BIS 345 Lab 6

Please note the following hints and clarification for the Week 6 iLab assignment: Lab 6 - Part 1:

· Make sure all your fields have concise and descriptive names. Give a field an alias if necessary. This will make it easier when you have to refer back to these fields as you create the report.

· When you are aligning the text boxes in your report layout, sometimes it is tricky to get them to line up properly by clicking and dragging. An alternative is to specify the size and position of a textbox directly in the Properties panel (lower right corner).

Lab 6 - Part 2:

· In Step 2, be sure to look at the diagram at the top of the 'BIS345_W6_iLab_instructions.docx' document to determine if the three main tables can be joined together. Additional tables may be needed in order to join the main tables. If you see a ‘CROSS JOIN’ in your SQL statement, the tables in your statement are not joined correctly and you will end up with incorrect results. Reviewing Part 2 of Lab 5 may also be helpful here.

· In Step 7, if you do not see the “Drop category fields here” area on the chart, click on the chart to display this area.

Lab 6 Questions Document:

· Part A: Note that since the first report has 3 data sets, Part A has to include all 3 datasets. This means that question ‘a’ in Part A should have 3 SQL statements, and question ‘b’ in Part A should have 3 screen shots, one for each dataset used in the report.

· Be sure to review the announcements “Requirements for Week 5 Lab” for details on what screen shots are needed for the dataset and report questions.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Lab 6 of 7: Report with Parameters and Report Chart

Note!

Submit your assignment to the Dropbox located on the silver tab at the top of this page.

(See the Syllabus section "Due Dates for Assignments & Exams" for due dates.)

Remember This!

Connect to the iLab here .

iLAB OVERVIEW

Scenario and Summary

You have been requested to create two reports using the AdventureWorks database.

Report 1:

Products go through cost adjustments; each change in cost is detailed in the ProductCostHistory table. You have been asked to produce a report detailing these product cost changes along with the start date of each change. Rather than display the full list of products, the user will select the category and subcategory of products to display. This report uses parameters. The report will be graded based on the following:

· appropriate fields

· report layout

· grouping on correct fields

· group totals

Report 2:

Create a chart that compares total product sales for each category in the years 2002 and 2003. Provide an interpretation of the results. The interpretation must be a minimum of one paragraph (three to five well formed sentences) with no spelling or grammatical errors. Is the chart based on adequate data? Is there something lacking? Can you make meaningful deductions? Based on these results, what other data would you recommend that should be considered for further analysis? The report will be graded based on the following:

· appropriate fields

· report layout

· drilldown

· interpretation

Upon completing this lab, you will be able to

1. use parameters in reports;

2. identify the most appropriate chart format in which to present the data and create the chart; and

3. modify the chart to change chart colors and add text and arrows.

Deliverables

Following along with an instruction file, you will document your completion of the following tasks:

Section	Deliverable	Points
Part A	Cost Adjustment Dataset	7
Part B	Cost Adjustment Report	10
Part C	Yearly Sales by Category Report	10
Part D	Yearly Sales by Category Interpretation	10
Total Points		47

iLAB STEPS

Preparation

Back to Top

1. Download Guide_to_SQL_Server_Management_Studio_2008.docx from Doc Sharing.

2. Download BIS345_Lab6_Questions.docx from DocSharing and save a copy using the naming structure LastName_FirstName_Lab6_Questions.docx. You will answer the questions and provide screen prints as required for each part of the lab.

3. To login to the Citrix remote lab, follow the instructions located in the iLab item under Course Home.

4. Follow the steps in Guide_to_SQL_Server_Management_Studio_2008.docx to

· start SQL Server Management Studio;

· create a new project;

· add a query file; and

· get the required output.

Steps

Back to Top

Complete the steps for this lab as directed in BIS345_W6_iLab_instructions.docx .