Unit 1: Review of Reporting Templates

In this unit, you will explore how FMR facilitates the creation of reporting templates using its web user interface and web services. You will learn about the key metadata structures required to generate a reporting template, including DSD, Dataflows, and Data Providers with Provision Agreements. Finally, we will walk through the step-by-step process of defining a reporting template and generating an XLSX Workbook for streamlined data reporting.

FMR's Role in reporting template creation

FMR simplifies data reporting for Data Providers by generating tailored XLSX workbooks from customisable templates, using web services. This is achieved through:

• An Excel Reporting Template (also called a Data Reporting Template) is a metadata-driven Excel form that enables Data Providers to easily report data.
• XLSX workbooks are compatible with popular tools such as Excel, Open Office, and Google Sheets.
• A Reporting Template Definition is created in the FMR and describes the contents and layout of one XLSX Workbook.
• Each workbook contains at least one worksheet backed by the Dataflow relevant to the data collection.
• XLSX Workbooks may have multiple worksheets, allowing a single XLSX file to be used for multiple datasets.
• The Registry provides both a web user interface and web services to generate the XLSX Workbook for a Reporting Template for a specific Data Provider.
• The contents of the XLSX workbook are dynamically generated based on the Data Provider, allowing:
  • A single reporting template to be used by multiple Data Providers.
  • Each provider's workbook to contain only the worksheets and data cells they need to report.

Setting up metadata structures

There are a number of metadata structures required in order to create a reporting template.

Select each option for a definition.

Defining the reporting template

Once the necessary metadata structures are in place, defining the reporting template involves these steps, which are carried out using the FMR User Interface.

Select each step for details.

Knowledge check

Which of the following is required to create a reporting template?

Select the one correct answer and then select Submit.

DSD, Dataflow, Data Provider Agreement and a directory service

XLSX Workbook Styles, Formatting Preferences, and Colour Scheme

User Permissions, Data Access Logs, and Compliance Reports

File Naming Conventions, Folder Structure, and Export Settings

Coming next

In the next unit, we will explore Web Services and Reporting Templates in FMR. This will include an overview of how FMR supports reporting templates programmatically, security considerations for access control and worksheet protection, and demonstrations on managing reporting templates.