Is ETL a Reporting Tool?
No, ETL stands or Extract, Transform, and Load, which a process of taking raw data and importing it a data warehouse. A reporting tool is an application for display data that is a database or data warehouse in way that business users can digest and act upon.
Is Excel a Reporting Tool?
No, Excel is a mathematical tool. It can also be used for ad hoc analysis and data marts. A reporting tool can query data from a database either to export for use in Excel by analyst or for immediate consumption by a decision-maker.
4 Tips for Good Report Building
1. Ask the report user what they are looking for. It's always a mistake to just assume you know what report users want.
2. Iterate the report development with the report user. Even for people who know their business very well, it is difficult for them to fully know they want in a report upon the first request. Let them see the first draft, and that will spark new ideas.
3. Make it look attractive. People enjoy looking at things that are pleasing to the eye and shun outdated looking or sloppy looking formats.
4. Use an interactive reporting platform. Build in self-service tools like date range selectors and drill-down selection lists so users can answer even more unanticipated questions.
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