This Dahsboard is under Finance scope to allow the users to check the consistency of the costs centers with a proper analysis and identify potencial issues with the cost center definition/assignment through some KPI's such as Active GBU's, ZCBS, SRM7 and BSA.
To be checked before goes to production:
In DEV environment for now. Access provided directly by technical team.
In Prod we need to see how it will be the access. Creation of a ticket for CMDB to have the option for this dashboard.
VERSION | DATE | MODIFIED BY | DESCRIPTION |
0.01 | 04.03.2024 | Inês Vilares | Initial draft |
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| Technologies |
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Data Sources Note: list of all applications and various environment |
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2.0 Business Process
In the business side they have some checks/data quality processes and the purpose of this analysis is to reduce the number of cost objects that have not been used for 18 months that will lead to clear database, reduced risk of amounts allocated to obsolete CO objects, less chance of errors during month end close and less ad-hoc workload during peak periods.
On a quarterly basis the business do a clean up of inactive objects and this scope we are focusing in the cost center data.
Please see more detail information about the business process in here: Quarterly clean-up of inactive cost objects
2.1 Challenge/Opportunities
This dashboard will allow the business to have a data quality check and clean up process more efficient, quick and user friendly using our Qliksense solution instead only the BW query and do some manual effort to have the KPI's and analyze the critical cases.
3.0 Application Feature Overview
| Feature | Description | Latest update in production (DD/MM/YYYY) |
|---|---|---|
| Cost Center Master Data KPI's | This sheet present 4 KPI's to be analyzed by the teams to have a control on the cost center master data. | Still in DEV but should be a daily load. |
4.0 Business Objects
4.1 Glossary
| BSA | Stands for Business Support Activity. To know more information about the BSA Business Support Activity (BSA). |
|---|---|
| Cost Center | A cost center is a specific organizational unit within a company that is responsible for incurring costs. It represents a location, department, or function where expenses are generated. Cost centers are used for tracking and controlling costs, allocating expenses, and monitoring budget compliance. |
| GBU | Stands for Global Business Unit. The concept for GBU doesn't exist in SAP but it’s a requirement to have in BW since in BFC we have this definition. |
| SRM7 | The person responsible of a cost center is accountable for the elements allocated in the cost center. The companies using SRM7 for purchasing should have a SRM7 user ID (=BIP user ID) entered in this field, starting with 5, such as 50000000. To know more about this KPI we can check the the Finance Data & Reporting wiki Rules - Cost Center Responsible - FAQ. |
| ZCBS | ZCBS is the code of the alternative cost centers hierarchy that is mainly used for reporting purposes . It's the CBS Structure. Please check in the Finance Data & Reporting wiki more information about this hierarchy Rules - Cost Center ZCBS hierarchy |
5.0 Functional Specification
5.1 Dashboard
- Cost Center Master Data KPI's
5.2 Data Input
- Data Sources
- BW Query BW_QRY_C_COSTCTR_0001 - Cost Center Master Data query and the query used for the frontend is QV_BW_QRY_C_COSTCTR_0001:
- List of active GBU's - This is filtering only for the Active GBU KPI;
- List of companies in scope - This is filtering only for the SRM7 KPI
- Transformation Rules (for each of the data source in the previous point)
- QV_BW_QRY_C_COSTCTR_0001 with the General filters:
- Cost_Center_Authorization_Scope__Key_ = SCO and ECO;
- Obsolete_object=0 ( "0" means the cost center it's active, the "1" means the cost center it's blocked/inactive and "#" should not exist but we have cases maybe it was some direct creations in BW and we don't have an assignment nevertheless, the scope for the business it was decided to only filter for the active cost center.)
- Source_System = PF1 Client 020, WP1 Client 400 and PI1 Client 020.
- After specific filter are applied to the query depending on each KPI:
- Active GBU’s: we consider the information from excel file with the active GBU’s and compare with the field BFC GBU (technical CPFCTR1_2) if it’s the same it’s assigned if not then we consider not assigned;
- ZCBS: field 2_Function_key (technical C_FUNCT_2) is not equal to # and EDISC If the C_FUNCT_2 = # or EDISC => Test failed. (Qlik code: where match(_2_Function_Key, '#','EDISC') is not assigned the rest it’s assigned.
- SRM7: Based on the position responsible field (technical name C_POSIT) has 8 digits and the first 3 digits (left to right) they need to start with “500”. If the output respect this condition it’s “Assigned” if not “Not Assigned”.
- BSA: if(Cost_Center_BSA_Group__Key_= '#','Not Assigned','Assigned') as BSA.
- For the List of the active GBU's they were based in an excel file (see below) and added directly in Qliksense.
- QV_BW_QRY_C_COSTCTR_0001 with the General filters:
5.3 KPI's Definitions
| KPI Name | Definition | Calculation |
|---|---|---|
| Active GBU's | All cost centers are assigned to an active GBU. | Check if the field BFC GBU (CPFCTR1_2) has any GBU assigned or not. We have a list of active GBU. The List of GBU it's a list in excel copied to Qliksense directly. If the GBU is not in that list then it will be not assigned. |
| ZCBS | All cost centers are assigned to the ZCBS hierarchy. | Check if the field 2 Function (C_FUNCT_2) don't contain the outputs equal to # (not assigned) and EDISC (Discontinued). If has this information then it will not be assigned. |
| SRM7 | All cost centers have a valid SRM7 responsible. | Check if the position responsible field (C_POSIT) has 8 digits and the first 3 digits (left to right) they need to start with “500”. If the output respect this condition it’s “Assigned” if not “Not Assigned”. |
| BSA | All cost centers are assigned to a BSA. | Check if the BSA Group field (C_BSAGRP) has a group assigned if not then it will be consider not assigned. Qlikcode: if(Cost_Center_BSA_Group__Key_= '#','Not Assigned','Assigned') as BSA. |
5.4 Visualization
| Table name | Description | Calculations//Measures/Rules (if applicable) | Scope / Filters | Graph picture |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active GBU's | All cost centers are assigned or not to an active GBU. | Calculation in the 5.3 KPI's Definition section. The users will see the number of cost centers assigned or not if they have a GBU assigned based in the active GBU list. | It's possible to filter by Scope: Eco or Sco. | |
| ZCBS | All cost centers are assigned or not to the ZCBS hierarchy. | Calculation in the 5.3 KPI's Definition section. The users will see the number of cost centers assigned or not depending on the information in the field 2 Function. For the not assigned we consider the # and EDISC outuputs. | It's possible to filter by Scope: Eco or Sco. | |
| SRM7 | All cost centers are assigned or not to have a valid SRM7 responsible. | Calculation in the 5.3 KPI's Definition section. The users will see the number of cost centers assigned or not if they have a position responsible which needs to be in compliance with the conditions described in the KPI definition. This position has the rule to have only 8 digits and the should start with 500 for the first 3 digits. This is applied for ECO and SCO scope. | It's possible to filter by Scope: Eco or Sco. | |
| BSA | All cost centers are assigned or not to a BSA. | Calculation in the 5.3 KPI's Definition section. The users will see the number of cost centers assigned or not if they have a BSA Group output or not. | It's possible to filter by Scope: Eco or Sco. | |
| Data Set Table/Adhoc Report | Flexible report for the users to check and analyze in more detail the KPI's | Please check all the fields available in 5.4.1 Reports section | N.A |
5.4.1 Reports
Data Set Table/Adhoc Report fields:
| Type | Table field | BW Technical Field |
|---|---|---|
| Measure | Nbr of CC (calculated field) | - |
| Dimension | 2 Function | C_FUNCT_2 |
| 2 Function Key | C_FUNCT_2 | |
| 3 Sub-funct Grouping | C_FUNCT_3 | |
| 3 Sub-funct Grouping Key | C_FUNCT_3 | |
| 4 Sub-function | C_FUNCT_4 | |
| BFC GBU | CPFCTR1_2 | |
| BFC GBU Key | CPFCTR1_2 | |
| BSA | KPI | |
| CO Area | 0CO_AREA | |
| CO Area Key | 0CO_AREA | |
| Company Code Key | C_COMPCDE | |
| Cost Center | C_COSTCTR | |
| Cost Center Key | C_COSTCTR | |
| BSA Group Key | C_BSAGRP | |
| BSA Group | C_BSAGRP | |
| Active GBU | KPI | |
| Source System | 0LOGSYS | |
| SRM7 | KPI | |
| ZCBS | KPI | |
| Position Responsible | C_POSIT | |
| Authorization Scope | C_AUTHMA | |
| Authorization Scope Key | C_AUTHMA | |
| Regions | attribute C_GZONE from Company Code field | |
| Regions Key | attribute C_GZONE from Company Code field |
6.0 System view (Architecture)
The purpose of this part is to describe the physical components that supports the functionalities of the product. From that point of view, this part should capture and visualizes the physical components of the data products such as backend, front end, data providers, libraries for ML models, etc.
7.0 Non-functional Descriptions
7.1 Usability
Usability is about the ease with which a User can learn to start using the solution and the ease with which they can use the system. In addition to ease of learning and ease of use, usability also includes areas such as ease of recall, error avoidance and handling, accessibility among others e.g., 99% of metadata entry Users who have use the Maintenance Dashboard should be able to change filters, extract etc., when required. Maintenance data will be centrally stored in the Google Cloud platform, which will be available to other applications e.g., and Dashboards if needed.
7.2 Regulatory Compliance
Software systems must comply with legal and regulatory e.g., GDPR requirements, this can change depending on country, organisation industry and / or region. The software systems must be secure from unauthorized access. The Maintenance Dashboard will comply with Solvay’s regulations and compliance e.g., access only granted to authorized Users.
7.3 Security
Security refers to essential aspects that assure a solution and its components will be protected against unauthorized access or malware attacks. Important considerations related to security aspects of a system are User authentication, User authorization or User access privileges, data theft, malware attacks, data encryption, and maintaining audit trails, e.g., only Users with administrator access shall be able to create new accounts and assign data access privileges to the new accounts e.g.,
- All data will be encrypted in the dashboard
- Only authorised Users / Administrative Users will be able to access data.
- Maintenance data will be split between either SCO or ECO, and Users will only have authority to one Entity data.
7.4 Performance
Performance defines how fast a software system or a particular section of it responds to certain User actions under a certain workload. In most cases, this metric explains how long a User must wait before the target operation happens e.g., the page renders, a transaction is processed, etc., given the overall number of Users now. Performance requirements may describe background processes invisible to Users, e.g., backup and speed of data transfers.
7.5 Reliability
Reliability is the ability of a solution or its component to perform its required functions without failure under predefined conditions for a specified time / period. Reliability can possibly be specified in terms of average time system runs before failure occurs, percentage of operations completed successfully within a time / period, maximum acceptable failure probability, or number of failures within a period. Reliability aspects are in reference to (but not limited to) evaluation of the system to be considered as reliable, classification of reliability defining failures vs. regular failures, and the impact of failure on business operations. The Maintenance Dashboard will display data from the previous refresh of data.
7.6 Scalability
Scalability refers to the degree to which a solution can evolve to handle increased amounts of work. The increased amount of work could be in terms of the user base, transactions, data, network traffic, or other factors e.g., the system should be able to handle an additional load of a maximum of 5,000 Users every month for the next 6 months without any noticeable performance impacts.
7.7 Compatibility
Interoperability is the degree to which the solution is compatible with other components. It is a measure of how effectively the system interoperates with other software systems and how easily it integrates with external hardware devices.
Interoperability aspects to be discussed during elicitation are in reference to (but not limited to) software systems to be interfaced with along with data / messages to be exchanged and any standard data formats, hardware components to be integrated with, and any standard communication protocols to be followed e.g., Order Management system will push the order file into a secured file transfer protocol server from where it will be loaded into the system through a daily job. To guarantee between Google Cloud platform and SAP BW Queries e.g., BW_QRY_MVPMOR01_0002, Solvay has introduced a new tool called Xtract (Xtract).
7.8 Availability
The availability of the dashboard should be 24 hours during 7 days per week.
7.9 Refresh of the Data
The data is refresh on a daily basis at 9:30 a.m CET.

