Analyzing and Leveraging Reports

Reports in SAP Field Service Management are based on 2 distinct underlying technologies.

Report Templates are made either with Jaspersoft Studio, which is an open-source 3^rd-party software, or a 3^rd-party HTML/Javascript code editor of your choice.

The actual usage of these software tools to create Report Templates requires specialized knowledge which falls outside the scope of this training.

Even so, it is important to realize that each of the 2 technologies comes with its own unique possibilities and limitations. In this concept, we highlight these differences and what that means for your FSM solution.

Please note that the creation of report templates is not being discussed in this module. This represents an advanced topic and requires the use of 3^rd-party software (JasperSoft and/or an HTML/Javascript code editor). As such it falls outside the scope of this training.

Templates based on Jaspersoft are mainly used to create online reports. Online means that the report output is generated by the FSM cloud, based on data within the FSM cloud database of the company. Being online, the report can use all data that is available on the cloud database.

Some embedded Jaspersoft templates can also be used offline. This applies only to a few templates which the mobile apps have been specifically programmed for to process. In this case, the template can access the entire local database, but not the online cloud database.

Offline Jaspersoft reports depend on embedded logic in the mobile apps in order to be generated. This embedded logic is designed only to handle the default offline Jaspersoft report templates.​Therefore, these templates cannot be customized at all, and there is also no way to add new ones. In general, embedded templates can’t be modified or deleted by users. They can, however, be deactivated. ​​For customized offline reports, HTML templates can be used.

HTML reports are mainly intended for offline use. Offline means that the report output is generated by a mobile application, based on data that is available in the local database. The source data for HTML reports is an extract from the local database. It contains data that is relevant in the context of a smartform instance or in the context of a service call (including linked activities, smartforms linked to those activities, and several other linked objects). Being only an extract from the local database, this means that not all local data is available to an HTML report.

HTML reports can also be generated by, or in, the FSM cloud. Also in this case however, the source data is limited to the data extract for a smartform instance or the context of a service call.

Jaspersoft Studio is a free and open-source 3rd party software tool to develop report templates. In order to work with data and data structures within SAP Field Service Management, it requires a plugin called SAP Report Designer. This plugin can be downloaded form the SAP Help pages.

Historically, Jaspersoft Studio was the first and initial solution for the generation of reports in Field Service Management. Due to the ability to access all data in an FSM company, Jaspersoft remains an important part of the overall reporting capabilities within SAP Field Service Management.

Jaspersoft reports can be configured to produce output files in various formats, including PDF, XLSX, and DOCX.

With regards to Jaspersoft reports, there is a hard limit for reports of 5 minutes or 1000 pages. Any report that exceeds one of these limits cannot be retrieved from any of our applications.

The high-level process to get create and use a Jaspersoft template is as follows:

1. Install Jaspersoft Studio
2. Install the Report Designer plugin
3. Create a New Data Adapter
4. Create a new project and then a new report template
5. Define the data query. CoreSQL / Query API can be used to return relevant data.
6. Create fields and parameters to map source data to your report template
7. Upload the report template to SAP Field Service Management to publish it
8. you're now ready to create a custom report, based on the published report template

HTML-based reporting enables you to design report templates for service reports and smartforms, using HTML and Javascript. The resulting templates across the three mobile applications, as well as by the FSM Cloud.

To build the report templates, you can use any coding/development tool that supports HTML and Javascript. Please note that creating optimized layouts for HTML Reports will generally require a developer experienced in mobile web design or similar.

The source data for an HTML report is compiled at the time of report generation and made available to the HTML report engine in the form of a JSON file. The data extract includes the most commonly-used fields and related objects for the given context (either service call / activity reports, or smartform reports). The data extract for service calls/activities roughly includes data from the service call, from activities linked to the service call, and smartforms linked to the activities. The data extract for a smartform report includes, roughly speaking, data from that smartform only, and from the parent activity.

FSM does not include every possible field in the data extract because it would impact the performance of the reporting. Similarly, if the source data contains complex smartforms with many visibility conditions, attachments, calculations, and so on, this will cause an exponential decrease in performance.

If the HTML report is used for checkout in a service workflow, the workflow has to be set up to include a workflow step of the type "Report". If however a Jaspersoft is to be included for checkout, the workflow has to include a step of the type "Checkout". You cannot use the checkout workflow step and the report workflow step in the same service workflow, as these steps conflict with each other and will cause a logic loop on the devices.

The high-level process to get create and use an HTML template is as follows:

1. Use an HTML/code editor of your choice.
2. Download a sample/demo report template from the SAP Help pages.
3. Download a sample JSON data file from SAP's Help pages or generate one from a mobile client.
4. Adapt the sample/demo report according to your requirements. This can be done by using Javascript in the HTML file to map the source data file to the report template. Use HTML to format the output.
5. Save the zip file containing the HTML template and any translation files or images to be used in the report.
6. Upload the zip file with the HTML report template in the admin console under Admin → Reports → Report Templates → create new template. Select the report type "HTML" and the object(s) for which the report should be available.
7. You're now ready to create a custom HTML report, based on the published report template.

As with Jaspersoft reports, the FSM mobile applications can generate the HTML reports and present them to the user, with the option to sign directly on the report itself. Finalized HTML reports are converted to a PDF document and attached to the service checkout or to the associated activity. Take note that HTML reports can only be saved as PDF files.

On mobile clients, the following limitations apply for HTML reports:

• Maximum report size is 50 pages. If the report is larger than 50 pages it will be truncated to 50 pages.
• Maximum render time to generate a report is 40 seconds. If the PDF rendering exceeds 40 seconds then the action will result in a failure.
• Maximum size of generated data.js file is 30 MB. If the generated data.js file exceeds 30MB then the action will result in an error

HTML Report generation can also be triggered via a Business Rule. The data available for cloud-generated HTML reports will be the same as for mobile clients, that is, it won't be possible to access all data in the company. The resulting PDF file can be optionally saved as in the FSM cloud or sent as an attachment to an email.

Challenge Yourself: Putting Your Knowledge to the Test

In this lesson, you'll have the opportunity to apply the concepts and knowledge you've gained throughout the unit. We've designed an engaging Challenge Question that will put your critical thinking skills to work. Take a moment to reflect on what you've learned, and then use that understanding to craft your own unique solution to the question at hand.

To make the most of this exercise, we encourage you to write down your answer on a separate piece of paper. This will help you organize your thoughts and measure your learning progress. Once you've completed your answer, compare it to the expert response provided. This will give you valuable insight into how well you've grasped the material and where you might need to focus your attention for further growth.

Remember, this is an opportunity to apply your understanding in a practical way, so don't hesitate to think creatively and explore different approaches. Your active participation in this lesson will reinforce your learning and prepare you for success in the real world.

Let's imagine that you are an SAP consultant working with SereneTech Corporation. SereneTech has begun using SAP Field Service Management (FSM). However, they're facing difficulties in specifically generating meaningful reports from its vast service operations and performing data-driven analysis.

They need to create a report that shows all high-priority service calls but also need the ability to generate a visualization that shows the frequency of these high-priority service calls over the past six months. They are struggling with CoreSQL and navigating through the system's entities. Your task is to aid them in creating the necessary query and dashboard visualization.

What steps would you take to resolve SereneTech's challenge effectively?

To assist SereneTech, the first task would be to create a CoreSQL query for the required report. The aim is to pull all high-priority service calls. You would go to Analytics and Reporting → Queries and create a new query. Your query might look something like this:

```CoreSQL

SELECT sc.code, sc.subject

FROM ServiceCall sc

WHERE sc.priority = 'HIGH'

```

This query would pull the service call code and subject from all high-priority service calls.

To generate a visualization, you would make use of the Analytics Dashboard feature. Head to Analytics and Reporting → Dashboards to create a new chart.

For creating charts using pre-built queries, you'd need data from a query that returns the occurrence of high-priority service calls over the past six months. So, you'll write a CoreSQL statement to achieve this:

```CoreSQL

SELECT COUNT(*), DATE_PART('month', sc.createDateTime )

FROM ServiceCall sc

WHERE sc.priority = 'HIGH' AND sc.createDateTime > NOW() - INTERVAL '6 months'

GROUP BY DATE_PART('month', sc.createDateTime );

```

Using this query in the advanced settings section, choose 'column' as the chart type for a bar graph representation.

Here is a recap of the key elements of each lesson:

Lesson One focused on creating complex queries on the SAP Field Service Management (FSM) Cloud Database. Understanding how to use CoreSQL for these queries is crucial because this allows you to manipulate and extract data from the FSM database. Queries allow you to save and share data lists, providing easy access to needed data. The FSM cloud database uses Data Transfer Objects (DTOs) to structure the data, making understanding the interrelation between different DTOs important for linking data.

Lesson Two highlighted the construction of personalized analytics dashboards using pre-built queries. By utilizing these dashboards, consultants can better visualize data and information, making strategic decision making for clients easier. The lesson also emphasized how understanding the FSM system’s capability of rendering different chart types can enhance the visual appeal of their data analysis. In being able to modify or input their own SQL query, consultants can create more customized charts that cater directly to their or their clients' needs.

Lesson Three underscored the generation of detailed, customized reports using the SAP Mobile Field Service application's reporting functionality. The lesson went in-depth on how to use and optimize FSM's robust reporting functionalities by understanding key features such as automatic and manual report generation, the use of report templates, and the inherent limitations of these reports. It identified these elements as essential for efficient data capture, organization, and distribution, which in turn enhances operational transparency and decision making within the client's organization.