When we first planned for the initial release of
BI Documenter our primary aim was a very stable architectural
foundation on which to build on.
We
really nailed this objective with the first version of BI Documenter.
We have an excellent performing application with an extremely low
defect rate that documents SQL Server and Analysis Services with
unerring accuracy - plus it's pretty fast too!
So now the obvious question is - what's next?
The two major things that we are hearing from our partners and customers are:
"We
want to extend the documentation beyond the SQL Server database and
Analysis Services documentation to include all the components of the
Microsoft BI stack!”
This means providing an integrated way to
document traditonal SQL databases, Analysis Services databases,
Integration Services, Reporting Services and Business Scorecard Manager
all under the one umbrella. Integration Services is our first targeted
component in this broadening of BI Documenter's scope.
Eventually we would like to offer a solution for the entire Microsoft BI stack.
"Provide a way for us to visualize our data structures!"
A
great way for our users to convey the concepts to their own clients and
users (internal or external) is by visualizing the underlying entities,
whether a traditional ERM diagram of a SQL database or a star or
snowflake schema used by a data warehouse - a picture as they say tells
a thousand words.
As a result of this type of feedback and
encouragement, we are working on expanding the scope of what BI
Documenter can document as well as providing visualization features in
what will be the first major update to BI Documenter.
We also
have another major announcement that will accompany the next major
release that I am sure will be extremely welcome news for those who
only wish to use BI Documenter for simple database documentation -
without all the bells and whistles.
As ever, keep watching this space!