If your wInsight database is very large, you may want to use the
# of Levels of WBS to Support configuration option to reduce the amount of detail that is loaded into the wInsight Analytics - Multi-Project data model.
Purpose
wInsight Analytics - Multi-Project enables you to do analysis across multiple projects. While most firms load all earned value data that is available in the wInsight database into their wInsight Analytics - Multi-Project data model, that level and volume of detail may actually make effective analysis difficult if you have a very large database. It may also slow performance. An alternative is to use the
# of Levels of WBS to Support configuration option to limit the number of WBS levels that you load into the data model. Doing so means that the analysis you do in wInsight Analytics - Multi-Project will be at a summary level, not at the lowest level of detail available in wInsight. However, if you need to take your analysis to a lower level than is available in wInsight Analytics - Multi-Project, you can drill through to wInsight Analytics - Single Project to continue the process.
The
# of Levels of WBS to Support option does not apply to the wInsight Analytics - Single Project data model, which always contains data down to the lowest level available in the wInsight database.
Impact of This Option on WBS-OBS View Analytics
If you use this option to limit the WBS levels that are loaded into the data model, it does not affect your ability to use the WBS-OBS View analytics, even if the WBS-to-OBS mapping takes place at a level of the WBS that is not include in the levels you elect to load. The data load process still loads all data necessary to support the WBS-OBS View analytics.
However, firms that map their WBS to their OBS typically do that at the control account level, and that is generally the lowest level of the WBS in the wInsight database. In that case, this option may not provide much improvement in performance because most or all of the data has to be loaded to support the WBS-OBS View analytics.
Impact of This Option on Data Validation Analytics
wInsight Analytics validates data for the lowest level WBS elements that are loaded into the data model for wInsight Analytics - Multi-Project and calculates alert counts based on those validation checks. The alert counts are then rolled up, if necessary, to display the counts at the structure level you select in the
Level column of the table.
The lowest WBS level loaded into the wInsight Analytics - Multi-Project data model is the level selected in
# of Levels of WBS to Support. If you select a higher level in order to limit the amount of detail loaded into the data model for wInsight Analytics - Multi-Project, the data is calculated at the corresponding summary level. The data model for wInsight Analytics - Single Project always includes all WBS levels, so the data validation values are based on the actual lowest level elements.
Cycle Groups
On the tabs of wInsight Analytics - Multi-Project, you can often use cycle icons (
)to select the level of the work breakdown structure at which you want to display data. The number of levels available through the cycle icons is not related to the number you select for this configuration option. As installed, the cycle icons provide the options to view data at level 1, 2, or 3, regardless of the number of levels you specify in
# of Levels of WBS to Support.
If you want to be able to use the cycle icons to display data at more levels, you can do so by creating your own modified version of the analytics tab using QlikView Desktop.
Initial Configuration
When you configure wInsight Analytics initially, do not restrict the number of WBS levels. Try out the analytics with all data loaded.
Ongoing Administration
As your staff begins using the analytics in wInsight Analytics - Multi-Project, monitor their progress and evaluate their effectiveness, along with the performance of the data load process and the analytics. If the users of wInsight Analytics - Multi-Project do not need complete detail or if performance is not satisfactory, you can use this option to restrict the WBS levels loaded into the data model to see if that improves the user experience.