Setting up the Alpine Ski House Sample App

 

PerformancePoint Planning CTP2 comes with a sample application which is a fictitious multinational corporation called Alpine Ski House.  In order to install the sample application you will need the following files which are available on the connect site:

 

• PPLSASHSampAppInst.chm (Install Guide)
• PPPSampleAppGde CTP2.doc  (Walkthrough of the application)
• PPS_Core_Questionnaire_Alpine_Ski_House.doc (Requirments gathering/Design doc) 
• PLSample.msi (Install/Config files)

 

I recommend reading through the PPLSASHSampAppInst.chm document before installing the sample application (PLSample.msi).   PLSample.msi does not fully install it.  It copies the necessary configuration files, database files and install scripts to:

%ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server\2007\Samples\Alpine Ski House

 

First, confirm that the DeploymentPaths.xml configuration file is set up properly.  This file provides the location of osql.exe and ppscmd.exe. The file is located at

%ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server\2007\Samples\Scripts

<DeploymentPaths>
<Parameter Name="OSQL" Type="Path">"%ProgramFiles%\Microsoft SQL Server\90\Tools\binn\osql.exe"</Parameter>
<Parameter Name="PPSCMD" Type="Alias">"%ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server\2007\BizModeler\PPSCmd.exe"</Parameter>
</DeploymentPaths>

 Next, set up the DeploymentConfig.xml which is located at:

%ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server\2007\Samples\Alpine Ski House

 Below is an example of the DeploymentConfig.xml.  This config file is for a standalone install of PerformancePoint server.  It could be used for a test or dev server.  PerformancePoint Planning, SQL Server 2005 and the file shares are all on the same server. I also used the same user over and over again for the different roles.  To make the sample application more realistic it would be a good idea to have more than one user on in the system.

DeploymentConfig>
<!-- Replace each instruction below with the information requested for each parameter. For information on how to use this file to install the Alpine Ski House sample application, refer to the Alpine Ski House Sample Application for Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server 2007 document. -->
<!-- Servers and Services -->
<Parameter Name="DataSourceServer" Type="Server">whistler</Parameter>
<Parameter Name="DatasourceServerDataPath" Type="Uri">C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL.1\MSSQL\Data</Parameter>
<Parameter Name="ReferenceDatabaseServer" Type="Server">whistler</Parameter>
<Parameter Name="AnalysisServicesServer" Type="Server">whistler</Parameter>
<Parameter Name="PerformancePointWebService" Type="Uri">http://localhost:46787</Parameter>
<!-- Storage Locations -->
<Parameter Name="FormTemplatesLocation" Type="Uri">\\whistler\Workflow\FormTemplates</Parameter>
<Parameter Name="ReportsLocation" Type="Uri">\\whistler\Workflow\Reports</Parameter>
<Parameter Name="AssignmentFormsLocation" Type="Uri">\\whistler\Workflow\FormAssignments</Parameter>
<Parameter Name="AssignmentMasterFormsLocation" Type="Uri">\\whistler\Workflow\FormMasterAssignments</Parameter>
<!-- Users -->
<Parameter Name="SystemAccount" Type="Account">WHISTLER\ppsplanning</Parameter>
<Parameter Name="SeniorAccountantAccount" Type="Account">WHISTLER\Administrator</Parameter>
<Parameter Name="SeniorAccountantAccountEmail" Type="Email">admin@whistler.com</Parameter>
<Parameter Name="BackOfficeAccount" Type="Account">WHISTLER\Administrator</Parameter>
<Parameter Name="BackOfficeAccountEmail" Type="Email">admin@whistler.com</Parameter>
<Parameter Name="SeniorAnalystAccount" Type="Account">WHISTLER\Administrator</Parameter>
<Parameter Name="SeniorAnalystAccountEmail" Type="Email">admin@whistler.com</Parameter>
<Parameter Name="CFOAccount" Type="Account">WHISTLER\Administrator</Parameter>
<Parameter Name="CFOAccountEmail" Type="Email">admin@whistler.com</Parameter>
<Parameter Name="HRManagerAccount" Type="Account">WHISTLER\Administrator</Parameter>
<Parameter Name="HRManagerAccountEmail" Type="Email">admin@whistler.com</Parameter>
<Parameter Name="ResortManagerAccount" Type="Account">WHISTLER\Administrator</Parameter>
<Parameter Name="ResortManagerAccountEmail" Type="Email">admin@whistler.com</Parameter>
<Parameter Name="ControllerAccount" Type="Account">WHISTLER\Administrator</Parameter>
<Parameter Name="ControllerAccountEmail" Type="Email">admin@whistler.com</Parameter>
</DeploymentConfig>

 Once the config files are setup the application can be installed.   Simply goto the command line and goto:

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server\2007\Samples\Alpine Ski House

Type install and sit back while the install scripts run 

 

 

Troy

 

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Microsoft Webcast: Performance Management 101

 

Below is a link to a fairly recent web cast released in February 2007 from Microsoft.  The webcast focuses more on "What is Performance Management?" rather than PerformancePoint 2007 Server.  However it does discuss how the components of PerformancePoint Server 2007 fit into Performance Management process and provides screen shots of the different products (monitoring, analytics, planning) .  The audience is geared towards IT Professionals. Overall it is a good high level introduction to Performance Management and PerformancePoint Server 2007:

http://msevents.microsoft.com/cui/WebCastEventDetails.aspx?culture=en-US&EventID=1032323902&CountryCode=US

 

Troy

 

 

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Introducing the Business Modeler

 

The Business Modeler is the main tool used to create and manage business models for PerformancePoint Planning Applications.  Models are how data stored in the Planning Server.  In fact each model that is created and then deployed in the Business Modeler becomes an Analysis Services cube.   Since the Business Modeler was designed for business users , an IT understanding how the model is implemented is not crucial for using it.

Below are some  screen shots of the Business Modeler (click the image for a better view) :

 

•  Site Summary provides a summary of all the objects in the Application for a specific site.

 

• Dimensions are the building blocks of Planning Applications.
• PerformancePoint Planning comes with a set of Pre-Defined dimensions like Time, Account, Entity and BusinessProcess
• Each Dimension consists of members and member sets

• Once the Dimensions have be configured you can start building the Models
• As mentioned above, the models are the unit of data storage for Planning Applications
• Models also contain business rules which are used for tasks like seeding data, allocations and  copying data between models

This is a quick introduction to the Business Modeler.   This tools requires both business and technical skills to use.  For more information about the Business Modeler see the PerformancePoint Planning Business Modeler Help documentation that comes with CTP2.

Troy

 

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Installing PerformancePoint Planning CTP2 - Standalone

Performance Point Planning Server can be setup on as a standalone server or single virtual machine for testing and development.  In the last 8 months I have been involved in presenting demos and a couple of POC's (Proof of Concept).  I run a full version on my laptop (DELL Latitude D620, 2GHz, 2GB RAM, Windows XP SP2) using a single virtual machine that runs on Virtual Server 2005 R2. 

Although a standalone install is not recommended for a production environment (by standalone I mean installing all the software on one box including the client components and pre-requisites), it is ok for testing out the product or development (with small amounts of data).  Before you install PerformancePoint Server and the client components on one server the following software must be installed:

•  Windows Server 2003 SP1 (Standard)
•  Windows Installer 3.1 
•  Microsoft .NET 2.0 
•  IIS 6.0
•  Microsoft ASP.NET 2.0
•  SQL Server 2005 SP2 (Standard)

Next, PerformancePoint server Identity account is setup.  This is a regular user account (e.g. ppsplanning) and must be setup before installing the  PerformancePoint Planning service .   Now install the following PerformancePoint software:

• PerformancePoint Planning Server (PPLSrv.msi)
• PerformancePoint Planning Business Modeler (PBMCLi.msi)
• PerformancePoint Planning Excel Add-in (PPXLCi.msi)

I also recommend installing the following software on the same box:

• Microsoft Office 2007 (at least Excel & Word)
• SQL Server Management Studio
• Business Intelligence Development Studio

This configuration works well for a single virtual machine and the server does not have to be part of a DOMAIN it can be a WOKRGROUP. 

You must have access to the Microsoft Connect site and be part of the PerformancePoint Server 2007 CTP2 program to download the software and documentation.  This is just an overview of what is required to get up and running with the Planning software.  For a more detailed explanation you should reference the PerformancePoint Server 2007 Deployment Guide which is also available for download on the Connect Site. 

Troy Scott, CMA

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