Rich, Event-Based Reporting

[ChrisS]

Rich, Event-Based Reporting

Problem Response Done Right

Sending notifications for interesting events is just one step in an event management process that is easy for Sisense users.  But it’s simply the “What Happened” notice.  Event-based reporting is a complete process that provides you with “How and Why” insights by infusing augmented analysis and correlation of potential factors into a custom Event dashboard that then integrates advanced options for taking actions to remediate the problem.  

In the past, it could take coding skills to implement all facets of Event Management. In this article, we will explore a no-code way to implement a complete process using the Sisense Report Manager add-on. We’ll also review good options to augment Pulse alerts using similar capabilities for event analysis out of the box.

Report Manager Quick Overview

The Sisense Report Manager is a premium Add-On that provides advanced, enterprise-class reporting capability for all types of user roles (Admins, Designers, and Viewers) to manage their reporting or reporting for groups of users. It has its API endpoints to enable managing reporting programmatically.

Key Report Manager Features: 

• No Code interface with a centralized view of reporting
• Users can create their own named distributions from dashboards that have been shared with them or their group, or that they have created.
• Deliver PDFs or links to the dashboards
• Add additional attachments like images, Excel, and CSV files with data
  
  

• Report Archiving to a repository, including via SFTP
• Scheduled and event-based reporting.
  
  

Configuring Event-Based Reporting

Report Manager is employed largely for common reporting use cases. It extends reporting capability by enabling individual viewers to manage their reporting needs by creating subscriptions to dashboards to which they have access. For most cases, this is time-based scheduling, enhanced through additional options for attachments. For users of Sisense Pulse, Report Manager offers a unique new capability to deliver Event-Based reporting.

It does require some coding to trigger event reports because users cannot configure a Pulse action to trigger a Report Manager Event-Based report.  But what is most useful is that users can prepare a dashboard focusing on details around each alert condition. This extends the Alerting functionality by enabling the delivery of diagnostic detail reports. With Pulse Alerts, users can add an Action via Zap or WebHook to send an event-based report via the Report Manager API. That will send an alert report with context that enables recipients to better understand the problem context, details, and potential remediation steps by drilling into the Event detail metrics and dimensions.

Additional  Report Manager features that are especially useful are the ability to attach exports of multiple widgets in CSV/Excel, PDF, and image format. Report Manager also enables links to direct Pulse recipients to specific dashboards that can be set up to support investigation through Explanations, Sisense’s augmented analytics for correlation.

Augmenting Event-Based Reporting

Given the knowledge of the critical Pulse alerts configured, we can support users who will receive those alerts by sending links to dashboards intended for their problem investigation. For example, deliver a dashboard link that takes users back into Sisense to research potential explanations of the details around the alert condition. Once there, Sisense Explanations can perform correlation to potential related causes as an aid in diagnosis.

 Given the ability to prepare diagnostic reporting, we can set up support for success, and help shorten reaction time while identifying steps for mitigation.

What You Can Do Now Before Report Manager Is Installed

Some of the capabilities described above can be implemented even before installing Report Manager. Creating focused dashboards to support recipients of Pulse Alerts can provide the same benefits to all users concerning maximizing understanding and providing prescriptive advice. The augmented analytics, whether Explanations or other diagnostic data, is ready out of the box to support customers who haven’t yet set up Report Manager.

Setting Up Dashboards As A Resource For Pulse Respondents 

• Include contributing dimensions and expressions to provide detailed context and measures
• Create comparative dashboard views
• Against industry standards
• Team comparisons
• Time Series views of key KPIs
• Use augmented analytics
• Explanations
• Forecasting
• Top n views of key dimensions
• Trends on key barometers of success

Unlock the Complete Event Process

Support your “What Happened” Pulse notifications by including links to dashboards purpose-built for you to dig into the Who, How, and Why around events.  In short, don’t just send a notification, give responders tools to more quickly understand the conditions and causes by linking to a dashboard where you can analyze all the details and take action.  

[HamzaJ]

This sounds great. We are using the Sisense Report Manager and I did not know about this capability. However it is still unclear to me how to set this up. What do I enter in the field Event(s) ? The documentation does not really clarify this.

Could you give me a step by step how to set this up?

[ChrisS]

Hi Hamzaj,

Thanks for the feedback! Here is a link to the Report Manager Manual which has step by step instructions for the installation.  Check pages 2-4.

Report Manager Manual

Before trying the installation, check the version of Sisense that you're currently running, Win/Linux, and which release.  The latest release of Report Manager, v1.6.3, supports Sisense Linux releases L2021.10, L2022.1, L2022.2, and L2022.3 and Windows release W2021.9.0.   If you have a previous Sisense version than those listed as supported here, let your Customer Success Manager know, and they can work with me to get you the compatible version.

[HamzaJ]

Hi ChrisS,

I dont think you understood my question correctly. We are already using the Report Manager for quiet some time now. Page 2-4 just tells me how to install it, which is not difficult. My question was about an Event-based report. How do I tell my users to set this up? What do I enter in the Event(s)-field? In other words if I have a Pulse configured how do I make it possible that when that pulse is triggered, a report is also sent from the report manager? Thats what your post was describing right?

[ChrisS]

Hi Hamzaj,

The steps for Viewers are almost identical to scheduling a subscription for report delivery, except when you come to the Schedule tab.  Viewers can choose between the checkboxes for Event Based or Time Based. (pg. 13 in the manual linked above).  Once Event Based is chosen, Viewers get to enter one or more event names separated by commas.  Events around the same diagnostic data can be grouped into a single event report.  

All of the UI settings can be performed using the Report Manager API endpoints, if you want to build your own interface.  Plus, you can also do things like trigger an event to be true for testing.

[Chris_AECC]

Hi @HamzaJ and @ChrisS ,

I have the exact same question as Hamzaj and have also been using the Report Manager for over a year. Have you found the correct configuration to make a pulse notification/event trigger the report manager to send you a report?

ChrisS, I have set up the Pulse Notification called "Test" that triggers when the value of the indicator is greater than 0.

I have created an event based report with the event trigger "Test".

I have gone to the REST API and triggered the report with the event "Test". The report sent to me correctly and I took this to mean that the event is set up correctly.

When my elasticube is built, and the pulse notification is triggered, I only receive a notification related to the pulse and not the actual report set up through Report Manager. The Report Manager is seemingly not triggering the report based on the event of the pulse.

Is there a step missing from what I have described above?

Regards,

Chris

[ChrisS]

Hi Chris,

Can you share your versions of Sisense and Report Manager, please.  I've tested on several recent versions, and I follow your steps: use the API to trigger the event , and confirm the appropriate dashboard is sent for digging in to the details.  The events trigger without having to use the API for testing. I'm currently running Sisense L2022.3.0.235 with Report Manager v1.6.3.  

Thanks!

[Chris_AECC]

Thanks for the quick response, @ChrisS! That is very appreciated.

Version may be our underlying issue but would be curious if @HamzaJ  was able to get theirs working. Also for clarification, I am trying to trigger a report that sends a PDF attachment and not the dashboard link. We are running windows 8.2.4.10095 due to time conversion bugs in all future windows releases. Report Manager is 1.3.1.10305

I have tested a few more times and mine continues to operate the same way with the pulse being the only notification sent.

-Chris

[ChrisS]

Hi Chris & Hamzaj,

I'm out of the  office this week, but will have a Windows testbed early next week, on which I'll run through some upgrades starting with v8.4.x & Report Manager 1.3.1, so I can 1) confirm which version combinations work together, and 2) what the installation steps, and user setup steps are for the tests.

I'll share the usage steps here, and submit them to the Documentation Team for inclusion GA versions.

Chris

[HamzaJ]

Hi @ChrisS , @Chris_AECC 

I have not succeeded yet. Thanks for the effort @ChrisS 

When using the webhook from a pulse it sends the following body:

"body": {
"type": "kpi",
"name": "# of unique group_id",
"message": "",
"originDashboardLink": "626851a22973593a48e75b26",
"value": 174,
"condition": "> 0 and 62",
"filters": [
]
}

This body is not accepted by the /api/v1/report_manager/events endpoint. It only accepts plain strings  e.g. "kpi"

So by using the webhook of a pulse it will not work. I think the event-field needs to contain something specific, but I have not figured it out yet. 

I am on W2021.4 and am using the latest version of the RM 1.6.4. If we can get a detailed step by step and if possible with screenshots, that would help me out a lot.

Hamza

[Chris_AECC]

Thank you for the effort, @ChrisS. I look forward to hearing back!

-Chris

[ChrisS]

The string that works in my testing is the actual Pulse Alert Name.  In my case it's "ASP", and that works for me as the Event name in Report Manager:

[HamzaJ]

Thanks @ChrisS 

Perhaps there is something with my configuration or sisense deployment. I have it exactly the same as you, however no report

I did it without a webhook to the events-api and once with it. In both cases no report.

[Chris_AECC]

Hi @ChrisS ,

I am checking in to see if you had a chance to test with v8.4.x & Report Manager 1.3.1

Also, I have since tested with Report Manager 1.6.1.10537 and I am still only receiving the pulse notification and not the report from report manager.

Best Regards,

Chris

[ChrisS]

Hi Chris,

I have been testing, but hadn't gotten to 1.6.1 yet.  So, I downloaded and installed a few minutes ago.  I'm setting up my tests now, and will let you know soon.

Regards,

Chris

[ChrisS]

Hi Chris & Hamzaj,

I tested Sisense 8.2.4.10095 on Windows with Report Manager versions 1.3 and 1.6, and found issues with executing an event based report.  I traced it to messaging between versions, and you can see errors in the logs under c:\ProgramData\application-logs\reportManagerXXX.errors.log.  There are error logs for the exportEngine, Messaging, RestApi, and Schedule.  Check the Messaging log folder. 

I'm going to upgrade my test instance to v8.2.5.11026, and retest RM 1.3 and 1.6.  The errors that I encountered are likely due to changes in the inter-process messaging architecture, but haven't nailed it down specifically.

[Chris_AECC]

Thank you for following through with testing. 

[RichieBTC]

Hi @ChrisS ,

I'm having the same issue as well. I created a pulse notification, and then went to the report manager to set up an event-based report. I followed the steps in the documentation, but the pulse notification never triggers the report manager.

Any ideas on what's going on?

Cheers,

Rich

[ChrisS]

Hi Richie, Chris, and Hamzaj,

I do understand what's going on now.  Pulse won't trigger Report Manager to send the designated dashboard, but it will send a Zapier message or Webhook.  This should be configured to call the API Report Manager endpoint, /report_manager/events, and pass the name of the event.  I think it best to archive & update original this post, because of the confusion I've caused, and will update it shortly. 

[RichieBTC]

Thanks @ChrisS . I was able to get this working by configuring the pulse alert to trigger a Zap in Zapier, which then sends a post back to Sisense.