Effective ways to learn SAP BI (Business Intelligence)

Effective ways to learn SAP BI (Business Intelligence): Tips for newbies

This post about the ways to learn SAP BI is published on behalf of Kameswari Akella who works as SAP BI consultant at one of the Big 4 consulting companies.

As a SAP BI Consultant, I would like to mention some effective ways of learning SAP BI. First, find out list of topics that you should learn in SAP BI. The topics may include but not limited to understanding the extended star schema model, InfoObjects, InfoProviders, SAP BI Data flow and ETL, Standard SAP delivered Business Content, BEx Analyzer, Query Designer and BI Integrated Planning. The complete list of topics that fall under SAP BI can be found at help.sap.com or any other SAP related websites. Building a personalized road-map is just not sufficient. You should put realistic mile-stones and then track your progress.

You can attend an online or classroom training to learn SAP BI. However, there are also many resources to learn SAP BI for free. You can use search engines to learn about any of the SAP BI topics. Some of the most famous resources are

• SAP BI manuals (TBW Series)
• SAP Help portal
  
• SCN articles
  
• SCN blogs
  
• SCN forums
  

Save all the articles and links into your personal folders and revise them frequently until you get a good grip on the topics. But, just reading the topics is not sufficient. You have to gain practical experience in order to understand how exactly the things work. In order to do some hands-on, you should have access to training system with all required authorizations. Perform step-by-step scenarios to gain practical experience. The more exercises you do, the more practical exposure you will gain. Taking tests will help you to further improve your learning. Find online tests to organize your knowledge (there are also some SAP BI online tests on our website). Analyze the test results and then concentrate on your weak areas until you get a solid understanding of the pertaining topics. Strong SAP BI knowledge would not only help you to complete SAP BI certification but also help you to get a lucrative job offer. Bottom line is know the SAP BI topics in and out first; then do lots of hands-on to get practical experience.

Happy Learning!

Do you know other free resources to learn SAP BI? Tell us about them in the comments below and we will include them into the article!