Just thought I’d share this slide (draft) to see if the ‘net peoples have any interesting thoughts to share on the topic. Here’s my opening salvo:
Out of all of the above statements, I think the last is the most overlooked. Discuss.
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Agreed. Most reports are ad-hoc one off deals. The audience and requirements slowly grow including the report being needed daily. Then you cannot afford to stop to take the time and plan the automated repeatability.
I agree, repeatability and automation is key.
In that light expandability is an important aspect.
And I think the XLS format is ideal, new report component, new worksheet.
Something my http://www.lucd.info/2010/05/29/beyond-export-csv-export-xls/ post allows you to do.
Depending on what data the report is going to contain, a sortable table could be one way.. I know I had to create some reports regarding Exchange usage, and I wrote a simple Powershell function/module that outputs a HTML report file (plus a css and js file). The report contains a sortable table, where you can sort by column header. I use this in cases where, I do not need to edit the results.
http://www.xipher.dk/WordPress/?p=430
Very cool link, Claus! I plan on mentioning it and your blog on an upcoming PowerScripting Podcast.
powershell for newbys would be a nice pdf