You can create reports for Visual Studio Team System by using any tool that can connect to an analysis services database or relational database. For example, you can use Microsoft Excel or Report Designer to create reports for Visual Studio Team System. In most cases, Excel is easier to use, but you should use Report Designer if you want to perform one or more of the following tasks:

• Use Transact-SQL queries to retrieve the data for your reports. For more information, see How to: Create a Detailed Report for Team System using Report Designer

• Share your reports in Team Explorer under the Reports folder.

• Allow users to update the report without granting them read access to the databases.

• Manage the properties of your reports so that they return results faster and use fewer server resources. For more information, see Managing Reports in Reporting Services for Team System.

If you use Excel, you work with PivotTable and PivotChart reports. For more information, see Charts (Microsoft Office Online). If you use Report Designer, you work with a project in Visual Studio. For more information, see Report Designer (SQL Server Development Center).