Answers to IBM Cognos Report Authoring Questions

Your Most Important Questions – ANSWERED!

BEGINNING COGNOS REPORT AUTHORS

• Introduction

• Senturus Overview

• Your Questions Answered– Answers to questions you asked during registration – the

most common areas of interest– Hands-on demonstrations of solutions

• Additional Resources

Agenda

Copyright 2016 Senturus, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Presenters


Albert ValdezVice President of Learning Solutions

Senturus, Inc.

Greg HerreraPresident and Co-Founder

Senturus, Inc.

More Free Resources: www.senturus.com

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To hear the recording from this webinar: Beginning Cognos Report Authors: Your Most Important Questions ANSWERED!, visit our website at:

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BUSINESS ANALYTICS:ARCHITECTED TO SCALE

SENTURUS OVERVIEW

Copyright 2016 Senturus, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 7

• Dashboards, Reporting & Visualizations

• Data Preparation & Data Warehouses

• Self-Service Business Intelligence (BI)

• Big Data & Advanced Analytics

• Enterprise Planning Systems

Focused on Business Analytics

Business Requirements

Analysis Ready

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DASHBOARDS VISUALIZATIONS AND REPORTING

DECISIONS &ACTIONS

We Bridge the Gap Between Dataand Decision Making

900+ Clients, 2000+ Projects, 16+ Years


Answers to questions asked by viewers prior to and during this webinar.

Q & A LOG

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*Q: How can I view Cognos Analytics?A: Go to www.analyticszone.com and create an account. In the top left of the table, you’ll see the link to IBM CognosAnalytics tag. When you open it up, you will be greeted with a completely new user experience. I know that term gets thrown around a lot, but after more than 16 years working of with Cognos tools, this is truly revolutionary.

Q: I have only seen an interim fix pack for CognosAnalytics, do you have any news on when the first full fix pack will be released?A: We have been told that this full fix pack was released and made generally available on April 4, 2016. It is referred to as IBM Cognos Analytics 11.0.1.0.

Q & A Log: Cognos Analytics (v11) Questions


The questions proceeded by * were addressed during the event and can be heard on the recording as well as written answer provided here.

Q: Will Cognos Analytics have the additional studios like PowerPlay Studio?

A: That is a tricky question. The following studios will be available in the v11 and will open as new browser tabs: Query Studio, Analysis Studio, Event Studio. PowerPlayStudio is currently not supported; however, it is planned to be available in an upcoming release.

*Q: Will reports migrate from Cognos BI v10 to CognosAnalytics?

A: Report Studio and Workspace Advanced are fully supported in the new version.




Q: What is the migration process for Query Studio and Report Studio objects with Cognos Analytics? I can’t copy and paste every single report from one version to the next!A: We are still following the same migration process as the past several generations in which you: export content from the source environment; copy package to the target environment; import content into target environment using the content management features.

Q: Does the reports now scale to user screen resolution size in Cognos Analytics or do you still have to create multiple reports?A: This is not something we’ve tested much yet, but given the new HTMLv5 behaviors, we expect reports to scale much more effectively to all different screens, including mobile and tablet devices.



Q: We use Transformer for OLAP, so you are telling me IBM is pushing me to TM1 to maintain Metric Studio going forward? Is there a transition tool or process to help this move?

A: Transformer and PowerCubes are not going away and there has been no official announcement of their end of life, so we are not recommending that you migrate off of Transformer for your OLAP solution, as long as it continues to serve your needs. As far as scorecarding and Metric Studio, yes, the migration path is to TM1. However, we are not currently aware of any official transition process or tool to address this. We strongly recommend meeting with your IBM sales rep to discuss a strategy for maintaining scorecarding applications in v11.



*Q: How do I build reports in Cognos Analytics?A: Click the New button and you can see the different options. Click Report, you’ll see the new layout-based templates and in addition, the legacy templates are also supported. Select the default template and click OK, you’ll see the UI is much cleaner because there are no toolbars, menus, or properties pane. All the features are still there; you access them with an on-demand UI.

Expand the Explore feature, right-click on the Report base object, and open report from clipboard; paste the spec and click OK. The visualization is not found, click OK to the messages. Click the Viz, click the Do More action and Convert to another Line Viz. Run the report as HTML. You’ll notice how much more interactive the viewer is.




*Q: What is going to happen to existing Portal Pages and Workspaces when I migrate to Cognos Analytics?A: Workspaces will migrate just fine; they will have the exact behavior as they do today. Portal Pages are different because you can see that the entire portal experience has been redesigned. Heavy users of portal pages are going to have to put together a comprehensive upgrade/migration strategy.

*Q: Can I use a package in the Cognos Analytics dashboard capability?A: No, not in the current release. We know that this is top priority for IBM, but currently the dashboarding piece only support data modules, which can be based on personal files such as spreadsheets or database objects, such as SQL Server tables. FM, Transformer, and Dynamic Cube packages are currently not available for Data Modules. We expect major enhancements by the end of this year.




Q: The migration from Query Studio to Report Studio is easy. How is the migration with Analysis Studio and Event Studio in CognosAnalytics? A: Unfortunately, IBM's guidance on Analysis Studio is that it is best migrated by manually rebuilding them. We have been given no reason to believe an Analysis Studio migration tool will be offered by IBM or anyone else. Currently, we do not see any equivalent capability in v11 to Event Studio, so a strategy for replacing those objects must be seriously considered before moving off your current environment.

*Q: Can I continue to use Query Studio after migrating to CognosAnalytics and if so, how?A: Yes, click on a Query Studio object and that studio will launch. If you perform a Custom install, the legacy capabilities will appear under the New button. You can also run a script to expose these capabilities after you’ve completed a standard install. More importantly, we recommend initiating a long-term plan to migrate users into the new feature set as Query Studio and Analysis Studio will be deprecated.




*Q: Does report bursting still work in CognosAnalytics?

A: Yes, report bursting does not seem to have changed. The entire Administration console has not changed from Cognos BI v10.2.2 to v11. You will still have access to all of the same settings as you do today.

*Q: Where/how do I get started with report authoring in IBM Cognos BI v10?A: From the Welcome screen in v10.2.2, show all the capabilities and show the action for report studio, but click the My home action. Show how to Launch capabilities from the Public Folders page and launch Report Studio. Select Go Sales (query).




*Q: The vast majority of current authoring skills in Cognos BI v10 will translate directly into v11. Is there any risk in getting trained as an author today if an upgrade is imminent?A: Given our experience with the new authoring environment, it is our assessment that experienced authors will transition smoothly from v10 to v11 with their existing skills. However, there is definitely a distinct change in the overall user interface. We are addressing this head-on from an education standpoint and are offering a one-day course that addresses the key areas in which experienced authors may struggle as they transition. Therefore, we are offering a complimentary seat in the Cognos Analytics V11 New Features for Experienced Authors class to anyone signing up for a Report Studio or Cognos Workspace Advanced training course.

In addition, we are making significant updates to all of our core training course, including Data Modules and Dashboards, but the vast majority of the authoring techniques you learn in the current training will translate directly to what you do in the new version.




Q: Does the IBM Cognos licensing model change for CognosAnalytics?

A: The licensing has evolved with v11, so any authorized user that can access the reporting feature will have full access to all capabilities. So yes, it is one size fits all. We find this is a big improvement as it eliminates the need for administrators to constantly be tweaking the permissions for groups of users based on their license entitlements. It also makes a lot more sense given the graduated user experience.

Q: Are Active reports still available in Cognos Analytics?

A: Yes, nothing has changed with v11.



Q: Is it true that we can show the old user interface in CognosAnalytics?A: For the legacy features that are still supported, yes. This includes Cognos Workspace, Query Studio, Analysis Studio, Event Studio, Portal Pages, but not Portal Tabs.

Q: Is single sign on (SSO) possible with Cognos Analytics? I noticed there is no Gateway component that needs to be configured.A: Yes, you can still install and configure a Gateway, although you are correct, it is not required in v11. It is still an option and definitely one you would want to use for SSO.

Q: Is Framework Manager changing from Cognos BI v10.2.2 to Cognos Analytics?

A: No, not at all.



*Q: Cognos BI v10 has a lot of options for report authoring: Report Studio, Workspace Advanced, Query Studio, and Analysis Studio. Will you describe which tool is best to use for which situation?

• A: Report Studio is the industrial-strength, full-featured authoring platform. There are no limits to what is possible; however, this tool can be intimidating a Workspace Advanced is a workspace assembly tool for business-users. Think of it as a cut-down version of Report Studio. It has powerful ad-hoc, data exploration with professional authoring features built into it. You can use your existing content to build dashboards, so there is no authoring.

• Query Studio is a pure ad-hoc business authoring tool. It lacks functionality for serious report development, but it is a useful solution when you are browsing data and only need to do basic filtering and calculations.

• Analysis Studio is a pure data exploration tool. It is not effective if you are looking to make a report look good.

Q & A Log: Report Authoring Questions



Q: When you re-use a query does it cache the data or re-run the query twice on the database?A: More than likely the query engine will only send a single request to the database and yes, it will cache the results at the application layer to reuse it across the report.

Q: I wonder how the reports will look in Cognos Analytics. I expect that some functionality may not work 100%?A: Functionality-wise, we do not expect to lose any information migrating to v11. However, as we saw in the demo, you will find differences in layout and styling in certain reports. As with any migration, we strongly recommend that you follow proven practices and use a tool like Lifecycle Manager or a third-party solution, such as Motio, to thoroughly review and test your content before going live on v11.



Q: You note Metric Studio is an end-of-life tool. What options will we have in the future for our balanced scorecard strategy? A: IBM has moved the scorecarding functionality to its TM1 product.

*Q: If Report Studio is the most powerful tool, why would I ever use Workspace Advanced or Query Studio?A: I use Workspace Advanced and Query Studio for the ad-hoc and data exploration features they provide. If I know I have a sophisticated report requirement, I will end up in Report Studio eventually. The great thing is that you can port your Query Studio or Workspace Advanced specifications into Report Studio. Another little-known fact is that you can also port from Report Studio back to Workspace Advanced.

You’ll also want to view a reference chart that shows how to choose the right tool for the job.




*Q: How can I make reports more interactive so I can customize them at run time? For example, I want to create a report that is going to be delivered to all the sales managers around the world, but each manager wants to see the results only for her/his territory.

A: The best way to do this is with Prompting. In Report Studio, choose Toolbox, drag a Value Prompt to the page in front of the List. Type SalesRegion, click Next. Browse to Sales staff > Sales region click OK. Set the Operator to in. Make the filter optional, click Next. Type SalesRegion_prompt and click Finish. Drag a Prompt Button next to the Prompt, set the Button type to Finish. Run the report again.




*Q: Using Report Studio, how do I build a new report with sales information or product lines and revenue?A: The standard templates are not terribly appealing, they represent a starting point, despite that the layouts are basically the same. One of the most common types of reports are lists or tabular style reports. Then, expand Sales. These are Query Subjects. If you’d like a report showing total Revenue for each of Product lines over time do the following: expand Products, double-click Product line, expand Time, double-click Year, expand Sales, double-click Revenue. You will be working in a Design view. To see your data, you have to run the report and look at the results in the Viewer, to do that, click Run.

*Q: How can I reuse objects in a report? A: You can reuse your base query and populate a new display type with existing query items.




*Q: Is it possible to migrate workspaces and other objects that have been built in one of the deprecated studios such as Query or Analysis Studio to Cognos Analytics?

A: These legacy objects will continue to work, just in a separate browser tab with the full legacy functionality. You will have all v10.2.2 capabilities for the foreseeable future.

*Q: What is the difference between a dashboard and a report? Can I use Report Studio to build dashboards?

A: Any output that uses a combination of visual data presentation and interactivity can be considered a dashboard. When it’s a dashboard, you are able to interact with the objects. Reports include just simple embedded prompts.




*Q: I’ve re-used the query within reports to add data in a line chart. Can I reuse components on multiple reports?A: Yes. You can reuse layout objects across multiple reports. However, you can not reuse query objects across reports. Here is how you reuse layout objects: Click on the Title; set the Source Type property to Expression; double-click and set this to the ReportName Report Function. Drag a block inside of the Block in the Header; drag an image into the new block.

To make all objects available for your standard reports: Click on the parent Block and give it the Name Header; Save the Report as Base Report in the default folder. Create a New List report and delete the block in the header and drag in a Layout Component Reference. Browse to the Base Report and select Header.

*Q: Is it helpful to know SQL to optimize reports?A: Yes, it is useful to understand the concepts when designing filters, using key value rather than descriptive value. We do not recommend crafting reports by writing your own custom SQL, even though that option is available.




*Q: Can I execute a stored procedure directly from Report Studio?A: Yes, you have the freedom to write whatever custom SQL you want, and theoretically that could include calling a stored procedure. However, you will need to check with your admin to see if you have permissions to do so.

*Q: In creating reports, is there any way to set a default value that is dynamic to make my prompt more intelligent?A: Unfortunately, not really. IBM did open up the Prompt API in Cognos BI v10.2; however, JavaScript is not supported in v11.

Q: How can I move a query from one report to another?A: You can use the copy/paste feature to move query objects from report to report. However, there is no equivalent component reference objects for queries as there are for layout objects.




Q: To reuse the layout components, why would I make a Base Report rather than a Template?A: It usually makes sense to create one or more Base Reports as simple reports initially, and then we recommend creating your Templates by using the Layout Component References (LCRs) that reference the Base Reports. In the end, a Template is just a report specification without any data item references, so they are useful as starting points for authors. Think of this as a three-tiered approach that promotes maximum modularity and reuse:

• Tier 1: Base Report where you define the layout objects and name them. Saved into a hidden directory, only accessible to master developers.

• Tier 2: Template Report that uses LCRs which point to the Base Report and places them in the desired layout. These become read-only objects for authors.

• Tier 3: Authors use the Template Report to begin authoring and customize to their specific needs.



*Q: What other advanced topics and considerations should I be aware of when planning training courses for authors?A: We always recommend a two-day fundamentals training course for relational authors: Report Studio Beginning & Intermediate Authoring plus one additional day if you use dimensional sources: Report Studio Dimensional Authoring Fundamentals. We don’t recommend any more advanced training in the first phase because we encourage authors to spend time applying fundamental knowledge in their real-world context before addressing more advanced techniques.

The next question is whether or not you plan to develop Active Reports. This is a completely separate set of skills within the same reporting environment, and is typically not recommended if you are learning to build standard reports. We recommend our one-day courses Active Report Authoring Fundamentals and Active Report Authoring Advanced after learning and working with the fundamentals.




Q: What version of Cognos BI is used in the demo?A: The bulk of the demo at the beginning is version 10.2.2. Later we show Cognos Analytics.

Q: Do you ever have any Framework Manager best practices webinars like this? I have issues with conformed dimensions to facts and reports going from a dimension through a fact that, although it has a relationship to it, needs to go to another fact without going through the first fact.A: Yes. Check out the Senturus resource library, specifically our Metadata Modeling Best Practices webinar may be of interest to you.

Q: Can we have Cognos BI v10.1 and Cognos Analytics running on the same instance on Cognos server? Will we need a server for each version?A: As always, the question really comes down to available resources. Since the core components in both versions are very similar, I would not recommend running them on the same physical instance as you commonly run into conflicts with things like port use and service or directory naming. However, if you have a lot of available capacity on a sandbox or DEV server, you can certainly use two, just be careful about the above issues.

Q & A Log: General Questions


To hear the recording from this webinar, visit our website. While you are there, you can also view and download this deck and the Q & A log at:


The Senturus comprehensive library of recorded webinars, demos, white papers, presentations, and case studies is available on our website at:

http://www.senturus.com/resources/

Hear the Recording


ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

*Custom, tailored training also available*

Cognos and Tableau Training Options


Announcing: New Course for V11 Transition


IBM Cognos Analytics New Features for Experienced Authors

Quickest path to mastering the new user experience introduced with Cognos Analytics for users with experience developing reports with IBM Cognos BI v10 in either Report Studio or Cognos Workspace Advanced

• Length: 1 day

• Cost: $699

• Dates: – Friday, June 3: 7am-3pm PT– Tuesday, June 28: 8:30am-4:30pm PT

• Custom, tailored training also available

Receive one complimentary seat in the New Features for Experienced Authors class

• Attend any Senturus Report Studio or Cognos Workspace Advanced course now through June 30

Special Offer for New V11 Course


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Answers to IBM Cognos Report Authoring Questions

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