Crystal Reports Administration: Defining Report Parameters

At one end of the spectrum, we have the person who dictates report parameters. "Here are the kinds of reports you can have." The result is reports that often don't match user needs or requirements.

At the other end of the spectrum, we have person who gets everyone's input. "Tell me what you'd like to see in the reports." The result is unwieldy reports for the end-user and administration that is next to impossible.

In the middle is a way that leads to a positive outcome for both the end-users and the Crystal Reports administrator. Thanks to many of our customers for contributing these ideas--you are a sharp bunch of folks!

Some tips

• Identify what is possible based on the data. One of our customers, a consultant, is constantly amazed by managers who want reports based on data that simply do not exist.
  
• Identify the "real players" and the "dim bulbs." Ask the real players for their needs and what they think the dim bulbs would need. Don't ask the dim bulbs for their input--doing so will often just put you on a treadmill. Example: Bev was the IT manager at a manufacturing Plant. Bill was the head of Purchasing. Bill as sharper than a razor, and he knew who did what with which kinds of information. So, when Bev redesigned the family of standard reports for 46 users, she asked Bill and two other people for their input. Essentially, she formed a small task force, rather than trying to do the job by mob rule or committee.
  
• Look at department (or end-user) functions and goals. Try to limit the reports to information that supports these goals. Otherwise, the reports are likely to be too much and ineffective. For example, the sales people don't have time to dig through a 57-page report each week--but they would truly benefit from a small report that showed stocking levels, product returns, and other information they can best use to make sales.
  
• It is dangerous to provide end-users with a list of options to choose. They almost always ask for too much. The company ends up paying for larger reports they get less out of. Instead, ask people for the top ten (or whatever number is appropriate) things they want to know. Then, see if the database supports those things or can be made to support those things.
  
• Ask end-users to rank the parameters in order of importance. The items that are consistently at the bottom of the rankings are probably good candidates for deletion from the reports.
  
• Don't forget to ask about layout! While tools such as cView allow end-users a great deal of flexibility, it's a best practice to handle basic formatting and layout at the admin end as much as is practical. Most end-users will be happy with any reasonable layout, but identifying issues such as sorting by price or whatever is part of determining what is a reasonable layout.

This article is copyrighted by Crystalkeen, Mindconnection, and Chelsea Technologies Ltd. It may be freely copied and distributed as long as the original copyright is displayed and no modifications are made to this material. Extracts are permitted. The names Crystal Reports and Seagate Info are trademarks owned by Business Objects.