Design principles of reporting

To ensure accuracy in a report, it is important to gather required data carefully and associate different sources or tables accurately.  

For instance, if an organization wants to generate a medical beneficiary report, the following tables need to be associated with each other: 

• Employee 
• Dependents 
• Beneficiary enrollment 
• Available benefits 

Generating an accurate medical beneficiary report requires careful consideration of the beneficiary enrollment table. If you join the Employee table directly with the Benefits table without taking the beneficiary enrollment table into account, the report will not be accurate. 

To create the required join conditions between tables, it is crucial to have a complete understanding of the relationship between data types and an effective Data Model. An effective Data Model is essential for better reporting and scalability. 

As an LSA, it is a best practice to use sample data and analyze the output to evaluate the join conditions before you create the actual report definition in the application. 

To maintain consistency in a report, keep the order and arrangement of columns constant, even if the data content changes over time. Altering column names and positions in new application releases might cause ambiguity, potentially leading to poor decision-making by organization executives. 

Before creating a report, identify the report title, the columns, their arrangement order, and the column type. After stakeholders finalize and approve the chart type, concentrate on maintaining a consistent chart type, including colors and shades. 

Make any changes to the column order, chart type, or report output in a new report to avoid ambiguity in older reports. 

For example, suppose a table has an Employee designation column that is relabeled as an Employee job card. This change can cause confusion and ambiguity if report users are not informed. 

Ensure that the report is accessible to the necessary stakeholders. Reports aid the decision-making process, so accurate and relevant information must be available. The LSA must manage all access control policies to ensure the necessary report is accessible and available to stakeholders.

The report output must align with the business objectives and goals. The LSA must concentrate on designing reports specific to business needs. One report for one purpose is the best practice. Creating a report with too many columns to meet all business needs can make it difficult for users to access only the information that they need.

Reports might contain relevant information but might not be clear and understandable. The report design is ineffective if the business has to spend time on the report output to find the necessary data. Reports need to be user-friendly. Every user's perspective and needs are different. Arrange the report data so that the stakeholders understand and benefit from the output.

Ensure stakeholders are satisfied with the report output and its use. Users might seek dynamic responses to the changes in settings and filters on the report. Many report users in the business experience dynamically changing requirements, and they want the report to meet their needs. As an LSA, consider the optimal way to use Pega Insights when there are dynamic reporting needs.

Performance optimization is critical when you design reporting solutions in Pega Platform. As applications scale, report efficiency directly affects system performance and user experience. Apply these best practices to improve performance:

Select only necessary columns

Retrieve only the columns required for your report. Reducing the number of columns minimizes data processing time and memory usage. For example, selecting 5–10 essential columns instead of all 50+ columns can improve report generation speed by up to 70 percent.

Optimize join filters

Avoid unnecessary join filters that slow down database record retrieval. Use the Class Join feature to gather data in a single database call instead of making separate calls for each result. This approach reduces the number of database round trips and lowers network overhead. It is especially important for complex reports that pull data from multiple sources.

Apply filters at the report definition level

Configure filters at the report definition level instead of using row visibility conditions in grids. When you apply filters at the definition level, only necessary data loads to the Clipboard tool. Visibility conditions still require all data to load before filtering occurs, which can degrade performance for large datasets.

Implement pagination and record limits

Use pagination and specify record retrieval limits to prevent slowdowns caused by excessive data retrieval. Best practices include:

• Limit initial loads to 25–50 records.
• Enable user-controlled pagination for viewing additional data.

This approach supports consistent response times regardless of dataset size.

Use Data Page caching for repeated service calls

When services run within loops, implement Data Page caching. Store frequently accessed data in cached Data Pages with appropriate scope and refresh strategies. This practice avoids redundant service calls and database queries, reducing system load and improving response times.

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