Presentation Layer Redesign for Self-Service
A repository has grown to 300 presentation columns across 12 presentation tables, many named after physical columns such as F_AMT_1 and DIM_KEY. Users complain they cannot find measures and often pick the wrong column. Several measures are duplicated with different names, and two columns have the same display name. The business wants self-service analysis with clear names, folders, and consistent aggregation. Some columns are restricted to finance users. The team must avoid breaking existing dashboards that reference current column names.
1. Propose a presentation layer redesign that improves usability without breaking existing reports.
Read the worked answer
Rename presentation columns to business terms, but keep the existing names as aliases so saved analyses continue to resolve. Group columns into folders by subject, such as Sales Measures and Customer Attributes, and remove duplicate measures by consolidating to one definition with aliases for the old names.
Resolve the duplicate display names by giving each a distinct business name and documenting the mapping. Ensure each measure has the correct aggregation rule, since a wrong default aggregation is a common source of misleading totals. For restricted columns, do not rely on hiding them; apply object-level permissions so finance-only columns are invisible or denied to other groups.
Test by opening representative existing analyses after the change. Because aliases preserve resolution, most reports should continue to work, but verify any report that referenced a column by its old display name in a filter.
2. How should access to the finance-only columns be enforced and verified?
Read the worked answer
Use presentation layer permissions tied to application roles. Grant the finance role access to the restricted columns and deny or omit them for other roles. Denying at the object level prevents the column from appearing in the subject area, which is better than relying on users not selecting it.
Verify with a non-finance account: confirm the column is absent from the subject area and that a saved analysis referencing it fails safely rather than exposing data. Also check that no duplicate or alias path bypasses the restriction. Review the permissions after any rename, because a renamed column may lose its inherited permission if the object is recreated rather than edited.