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 Analytical Applications Based on APF Locate this document in the navigation structure

 

APF supports a sophisticated user interaction paradigm that you can apply to your own APF-based analytical Web application. Users can perform a step-by-step analysis of KPIs by looking at them from different perspectives. For example, they can compare a KPI across different countries or customers, and they can examine tendencies over time. To cover these aspects, you can define different analysis steps that the users can then choose from in an analysis step gallery. Analysis steps consist of data that is depicted on the UI in various types of representations, such as charts or tables.

In each analysis step, the users can select data to filter the information provided in subsequent steps. By combining different analysis steps and applying filters, they interactively create their own flexible analysis paths.

The interaction paradigm in an APF-based Web application can be summarized as follows:

  1. Define analysis settings, for example, analysis time frame, company code, or reporting currency.

  2. Select an analysis step from the required category in the analysis step gallery.

  3. In the representation of the analysis step, for example, a chart or a table, select data as required to filter the information that is provided in subsequent steps.

  4. Add further analysis steps to get more detailed information.

  5. To refine your analysis, reorder the analysis steps, add new ones, or delete individual ones as required.

  6. Save your analysis path.

Architecture

APF-based Web applications are part of a two-tier architecture. They run in a Web browser and communicate with SAP HANA Extended Application Services (SAP HANA XS) using OData service requests.

The architecture described above is depicted in the following figure:

This graphic is explained in the accompanying text.

Architecture of an APF-Based Web Application