HP IT Analytics Release Notes

for the Windows® operating system

Software version: 2.00

Publication date: 1 July 2009

This document is an overview of the changes made to HP IT Analytics (ITA). It contains important information that is not included in books or Help. You can find information about the following in this document:

What's New in This Release?
Installation Notes
Known Problems, Limitations, and Workarounds
Documentation Updates
Documentation Errata
Accessibility Support
Local Language Support
Integration with Other HP Software Products
Support
Legal Notices

Hidden Text

To simplify navigation, individual enhancement and defect descriptions are hidden until you click the link to expand the collapsed text.

Hidden text example

This text was hidden. Now it is visible. Click the link to hide the text.

Hidden text does not print. To print this document, you can expand selected links before you print or click the Show All button to expand all links. If you use Assistive Technology Tools, activate the Show All button to display all text.

What's New in This Release?

IT Analytics 2.00 introduces HP Financial Planning & Analysis (FPA). The key features provide your IT stakeholders with actionable cost information that supports effective cost containment and effective IT investment decisions:

IT cost consolidation: FPA allows your organization to consolidate planned and actual costs in a single system. It gives IT the big picture as well as the detail it needs to more effectively manage budget performance.
IT cost allocation: With the FPA allocation engine, IT can distribute cost across multiple cost models giving it the ability to analyze budget performance from many angles.
Allocation scenarios: You can create multiple “what-if” allocation scenarios and use the results to compare budget versions against actual costs and budget objectives.
IT cost dashboard: The FPA IT Cost Dashboard lets your IT executives view planned versus actual performance for IT overall, by customer, by IT organization, by service, by program, and by project. Your IT executives may also see the areas with the highest variance to help them focus their management attention.
Cost explorer: The FPA Cost Explorer allows your IT finance and cost analysts to systematically explore cost variance by organization, business service, application, program, project, cost center, and cost category, as well as other dimensions. By slicing and filtering data across multiple dimensions, analysts can gain new insight into what is driving costs, where the largest variance to plan is taking place, and why the variance might be happening.
IT cost analytics: Through Web Intelligence analytics, users can see daily updates on planned versus actual performance. Users can modify the out-of-box analytics as necessary to support the specific cost analysis needs of their organization. Users can also perform ad hoc analysis of cost data to answer less common questions while knowing that the data they are seeing is consistent across all users.
Integration with HP Asset Manager (AM) software and HP Project and Portfolio Management (PPM) Center software: Out-of-box integrations with AM and PPM Center make gathering cost data more efficient. Integration processes keep the data current.

Installation Notes

Installation requirements, as well as instructions for installing IT Analytics, are documented in the IT Analytics Installation and Configuration Guide provided in PDF (.pdf) format. You can find the guide on the product installation media at this location:

\Documentation\ITA_2.00_Installation_and_Configuration_Guide.pdf

After installation the document can be found in the Documentation directory of the IT Analytics application.

Support Matrix

You can find the Support Matrix for this product that lists all software and hardware requirements at this location: HP Support matrices.

Note: Most of the support areas require that you register as an HP Passport user and sign in. Many also require an active support contract. To find more information about support access levels, go to: Access levels.

To register for an HP Passport ID, go to: HP Passport Registration

.

Known Problems, Limitations, and Workarounds

HP makes hotfix and fix pack releases available to address defects and other software problems. Contact HP Support for the available post-release fix packs that you should apply before you implement a production environment. For more information, visit the HP Support web site at: HP Software Support Online.

This release contains certain unresolved problems and limitations, identified by a tracking number. Workarounds can help you solve some problems. To display details about each known problem, click the tracking number. To hide details, click again.

You can view known problems by these areas:

Installation and Configuration
SAP® BusinessObjects
Data Warehouse and ETL
Financial Planning & Analysis

Installation and Configuration

93024: BusinessObjects Enterprise Fix Pack 1.2 installation fails when the winserver2003 patch is not installed.

Problem:	If the winserver 2003 patch is not installed on the SAP® BusinessObjects server, BOE Fix Pack 1.2 installation fails even though the configuration tool indicates that the installation is successful.
Workaround:	SAP® BusinessObjects Enterprise Fix Pack 1.2 requires the winserver2003 patch to be installed. You can obtain it from the Microsoft web site: Update for Windows Server 2003 (KB925336)

93025: The Configuration Tool does not detect that the JAVA_HOME environment variable is missing.

Problem:	The Configuration Tool does not verify that the JAVA_HOME environment variable is configured.
Workaround:	Verify that the JAVA_HOME environment is configured on the system.

93074: The Configuration Tool does not detect when the Data Services repository is not created.

Problem:	If you do not specify the correct full server name of the Data Services repository, the Data Services installation fails. The Configuration Tool does not always detect this. The repository cannot be created when the Data Services installation fails and the Designer cannot be started.
Workaround:	Manually create the repository. From the Windows Start menu, click Programs > BusinessObjects Data Services > Data Services Repository Manager. Enter the database server name, database name, user name, and password for the Data Services repository. Click Create.

SAP® BusinessObjects

60253: Audit measures in Source Extract and Extract tables are double the expected value.

Problem:	The number of rows detected in SourceExtract and Ext is twice the number of consolidated and Dim rows. This is a known issue with BusinessObjects Data Services (BODS) XI 3.1, v12.1.1.0, reference 490259 2009.
Workaround:	None. SAP® Support is working to resolve this issue.

91034: The BusinessObjects wizard does not complete the installation.

Problem:	The SAP® BusinessObjects Enterprise (BOE) wizard stops running and displays a pop-up error message when not installed in default directories. This is a known issue with BOE, reference 375044 2009.
Workaround:	Install BOE in the default directory (C:\Program Files\Business Objects\) or select an installation directory where the length of the path is less than 45 characters.

91039: The Data Services job remains in the STARTING state.

Problem:	When using SAP® BusinessObjects Data Services (BODS) to start jobs through the Web Service, the message incorrectly shows that the job is starting even though errors cause the job not to start. The BODS management console shows that the run failed due to job validation errors. This is a known issue with BODS XI 3.1, reference 378600 2009.
Workaround:	Go to the Data Service management console for detailed job messages.

93043: Xcelsius-QaaWS Ranking with Filter does not give correct results.

Problem:	When a Filter is added to the Ranking in a QaaWS query, the Xcelsius results differ from the QaaWS preview results. This is a known issue with BusinessObjects Enterprise (BOE) XI 3.1, reference 428584 2009.
Workaround:	Sort the query on the measure value descending and show only the first 10 rows (Top 10) in the Xcelsius report.

93103: An error message appears when toggling between tabs in the dashboard.

Problem:	An intermittent error message appears when you toggle between tabs in the dashboard: Dashboard Builder has encountered a problem and cannot complete the requested action. This is a known issue with BusinessObjects Enterprise (BOE) XI 3.1, reference 487363 2009.
Workaround:	None. SAP® Support is working to resolve this issue.

Data Warehouse and ETL

91701: The upstream.xml file contains Service Manager job stream steps.

Problem:	The Service Manager job stream steps in the upstream.xml file are placeholders for an additional data source.
Workaround:	The Audit, Balance, and Control (ABC) engine ignores these data source references in the upstream.xml file if they are not configured as real data sources.

92817: The dw_abc_job_launcher references the wrong log file.

Problem:	The dw_abc_job_launcher incorrectly references dw_abc_joblauncher.log instead of dw_abc.log.
Workaround:	See dw_abc.log instead of dw_abcjoblauncher.log.

93275: PPM_PROJECT_SSI warning message appears during initial sync.

Problem:	Initial sync produces a PPM_PROJECT_SSI warning message for the <SQLFetchScroll(rowStsArray[])> operation.
Workaround:	None. The message does not affect ETL processing.

93379: The Admin Physical reports display incorrect status for some KEY_LOOKUP tables.

Problem:	The CONTRACT_KEY_LOOKUP and COSTCENTER_KEY_LOOKUP tables display an incorrect status in the Physical Admin report. The report indicates that there is a problem with these tables even though no problem exists.
Workaround:	None. This only occurs if you install the Core module and not FPA. Ignore the status.

93433: Log files are deleted from the abc_scripts directory when the maximum number of files is exceeded.

Problem:	The maximum number of log files per executable is 10. For example, if the executable catalog contains 5 scripts, the log\abc_scripts directory will have a maximum of 50 log files. When the maximum is reached, the newest log files overwrite the oldest ones.
Workaround:	To retain all the log files, back up all log files to an external location.

93528: The consolidation process may create a warning message when ETL is running.

Problem:	The MS_CON process creates a warning message when ETL is running that the number of consolidated records is lower than the number of multiple source identity (MSI) records. It is a status message that does not impede the process.
Workaround:	None. The warning message does not affect ETL processing.

93891: The BusinessObjects Data Services management console does not have any ETL jobs.

Problem:	When the Data Services (DS) database name has more than 12 characters, no ETL jobs are created in the DS management console under Web Services. This causes SQL truncation errors during the DS installation. When the Configuration Tool installs the DS Server Manager, the job server configuration is not created.
Workaround:	Ensure that the Data Services database name contains no more than 12 characters.

94133: The currency conversion process uses the first day of the period to populate actual costs from Asset Management data.

Problem:	The exchange rate used to convert actual cost data from Asset Manager uses the first day of the period associated with the expense, rather than the specific incurred date.
Workaround:	Contact HP Software Support for an updated solution.

94185: A lookup query finds the wrong dimension parent record.

Problem:	The lookup table locates the Person dimension instead of the Location dimension for location dimension parent attribute population.
Workaround:	Contact HP Software Support for an updated solution.

94188, 94189: Hierarchy tables are not populated correctly when there are consolidation changes.

Problem:	When dimension tables have slowly change dimension type two updates, hierarchy tables are not updated correctly to link the latest active parent record. These dimension tables are location, model, org, person, project, contract and costcenter.
Workaround:	Contact HP Software Support for an updated solution.

94230: The Core content pack dwt_static_creation_objects.sql is incorrect.

Problem:	The core script has an incorrect statement for XREF_LIFECYC_MGMT setup, which breaks the actual cost XREF ETL process.
Workaround:	Contact HP Software Support for an updated solution.

94231: The ETL process truncates the decimal portion of actual and planned costs.

Problem:	The ETL process removes the decimal (or cents) portion of data, rounding down to the nearest whole number. For example, if the original actual value is 700.82, the value populated in the actual cost fact table is 700 and the ETL process truncates .82.
Workaround:	Contact HP Software Support for an updated solution.

94289: The ETL process discards configuration items from Asset Manager due to duplicate key violation.

Problem:	Portfolio items that contain multiple assets are being included in the extraction from the data source when they should be filtered out.
Workaround:	Contact HP Software Support for an updated solution.

Financial Planning & Analysis

93197: Duplicate values may appear in the Name column for multiple rows in a dimension.

Problem:	You may get the same value in the Name column for multiple rows in a dimension, making it difficult to select the right value. This happens when the field size of the source data is greater than the field size of the schema.
Workaround:	Do one of the following customization options: Use the SAP® BusinessObjects Data Integrator Designer tool to change the ETL mappings to populate data into the _ALT field. Change the schema by increasing the field size to match your data source schema.

93198: Cost Target checked selections intermittently become unselected when the data tables span multiple pages.

Problem:	When there are a large number of target records, the user-selected target items intermittently become unselected when navigating through multiple pages.
Workaround:	When selecting targets from multiple pages, move the selected items with the >> arrows and save the allocation rule before navigating to another page.

93352: The connection to FPA Dashboard occasionally fails.

Problem:	This is related to tracking number 93103. It is a known issue with BusinessObjects Enterprise (BOE) XI 3.1, reference 487363 2009.
Workaround:	Log off IT Analytics, close the browser, and relog on.

93380: FPA Dashboard and Analytics context sensitive help is disabled.

Problem:

The SAP® Business Objects interface does not allow users access to the IT Analytics Help system.

Workaround:

Prior to working with the dashboard and analytics, download the IT Analytics Applications User Guide, which is a compilation of all the information in online help. It has a Table of Contents with links to listed subjects. The most current version of this document is available on the product manuals web site at: HP Software Product Manuals. This site requires that you register as an HP Passport user and sign in. To register for an HP Passport ID, go to: HP Passport Registration.

93385: The navigation link for the Allocation Scenario sometimes fails.

Problem:	The breadcrumb that links to the Allocation Scenario from the Allocation Stage and Allocation Rules details page does not always link to the scenario.
Workaround:	Use the left menu navigation tree to return to the Allocation Scenario.

93460: The dashboard does not show the full chart when records have long names.

Problem:

Records exceeding 25 characters obscure chart viewing. The name appears in the report but there is not enough room to view the data.

Workaround:

Customize the report names to have less than 25 characters:

Using Xcelsius Client to open the Xcelsius report, go to the last tab on the embedded Excel sheet.
For example, to limit the number of characters on the Project name of the Cost by Project report, open the Cost by Project Xcelsius source file using Xcelsius Client and go to the Project tab.
Identify the appropriate columns to truncate and change the Function on the columns to LEFT(CELL,25).
For example, using the report in the previous step, change the formula on cell L11 from:
IF(Connection!L11=0,"",Connection!L11)
to
IF(Connection!L11=0,"",LEFT(Connection!L11,25))
Export the report to the BOE repository.
1. Go to File > Export > Business Objects Platform.
2. Enter Server name, User name, and Password.
3. Select the folder to publish the customized report.

93493: The dashboard heat map does not differentiate colors when multiple values have the same percent of variance.

Problem:	It is difficult to view region borders on the dashboard heat map when dimension values have the same percent of variance. The heat map appears to be a block of a single color.
Workaround:	Use the cursor to hover the block to determine its size.

93839: Cost Explorer becomes unresponsive when trying to update a view.

Problem:	When selecting dimensions with a large set of records, the Cost Explorer may become unresponsive.
Workaround:	Use the filter tab to limit the number of records to select.

93845: The Fiscal Period.Parent property causes an error when creating an allocation rule.

Problem:	A java exception error message appears when you try to create a rule using the Fiscal Period.Parent property.
Workaround:	Do not use the FiscalPeriod.Parent property when creating allocation rules.

93890: Service Monthly Plan vs Actual on the FPA Dashboard sorts months alphabetically.

Problem:

The months on the Service Monthly Plan vs Actual sort alphabetically instead of chronologically.

Workaround:

Modify the QaaWS FPA_Busservice_RollingMonth query to add sort to the Qualified Fiscal Period field.

From the Windows Start menu, click Programs > BusinessObjects XI 3.1 > Query As A Web Service.
Enter the Host, System, User, and Password credentials and click OK.
Right-click FPA_Busservice _RollingMonth and select Edit.
Click Next twice.
From Result Objects, right-click Qualified Fiscal Period.
Click Add Sort.
Click Next.
From the Answer prompts dialog box, enter a value for each option:
1. Select Select a Language, type any alphanumeric value, and click the greater than (>) symbol.
2. Select Enter Start Period Ago, type any numeric value, and click the greater than (>) symbol.
3. Select Enter End Period Ago, type any numeric value, and click the greater than (>) symbol.
4. Select Enter Years Ago, type any numeric value, and click the greater than (>) symbol.
5. Select Enter Business Service Name, type any alphanumeric value, and click the greater than (>) symbol.
Click OK.
Click Publish.

93981: Cost Explorer cannot generate a chart when the source data has “unknown” or “invalid” values for the dimension chosen for the x-axis.

Problem:	The “unknown” and “invalid” values (case insensitive) are reserved words for the Cost Explorer out-of-box solution and cannot be used in the source data Name field.
Workaround:	Ensure that your source data does not have “unknown” or “invalid” values in the Name field or list_value field in dimensions.

94039: The stage coverage bar may show more costs than the scenario considers.

Problem:

The number at the top of the coverage bar is not correct in all cases. It may show a number that is higher than the amount your stage can allocate.

Workaround:

Check the Process new data check box on the Allocation Scenario details page. This ensures that new data is always considered, and the number at the top of the coverage bar will be correct. Alternatively, if you do not want to process new data as it arrives, you can determine the number that should be at the top of the stage coverage bar by selecting the Pass remaining costs to the next stage check box on the Stage details page, and manually totaling the values in the Amount allocated column of the rule table.

Documentation Updates

The first page of this release notes document contains the following identifying information:

Version number, which indicates the software version.
Publish date, which changes each time the document is updated.

To check for recent updates or to verify that you are using the most recent edition, visit this URL: HP Software Product Manuals

To retrieve a document, select the:

Product name.
Product version.
Operating system.
Optional. Enter keyword(s) or phrases.
Click Search.

You must have Adobe Reader installed to view files in PDF format (*.pdf). To download Adobe Reader, go to the Adobe web site.

Documentation Errata

The following documentation item is incomplete.

Allocation Scenario

LOCATION:	Topic in online help, "How do I add an allocation scenario?"
OPTION:	Select Process new data to enable the allocation engine to recalculate the costs whenever new data arrives.
CLARIFICATION:	If you set the Process new data check box on the Allocation Scenario details page after running the ETL process and you want those costs to be processed immediately, do one of the following actions: Modify the Allocation Scenario to alert the allocation engine to start. For example, change a rule in some minor way. Start the engine with a manual call to the wakeup servlet in another browser session. For example, http://<servername>:8080/ITAnalytics/wakeUpEngine Wait until the next ETL process uploads data, thus alerting the allocation engine to start.

IT Analytics Accessibility Support

Hewlett-Packard is committed to providing products and services, including enterprise software products that are accessible to users with disabilities. As part of that commitment, HP uses the Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) to describe the conformance of our products to Section 508 standards, and help Federal Agencies comply with Section 508.

We are continuing to develop the HP BTO Software suite for usability, functionality, compatibility with third-party assistive technology software and conformance with international accessibility standards as well as Section 508.

Although Hewlett-Packard is committed to delivering products that are accessible and conform to Section 508 standards, HP will take all practical steps to ensure that future releases conform to Section 508 standards. Conformance to Section 508 standards by HP IT Analytics is also dependent upon a third-party technology that today does not conform in some areas. Hewlett-Packard is working with our third-party vendor and internal development to resolve currently identified conformance issues.

For more information, see www.hp.com/accessibility.

Accessible Documentation

You can request accessible electronic manuals for this product at: HP Software Product Manuals

Select your search criteria for the product and click Search.
Click Provide feedback on these search results near the bottom of the page.
Specify the product name, product version, operating system, and document names, and indicate that you would like to obtain them in fully accessible form.
Click Send Feedback.

Configuring HP IT Analytics Accessibility

Browser options in Microsoft Internet Explorer enable you to increase your viewing experience.

To activate accessibility support, perform the following actions:

From Internet Explorer, click Tools > Internet Options.
On the General tab, click Accessibility.
Select your formatting preferences and click OK.

To change the text size:

From Internet Explorer, click View > Text Size.
Select your text size preference.

Localization Support

Localization adapts the IT Analytics application software for your region or your country by translating all visible text into a local language.

HP currently supplies IT Analytics localized software and documentation for English.

HP Software Product Integration

IT Analytics integrates with these HP Software products:

Asset Manager
Project and Portfolio Management

HP Software Support

This web site provides contact information and details about the products, services, and support that HP Software offers. For more information, visit the HP Support web site at: HP Software Support Online.

HP Software support provides customer self-solve capabilities. It provides a fast and efficient way to access interactive technical support tools needed to manage your business. As a valued support customer, you can benefit by being able to:

Search for knowledge documents of interest
Submit and track progress on support cases
Submit enhancement requests online
Download software patches
Manage a support contract
Look up HP support contacts
Review information about available services
Enter discussions with other software customers
Research and register for software training

To access the Self-solve knowledge base, visit the Self-solve knowledge search home page.

To register for an HP Passport ID, go to: HP Passport Registration.

Legal Notices

Confidential computer software. Valid license from HP required for possession, use or copying. Consistent with FAR 12.211 and 12.212, Commercial Computer Software, Computer Software Documentation, and Technical Data for Commercial Items are licensed to the U.S. Government under vendor's standard commercial license.

The only warranties for HP products and services are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty. HP shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein.

The information contained herein is subject to change without notice.

For information about third-party license agreements, see the \Licenses directory on the product installation media.

To view open source code, see the \Licenses directory on the product installation media.

Trademark Notices

Adobe® is a trademark of Adobe Systems Incorporated.
Microsoft® and Windows® are U.S. registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.

Acknowledgements

This product includes software developed by the Apache Software Foundation. (www.apache.org/)

This product includes software developed by the OpenSymphony Group. (opensymphony.com/)