Visibility Settings and Their Impact on BusinessObjects Reports

In This Article

Note: This article has been written specifically to address how Community Service's visibility settings impact BusinessObjects reports. While many of the same considerations affect reports built into Community Services - sometimes referred to as "canned" reports - there may be important differences.

Visibility Groups

Community Services uses "visibility groups" to control what client information a user is able to pull into a BusinessObjects report. Different visibility groups can be applied to different parts of a client's record, including the various assessments that may be completed together with the client. For most users, however, the only two visibility groups they should be aware of are the Statewide Data Sharing Group and their agency's own group.

Statewide Data Sharing Group

In 2016, statewide data sharing was introduced to Minnesota's HMIS. Clients who consent on the HMIS Release of Information to share their information between agencies will have their data made available to BusinessObjects reports run by any user whose agency participates in statewide data sharing, while clients who do not consent to share their information should have their records "closed". A closed client record will only be visible to the agency that created the record and to a limited group of stakeholders with special data access privileges, like CoC Coordinators and program funders.

Agency Group

An agency's own visibility group is applied to the parts of a client record that one of its providers touches. This means that a user whose home provider is a member of that agency's "tree" will be able to pull into BusinessObjects reports any data saved by another provider in the same tree. Data from a closed client record will remain visible to the agency that created the record as a result of its own group being applied.

If you are able to view a client's information in their record but cannot see it in a BusinessObjects report, a missing visibility group may be at fault. In this situation, reach out to the HMIS Helpdesk ( mnhmis@icalliances.org) and we're happy to investigate!

User Account Settings

Home Provider

By default, the visibility settings of a user's home provider are applied when running a BusinessObjects report. A user can identify their home provider by looking for its name in the top-left corner of the Community Services window.

Role

A user's role may affect what level of information they are able to see. Most users have the Case Manager III role assigned to their accounts, while less commonly someone may be designated as an Agency AdminSystem Administrator I, or Read Only II user.

Allow User to Access BusinessObjects as a System Administrator II

In rare cases, a user may be granted the capability to access BusinessObjects using the same privileges as someone with the System Administrator II role. A user with this level of access will be able to view the greatest amount of information in BusinessObjects reports.

Reporting Tool Licenses

A user must have a reporting tool license before they are able to access BusinessObjects. After a license is assigned, there is typically a delay before the user is able to access BusinessObjects, as their credentials must be saved as part of the regular warehouse builds.

BusinessObjects Report Settings

EDA Provider Prompt

By default, the visibility settings of a user's home provider are applied when running a BusinessObjects report. In certain circumstances, a user may be directed to designate a specific provider in the EDA Provider prompt. However, in most cases the -Default Provider- value should not be replaced.


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