In SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC), there are two primary types of user stories for designing dashboards and reports: Canvas and Responsive. Each of these story types offers distinct capabilities, and understanding their differences will help you choose the right one for your specific reporting or visualization needs.
Here's a detailed breakdown of the differences between Canvas and Responsive user stories in SAC:
1. Story Layout and Design
Canvas Story:
- Fixed Layout: Canvas stories use a fixed, free-form layout, where elements such as charts, tables, and text can be placed anywhere on the canvas. The positions and sizes of these elements are locked, meaning they do not automatically adjust when the screen size changes.
- Pixel-perfect Design: Since Canvas stories are fixed in size, they allow for more precise and granular control over the layout. This makes it ideal for creating pixel-perfect reports where exact placement and design are crucial (e.g., financial reports, boardroom presentations).
- Multiple Pages: Canvas stories often support the creation of multi-page reports, which users can navigate like a slide deck.
Responsive Story:
- Adaptive Layout: Responsive stories automatically adjust the layout of the components based on the screen size, device, or window dimensions. This is particularly useful when the report needs to be viewed across different devices such as desktops, tablets, or smartphones.
- Flexibility with Resizing: As the screen size changes, responsive stories adapt by resizing charts, tables, and other widgets. The layout is dynamic, ensuring that users have an optimal viewing experience regardless of the device.
- One-page Flow: Responsive stories typically emphasize single-page scrolling designs, where users scroll vertically to view all the content.
2. Use Case Scenarios
Canvas Story:
- Formal Reporting: Canvas stories are ideal for reports where exact placement, styling, and page structure matter, such as financial statements, presentations, boardroom reports, or printed documents.
- Control Over Layout: If you need to control the alignment and spacing of objects exactly as designed, Canvas stories offer the best option.
- Static Data Presentation: If the report doesn't require much user interaction or exploration, the fixed layout works well.
Responsive Story:
- Mobile-first Design: If you need to ensure your report is accessible across a range of devices (especially mobile), responsive stories are a better choice.
- Interactive Dashboards: Responsive stories work best for interactive dashboards where the user is expected to drill down into data, filter results, or use the dashboard in a self-service BI context.
- Exploratory Data Analysis: Since responsive stories adapt to different screen sizes, they are more suited for real-time data exploration, where users need flexibility.
3. Customization and Flexibility
Canvas Story:
- Higher Customization: Canvas stories allow for more customization. You have full control over the size, position, and layering of elements. You can create custom grids and complex layouts with multiple visualizations.
- Multiple Page Orientation: You can design pages in landscape or portrait orientation, which makes it easier to create reports that may be printed or shared as PDFs.
- Static Layout: While this fixed layout is great for design control, it means that the story won't adapt to different screen sizes. Users viewing a Canvas story on a smaller screen might need to scroll horizontally or zoom in and out.
Responsive Story:
- Dynamic Layout: Responsive stories are much more flexible when it comes to resizing. Elements automatically adjust based on the screen size or window, which is great for mobile and tablet viewing.
- Less Precision: Due to the dynamic nature of responsive layouts, you have less granular control over element placement. For example, you might not be able to perfectly align items the way you could in a Canvas story.
- Auto-flow Layout: In responsive stories, objects can reflow depending on available screen space. This reduces manual adjustment but also limits detailed control.
4. Interactivity and User Experience
Canvas Story:
- Static Interactivity: Canvas stories allow for some interactivity, like adding filters and drill-down options, but it's generally more limited compared to responsive stories.
- Complex Layering: You can stack and layer multiple objects on a canvas, creating a more complex and detailed visual experience.
Responsive Story:
- Enhanced Interactivity: Responsive stories are designed for interactive use. They typically incorporate filter bars, linked charts, input controls, and other interactive elements that adapt to the user's actions.
- Mobile-friendly Interactions: Users can interact with responsive stories on any device, and elements like filters or charts will adapt for touchscreens or smaller interfaces.
5. Performance Considerations
Canvas Story:
- Heavier Load Time: Since Canvas stories are often more complex with custom designs, multiple charts, and a precise layout, they might take longer to load, especially on larger or more detailed reports.
- PDF Export: Canvas stories often export better as PDFs due to their fixed layout, which retains the exact design of the report.
Responsive Story:
- Faster Performance: Responsive stories are generally more lightweight and faster to load, especially on mobile devices, because the design dynamically adjusts based on available space.
- Optimized for All Devices: Responsive stories are better suited for environments where users access reports on different devices and screen sizes, making performance smoother across the board.
6. Planning Features
Canvas Story:
- More Suitable for Planning: Canvas stories often offer better support for planning workflows (e.g., budget input, allocations) due to their fixed layout and structured data presentation.
- Excel-like Tables: For planning purposes, Canvas stories offer better control over grid-based input forms (similar to Excel) where users can input and track numbers.
Responsive Story:
- Limited Planning Use: While responsive stories can still support planning features, they are less commonly used for this purpose since precise grid control is harder to maintain.
Summary Table:
| Feature | Canvas Story | Responsive Story |
|---|---|---|
| Layout | Fixed, pixel-perfect design | Adaptive layout, adjusts based on screen size |
| Use Case | Formal reports, board presentations, financial reports | Mobile-first design, interactive dashboards |
| Customization | High, precise control over layout | Less precision, but dynamic adjustment |
| Interactivity | Static, some interactivity with filters and drill-downs | Highly interactive, supports mobile-friendly use |
| Performance | Heavier load, longer to export | Faster load times, optimized for all devices |
| Planning | Better suited for planning and structured data input | Less common for planning workflows |
Key Considerations for Choosing Between Canvas and Responsive Stories:
- Device Usage: If your users will access the story primarily on desktops with little need for mobility, Canvas stories are ideal. However, if the story needs to be mobile-friendly, go for a Responsive story.
- Precision in Layout: For highly detailed, pixel-perfect reports where layout precision is critical, Canvas stories offer more control. If flexibility is more important than precision, Responsive stories are a better choice.
- Planning: If the story is part of a planning process that requires detailed number inputs, the Canvas layout will likely be more effective.
Key Terms:
Canvas Story, Responsive Story, Pixel-perfect Design, Adaptive Layout, Interactive Dashboards, Planning Workflows, Master Data, Device Optimization, Mobile-first
No comments:
Post a Comment