Quick BI:Basic concepts

Key workflow

Basic concepts

• Data source

• Datasets

• Workbook (available in Advanced Edition and Quick BI Enterprise Standard)

• Dashboards

• BI portals

Data source

Before you use Quick BI to analyze data, you must specify the data source of the raw data. A data source stores your raw data. You can add data sources by using one of the following methods:

• Add a data source from a database

• Upload a local file

For more information about how to create a data source, see Overview.

Datasets

You can create datasets by using tables from different data sources. You can edit, move, or delete a dataset in the dataset list.

For more information about datasets, see Overview.

Workbook

A workbook is available only in Advanced Edition and Quick BI Enterprise Standard. Excel-like online report designer, flexible and personalized report style configuration, fast total subtotal custom advanced calculation, support online, local diversified analysis mode, business personnel can also self-help "format complex, large amount of information" Chinese-style reports, can realize including but not limited to all kinds of business details, grouping reports, cross reports, main sub-reports, column reports, query reports, filling reports and other forms of production.

After you select a dataset, you can analyze the content of the dataset.

For more information about how to create a workbook, see Create a workbook.

Dashboards

Dashboards employ a dynamic tile layout. This layout allows you to create interactive reports. Dashboards support data filtering and data query, and adopt various charts to display data.

For more information about how to create a dashboard, see Overview.

BI portals

A BI portal is also known as a data product. You can use a BI portal to build an application such as a sales analysis system. A BI portal references analyzed data from Quick BI and supports external links.

See the BI portal overview for more BI portal.

Architecture

The following figure shows the architecture of Quick BI.

Main modules and related functions of the Quick BI:

• Data connection module

  Supports various cloud data sources, including but not limited to MaxCompute, RDS(MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQL Server), AnalyticDB, AnalyticDB for PostgreSQL, and HybridDB for MySQL, and encapsulates standard query interfaces for metadata and data of data sources.

• Data Modeling Module

  You can build multidimensional OLAP analysis models and define common semantics such as measures (such as business volume measures), dimensions (such as date-based dimensions), and star topological data models. You can transform models of data sources. You can use features such as calculated fields to reuse the SQL syntax of data sources. You can process dimensions and measures of a multi-dimensional analysis model to improve data modeling efficiency.

• Data visualization module

  • Workbook: allows you to perform operations on web excel files with ease. These operations include row filtering, column filtering, advanced filtering, subtotals, AutoSum, conditional formatting, data export, text processing, and table processing.

  • Dashboards: You can drag and drop chart controls into dashboards. Dashboards support more than 40 types of charts, such as line charts, pie charts, bar charts, funnel charts, geo bubble chart charts, colored map charts, and kanban charts. Dashboards support five basic controls: query conditions, TAB, IFRAME, PIC, and text boxes. Dashboards support data interaction between charts.

  • BI portal: allows you to drag and drop dashboards to build BI portals. BI portals support embedded links (linked dashboards) and basic settings of the template and the menu bar.

  • Share/Publish: allows you to share workbooks, dashboards, and BI portals with other logged-on users, and publish dashboards on the Internet for non-logged-on users to access.

• Permission management module

  • Organization permission management: allows you to manage permissions at the workspace and organization levels. This feature also supports role-based permissions in a workspace. You can authorize different users to view different reports.

  • Row-level permission management: allows you to control access to individual rows in a table. You can authorize users to view different parts of a report.