The design method consists of two major phases.

During the first phase, you create the underlying database structure of your universe. This structure includes the tables and columns of a database and the joins by which they are linked. You may need to resolve loops which occur in the joins using aliases or contexts. You can conclude this phase by testing the integrity of the overall structure.

During the second phase, you can proceed to enhance the components of your universe. You can also prepare certain objects for multidimensional analysis. As with the first phase, you should test the integrity of your universe structure. You may also wish to perform tests on the universes you create from the BusinessObjects User module. Finally, you can distribute your universes to users by exporting them to the repository or via your file system.

For a universe based on a simple relational schema, Designer provides Quick Design, a wizard for creating a basic yet complete universe. You can use the resulting universe immediately, or you can modify the objects and create complex new ones. In this way, you can gradually refine the quality and structure of your universe