SharePoint 2010 PerformancePoint Services : Creating Dashboards in the Browser

4/12/2011 6:11:05 PM

It is also possible to create and edit dashboards when viewing a SharePoint site in the browser. Although there is more flexibility available in terms of Web Parts available and the overall look and feel of pages, configuring connections for PPS Web Parts is not as intuitive.

Tip

If you want the ease of connecting PPS objects in Dashboard Designer along with the flexibility of modifying the look and feel of pages in the browser, consider deploying the initial dashboard in Dashboard Designer, and then edit the newly deployed dashboard in the browser.

Create a Dashboard Using PPS Objects

Follow these steps to create a new dashboard using existing PPS objects. These steps walk through creating a simple dashboard containing a filter and a scorecard. A tremendous amount of flexibility and customization is available. So, while going through the steps, take some time to explore the different options available when using Web Parts within SharePoint.

1.	In the Site Actions menu on the site you want to work with shown in Figure 1, select New Page. Figure 1. Select New Page the Site Actions menu.
2.	Enter a name for the new dashboard page and click OK.
3.	On the Insert tab, select Web Part.
4.	Find the PerformancePoint Filter Web Part in the selection UI shown in Figure 2, and then click the Add button. Doing so adds a blank, not-yet-configured Filter Web Part to the page. Figure 2. Find the PerformancePoint Filter Web Part in the selection UI.
5.	On the new PerformancePoint Filter Web Part that has been inserted, click the link labeled Click Here to Open in a New Tool Pane Link to open the Web Part Properties editing pane. Tip This link is available only when the Web Part is not configured. If you need to return to this pane, you can find it by clicking the Web Part Properties button on the Web Part Tools – Options tab.
6.	At the top of the Properties pane that appears on the right, you see a Location edit box. Click the Browse button to the right of this box.
7.	Select a PPS Filter object from the SharePoint object selector, and then click OK. Caution There is little to no error checking here, so it is possible to select something other than a filter. It is even possible to select the entire list by just clicking OK. Neither is a valid selection, and either will result in errors later on, so make sure you have the right filter actually selected before clicking OK.
8.	At this point, your screen should look like Figure 3. Click the OK button at the bottom of the tool pane on the right to apply the changes and dismiss the tool pane. Figure 3. From here, you can select to apply the changes and dismiss the tool pane.
9.	To insert the Scorecard Web Part, click the Web Part button under the Editing Tools – Insert tab, and then find the PPS Scorecard Web Part and click Add. Tip If the Editing Tools – Insert tab does not appear here, make sure your cursor selection is in the Page Content section of this page. If the Add button does not appear to work, make sure you have dismissed the filter’s Properties pane on the right by clicking the OK button at the bottom of it.
10.	Much like you did when configuring the filter, click the Click Here to Open the Tool Pane link and select the scorecard you want to add to the dashboard here. Dismiss the tool pane by clicking the OK button. The Web Parts should both render at this point, as shown in Figure 4. Figure 4. Select the scorecard you want to add to the dashboard here.
11.	Both Web Parts work independently, but changing the filter does not affect the values on the scorecard. Now we are going to create a connection between the Web Parts. While hovering over the Scorecard Web Part with your mouse, you see a down arrow appear in the upper-right corner of the Web Part. Select the down arrow, and then select Connections, Get PerformancePoint Values From, PerformancePoint Filter from the drop-down menu, as shown in Figure 5. Figure 5. You create a connection between the Web Parts from here.
12.	The Edit Connections dialog appears. Click the Add Connection button. Set the Source Value to Member Unique Name and set the Connect To the appropriate dimension or measure to filter. The dialog settings should appear the same as Figure 6. Click the OK button to confirm this connection. Figure 6. Create and modify filter connections between Web Parts from the Edit Connections dialog box.
13.	At this point, the Web Parts on this page are connected, and changing the filter should adjust values in the scorecard. Click the Check In button in the Page tab to commit your changes and make the page available for other users of the SharePoint site.