Adding Characteristics to OOTB Dimensions In Oracle OUDI FDI

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⁠By Srivyshnavi Akarapu, HEXstream data analytics engineer

In this blog, we will see how to customize out of the box (OOTB) dimensions by adding characteristics in Oracle FDI. This customization helps adapt the standard data model to meet business requirements and improves analytics.

Key Points to Consider:

→The new table must contain matching primary key data to join with the out-of-the-box dimension.

→ The primary key column name in the new table must be different from the primary key name in the existing dimension.

Flow of steps:

→ Add the new dimension by selecting Data Source from the connectors in FDI, then run the job to create the table with data.

→ In FDI platform, create a sandbox and modify the existing logical star of the required subject area using semantic model extension feature.

→ Modify out of the box subject area and apply changes.

→ After publishing, check the newly added changes are reflected in the existing folders.

→ Final step is to verify the characteristics data is available in OAC reports.

Detailed steps
Replicate the required Characteristic table via Data Augmentation

Navigate to Console → Data Configuration → Desired Data Source and select Data Augmentation
Create Augmentation.

Select the options below:

Select the attributes required.

Enter the details below and run the job.

Adding characteristics to existing logical star

We will first add the characteristic table first to "Fact - Case" logical star by navigating to Sandbox → Perform Action → Edit Logical Star.

Right click on Dim – Account dimension and select Manage Extensions.

Select Manage Extension → Extend Dimension, to extend an existing dimension by joining new table. This adds the characteristics attributes to the existing dimension.

Select the schema OAX_USER schema, this contains all the data augmented replicated tables which can be chosen to extend any dimension.
We chose the Data Augmentation replicated table: DW_GBU3_X_CI_ACCT _CHAR, select the required columns using ACCT_ID as the primary key.
We will join the char table to the Account dimension using this key.

Select Account ID from Dim-Account dimension, join it with the key from the char table.

Modifying subject areas

Select Manage Extensions → Manage Factory Customizations.

Choose the extension we added in logical Dim – Acct char dimension.

Add to Folders and choose Account folder.

· We see that attributes from the char table used for extensions are added to the account folder.

· For the changes made in the sandbox to be reflected, we must Apply, Merge and Publish the model.

1) Click on the Actions Menu and select Apply Changes option, status of this job can be monitored under Activity tab.