail (IS-Retail)
Materials Management-Warehouse Management (MM-WM)
Service Management (SM)

LIS Flexible Analyses

Same as LIS Standard Analyses (see above)

Same as LIS Standard Analyses (see above)

Drilldown Reporting

Profitability Analysis Reporting

Executive Information System
Executive Information System
Drilldown Reporting
Drilldown Reporting
Drilldown Reporting
Drilldown Reporting
Drilldown Reporting
Drilldown Reporting
Drilldown Reporting
Drilldown Reporting
Drilldown Reporting
Drilldown Reporting

Controlling and Profitability Analysis (CO-PA)

Executive Information System (EIS)
Profit Center Accounting (EC-PCA)
General Ledger (Financial versions)
Project Systems (PS)
Consolidations (EC-CS)
Accounts Payable (FI-AP)
Accounts Receivables (FI-AR)
Special Ledger (FI-SL)
Real Estate (IS-RE)
Funds Management (FI-FM)
Treasury Management (TR)
Investment Management (IM)

Report Development Tools

Chapter 1: Choosing the Right Report Development Tool

Organization of Report Development Tools

On page 2, we introduced the idea of using of a step-by-step approach to help

you choose the right report development tool for your needs. The table on the
previous page is intended to help you get acquainted with the core reporting
tools and some of the common names associated with the core tools. Next, you
will see an application-centric view of the reporting tools comparison. You will
start the comparison by first looking at the application areas and the tools
available for the application.

Using the Application Hierarchy

While the table on the previous page
offers a tools-centric view, the
application hierarchy presented in this
section is centered around application
areas and subcomponents.

Use
Use the
the Application
Application Hierarchy
Hierarchy
to
to Identify
Identify the
the Tools
Tools

Use
Use the
the Tools
Tools Summary
Summary Matrix
Matrix
to
to Help
Help You
You Decide
Decide

Review
Review Tools
Tools Summaries
Summaries

Learn
Learn More
More About
About Report
Report
Development
Tools
Development Tools

The application hierarchy shown on the next two pages is a complete list of all
R/3 applications, organized by functional areas. Most application modules in the
hierarchy are subdivided to show individual areas in the application (for
example, shipping and billing are two areas within the sales and distribution [SD]
application, and accounts payable is an area within the financial accounting [FI]
application).
Example: If you are interested in choosing the appropriate tool for a cash
management (CM) report in the Treasury (TR) area, then find TR-CM in the
application hierarchy. Next, review the report development tools available for TRCM. From the application hierarchy you can see that ABAP Query and Drilldown
reporting are the tools you can choose from.
More on the
SAP
application
hierarchy

R/3s application areas are divided among business applications, such as

financial accounting (FI), sales and distribution (SD), and human resources
(HR). To access the complete list of applications in the SAP application
hierarchy, choose Tools ABAP Workbench Overview Application
hierarchy SAP from the SAP main menu.
If you are not familiar with the concept of different applications in R/3, or are

Reporting Made Easy

Chapter 1: Choosing the Right Report Development Tool

Organization of Report Development Tools

unsure of which applications you might be using, we suggest you view the
application hierarchy within the R/3 System. If needed, ask your system
administrator for assistance.
Note: Since both LIS Standard Analyses and LIS Flexible Analyses use the
same applications for report development, they have been combined into a
single column in the application hierarchy matrix.

Report Development Tools

Chapter 1: Choosing the Right Report Development Tool

FI

ic k t h e d e s ir e d a p p lic a tio n a r e a fr o m t h e a p p lic a t io n h ie r a r c h y .

o te th e a v a ila b le r e p o r tin g to o ls th a t s u p p o r t th e a p p lic a tio n a r e a .
e v ie w th e T o o ls S u m m a r y M a tr ix to c o m p a r e th e r e la tiv e s tr e n g th s o f e a c h to o l.
e le c t a r e p o r t d e v e lo p m e n t to o l b a s e d o n y o u r r e q u ir e m e n ts .
F in a n c ia l A c c o u n tin g
GL
LC
AP
AR
BL
AA
SL
FM
TV

TR

X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X

C ash M anagem ent

C ash B udget M anagem ent
T re a s u ry M a n a g e m e n t
L o a n s B u s in e s s
R is k M a n a g e m e n t

X
X
X
X
X

O v e r h e a d C o s t C o n tr o llin g
P r o d u c t C o s t C o n t r o llin g
P r o f it a b ilit y A n a ly s is

IM

In v e s tm e n t M a n a g e m e n t

EC

E n te r p r is e C o n tr o llin g

FA
PCA
BP
CS
E IS

IS

X
X
X

X
X
X
X

C a p ita l In v e s t m e n ts
P
B
C
E

r o fit C e n te r A c c o u n tin g
u s in e s s P la n n in g
o n s o lid a t io n
n te r p r is e In f o r m a tio n S y s t e m

X
X
X

X
X

X
X

X
X
X
X

R e l. 4 .5 A

X
X

R
B
P
R

e a l E s ta te M a n a g e m e n t
a n k in g
u b lic S e c to r
e t a il In f o r m a t io n S y s t e m

X
X
X
X

X
X
X

X
X
X

L o g is t ic s B a s ic D a t a
P ro d u c t D a ta M a n a g e m e n t
B a tc h e s
E n v ir o n m e n ta l M a n a g e m e n t
F o re c a st
V a r ia n t C o n fig u r a tio n
E n g in e e r in g C h a n g e M a n a g e m e n t
L o g is tic s In fo r m a tio n S y s te m (L IS )
S u p p ly C h a in P la n n in g In t e r f a c e s ( S C P I)
A d d it io n a ls M a n a g e m e n t
R e t a il In f o r m a t io n S y s t e m ( R IS )

X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X

X
X

S a le s a n d D is tr ib u tio n
M D
BF
SLS
SHP
TRA
FT
B IL
CAS
IS
EDI
POS

M M

R e l. 4 .5 A
R e l. 4 .5 A

L o g is tic s : G e n e r a l
M D
PDM
BM
EHS
PR
VC
ECH
L IS
SCI
ADM
R IS

SD

X
X

In d u s tr y S o lu tio n s
RE
B
PS
R e ta il

LO

C o n tr o llin g
OM
PC
PA

M a s te r D a ta
B a s ic F u n c tio n s
S a le s
S h ip p in g
T r a n s p o r ta tio n
F o r e ig n T r a d e
B illin g
S a le s S u p p o r t
In fo r m a tio n S y s te m
E le c t r o n ic D a t a In t e r c h a n g e
P o in t - o f - S a le In t e r f a c e

X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X

X
X

X
X

X
X
X
X
X
X

M a te r ia ls M a n a g e m e n t
CBP
PUR
SRV
IM
W M
IV
IS
EDI

G e n e r a l L e d g e r A c c o u n tin g
L e g a l C o n s o lid a tio n
A c c o u n ts P a y a b le
A c c o u n ts R e c e iv a b le
B a n k A c c o u n tin g
A s s e t A c c o u n tin g
S p e c ia l P u r p o s e L e d g e r
Funds M anagem ent
T ra v e l M a n a g e m e n t

T re a s u ry
CM
CB
TM
LO
M RM

CO

Report Painter/
Report Writer

P
N
R
S

Drilldown
Reporting

1.
2.
3.
4.

ABAP Query

R e p o r tin g T o o ls a n d R /3 S y s te m A p p lic a tio n H ie r a r c h y

LIS Standard &

Flexible Analyses

Organization of Report Development Tools

C o n s u m p tio n -B a s e d P la n n in g
P u r c h a s in g
E x te r n a l S e r v ic e s M a n a g e m e n t
In v e n to r y M a n a g e m e n t
W areh o u se M an ag em en t
In v o ic e V e r ific a tio n
In fo r m a tio n S y s te m
E le c t r o n ic D a t a In t e r c h a n g e

X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X

Reporting Made Easy

Chapter 1: Choosing the Right Report Development Tool

QM

ic k t h e d e s ir e d a p p lic a tio n a r e a fr o m t h e a p p lic a tio n h ie r a r c h y .

o t e th e a v a ila b le r e p o r tin g to o ls th a t s u p p o r t t h e a p p lic a tio n a r e a .
e v ie w th e T o o ls S u m m a r y M a tr ix to c o m p a r e th e r e la tiv e s tr e n g th s o f e a c h to o l.
e le c t a r e p o r t d e v e lo p m e n t to o l b a s e d o n y o u r r e q u ir e m e n ts .
Q u a lity M a n a g e m e n t
PT
IM
QC
CA
QN
IT

PM

Q u a lit y P la n n in g
Q u a lit y In s p e c t io n
Q u a lit y C o n t r o l
Q u a lit y C e r t if ic a t e s
Q u a lit y N o t if ic a t io n s
T e s t E q u ip m e n t M a n a g e m e n t
E q u ip m e n t a n d T e c h n ic a l O b je c t s
P r e v e n tiv e M a in te n a n c e
M a in te n a n c e O r d e r M a n a g e m e n t
M a in te n a n c e P r o je c ts
S e r v ic e M a n a g e m e n t
In fo r m a tio n S y s te m
B a s ic D a ta
S a le s a n d O p e r a t io n s P la n n in g
M a s t e r P la n n in g
C a p a c ity R e q u ir e m e n ts P la n n in g
M a t e r ia l R e q u ir e m e n t s P la n n in g
P r o d u c t io n O r d e r s
KANBAN
R e p e t it iv e M a n u f a c t u r in g
A s s e m b ly P r o c e s s in g
P r o d u c t io n P la n n in g f o r P r o c e s s In d u s t r ie s
P la n t D a t a C o lle c t io n
F lo w M a n u f a c tu r in g
In fo r m a tio n S y s te m
S tru c tu re s
D ocum ent
P r o d u c t io n R e s o u r c e s /T o o ls
C o s ts
R e v e n u e s a n d E a r n in g s
P a y m e n ts
D a te s
C a p a c itie s
M a t e r ia l
C o n f ir m a t io n
S im u la tio n
V e r s io n s
P ro g re s s
S A P B u s in e s s W o r k flo w C o n n e c tio n
In fo r m a tio n S y s te m

X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X

X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X

X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X

X*

P e r s o n n e l T im e M a n a g e m e n t
In c lu d e s a ll a r e a s o f P e r s o n n e l T im e M a n a g e m e n t , s u c h a s w o r k s c h e d u le , t im e d a t a r e c o r d in g
a n d m a n a g e m e n t , s h if t p la n n in g , t im e e v a lu a t io n , in f o r m a t io n s y s t e m , t o o ls , a n d in t e g r a t io n w it h
o t h e r a p p lic a t io n s .

PY

P a y r o ll A c c o u n tin g

PE

T r a in in g a n d E v e n t M a n a g e m e n t

In c lu d e s a ll s p e c if ic c o u n tr ie s a s w e ll a s g e n e r a l P a y r o ll A c c o u n t in g .
In c lu d e s a ll a r e a s o f T r a in in g a n d E v e n t M a n a g e m e n t , s u c h a s r e s o u r c e m a n a g e m e n t,
c o r r e s p o n d e n c e , c o n n e c t io n t o t im e m a n a g e m e n t, c o n n e c t io n t o c o s t a c c o u n t in g , c o n n e c t io n t o
b illin g , a n d c o n n e c t io n t o m a t e r ia ls m a n a g e m e n t .

BC

X
X
X

P e rso n n e l M a n a g e m e n t
In c lu d e s a ll a r e a s o f P e r s o n n e l M a n a g e m e n t , s u c h a s r e c r u it m e n t , p e r s o n n e l a d m in is t r a t io n ,
b e n e f it s , H R in fo r m a t io n s y s te m , p e r s o n n e l d e v e lo p m e n t , o r g a n iz a t io n a l s t r u c t u r e ,
c o m p e n s a tio n m a n a g e m e n t, a n d tr a v e l m a n a g e m e n t.

PT

X
X
X
X
X
X

P r o je c t S y s te m s
ST
DOC
PRT
COS
REV
CAF
DAT
CRP
M AT
CON
S IM
VER
PRG
W FL
IS

PA

X
X
X

P r o d u c tio n P la n n in g a n d C o n tr o l
BD
SOP
M P
CRP
M RP
SFC
KAB
REM
ATO
PI
PDC
FLW
IS

PS

X
X
X
X
X
X

P la n t M a in te n a n c e
EQM
PRM
W OC
PRO
SM A
IS

PP

Report Painter/
Report Writer

P
N
R
S

Drilldown
Reporting

1.
2.
3.
4.

ABAP Query

R e p o r tin g T o o ls a n d R /3 S y s te m A p p lic a tio n H ie r a r c h y (c o n t.)

LIS Standard &

Flexible Analyses

Organization of Report Development Tools

B a s is C o m p o n e n ts
A ll c o m p o n e n ts
X*

R e p o r t s o n ly ; n o in f o r m a t io n s t r u c t u r e s

Report Development Tools

Chapter 1: Choosing the Right Report Development Tool

Organization of Report Development Tools

Note that within this application hierarchy, several tools can be used for most
application areas. Therefore, it is up to you to decide which reporting tools are
best matched to the reports to you want to develop. The report development
tool summary matrix covered in the next two pages will give you a quick
comparison of tool features.

Using the Tools Summary Matrix

The tools summary matrix provides a
quick comparative analysis of the core
report development tools. As shown on
the next page, the tools summary
matrix lets you evaluate each tool
using a set of features users typically
consider.
It is important to note that the matrix
only presents a high-level overview of
each tool. The aim of this matrix is
simply to help users jumpstart the
process of comparing different tools.

Use
Use the
the Application
Application Hierarchy
Hierarchy
to
Identify
the
Tools
to Identify the Tools

Use
Use the
the Tools
Tools Summary
Summary Matrix
Matrix
to
Help
You
Decide
to Help You Decide

Review
Review Tools
Tools Summaries
Summaries

Using the information available in the

tools matrix, you can then review the
tool summaries presented in chapters 7
Learn
Learn More
More About
About Report
Report
4
11 of book 1, Fundamentals of
Development
Development Tools
Tools
Reporting. You can also refer to
chapters 2 through 6 of this book for
more detailed information on using the report development tools.
Used as a guide, the tools summary matrix can help you narrow your choices
down to one or two reporting tools. While this matrix is designed to help you find
the right tool, it is by no means intended to make a decision for you. The relative
importance of each feature is likely to vary among users. For example, ease-ofuse may be important to one user but another user may be primarily concerned
with the coverage of applications. When using this matrix, you must assign your
own weighting to the criteria.

10

Reporting Made Easy

Chapter 1: Choosing the Right Report Development Tool

Organization of Report Development Tools

Report Painter Report Writer

LIS Flexible Analyses

LIS Standard Analyses

Drilldown Reporting

QueryABAP

Reporting Tools Summary Matrix

Desktop Integration
Uses MS Excel as a front-end tool
Simple downloads and use of XXL with
manipulation
None required
External system required

Integration with spreadsheet programs?

Special requirements of external systems?
Speed vs. Performance

Minimal impact
Somewhat slowed
Significant impact
Yes
No

Speed with heavy data load?

Tools to optimize performance?
Delivered Integration

Online transaction protocol data

Meta data plus external data
Meta data only
All applications
Less than all, greater than 50%
Less than 50%
More than 100
Less than 100 but more than 0

Views "live" data?

Coverage of applications
Availability of standard reports?
Requirements for Development

Less than 2 hours

24 hours; course suggested
At least one day or course required
Yes
No

Difficult to learn to program with tool?

Adequate number of characteristics and
drilldown levels?
If 'meta' data is used, is it difficult to program?
Flexibility for modifying reports? (for example,
adding fieldsbeyond basic format changes)

Not Applicable

Slight changes in configuration

Moderately difficult to program
Rarely requires reprogramming
Somewhat difficult to modify reports
Reports should not be modified once created

Ease of Use

How easily can a user learn to use the

reports?

Very easy
Somewhat difficult; some training suggested

Can a query be created from scratch?

(without reconfiguration)

Yes
Yes, with some effort
Not possible

Drag and drop capability?

Yes
No
All features supported

All tools offer: Sorting by rows and columns,

column/row resizing, summations, use of
selection screen variants, saved results (in
cached queries), and a common look and feel
among reports
Execution Management

Authorization control programmable?

Alert and monitoring capability?
Background or batch job execution?

Report Development Tools

Run-time, data control, plus can program more

Auth. control for run, plus data field control
Control authorization to run only
Yes
No
Yes
No

11

Chapter 1: Choosing the Right Report Development Tool

Organization of Report Development Tools

12

Reporting Made Easy

Chapter 1: Choosing the Right Report Development Tool

Organization of Report Development Tools

Using the Tool Summaries

After reviewing the tools summary matrix
you are now ready to familiarize yourself
with the report development tools that
meet your needs.
To help you get started with the report
development tools, we have provided
tool summaries in chapters 7 through
11 of book 1, Fundamentals of Reporting.
The tool summaries cover basic
information and answers questions
related to the features shown in the tools
summary matrix.

Use
Use the
the Application
Application Hierarchy
Hierarchy
to
to Identify
Identify the
the Tools
Tools

Use
Use the
the Tools
Tools Summary
Summary Matrix
Matrix
to
to Help
Help You
You Decide
Decide

Review
Review Tools
Tools Summaries
Summaries

The tools summaries are by no means

meant to provide the definitive answer to
which report development tool(s) you
Learn
Learn More
More About
About Report
Report
should use. We suggest that you use tool
4
Development
Tools
summaries in conjunction with other
Development Tools
information about the report
development tools to help you make an informed decision.
Note: You may have heard about other report development tools such as the
Open Information Warehouse (OIW) and the Extended Export of Lists (XXL)
which have not been included in the tool comparison.
XXL has been excluded from the reporting tools comparison because it is a
supplement to other R/3 reporting tools, not a tool used exclusively to create
reports. The OIW has not been included in the comparison because it was a
predecessor to the Business Information Warehouse and is no longer being
developed.
For more information on XXL and OIW, see appendix B and C respectively in
this book.

Report Development Tools

13

Chapter 1: Choosing the Right Report Development Tool

Organization of Report Development Tools

Learning More About Report Development Tools

Subsequent chapters in this guidebook provide overview information about each
of the report development tools considered in this chapter. If you are new to
reporting tools, you may want to look through the tools summaries (book 1,
chapters 711) to learn more.
In this guide, you will find information on the following reporting tools:
Chapter

Reporting Tool Covered

Chapter 2

ABAP Query

Chapter 3

Report Painter/Report Writer

Chapter 4

Drilldown Reporting

Chapter 5

Logistics Information SystemStandard Analyses

Chapter 6

Logistics Information SystemFlexible Analyses

Chapters 711

Business Information Warehouse

ABAP
Q u e ry

R /3 R e p o r t
D e v e lo p m e n t
T o o ls

This book presents in-depth information on the tools. In chapters 2 through 6 of

this book, you will find more information about the core set of report
development tools, including:
Information on how to create a report with the report development tools

14

Step-by-step examples of creating reports with each tool

Tips and tricks on further report development with each tool

Reporting Made Easy

Chapter 1: Choosing the Right Report Development Tool

Organization of Report Development Tools

Guidance on where to find additional information on the tools

Beyond the tools specifically intended for report development, this book also
provides:
Templates for programming in ABAP (chapter 12)

Hints on using the ABAP List Viewer (ALV) (appendix A)

Information on the use of the XXL interface (appendix B)

Information on the use of web reporting (appendix D)

Future editions of this guidebook series will contain more information on

reporting and report development.

Review
This chapter presents a step-by-step approach to choosing the right report
development tool The following steps are recommended:
1. Use the application hierarchy matrix to determine which report development
tool(s) can be used within the application component(s) of your interest.
2. Use the tools summary matrix to gain an overview of the features available
within the report development tools.
3. Read chapters 711 of book 1, Fundamentals of Reporting, to learn summary
information about each of the report development tools.
4. Read chapters 2 through 6 of this book for more detailed information on the
core set of report development tools.
Users should be familiar with the applications they are responsible for in an R/3
implementation. The application hierarchy matrix helps users determine which
report development tool(s) are intended for use in their component areas.
The features outlined in the tools summary matrix were identified by customers,
consultants and developers as being the most important in choosing a report
development tool. The summary matrix is intended to be a guide rather than an
absolute decision tool.

Report Development Tools

15

Chapter 1: Choosing the Right Report Development Tool

Organization of Report Development Tools

16

Reporting Made Easy