Four Pillars of a SAP BW Discussion

There are four pillars that can be used as a framework to become familiar with SAP BW. The four pillars are:

  • Is a;
  • Has a;
  • Kind of;
  • Relates to.

Continually going over these four pillars will help you learn, bit by bit. You will gradually understand BW from both a noun (Person/Place/Thing) and a verb (Doing/Action) perspective. Over time, as you get to know and work with these pieces in greater detail, you will build better solutions. This is by knowing what will and will not work along with the associated benefits and limitations.


A good SAP BW discussion will bounce ideas and build a ‘Straw Man’ to evolve the concept. Based upon your understanding of the pieces discussed, you’ll find that the conversation can be quite efficient in nutting out whether or not a particular solution will actually meet the requirements.

Those kind of conversations are quite fun, especially when you can get to the point where you only make half a sentence and there is no need to finish because it is already understood in detail by all participants. The conversation will then efficiently flow on to the next part of the conversation.

“the four pillars are only tools to assist learning,
to understand a piece and what it can do

The participants of a solution discussion are aware of the different aspects of the piece to varying degrees of understanding. Those who have made the effort and done the work to a deeper level of understanding will arrive at different conclusions.

The facts about a piece do not change; only your understanding and conclusions.

Once a point has been brought up about the piece that is currently being discussed, everyone that understands the point will say ‘Yes, understood’. ‘Yes’ could mean that the point will not work; or ‘Yes’ could mean that it will work but it’s got a few considerations still to be discussed.

Pay close attention to the SAP BW discussion as the context of the answer all depends upon how the original statement or question was phrased. This can lead to a lot of confusion for listeners if the context continually flips.

For example: The technically correct answer could be ‘Yes’ which then implies that the business is inconvenienced to the point where the final conclusion is ‘No, it will not be done’.

If you were not 100% in the moment and paying attention you will leave the meeting with the opposite course of action from the other participants of the solution discussion. You would have heard the topic mentioned, the statement ‘Yes’ and still be completely wrong on what to do next!

It’s that dynamic kind of conversation, which is based on a thorough understanding of the pieces and their four pillars, that allows a solution to be effectively created on the fly.

  • Was the ‘Next Step’ of a discussion clarified in simple terms for all to understand?
  • List the pieces of BW you want to know more about.