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Find Calculation Engine Changes in SAP BusinessObjects

In the past, we discussed the value of 360Bind in how to mitigate risks with automated regression testing360Bind is an automated regression testing tool that allows users to compare Webi, Crystal and Deski reports across different versions of SAP BusinessObjects.

Reports can be negatively impacted any time updates are made to your SAP BusinessObjects environments.  This includes applying Services Packs, Fix Packs and Major Releases. Many users discover that upgrading SAP Web Intelligence can cause data values in their reports to change from one version to the next.

This is often due to the dreaded Calculation Engine changes. Sometimes these changes are “by design”, other times they are due to bugs.

 

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Client Story

Now, we have a funny story to tell regarding an experience a customer had using 360Bind, the result of their testing was not something they had anticipated when using 360Bind.

This customer was upgrading from XI3.1 SP3 to BI4.1 SP6. They had 20K Deski reports, 90K Webi reports…there was a lot to test! The customer was overwhelmed with this amount of testing so they used 360Bind to compare their reports between the 2 versions.

The comparison tests were run and the tool uncovered issues with their reports. This led the customer to believe there was a problem with the 360Bind tool, not their reports. They contacted support at GB&Smith and asked for assistance.

We explained to the customer the tool was working properly and suggested they contact SAP.  Working with SAP, they discovered that XI 3.1 SP3 was miscalculating data when using “Count(If([…]))” in their reports. They had been relying on these reports and making decisions for the past 5 years based on incorrect data! The data were now correct in BI 4.1 SP6, which is the reason the tool found differences. 360Bind highlighted an issue with the previous version of the software, not with the new version, this was a surprising outcome of using the tool!

 

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Conclusion

This doesn’t change the fact that 360Bind still identified the differences and helped them discover that their end users made decisions based on wrong data for at least 5 years…

360Bind helps you pinpoint errors, whether they are in past or future releases. Find out more about 360Bind.

Request a Trial today from 360Suite!

Discover how our customers used and conquered with 360Suite here

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