During the past 2 weeks, one of the technologies I’ve been fiddling with has been Microsoft’s Business Scorecard Manager (BSM) 2005. I went on a 2-day training course last week, picked up an evaluation copy and started playing. Here are some notes on how to install BSM and create your first scorecard.
Installation
Can be fussy, especially when installing with SQL Server 2005. You will need to download and install PTSLite.exe to pass the OLEDB provider requirement, along with ADOMD.NET and MSXML4 (SQL Svr 2005 is up to MSXML 6). For the sensible souls who actually do read manuals, the readme file included on the CD does explain all this – it’s the first link that appears when you install the CD, ignore it at your peril…
Make sure SharePoint is already installed and the virtual server extended. Because I was building a demo, I left SharePoint Portal Server (SPS) on the default WMDSE database but most installations would put SPS on SQL Server. When checking Google for blogs on BSM, I came across one (here) that suggests you cannot install SPS with SQL Server 2005 Developer edition.
Once that’s all done, installing the Builder and Scorecard should be straightforward. My installation failed the hardware requirements test (although the machine meets the system requirements listed for BSM), but it doesn’t prevent you from installing. Any other failures (that will occur if you don’t get OLEDB and friends installed first) will prevent you from continuing the installation.
Setting up a scorecard
To get a very basic scorecard published… (the following assumes you have some familiarity with the BSM Builder tool… which could be quite an assumption, because the UI isn’t as intuitive as it could be.)
- In SharePoint (Windows SharePoint Services or SharePoint Portal Server), create a site where the scorecard will be published to
- Open up BSM Builder and create a new workspace.
- Create an indicator (new definition), select 3 levels. Edit it and assign an image (traffic light) for each of 3 values (red, amber, green) – images are available with the sample folder that is installed with BSM. Publish indicator to server
- Create a KPI and give it a fixed value (actual & target). Edit the target and assign the indicator you just created. Publish KPI to server
- Create another 2 KPIs that would be subs to the first one (e.g. first one = profit, second one = profit value, third one = profit margin)
- Create a scorecard. Add the KPIs to it (add all 3, then indent the two sub-KPIs under the main one by clicking the arrow in the toolbar). Edit the default scorecard view, and add in the columns (actual and target) for the KPI. Publish scorecard to server
- Deploy scorecard to SharePoint. You will be prompted to enter a page name – call it anything (it will create a web part page for the scorecard). You will then be prompted to connect to SharePoint – enter URL of the site created. You’ll need to also select a library – the default ‘shared documents’ will do
- Hey presto, one scorecard published and deployed.
To go beyond basic, create a data source to use instead of entering fixed values. For a simple scorecard, use ODBC and connect to an Excel spreadsheet (see below for a sample connection string). For more advanced scorecards, you will be connecting to one or more databases. For more advanced filtering capabilities (i.e. multi-dimensional), use ADOMD.NET to connect to an OLAP cube.
Sample Excel connection string: (replace c:test.xls with your actual filename)
Driver={Microsoft Excel Driver (*.xls)};DBQ=c:test.xls;ReadOnly=True;
This string didn’t work with folders (i.e. file needs to be in root of drive) so there is probably a better one to use, but it does the job for building a simple demo.
This information and other bits and bobs are posted on the web site here.
Joining Dots 
Hallo,I have a question to ask: how can I directly connect to SQL Server 2005 with Business Scorecard Manager 2005. With connection strings for Excel I had no problems.The connection string I am using: "Driver={SQL Native Client};Server=ACN-PPS;Database=DW1fach;Trusted_Connection=yes;" and it works just fine, i.e. I get a message: "connection successful".I have chosen the option with ODBC, do I have to take the other one (ADOMD.NET)? Because then I can enter the Server name but after that there are no entries in the drill-down menu.Could someone help me with that? Thank you in advance.RegardsChristian Lorenz
I get the below error when I try to deploy a Scorecard from Business Scorecard Manager 2005 to a SharePoint site:"The base type 'Microsoft.PerformanceManagement.Scorecards.WebParts.CustomWebPartPage' is not allowed for this page. The type is not registered as safe."I have even included the below line in my web.config file of the related web site: –SafeControl Assembly="Microsoft.PerformanceManagement.Scorecards.WebParts, Version=12.0.0.0, Culture=neutral" Namespace="Microsoft.PerformanceManagement.Scorecards.WebParts.CustomWebPartPage" TypeName="*" Safe="True" –But still it doesn't seem to be deploying.Any help would be highly appreciated.Thanks in advance,NeerajC.
it may be a daft check, but which version of SharePoint are you running – 2003 or 2007?
It is 2007
Any information on this.I am eagerly waiting for it.NeerajC
BSM is not particularly friendly with MOSS 2007. It was written to integrate with SPS 2003 and it is now being replaced by the upcoming PerformancePoint Server, due to be released later this year. I doubt the product group are that interested in improving it in its current form.I'll have a go at getting it up and running on my MOSS 2007 demo over the weekend to see if I hit the same issues and (if I do) find out whether or not I can figure out how to resolve them.In the meantime, you might want to check out this KB article http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929769It appears there is a compatibility kit for BSM 2005 when using MOSS 2007. You have to contact your local support office to get hold of it, although it appears to have shipped with MSDN and TechNet if you are a subscriber (currently, I am not).I'll report back in a few days…
I too am having issues with MOSS and BSM. I set up a Virtual Machine to test. The VM has SQL 2K5, Windows Server, Proclarity, Moss, and BSM. It installed OK but when I try to create a data source BSM does not see any server to connect to. Also, if I try to publish a scorecard I am getting all sorts of errors. I wish the BSM technical documentation had more meat on the bone. It is very skimpy, especially for some like me who is more of a power analyst than a hardcore IT person
I'm finally getting round to attempting a BSM install with MOSS 2007 today and will post notes here. However I am not expecting to be successful.BSM is already end-of-life and about to be replaced by PerformancePoint Server. Unless you have a customer who really does need BSM (i.e. has paid for it), I would focus your efforts on its replacement. PerformancePoint Server is much more stable to work with.
Having finally found some time to play with Business Scorecard Manager 2005, my attempts to test the problems you are experience have ground to a halt at the first hurdle.You need the compatibility kit in order to install BSM with MOSS 2007 and Microsoft do not appear to be providing it for free, unless you are a TechNet subscriber (which I am not). The cheapest source I have found is to request via email and that will cost £69+VAT. I'm not paying for an update to test if it works or not. So there ends my efforts with BSM 2005. I'll be focusing purely on PerformancePoint Server going forward……unless someone provides the compatibility fix.Sorry I haven't been able to test or fix your problems. The best place to go now is the Microsoft forums.
Thanks for your help.I am also looking ahead of this problem to have the things going forward using the PerformancePoint.That seems the best way around to work with.I definitely appreciate ur help and effort.Thanx again.NeerajC
Hi,Any ideas on downlading Ptslite.exe ? I am using Sql 2005 and I couldn't finda download source for Ptslite.exethanksKallis.
To download ptslite.exe, go to http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=d09c1d60-a13c-4479-9b91-9e8b9d835cdc&DisplayLang=enScroll down the page, it's the executable for 'SQL Server 2000 PivotTable Services'If the link stops working, do a Google search for 'ptslite.exe'. It's available as part of 'Feature Pack for Microsoft SQL Server 2005 – November 2005'
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