Using Qlik Git for Collaboration and Version Management in Qlik Sense

In Every Business data analytics environments, managing the lifecycle of applications, scripts, and visualizations is as critical as the insights they deliver. Qlik Sense, renowned for its intuitive data visualization and analytics capabilities, offers exceptional tools for building robust applications. However, as projects grow in complexity and teams expand, managing different versions, collaborating across departments, and deploying applications seamlessly can become a challenge.

This is where Qlik Git, a distributed version control system, comes into play. By integrating Git with Qlik Sense, organizations can streamline collaboration, maintain a reliable version history, and improve the overall development process.

In a typical Qlik Sense project, developers, data engineers, and business analysts work together to build and refine dashboards, data models, and custom visualizations. Without a version control system, these activities often lead to: (Ref: Identifying and Resolving Common Performance Issues in Qlik Sense)

• Lost Changes: Overwriting work done by team members.
• Inconsistent Versions: Different team members working with outdated or conflicting versions of the same application.
• Deployment Errors: Difficulty in tracking which version of the application is deployed to production.
• Inefficient Collaboration: Lack of visibility into who made changes and why.

By adopting Qlik Git, these challenges can be mitigated, leading to smoother workflows, improved collaboration, and better project management.

Why Git is Essential for Qlik Sense Projects

Qlik Git offers several advantages that make it ideal for managing Qlik Sense projects, including:

1. Version Control for Data Load Scripts and Visualizations

Qlik applications often involve complex data load scripts and custom visualizations. Without version control, it’s difficult to track changes and revert to previous versions when needed.

With Qlik Git, each change is stored as a commit, creating a timeline of changes that can be reviewed and rolled back if necessary.

Example Scenario:

• A data analyst updates a data load script to integrate a new data source but inadvertently breaks the application.
• With Qlik Git, the team can quickly revert to a previous working version while investigating the issue, minimizing downtime.

2. Enhanced Collaboration

Qlik Sense projects often involve cross-functional teams working on different parts of the application. Qlik Git enables these teams to collaborate effectively by allowing them to work on separate branches of the project.

Benefits of Collaboration with Qlik Git:

• Isolated Development: Team members can develop new features or make changes in isolated branches without affecting the main application.
• Concurrent Development: Multiple developers can work on different aspects of the project simultaneously.
• Conflict Resolution: When changes from different branches are merged, Qlik Git identifies conflicts and provides tools to resolve them.

3. Branching and Release Management

Branching is a core feature of Qlik Git that allows developers to create independent lines of development. This is particularly useful in Qlik Sense projects for managing different environments, such as development, testing, and production.

Common Branching Strategy:

1. Main Branch: Contains the stable, production-ready version of the application.
2. Development Branch: Used for ongoing development and testing of new features.
3. Feature Branches: Temporary branches created to implement specific features or bug fixes.
4. Release Branches: Created when preparing a new release, allowing for final testing and adjustments before deployment.
5. Hotfix Branches: Used for urgent fixes to the production environment.

4. Managing Dependencies and Custom Extensions

Many Qlik Sense projects involve the use of custom extensions or third-party libraries to enhance functionality. Managing these dependencies manually can be error-prone. Qlik Git allows you to track changes to these extensions and ensure that the correct versions are deployed across environments.

Example:

• A custom extension used for a specific visualization is updated to fix a bug.
• By tracking the extension in Qlik Git, the team can ensure that the update is deployed consistently across all environments.

Integrating Git with Qlik Sense: Step-by-Step

Step 1: Organize Your Project Files

Before integrating Qlik Git, organize your Qlik Sense project files into a logical structure. This might include:

• Data Load Scripts (.qvs files)
• Qlik Sense App Files (.qvf files, if applicable for documentation or backup)
• Custom Extensions (.js, .html, .css files)
• Mashup Projects

Step 2: Initialize a Git Repository

In your project directory, initialize a new Git repository:

Step 3: Add and Commit Files

Add your project files to the repository and make the initial commit:

Step 4: Set Up a Remote Repository

For collaboration, set up a remote repository on platforms like GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket. Connect your local repository to the remote repository:

Step 5: Collaborate and Manage Versions

Team members can now clone the repository, create branches, make changes, and push updates to the remote repository.

Best Practices for Using Qlik Git Projects

1. Commit Frequently: Commit changes frequently to create a detailed history of the project.
2. Use Meaningful Commit Messages: Write descriptive commit messages to explain what changes were made and why.
3. Implement a .gitignore File: Exclude temporary files, sensitive data, and large binary files from version control using a .gitignore file.
4. Conduct Code Reviews: Implement a code review process to ensure that changes are thoroughly reviewed before being merged into the main branch.
5. Automate Deployment: Use Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) pipelines to automate the deployment of Qlik Sense applications to different environments.

Challenges of Using Qlik Git with Qlik Sense

While it provides immense benefits in terms of collaboration, version control, and project management, integrating it with Qlik Sense can present some unique challenges. Let’s break down these challenges and how they can impact Qlik Sense projects:

1. Handling Binary Files

One of the main challenges with using Qlik Git for Qlik Sense projects is the nature of Qlik’s core file format, particularly the .qvf (Qlik Sense Application) files. These files are binary files, which means they store data in a format that is not human-readable.

Why Are Binary Files a Problem for Qlik Git?

Is designed to handle text-based files, such as code, scripts, and configuration files. It efficiently tracks changes line by line, making it easy to see what was added, removed, or modified. However, with binary files like .qvf:

1. No Line-by-Line Tracking: It cannot show you what changed inside the binary file. It only detects that the file has changed as a whole.
2. Inefficient Storage: Every change to a binary file creates a new version of the entire file in the repository, leading to large storage requirements.
3. Poor Merge Capabilities: It cannot automatically merge changes from different versions of a binary file. If two team members modify the same .qvf file, manual intervention is required to resolve conflicts.

Solution:

To overcome this challenge, it is recommended to:

1. Version Control Scripts and Extensions: Instead of tracking .qvf files, store data load scripts (.qvs), UI configurations, and custom extensions (.js, .html, .css), which are text-based and more -friendly.
2. Use Backup Solutions for Binary Files: Store .qvf files separately in a file storage system or backup solution, rather than versioning them in Qlik Git.
3. Automate Application Export: Use Qlik Sense APIs to export and save application states, keeping the repository clean.

2. Learning Curve

Another challenge in adopting for Qlik Sense projects is the learning curve associated with version control systems, especially for teams that are new to software development practices.

Key Areas Where Teams Struggle:

1. Basic Git Commands: Learning how to use commands like git add, git commit, git push, git pull, and git merge can be overwhelming for beginners.
2. Branching and Merging: Understanding how to work with branches (e.g., creating feature branches, merging changes, resolving conflicts) requires some experience.
3. Collaboration Workflows: Teams need to adopt workflows such as Git Flow, pull requests, and code reviews, which may differ significantly from traditional ways of working.
4. Conflict Resolution: When multiple team members work on the same project, conflicts may arise, especially when merging changes. Resolving these conflicts requires familiarity with conflict-resolution tools.

Solution:

To address the learning curve, consider the following:

1. Training and Workshops: Provide hands-on training sessions to help team members understand concepts and commands.
2. Use a GUI: While is often used via the command line, graphical user interfaces (GUIs) like GitHub Desktop, GitKraken, or Sourcetree can make more accessible for beginners.
3. Start with Simple Workflows: Begin with a basic workflow (e.g., using a single main branch) before introducing more advanced branching strategies.
4. Provide Documentation: Create internal documentation that outlines it usage specific to your Qlik Sense projects, including best practices and troubleshooting tips.
5. Mentorship and Support: Pair less experienced team members with Git-savvy colleagues who can provide guidance and support.

Final Thoughts

Integrating with Qlik Sense provides a robust framework for version control, collaboration, and deployment. By leveraging , organizations can enhance their development workflows, improve collaboration across teams, and ensure consistent and reliable deployments of Qlik Sense applications.

As data-driven organizations continue to rely on Qlik Sense for critical insights, adopting a version control system like It is essential for maintaining efficiency, transparency, and scalability in development projects.

Reference