SSRS Reports are well integrated with the Microsoft stack.
OptimusBI provides SSRS report development services in Vancouver. We work with our clients to design, develop, document, and deliver reports using Microsoft technologies.
Lately we have noticed many of our clients are moving towards Microsoft’s platform. This is because it is well designed and works very well as an end-to-end solution.
Using the Microsoft Business Intelligence suite, report development projects can be broken down into the following four stages.
1. Requirements Gathering:
Requirements gathering can be completed either by the client or by Optimus. It’s a vital stage in the report development process as business analysts must work closely with business users/report owners to understand and document report requirements.
At Optimus, we use well designed (and heavily used!) report requirement templates. These documents translate the business needs into the technical specifications for the report.
Using the Microsoft stack, we often use SharePoint to house these documents so we can collaborate on them with our client’s team.
2. Report Design, Development, and Testing:
After requirements have been gathered, we’ll coordinate development efforts with our offshore team. This delivery model encourages flexibility, scalability, and efficiency. All reports are designed to specification and thoroughly tested to ensure data completeness, proper formatting, and portability.
Report design and development is primarily done using a combination of Report Builder and Report Designer.
3. Report Deployment:
When the development and testing is complete, Optimus will deploy the report to our clients for acceptance. At this stage, end users get to run the report and will often provide invaluable feedback.
On the front end, this is typically done using SharePoint which allows administrators to control security, scheduling, and placement.
On the back-end, reports run off of SSRS which can be connected to multiple database simultaneously enabling powerful reports. With our reports we deliver more than just the report file itself, we also deliver all data sets used for the reports. By sharing data sets, future reports can be quickly developed by combining pre-developed SQL queries.
4. Change Requests:
In the case of developing new reports, users will often request changes after reports have been deployed. Since we deliver complete documentation, it is very efficient for either the client’s team or our team to review the documentation and update the report.
These changes are all handled through the versioning functionality built into SharePoint.
For more information on OptimusBI, visit our dedicated business intelligence site at www.optimusbi.com.
