Creating reports

A report in BMC Helix Continuous Optimization is a document that contains one or more charts, tables of metrics, and descriptions for multiple entities for a selected time period.

Charts are produced as a result of analyses, models, or of the execution of a scenario or a model. If you use or include certain analyses or models frequently in your reports, save this information for future use as a report template. Creating reports from report templates saves time, and helps you create a report quickly.

Report types

To create reports, navigate to Workspace > Domains, Services & Applications > Domain > Works. Use the Report wizard to create the following types of reports:

You can define the default look for reports generated by using analyses and models or report templates so that these reports include the logo and branding of your company. For details, see Adding-logo-and-branding-to-reports.

You can configure a composite report to display the domain names and path for each entity chart. For details, see Configure a composite report.

To create a report by using existing analyses and models

In the Works folder, click Add > Add report.
In the Report wizard, select Report - based on existing Analyses and Models.
Expand a domain and select the analysis and models to include in the report.

Specify the generation schedule.

Property	Description
Generation schedule	Select a generation schedule for the report. For example, Weekly reports, to generate this report on a weekly basis. The default value is No automatic generation, which means that the report is not scheduled and you must request a manual generation.
Page layout	Select the page layout for overview charts. An overview chart contains data for more than one system or business driver. The layout you select determines the number of columns or columns and rows to generate the report. Click in the layout templates list to see the available options and select any one. Based on the selected page layout template, the charts are arranged in the report. For example, if you select , the charts are arranged in two columns and three rows. The order of analyses determines the order of the charts in the report.
Page orientation	Select the orientation of the report as either Portrait or Landscape.
Export formats	Select the formats that will be available for exporting report results. By default, all formats are selected.
Email recipient	In the To, Cc, and Bcc fields, enter email addresses of recipients who should automatically receive the report each time it is generated. You can specify multiple email addresses separated by a semicolon. If no recipients are specified, the report results will not be emailed, and will be available for viewing in the Works folder.
Email attachment format	If the report result will be emailed, specify the formats of the report to be attached in the email. By default, none of the formats are selected. You cannot attach the report in HTML format.
Email link format	If the report result will be emailed, specify the formats in which you want to insert a link to the report in. By default, none of the formats are selected.
Compress attachment	Compress the attachment to reduce email message size.

Enter a name for the report and complete the report creation.

The following video (3:00) illustrates how to create a report.

https://youtu.be/FuYLsQdnNtk

Editing report properties

In the Works folder, select the report that you want to edit and click Edit .

Configure values for the following report parameters:

Parameter	Description
Name	Name for the report.
Description	Description for the report.
Result Name	Click to select the parameters you want to include in the report result name. You can also remove existing parameters.The following parameters are available for selection: %REPNAME%: Name of the report. %REPTEMPLNAME%: Name of the report template. %GENDATE%: Date when the report was generated. The date format is based on the UI Date Format as set in Global Configuration. %GENDATETIME%: Date of the generated report that includes the timestamp of generation. The time format is based on the Charts Date Format as set in Global Configuration. %REFDATEFROM%: The initial point of the reference time interval from which to generate the report. In a case where there are several analyses in a report, with each analyses for different time intervals, the report takes into account the earliest from date of all analyses, as the initial point of reference from which to generate the report. For example, if there are three analyses in the report, each with these time intervals: Last 7 days, Last 30 days, Last 90 days, the report considers the first day of the Last 90 days time interval as the initial point of reference from which to generate the report. If there are two models in a report, one with a Last 7 days time interval (Sept 1 - Sept 7) and the other with a Last 90 days time interval (March 1 - May 29), the report considers March 1 as the reference date from which to generate the report. %REFDATE%: The latest point in the reference time interval up to which to generate the report. In a case where there are several analyses in a report, with each analyses referencing different time intervals, the report takes into account the latest date of the longest time interval of an analysis, as the reference date up to which to generate the report. In a case where there are several models in a report, with each model referencing different time intervals, the report takes into account the latest date of the longest time interval of the model that has data available, up to which to generate the report. For example, if there are two models in a report, one with a Last 7 days time interval (Sept 1 - Sept 7) and the other with a Last 90 days time interval (March 1 - May 29) , and data is available only up to April 25, the report considers April 25 as the reference date up to which to generate the report. In a case where there are several analyses and models in a report, each referencing different time intervals, the report takes into account the latest date of the longest time interval of either a model or analysis, up to which to generate the report. For example, if there are two analyses and three models in the report, with the analyses for Last 7 days and Last 30 days, and the three models with time filters set to Last 7 days, Last 30 days, and Last 90 days, the report considers the last day of the Last 90 days time interval up to which to generate the report. You can select more than one parameter to include in the report result name. If you do not select any parameter, the %REFDATE% parameter is used as the default for the result name.
Filename	Click to select the parameters you want to include in the filename. The parameters that are available for Result Name are also available for Filename. If you do not select any parameter, the %REPNAME% parameter is used as the default for the filename.
Chart grouping	Select how you want to group the report results: Group by Analysis/Model, then by entity name: Groups all the charts by analyses or models, and then by entity name. For example, if you have three analyses for several systems in a report with 10 charts for each analyses, the result groups the analyses together and lists them one after the other. Group entity name, then by Analysis/Model: Groups the charts first by entity name, and then by analysis or model. A section for each entity is created and all charts, or tables, that refer to the same entity are displayed in a single section.
Page layout	Select the layout for charts in reports for system-specific analyses or models that contain data for a single system or business driver. The layout option you select determines the number of columns and rows to generate the report in. Click in the layout templates list to see the available options and select any one. Based on the selected page layout template, the charts are arranged in the report. For example, if you select , the charts are arranged in two columns and three rows. The order of analyses determines the order of the charts in the report.
Page orientation	Select the orientation of the report as either Portrait or Landscape.
Text export options	Select any one of the following options: Include Report description: Select this option if you want to include the Report description you entered for the report during report creation, to the report you will export in one of the available formats. Include Analysis/Models description: Select this option if you want to include the Analysis/Models description you entered for the analyses during report creation, to the report you will export in one of the available formats. Include Analysis/Models Template description: Select this option if you want to include the Analysis/Models Template description you entered for the report during report creation, to the report you will export in one of the available formats. Include Chart comments: Select this option if you want to include any comments you entered for charts in the report during report creation, to the report you will export in one of the available formats.
Include cover page	Select this option to import the cover page of the report.
Generation schedule	Select an option from the list to change the generation schedule for the report.
If a result exists	If a result already exists, select whether you want to Overwrite the report, or Skip generating it.
Export formats	Select the format in which to export the report. You can select more than one format.
Excel pagination	Available only if you select XLS in the Export formats option. Select whether you want the report in Multiple sheets or Single sheet.
Send report by email	Select the check box if you want this report to be emailed to addressees specified in the Email recipient fields.
Email recipient	Available only if you select the Send report check box. Specify the email recipients in the To, Cc and Bcc fields.
Email subject line	Available only if you select the Send report check box. Click to select the parameters you want to include in the subject line of the email. You can select one or all of the following parameters: %REPNAME% %GENDATE% %GENDATETIME% %REFDATEFROM% If you do not select any parameter, the %REPNAME% parameter is used by default, in the subject line of the email. Tip Adding the %REPNAME% and %GENDATETIME% parameters in the email subject line enables you to quickly save the report locally, without having to rename it.
Send report with	If the report result will be emailed, specify the format of the report to be attached in the email. By default, no format is selected. You can select multiple formats. You cannot attach the report in HTML format.
Insert link to	If the report result will be emailed, specify the format in which you want to insert a link to the report in. By default, no format is selected. You can select multiple formats.
Compress attachment	Select this check box to compress the attachment to reduce email message size.
Overview charts page layout	Available when you select Group entity name, then by Analysis/Model in the Chart grouping options. This is an additional layout option available for summary charts of an overview analysis or model. An overview analysis or model contains data for more than one system or business driver. Use this option to select the page layout for the details of each system in the report. Click in the page templates list to see the available layout templates and select any one. Based on the selected page layout template, the system details are arranged in the report.
Don't resize images	Select this option if you want to maintain the original size of all graphics in the report.
Access mode	Select which users have access to view or modify the report: Public report: All users can view and modify. Public read only report: All users can view, but not modify. Private report: Only the creator of the report can view or modify it. Private reports have a red lock icon on their titles.

The following video (2:15) illustrates how to generate a report and edit the properties of a report.

https://youtu.be/JZ29oqkqimk

To create a report based on a template

A report template defines the structure of a report, and describes its content in terms of the data to extract, and includes charts, tables, time period information and descriptions. After you create a report template, you can reuse it across different domains and time periods, to create or generate reports based on analyses and models that it contains.

The following video (2:55) illustrates how to create a report based on a template.

https://youtu.be/AzAxGydIjcM

Entity and time filter options

Based on the Template group and report template you select in previous step, the entity and time filter options are shown in the Report wizard.

Select one of the following entity filter options:

- All systems/business drivers in container domain: Include all entities present in the container domain to the report.
- All systems/business drivers in container domain and its subdomains: Include all entities in the container domain and its sub-domain to the report.
- Use a custom entity filter: Include a specific entity from the list to the report.

Select any one of the following time filter options:
If the report template that you have selected in step 5 was originally saved with, or already includes a time filter, skip this step and proceed to set Scheduling options.

Use existing time filter (global or local): Select a time filter from the list.
Specify custom time filter: If you want to specify a custom time filter, select this option, and click Next.
- Define custom time filter: Select a definitive time period using the calendar and manually entering time values in 24-hour HH:MM:SS format. Specify a time range by entering The last <n>days/years/months/weeks/hours from execution time. Select Including current day to add the current day to this time range.

Advanced custom time filter: Click Advanced in the Define custom time filter screen to enter advanced custom time filter properties. The following table describes each property in detail.

Property	Description
Hour filter	Enter selected hours and hour ranges in 24-hr format, separated by commas and grouped using hyphens. For example, 1,5,8,14-19.
Minute filter	Enter selected minutes and minute ranges (0-59), separated by commas and grouped using hyphens. For example, 25,30,45-59.
Weekday filter	Select particular days in the week.
Day of the month	Enter selected days of the month (1-31), separated by commas and grouped using hyphens. For example, 1,5,8,14-19, 28-31.
Month filter	Select particular months in the year.

To create a report by consolidating existing reports

Create a composite report by using more than one existing reports that are created in the same or different domains.

In the Works folder, click Add > Add report.
In the Report wizard, select Composite Report - based on existing Reports.
Select the reports to include in the composite report.
Specify the generation schedule and complete the report creation.

To create a report by consolidating reports of leaf domains

Create a composite report by consolidating the reports of all the leaf domains of a domain. These reports for leaf domains are created at runtime after you configure the report parameters and run the report. Use this composite report when you have large number of leaf domains. The report saves your time to manually create a report for each leaf domain and combine these reports into a single composite report.

Leaf domain reports

These reports are not retained after creating the composite report. They exist only during runtime and cannot be accessed.
These reports are based on the same report template.

Restrictions

The composite report includes the reports of maximum five nested sub-domains.
The reports are created for a maximum of 30 leaf domains.

To configure the report parameters and run the report, perform the following steps:

In the Workspace, navigate to the domain for which you want to create the composite report.
Click Add > Add report.
In the Report wizard, select Composite Report - based on a Report Template.
Select a template group and a template to be used for creating the report.
Select all entities of leaf domains to include in the report or a custom entity filter.
Select a time filter for the report data collection. For more information, see Time filter options.
Configure the report generation schedule, export formats, and email settings. For more information, see scheduling options.
Specify a name and an optional description for the report.
Click Finish.
The composite report is created and listed under the domain folder.
Click Run report now.
The report is generated in the specified export formats.

The following video illustrates how to create the composite report based on a report template:

Video attachment not found.

To configure a composite report to display the domain names and their hierarchy

Each subdomain report that is included in a composite report contains charts of entities in the subdomains. You can configure the composite report to display the domain names and their hierarchy for each entity chart. You can also configure the report to display the root domain name after the analysis title. This information helps you to understand the context of each entity chart to simplify the report analysis.

To customize the composite report, perform these steps:

Navigate to the analysis report that is selected as a template while creating the composite report.
Edit the analysis that is included in the report.
On the Chart options tab, add one of the following macros in the Subtitles field:
- %SUBREP_BREADCRUMB% to display the complete domain hierarchy
- %SUBREP_BREADCRUMB_n% to display the partial domain hierarchy
  where n indicates the subdomain level up to which you want to view the hierarchy. For example, specify %SUBREP_BREADCRUMB_2% to display the hierarchy up to the last two levels from the entity subdomain level.
To display the root domain name after the analysis title, append the following macro to the analysis title in the Name field.
%SUBREP_DOMAIN_n%
where n indicates the root domain level.

Note: This macro is valid only for the composite report. Therefore, it is not included in the list of macros that you can select for the analysis.
Save the changes and run the analysis.
Navigate to the report that includes the modified analysis.
Perform these steps to save the report again as a template:
1. Click Save as template.
2. Under Save as, select Overwrite template.
3. Click Save.
Navigate to the composite report and run it again.
Download the report and verify the changes.

Example: Report with complete domain path

Example: Report with partial domain path

Example: Report with root domain name after analysis

To create a report using the Report Cart

Select Workspace > Domains, Services & Applications > Domain > Works folder and select an Analysis or Model that you want to include in the report.
In the details page on the right, click Add to Report Cart.
Click the Report Cart icon at the top-right end of the screen.
The Report Cart page lists all the analyses and models that you added to the Report Cart to add to the new report.
Enter a name and description for the new report.
Select the domains in which the new report should be created.