Flat Files: Use of Business Content or not?

Hi Amanda,

If you are on a project in the functional area which is already covered by SAP, then it is preferrable to make an analysis of business content objects. Even if you are going to use flat files for data upload, predelivered infosources, ODSs, cubes, TRs and URs, queries may save you a lot of time.

Search help.sap.com for your functional area looking for infoobjects and providers. Try to evaluate if they are useful. Certainly, some knowledge in the func area is a great advantage.

Search business content in the func area. You may even simulate BC installation. For example, choose a cube, with data flow before and after and gather objects. The scope of these objects may give your some hints to evaluate.

If there is just one, yours, project on a BW instance, then you can use or even modify BC objects that you found. Master data loaded will not interfere with the other projects.

If the func area of your project is not covered by SAP, then, most likely, you’ll be able to use just a few BC objects, all the others you’ll have to create.

Sometimes, even if you are in the func area for which you’ll find predelivered objects, it’s more suitable to make copies of such objects and modify them deleting attributes that you’ll never use. Use of such standard infoobjects with many attributes may fource users to ask a lot of questions about these attributes (why, what’s this, what for etc.). Moreover, if these attributes are not used, you’ll prepare your flat files with a lot of blank fields for the attributes. Consider also an extra DB space for them.

Doing the project almost from the scratch (with minimal usage of BC objects) will require very careful conceptual design of the data model.

Best regards,

Eugene