Introduction to Prism Analytics
Prism Analytics is a tool in Workday used to blend, combine and integrate the internal data from Workday with external sources and publish the final output as a data source from prism. The insights gained from the combination of internal and external data can be shared with managers and executives for deeper knowledge through dashboards and scorecards. It gives the ability to transform, model and alter external data into relevant Workday modules, generating an integrated source of essential information. For executing this operation, prism uses data sets both raw and derived. Calculated field is nothing but a prism data set which is a derivative of existing data. They can be created and added to prism reports using the report writer tool in Workday. This data is optimized and scaled for performance before integrating with prism. Pipelines are containers that absorb data, modify it and release it back in shape in the desired manner. To study such terminology in-depth one can enroll in Workday Prism Analytics Training with organizations like ERP Cloud Training.
Process flow of Prism Analytics
The process of converting external data into prism data involves a number of steps including acquisition of data through various mediums like sFTP, REST API, or file upload or importing from Workday. After the data has been acquired, it is then transformed stage by stage using fields, filtering of data, merging of data, aggregating data and adding prism calculated fields to perform functions. The domain security for the prism data source is then configured before publishing. The published data can be used to create a variety of reports, dashboards, discovery boards and scorecards in Workday.
Acquisition of Data
For the data to be acquired, it has to be identified first. Steps in identification include locating the data, changing the data, tracing the responsibility of the datasets, and analyzing how the data would be mapped into Workday from external data sources. While exporting data, it is important to note that the file is of CSV extension and not XLSX extension. Base datasets can be created by loading of data into the Data Catalog or an external source. Derived datasets are created from existing base datasets by combining them. Data Catalog can be created from file uploads, sFTP integration, REST API or Workday custom reports.
Naming conventions have to be followed in the process of creating datasets in Workday Prism Analytics. File schema changes should also be monitored carefully as they can impact the future scheduled imports and hence must adhere strictly to the requirements.
Editing and Blending Datasets and Fields
Derived datasets which are created from existing datasets are used to edit and transform the data by adding stages and prism calculated fields. The stages of transformation contain Manage Fields, Filter, Join, Group By, and union. Manage fields are used to modify the input data. Calculated fields are used to perform calculations on the given data. Value is determined at the publishing time rather than the run time in case of prism calculated fields which is why they are ascertained to be better than Workday Calculated Fields.
Blending of data involves joins which are used to match the attributes of one set of data with another and can be done between existing pipelines within derived datasets. Joins transformation will combine the columns/fields but may not change the number of rows/instances. Union stage is used to transform variant datasets into uniform layouts and helps in appending them together.
Filtering and Grouping of Data
Workday training will also enable a person to gain in-depth knowledge in filtering and grouping of data. This stage involves filter conditions that will reduce the number of rows in Workday prism analytics. The basic filter is displayed by default which can be modified into an advanced filter. The group function is used to give an aggregate value for multiple set of rows in prism. Aggregation functions include sum, max, min, average, and count. The transformation on inclusion of the filter will flow automatically to downstream datasets.
Publishing and Reporting Prism Data
After the transformation of the datasets, it can be published to a prism data source so that it’s available to be used in Workday reporting. Just like other data sources, the prism data source can be used in dashboards, scorecards and discovery boards as well as custom reports. The data available for a prism source will not be updated until the next publish. Publishing can also be scheduled to recur in regular intervals.
Data Discovery
The data discovery tool is mainly used for performing ad hoc analysis on the prism data sources and for creating visually appealing analytics using discovery boards to be used in Workday reporting. Discovery boards help in creating visual presentations that can explain the datasets in a easier manner. Charts, tables, pivot tables can be created as visual representations using the discovery boards. These can then be used in reporting for creating customized and user-friendly reports.
Conclusion
From the sourcing of data till reporting, prism analytics plays an important role in collecting data, analyzing data, aggregation and joining of data, editing and manipulation as well as the final representation of manipulated datasets in prism data sources and their publishing along with discovery boards. This process may seem tedious but every step of it is worthy in optimizing the best use of the available data sets and converting them into reports for the benefit of Workday customers and partners. If you are interested in learning more about Prism Analytics, wait no more and enroll in Workday Prism Analytics Training of your choice.
ERP Cloud Training 