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Cognos SDK resources available for contracts

The BI Centre has Cognos SDK developers that are available for software development projects both onsite and for remote opportunities.

If you would like to discuss your Cognos SDK requirements then contact us today at businessintelligencecentre@gmail.com.

Cognos SDK resources available for contracts

The BI Centre has Cognos SDK developers that are available for software development projects both onsite and for remote opportunities.

If you would like to discuss your Cognos SDK requirements then contact us today at businessintelligencecentre@gmail.com.

BI Centre offering remote Cognos testing services

The BI Centre is now offering to provide remote Cognos testing services. Now you can leverage our years of Cognos development experience for your next BI initiate.

If you would like to learn more about our remote testing services offering then please email businessintelligencecentre@gmail.com today.

BI Centre offering remote Cognos testing services

The BI Centre is now offering to provide remote Cognos testing services. Now you can leverage our years of Cognos development experience for your next BI initiate.

If you would like to learn more about our remote testing services offering then please email businessintelligencecentre@gmail.com today.

Cognos 8 - One Click Dynamic Column Sorting

Cognos 8 - One Click Dynamic Column Sorting

This technique allows you to dynamically sort a report by column by clicking on the column header.  It also enables you to change the sort order by repeating the click.

 

To create a list report that allows you to dynamically sort the data ascending or descending by pressing each column's header you will need: 

  • A parameter that provides the column used for sorting;
  • A parameter that provides the sort order (ascending/descending);
  • A drill through on each column title that will be sorted that passes the full name of that column.  Also a pass sort order to change it each time a drill through occurs.

Steps:

 

  1. Create a new or open an existing list report.
  2. In Query Explorer go to Query1.
  3. Click on the data item that you would like to sort by and press CTRL+C and CTRL+V to duplicate the data item.
  4. Repeat Step 3 for each data item you would like to sort by.
  5. Double-click on the copy of each data item to edit it, adding an apostrophe to the beginning and to the end of the expression so it looks like this:  '[Academic Study].[Academic Study].[ACADEMIC_PERIOD]' and press OK.
  6. Repeat Step 5 for each duplicate data item.
  7. From the Toolbox drag a Data Item to the Data Items Pane.  In the Expression Editor that pops-up type:  if(#prompt('p_Direction','integer','1')#=1) then (#prompt('p_SortColumn','token','[PROGRAM]')#) else ('0') (1 means ascending and -1 means descending.  We will have a data item that changes from 1 to -1 and vice-versa at each drill through.)  Click OK. (Column that we will sort on will be the value of this parameter.)

    dynamic sorting 3

  8. Rename the newly created data item to:  Sort_item_asc.
  9. Create a copy of Sort_item_asc (using CTRL+C and CTRL+V).   Rename the copy to Sort_item_desc.
  10. Double-click Sort_item_desc to edit it and change =1 to = -1.  Click OK.
  11. In Page Explorer, click on Page 1 and then click anywhere in the list.  
  12. From the Report Studio menu, click on Data and then Advanced Sorting…
  13. In the Grouping & Sorting dialog box that pops up drag Sort_item_asc on top of Detail Sort List. 
  14. Drag Sort_item_desc underneath Sort_item_asc in Detail Sort List folder and click on the Sort Order button to change it to descending.

    dynamic sorting 1

  15. Click OK.
  16. From Query Explorer click Query 1 and add a Data Item from the Toolbox.  Type this in the expression editor:  -(#prompt('p_Direction','integer','1')#)  Click OK.  (This data item is the future value of the sort order on the next drill through.)
  17. Rename Data Item1 to Direction.
  18. In the Page Explorer click on Page1.
  19. Click on the header column of the data item you want to sort by (the Properties pane should display List Column Title next to Ancestor Selector).
  20. In the Properties Pane double click Drill Throughs.  Click New Drill Through.  For Report choose your report, for action choose Run the Report, click to edit parameters, choose Pass data item values as Method and for Value select the COPY of the data item you are sorting by for the p_SortColumn parameter and Choose Direction for the p_Direction parameter.

    dynamic sorting 2
     
  21. Click OK and then OK again.
  22. Repeat steps 12 thru 14 for each data item column, but selecting the corresponding duplicate data item as the value for the drill through parameter.  (Depending on the column title where the drill through is initiated from – we will assign the according value for the parameter that gives us the column to sort.)
  23. From Run->Run Options…menus deselect Prompt and click OK.
  24. Save the report and run.  For each click on the column header the order changes from ascending to descending and vice-versa.


--
BI CENTRE
http://bicentre.blogspot.com


Cognos 8 - One Click Dynamic Column Sorting

Cognos 8 - One Click Dynamic Column Sorting

This technique allows you to dynamically sort a report by column by clicking on the column header.  It also enables you to change the sort order by repeating the click.

 

To create a list report that allows you to dynamically sort the data ascending or descending by pressing each column's header you will need: 

  • A parameter that provides the column used for sorting;
  • A parameter that provides the sort order (ascending/descending);
  • A drill through on each column title that will be sorted that passes the full name of that column.  Also a pass sort order to change it each time a drill through occurs.

Steps:

 

  1. Create a new or open an existing list report.
  2. In Query Explorer go to Query1.
  3. Click on the data item that you would like to sort by and press CTRL+C and CTRL+V to duplicate the data item.
  4. Repeat Step 3 for each data item you would like to sort by.
  5. Double-click on the copy of each data item to edit it, adding an apostrophe to the beginning and to the end of the expression so it looks like this:  '[Academic Study].[Academic Study].[ACADEMIC_PERIOD]' and press OK.
  6. Repeat Step 5 for each duplicate data item.
  7. From the Toolbox drag a Data Item to the Data Items Pane.  In the Expression Editor that pops-up type:  if(#prompt('p_Direction','integer','1')#=1) then (#prompt('p_SortColumn','token','[PROGRAM]')#) else ('0') (1 means ascending and -1 means descending.  We will have a data item that changes from 1 to -1 and vice-versa at each drill through.)  Click OK. (Column that we will sort on will be the value of this parameter.)

    dynamic sorting 3

  8. Rename the newly created data item to:  Sort_item_asc.
  9. Create a copy of Sort_item_asc (using CTRL+C and CTRL+V).   Rename the copy to Sort_item_desc.
  10. Double-click Sort_item_desc to edit it and change =1 to = -1.  Click OK.
  11. In Page Explorer, click on Page 1 and then click anywhere in the list.  
  12. From the Report Studio menu, click on Data and then Advanced Sorting…
  13. In the Grouping & Sorting dialog box that pops up drag Sort_item_asc on top of Detail Sort List. 
  14. Drag Sort_item_desc underneath Sort_item_asc in Detail Sort List folder and click on the Sort Order button to change it to descending.

    dynamic sorting 1

  15. Click OK.
  16. From Query Explorer click Query 1 and add a Data Item from the Toolbox.  Type this in the expression editor:  -(#prompt('p_Direction','integer','1')#)  Click OK.  (This data item is the future value of the sort order on the next drill through.)
  17. Rename Data Item1 to Direction.
  18. In the Page Explorer click on Page1.
  19. Click on the header column of the data item you want to sort by (the Properties pane should display List Column Title next to Ancestor Selector).
  20. In the Properties Pane double click Drill Throughs.  Click New Drill Through.  For Report choose your report, for action choose Run the Report, click to edit parameters, choose Pass data item values as Method and for Value select the COPY of the data item you are sorting by for the p_SortColumn parameter and Choose Direction for the p_Direction parameter.

    dynamic sorting 2
     
  21. Click OK and then OK again.
  22. Repeat steps 12 thru 14 for each data item column, but selecting the corresponding duplicate data item as the value for the drill through parameter.  (Depending on the column title where the drill through is initiated from – we will assign the according value for the parameter that gives us the column to sort.)
  23. From Run->Run Options…menus deselect Prompt and click OK.
  24. Save the report and run.  For each click on the column header the order changes from ascending to descending and vice-versa.


--
BI CENTRE
http://cognos8help.blogspot.com


How to apply simple conditional formatting in Report Studio?

How to apply simple conditional formatting of a report in Report Studio? 

 
Resolving the problem


Highlight data in a report to better identify exceptional results. For example, to identify sales representatives who have exceeded their quota, create a condition that checks if each representative's sales for the year is greater than their quota for the year. Steps:1.Open the report that you want.
2.From the File menu, click Variables.

3.Create a variable by clicking the add button bellow the Variables box.

4.In the Name box, type a name for the variable.

5.In the Type box, select the type of variable you want to create:

To create a variable that has only two possible values, yes and no, click Boolean.

To create a variable whose values are string-based, click String.

6.Click OK.

7.Click the Edit button below the Expression box.

8.In the Expression Definition box, define the condition.

9.Click OK twice.

10.In the work area, click the column that you want to highlight based on the condition you just created.

11.Click the Condition Explorer button.  The Condition Explorer dialog box appears.

12.Click the variable you just created.

13.In the Properties pane, click the Conditional Style property.

14.In the Variable dialog box, click the Variable box.

15.Click the variable you want to assign to the object.

16.In the Values box, select the values you want the condition to support.

Tip: A default value exists for each variable you define, and it is always selected.

17.Open the Condition Explorer dialog box again, and click one of the possible values for the variable other than the default value.

For example, if you created a boolean variable, click the Yes value.

18.In the Properties pane, specify the formatting that you want to highlight the column with when the condition is satisfied.

For example, click the Border property to create a thicker border around the column.

19.Repeat steps 17 to 18 for other possible values defined for the variable.

20.Repeat steps 10 to 19 for other objects that you want to highlight.

Tip: In the Condition Explorer dialog box, click (No variable) to view how the report looks when no variable is applied.

When you run the report, the report objects to which you applied the variable are highlighted when the condition is satisfied. For example, if you created a Boolean variable, the objects are highlighted when the condition is met.
 
--
BI CENTRE
http://bicentre.blogspot.com


 

How to apply simple conditional formatting in Report Studio?

How to apply simple conditional formatting of a report in Report Studio? 

 
Resolving the problem


Highlight data in a report to better identify exceptional results. For example, to identify sales representatives who have exceeded their quota, create a condition that checks if each representative's sales for the year is greater than their quota for the year. Steps:1.Open the report that you want.
2.From the File menu, click Variables.

3.Create a variable by clicking the add button bellow the Variables box.

4.In the Name box, type a name for the variable.

5.In the Type box, select the type of variable you want to create:

To create a variable that has only two possible values, yes and no, click Boolean.

To create a variable whose values are string-based, click String.

6.Click OK.

7.Click the Edit button below the Expression box.

8.In the Expression Definition box, define the condition.

9.Click OK twice.

10.In the work area, click the column that you want to highlight based on the condition you just created.

11.Click the Condition Explorer button.  The Condition Explorer dialog box appears.

12.Click the variable you just created.

13.In the Properties pane, click the Conditional Style property.

14.In the Variable dialog box, click the Variable box.

15.Click the variable you want to assign to the object.

16.In the Values box, select the values you want the condition to support.

Tip: A default value exists for each variable you define, and it is always selected.

17.Open the Condition Explorer dialog box again, and click one of the possible values for the variable other than the default value.

For example, if you created a boolean variable, click the Yes value.

18.In the Properties pane, specify the formatting that you want to highlight the column with when the condition is satisfied.

For example, click the Border property to create a thicker border around the column.

19.Repeat steps 17 to 18 for other possible values defined for the variable.

20.Repeat steps 10 to 19 for other objects that you want to highlight.

Tip: In the Condition Explorer dialog box, click (No variable) to view how the report looks when no variable is applied.

When you run the report, the report objects to which you applied the variable are highlighted when the condition is satisfied. For example, if you created a Boolean variable, the objects are highlighted when the condition is met.
 
--
BI CENTRE
http://cognos8help.blogspot.com


 

DPR-ERR-2056

Errorcode 
DPR-ERR-2056
Decription
The Report Server is not responding.
Component
DPR
 Messages generated by the Dispatcher
 
SubComponent
ERR All general strings on the error page
Solution
Symptom
Account Structure Reports IBM Cognos 8
DPR-ERR-2056 The Report Server is not responding.

Problem
User launches any standard report (also known as "system report"). For example, user launches "Maintain - Account Structure - Reports" and selects a report. The report window displays, but inside there is an error message.

Cause
There are many different potential causes for this error message.
Often a "corrupt" installation media is causing this issue. This has some missing files, which means that there are not the required DLL files available for the BiBus process to launch correctly (when the report runs).

Solution
1. Re-download the Controller installation media from the IBM website
2. Re-extract the file
3. Finally, uninstall Controller and then re-install using the new installation media files/folder.


--
BI CENTRE
http://bicentre.blogspot.com


DPR-ERR-2056

Errorcode 
DPR-ERR-2056
Decription
The Report Server is not responding.
Component
DPR
 Messages generated by the Dispatcher
 
SubComponent
ERR All general strings on the error page
Solution
Symptom
Account Structure Reports IBM Cognos 8
DPR-ERR-2056 The Report Server is not responding.

Problem
User launches any standard report (also known as "system report"). For example, user launches "Maintain - Account Structure - Reports" and selects a report. The report window displays, but inside there is an error message.

Cause
There are many different potential causes for this error message.
Often a "corrupt" installation media is causing this issue. This has some missing files, which means that there are not the required DLL files available for the BiBus process to launch correctly (when the report runs).

Solution
1. Re-download the Controller installation media from the IBM website
2. Re-extract the file
3. Finally, uninstall Controller and then re-install using the new installation media files/folder.


--
BI CENTRE
http://cognos8help.blogspot.com


DPR-ERR-2082

Errorcode 
DPR-ERR-2082
Decription
An error has occurred. Please contact your administrator. The complete error has been logged by CAF with SecureErrorID:
Component
DPR
 Messages generated by the Dispatcher
 
SubComponent
ERR All general strings on the error page
Solution
Symptom
After launch of IBM Cognos 8 Connection the error message appears.

Problem
After launch of IBM Cognos 8 Connection the following error message appears:
Cognos 8 Help
DPR-ERR-2009 A request to authenticate the user in Content Manager failed.
Details:
DPR-ERR-2082 An error has occurred. Please contact your administrator. The complete error has been logged by CAF with SecureErrorID:2009-06-02-11:35:31.378-#77 OK

Symptom
After launch of IBM Cognos 8 Connection the error message appears.

Cause
When Cognos 8 service was starting, there was a problem with the server network connection.

Solution
Launch IBM Cognos Configuration and restart the IBM Cognos 8 Service, using the Restart icon at the top.


--
BI CENTRE
http://bicentre.blogspot.com


DPR-ERR-2082

Errorcode 
DPR-ERR-2082
Decription
An error has occurred. Please contact your administrator. The complete error has been logged by CAF with SecureErrorID:
Component
DPR
 Messages generated by the Dispatcher
 
SubComponent
ERR All general strings on the error page
Solution
Symptom
After launch of IBM Cognos 8 Connection the error message appears.

Problem
After launch of IBM Cognos 8 Connection the following error message appears:
Cognos 8 Help
DPR-ERR-2009 A request to authenticate the user in Content Manager failed.
Details:
DPR-ERR-2082 An error has occurred. Please contact your administrator. The complete error has been logged by CAF with SecureErrorID:2009-06-02-11:35:31.378-#77 OK

Symptom
After launch of IBM Cognos 8 Connection the error message appears.

Cause
When Cognos 8 service was starting, there was a problem with the server network connection.

Solution
Launch IBM Cognos Configuration and restart the IBM Cognos 8 Service, using the Restart icon at the top.


--
BI CENTRE
http://cognos8help.blogspot.com


Cognos 8 Dispatcher Errors

Dispatcher Errors

DPR-DPR-1031
Unable to complete the request. The user does not have the
'canUseServerAdministrationTool' capability.
Ensure that the user has the canUseServerAdministrationTool capability.

DPR-DPR-1032
The stop request cannot be completed because the user lacks write capability on
this object.
Ensure that the user has write permission for the service object.

DPR-DPR-1033
Unable to complete the start request. The user does not have write capability
on this object.
Ensure that the user has write permission for the service object.

DPR-DPR-1034
Unable to complete the request. The query to retrieve the
'canUseServerAdministrationTool' capability failed.
Ensure that Content Manager is running correctly.

DPR-ERR-2008
The dispatcher is unable to process the request. The request is directed to an
unknown service name: %0%
Ensure the search path to the service is correct.



--
BI CENTRE
http://bicentre.blogspot.com


Cognos 8 Dispatcher Errors

Dispatcher Errors

DPR-DPR-1031
Unable to complete the request. The user does not have the
'canUseServerAdministrationTool' capability.
Ensure that the user has the canUseServerAdministrationTool capability.

DPR-DPR-1032
The stop request cannot be completed because the user lacks write capability on
this object.
Ensure that the user has write permission for the service object.

DPR-DPR-1033
Unable to complete the start request. The user does not have write capability
on this object.
Ensure that the user has write permission for the service object.

DPR-DPR-1034
Unable to complete the request. The query to retrieve the
'canUseServerAdministrationTool' capability failed.
Ensure that Content Manager is running correctly.

DPR-ERR-2008
The dispatcher is unable to process the request. The request is directed to an
unknown service name: %0%
Ensure the search path to the service is correct.



--
BI CENTRE
http://cognos8help.blogspot.com


Cognos 8 Content Store Schema

The Cognos content store tables are used by Cognos 8 as repository database. So a regular database backup is very important! All you folders, reports and security are stored in these tables. The table structure is created when the Cognos Cognfiguration Manager is started for the first time.

Table name   Descrition

CMSYSPROPS   This table has the Content Store Version.   
CMOBJNAMES   This table has the names of all the objects in the content store.   
CMOBJPROPS1   Users, Roles \ Group Distribution list and contact information such as Email, phone number, Fax Given name etc are stored in this table   
CMOBJPROPS2   Report scheduling information is stored. This table has fields like hour, day week etc   
CMOBJPROPS3   Stores Screen Tip and Object description provided while creating the objects are stored here   
CMOBJPROPS4   Stores the printer paper setting details like height and width of A3 , A4 , letter and 11X17 paper orientations   
CMOBJPROPS6   Has the details of the all packages which were published using the FM.   
CMOBJPROPS7   This table stores the XML of all reports and models. This is basically to maintain the metadata about the structure of the reports and models.   
CMOBJPROPS10   Contact information is stored in this table. This table has columns like Contact Email and Contact.   
CMOBJPROPS11   This table stores the data sources configuration details like connect string, the cube location etc.   
CMOBJPROPS13   It stores the names of parameter passed to the range prompts   
CMOBJPROPS14   Has details regarding the versions, creation time etc of the objects in the content store.   
CMOBJPROPS16   This table provides the status of the multiple services of Cognos like LogService, MonitorService, ReportService, SystemService, JobService   
CMOBJPROPS17   Stores performance details of each component like "query Studio, Analysis Studio, Event Studio" etc   
CMOBJPROPS18   This table stores the drill path from the source to the final target report.   
CMOBJPROPS20   Stores details regarding which are all the reports for which prompting has been enabled. And also has the details of which are the reports which has the                                  default report options overridden.   
CMOBJPROPS24   Stores the printer configuration details   
CMOBJPROPS25   Stores the data regarding the objects deployed, like the deployed folder, the reports, the number of folders present in the deployment archive, etc   
CMOBJPROPS26   This table stores the data about all the packages imported / exported in C8, with the properties selected during the process.   
CMOBJPROPS27   Has the details regarding the data source created in the content store using Cubes.   
CMOBJPROPS30   Stores the registration , service description etc details about portlets in this table   
CMOBJPROPS31   Has the custom logging level for each of the Cognos services, CMID can be be linked to CMOBJNAMES for the names of each of the services   
CMOBJPROPS32   Has the details of the stored procedures used as the query items in the FM model.   
CMOBJPROPS33   Detail related to users, user groups user roles.   
CMOBJPROPS34   Has the details regarding the drill through parameters of the drill through reports. The parameter assign values are present in coded format   
CMOBJPROPS36   Has the list of all the Models published using framework manager   
CMOBJPROPS37   This table has the details of the routing sets configured for server / load balancing for each package published in the content store   
CMOBJPROPS38   Configuration details about number of items to retrieve in studios, for a package are saved under this table.   
CMOBJPROPS39   Has values for properties of reports and views. PROPID can be linked to CMPROPERTIES for property names   
CMOBJPROPS52   Contains the properties for the connections   
CMOBJPROPS55   Has the URI for icons for each entry in Cognos Connection   
CMLOCALES        Has the locale ids associated with each language supported by Cognos 8   



--
BI CENTRE
http://bicentre.blogspot.com


Cognos 8 Content Store Schema

The Cognos content store tables are used by Cognos 8 as repository database. So a regular database backup is very important! All you folders, reports and security are stored in these tables. The table structure is created when the Cognos Cognfiguration Manager is started for the first time.

Table name   Descrition

CMSYSPROPS   This table has the Content Store Version.   
CMOBJNAMES   This table has the names of all the objects in the content store.   
CMOBJPROPS1   Users, Roles \ Group Distribution list and contact information such as Email, phone number, Fax Given name etc are stored in this table   
CMOBJPROPS2   Report scheduling information is stored. This table has fields like hour, day week etc   
CMOBJPROPS3   Stores Screen Tip and Object description provided while creating the objects are stored here   
CMOBJPROPS4   Stores the printer paper setting details like height and width of A3 , A4 , letter and 11X17 paper orientations   
CMOBJPROPS6   Has the details of the all packages which were published using the FM.   
CMOBJPROPS7   This table stores the XML of all reports and models. This is basically to maintain the metadata about the structure of the reports and models.   
CMOBJPROPS10   Contact information is stored in this table. This table has columns like Contact Email and Contact.   
CMOBJPROPS11   This table stores the data sources configuration details like connect string, the cube location etc.   
CMOBJPROPS13   It stores the names of parameter passed to the range prompts   
CMOBJPROPS14   Has details regarding the versions, creation time etc of the objects in the content store.   
CMOBJPROPS16   This table provides the status of the multiple services of Cognos like LogService, MonitorService, ReportService, SystemService, JobService   
CMOBJPROPS17   Stores performance details of each component like "query Studio, Analysis Studio, Event Studio" etc   
CMOBJPROPS18   This table stores the drill path from the source to the final target report.   
CMOBJPROPS20   Stores details regarding which are all the reports for which prompting has been enabled. And also has the details of which are the reports which has the                                  default report options overridden.   
CMOBJPROPS24   Stores the printer configuration details   
CMOBJPROPS25   Stores the data regarding the objects deployed, like the deployed folder, the reports, the number of folders present in the deployment archive, etc   
CMOBJPROPS26   This table stores the data about all the packages imported / exported in C8, with the properties selected during the process.   
CMOBJPROPS27   Has the details regarding the data source created in the content store using Cubes.   
CMOBJPROPS30   Stores the registration , service description etc details about portlets in this table   
CMOBJPROPS31   Has the custom logging level for each of the Cognos services, CMID can be be linked to CMOBJNAMES for the names of each of the services   
CMOBJPROPS32   Has the details of the stored procedures used as the query items in the FM model.   
CMOBJPROPS33   Detail related to users, user groups user roles.   
CMOBJPROPS34   Has the details regarding the drill through parameters of the drill through reports. The parameter assign values are present in coded format   
CMOBJPROPS36   Has the list of all the Models published using framework manager   
CMOBJPROPS37   This table has the details of the routing sets configured for server / load balancing for each package published in the content store   
CMOBJPROPS38   Configuration details about number of items to retrieve in studios, for a package are saved under this table.   
CMOBJPROPS39   Has values for properties of reports and views. PROPID can be linked to CMPROPERTIES for property names   
CMOBJPROPS52   Contains the properties for the connections   
CMOBJPROPS55   Has the URI for icons for each entry in Cognos Connection   
CMLOCALES        Has the locale ids associated with each language supported by Cognos 8   



--
BI CENTRE
http://cognos8help.blogspot.com


Stop and Start Dispatchers and Services

Stop and Start Dispatchers and Services

You can stop and start dispatchers and services manually. If a service stops responding, you must stop and restart it.

Each dispatcher and service can be

  • started

  • stopped immediately and delete all the requests that are running or queued, without completing those requests

  • stopped after running and queued requests are processed

You can stop or start all dispatchers and services in the IBM Cognos 8 environment at once.

When you start IBM Cognos 8 using the configuration tool, all dispatchers and services start unless they are disabled in the configuration tool. For more information, see the Installation and Configuration Guide.

By default, all services start when you restart the computer on which they are installed.

Stopping a service also stops all its processes. When you stop a dispatcher, all its services are stopped. If the suspended dispatcher has an active Content Manager, all users except administrators are locked out.

After a service is stopped, it has a suspended status System Performance Metrics.

You must have the required permissions to access IBM Cognos Administration functionality. See Secured Functions and Features.

Steps
  1. Start IBM Cognos Connection.

  2. In the upper-right corner, click Launch, IBM Cognos Administration.

  3. On the Status tab, click System.

  4. In the upper-left corner of the Scorecard pane, click the arrow to view the Change view menu and find the dispatchers or services that you want.

    Click All servers, All server groups, or All dispatchers. To select a service, pause your pointer over Services and click the required service.

  5. Click the arrow next to the dispatcher or service, and choose the action that you want to perform.

    Depending on the dispatcher or service, you can do the following:

    Goal Action
    Start all dispatchers in system

    With all servers displayed, in the upper right corner of the Scorecard pane, click the arrow to view the Toolbar actions menu, and then click Start dispatchers.

    Tip: To apply a toolbar action to only some entries, select check boxes for one or more entries and then click the toolbar action that you want.

    Start all dispatchers for a server group

    With all server groups displayed, click the arrow to view the Actions menu next to the server group, and then click Start dispatchers.

    Start all dispatchers for a server

    With all servers displayed, click the arrow to view the actions menu next to the server, and then click Start dispatchers.

    Start a specific dispatcher

    With all dispatchers displayed, click the arrow to view the Actions menu next to the dispatcher, and then click Start.

    Start a specific service

    With all services displayed, click the arrow to view the Actions menu next to the service, and then click Start.

    Stop all dispatchers in system

    With all servers displayed, in the upper right corner of the Scorecard pane, click the arrow to view the Toolbar actions menu, and then click Stop dispatchers immediately or Stop dispatchers after running and queue processed.

    Stop all dispatchers for a server group

    With all server groups displayed, click the arrow to view the Actions menu next to the server group, and then click Stop dispatchers immediately or Stop dispatchers after running and queue processed.

    Stop all dispatchers for a server

    With all servers displayed, click the arrow to view the Actions menu next to the server, and then click Stop dispatchers immediately or Stop dispatchers after running and queue processed.

    Stop a specific dispatcher

    With all dispatchers displayed, click the arrow to view the Actions menu next to the dispatcher, and then click Stop immediately or Stop after running and queue processed.

    Stop a specific service

    With all services displayed, click the arrow to view the Actions menu next to the service, and then click Stop immediately or Stop after running and queue processed.

    A dialog box appears and confirms the action.

  6. Click Close.



--
BI CENTRE
http://bicentre.blogspot.com


Stop and Start Dispatchers and Services

Stop and Start Dispatchers and Services

You can stop and start dispatchers and services manually. If a service stops responding, you must stop and restart it.

Each dispatcher and service can be

  • started

  • stopped immediately and delete all the requests that are running or queued, without completing those requests

  • stopped after running and queued requests are processed

You can stop or start all dispatchers and services in the IBM Cognos 8 environment at once.

When you start IBM Cognos 8 using the configuration tool, all dispatchers and services start unless they are disabled in the configuration tool. For more information, see the Installation and Configuration Guide.

By default, all services start when you restart the computer on which they are installed.

Stopping a service also stops all its processes. When you stop a dispatcher, all its services are stopped. If the suspended dispatcher has an active Content Manager, all users except administrators are locked out.

After a service is stopped, it has a suspended status System Performance Metrics.

You must have the required permissions to access IBM Cognos Administration functionality. See Secured Functions and Features.

Steps
  1. Start IBM Cognos Connection.

  2. In the upper-right corner, click Launch, IBM Cognos Administration.

  3. On the Status tab, click System.

  4. In the upper-left corner of the Scorecard pane, click the arrow to view the Change view menu and find the dispatchers or services that you want.

    Click All servers, All server groups, or All dispatchers. To select a service, pause your pointer over Services and click the required service.

  5. Click the arrow next to the dispatcher or service, and choose the action that you want to perform.

    Depending on the dispatcher or service, you can do the following:

    Goal Action
    Start all dispatchers in system

    With all servers displayed, in the upper right corner of the Scorecard pane, click the arrow to view the Toolbar actions menu, and then click Start dispatchers.

    Tip: To apply a toolbar action to only some entries, select check boxes for one or more entries and then click the toolbar action that you want.

    Start all dispatchers for a server group

    With all server groups displayed, click the arrow to view the Actions menu next to the server group, and then click Start dispatchers.

    Start all dispatchers for a server

    With all servers displayed, click the arrow to view the actions menu next to the server, and then click Start dispatchers.

    Start a specific dispatcher

    With all dispatchers displayed, click the arrow to view the Actions menu next to the dispatcher, and then click Start.

    Start a specific service

    With all services displayed, click the arrow to view the Actions menu next to the service, and then click Start.

    Stop all dispatchers in system

    With all servers displayed, in the upper right corner of the Scorecard pane, click the arrow to view the Toolbar actions menu, and then click Stop dispatchers immediately or Stop dispatchers after running and queue processed.

    Stop all dispatchers for a server group

    With all server groups displayed, click the arrow to view the Actions menu next to the server group, and then click Stop dispatchers immediately or Stop dispatchers after running and queue processed.

    Stop all dispatchers for a server

    With all servers displayed, click the arrow to view the Actions menu next to the server, and then click Stop dispatchers immediately or Stop dispatchers after running and queue processed.

    Stop a specific dispatcher

    With all dispatchers displayed, click the arrow to view the Actions menu next to the dispatcher, and then click Stop immediately or Stop after running and queue processed.

    Stop a specific service

    With all services displayed, click the arrow to view the Actions menu next to the service, and then click Stop immediately or Stop after running and queue processed.

    A dialog box appears and confirms the action.

  6. Click Close.



--
BI CENTRE
http://cognos8help.blogspot.com


Application Server Startup Script Fails

Application Server Startup Script Fails

You may have problems running the startup scripts for an application server to deploy the IBM Cognos application if IBM Cognos 8 components are installed in a directory with a name that includes spaces.

To resolve this problem, rename the directory and do not include spaces in the new name. If this solution is not easily handled by the startup scripts, try adding quotation marks around the directory name that includes spaces or use the 8.3 DOS naming convention.

--
BI CENTRE
http://bicentre.blogspot.com


Application Server Startup Script Fails

Application Server Startup Script Fails

You may have problems running the startup scripts for an application server to deploy the IBM Cognos application if IBM Cognos 8 components are installed in a directory with a name that includes spaces.

To resolve this problem, rename the directory and do not include spaces in the new name. If this solution is not easily handled by the startup scripts, try adding quotation marks around the directory name that includes spaces or use the 8.3 DOS naming convention.

--
BI CENTRE
http://cognos8help.blogspot.com


IBM Cognos 8 Services Fail to Restart After a Network Outage

IBM Cognos 8 Services Fail to Restart After a Network Outage

The IBM Cognos Bootstrap Service restarts IBM Cognos 8 services after a network outage for Tomcat installations where a network IP address is specified in the internal dispatcher URI. During the restart, the IBM Cognos 8 services may not initialize successfully, requiring a manual restart after the network is restored.

To resolve the problem, configure the Internal dispatcher URI property in IBM Cognos Configuration to use localhost or the network host name.



--
BI CENTRE
http://bicentre.blogspot.com


IBM Cognos 8 Services Fail to Restart After a Network Outage

IBM Cognos 8 Services Fail to Restart After a Network Outage

The IBM Cognos Bootstrap Service restarts IBM Cognos 8 services after a network outage for Tomcat installations where a network IP address is specified in the internal dispatcher URI. During the restart, the IBM Cognos 8 services may not initialize successfully, requiring a manual restart after the network is restored.

To resolve the problem, configure the Internal dispatcher URI property in IBM Cognos Configuration to use localhost or the network host name.



--
BI CENTRE
http://cognos8help.blogspot.com


What is Enterprise Change Management?

What is Enterprise Change Management?

Change management is defined as the process, tools and techniques to manage the people side of change. It involves 1) understanding the change that is being implemented, 2) analyzing the people that will be impacted by the change and 3) creating the plans and actions that will help drive the successful implementation of the change from the people-perspective (such as communications, sponsorship, coaching, training, resistance management and reinforcement mechanisms).

Enterprise Change Management is different - it is the deployment of change management or the building of change management competencies across the entire organization. In essence, it is ensuring that change management is done effectively on all projects and changes in the organization. Prosci's research and engagements with organizations show three main elements that define Enterprise Change Management:

  1. A common set of processes and tools for managing change - This is essentially the application of "the process, tools and techniques to manage the people side of change" across all of the changes going on in the organization. It is the repetitive and intentional application of change management.
  2. A leadership competency at all levels of the organization, from supervisors to senior executives - While the first element is tied to projects, this element is tied to the people in the organization. The leadership competency element is the internalization of the role and responsibility for "leading change" by all of the leaders, managers and supervisors in the organization. It requires training and coaching, as well as on-the-job support.
  3. A strategic capability that enables the organization to be flexible, change ready and responsive to marketplace changes - This is more of an outcome of the other two elements. When the organization applies change management to many projects and when individuals build the needed expectations and skill set, the organization can count "change-ready" as one of its core competencies.

The above three elements define Enterprise Change Management. In addition, it is important to note that taking on ECM is itself an endeavor for the organization. There is no magic wand or silver bullet to help an organization become competent at managing change. When an organization becomes serious about building this core competency, it must treat ECM as:

  • A project - Like any other project, the effort to build the competency to manage change requires planning, design and implementation work. To be successful, a structured approach to managing the project is needed, along with the resources and plans for implementing the "competency building" project.
  • A change - For many in the organization, ECM means new behaviors, activities and skill sets. Managing the human component of "deploying change management" will be crucial to the success of the effort. This includes communication, sponsorship and the other tools for managing the human reaction to the competency building effort.
  • An effort that must be driven from the top of the organization - In all five of Prosci's best practices studies, the active and visible involvement of senior leaders was cited as the number one contributor to success. Building the competency to manage change is no different. There needs to be a primary sponsor, a strong sponsor coalition and communication directly from senior leaders about the need for "getting better" at managing change.


--
BI CENTRE
http://bicentre.blogspot.com


What is Enterprise Change Management?

What is Enterprise Change Management?

Change management is defined as the process, tools and techniques to manage the people side of change. It involves 1) understanding the change that is being implemented, 2) analyzing the people that will be impacted by the change and 3) creating the plans and actions that will help drive the successful implementation of the change from the people-perspective (such as communications, sponsorship, coaching, training, resistance management and reinforcement mechanisms).

Enterprise Change Management is different - it is the deployment of change management or the building of change management competencies across the entire organization. In essence, it is ensuring that change management is done effectively on all projects and changes in the organization. Prosci's research and engagements with organizations show three main elements that define Enterprise Change Management:

  1. A common set of processes and tools for managing change - This is essentially the application of "the process, tools and techniques to manage the people side of change" across all of the changes going on in the organization. It is the repetitive and intentional application of change management.
  2. A leadership competency at all levels of the organization, from supervisors to senior executives - While the first element is tied to projects, this element is tied to the people in the organization. The leadership competency element is the internalization of the role and responsibility for "leading change" by all of the leaders, managers and supervisors in the organization. It requires training and coaching, as well as on-the-job support.
  3. A strategic capability that enables the organization to be flexible, change ready and responsive to marketplace changes - This is more of an outcome of the other two elements. When the organization applies change management to many projects and when individuals build the needed expectations and skill set, the organization can count "change-ready" as one of its core competencies.

The above three elements define Enterprise Change Management. In addition, it is important to note that taking on ECM is itself an endeavor for the organization. There is no magic wand or silver bullet to help an organization become competent at managing change. When an organization becomes serious about building this core competency, it must treat ECM as:

  • A project - Like any other project, the effort to build the competency to manage change requires planning, design and implementation work. To be successful, a structured approach to managing the project is needed, along with the resources and plans for implementing the "competency building" project.
  • A change - For many in the organization, ECM means new behaviors, activities and skill sets. Managing the human component of "deploying change management" will be crucial to the success of the effort. This includes communication, sponsorship and the other tools for managing the human reaction to the competency building effort.
  • An effort that must be driven from the top of the organization - In all five of Prosci's best practices studies, the active and visible involvement of senior leaders was cited as the number one contributor to success. Building the competency to manage change is no different. There needs to be a primary sponsor, a strong sponsor coalition and communication directly from senior leaders about the need for "getting better" at managing change.


--
BI CENTRE
http://cognos8help.blogspot.com


TM1 Backup options

The first backup option that will be demonstrated is a basic process of shutting down the TM1 server, saving the data, and running a backup of the data directory.
The advantage of this method is simplicity in the initial system configuration – no changes need to be made to the configuration file. Also data assurance is guaranteed, no one will be entering data while the system is down and the backup is executing. Additionally, audit logging can be enabled via the TM1 configuration file when using this method for backing up the TM1 system.

The disadvantage of this method is that the TM1 server must be taken offline and shutdown for a period of time. This may or may not be a problem; it will depend on the uptime requirements of each organization. Also, any data entered between backups may be lost if the data directory files become corrupt.

1.  Shutdown the TM1 Server and respond "Yes" to the "Do you want to save changes" prompt. This will save any changed data in RAM to the data directory.

2.   Backup all files in the TM1 Data Directory. There are a number of ways that this can be accomplished using various third-party products or operating system commands. There are also many ways to automate this process using third-party tools and schedulers. In MS-DOS a simple XCOPY command with the appropriate switches will copy all of the TM1 Data Directory files and sub-folders to another location (backup folder, drive, or other media).To verify the location of the TM1 Data Directory, view the TM1 Configuration File: tm1s.cfg.

The Data Directory will be listed next to the DataBaseDirectory item. This is the directory that should be backed up. Be sure to include all sub-directories in the backup.

For many organizations TM1 is a critical application that must be maintained as a 24x7 enterprise application. In these cases, it is not acceptable to shutdown the TM1 Server to perform a backup. TM1 provides organizations the ability to maintain 24x7 uptime and also perform regular backups of the Data Directory. Several changes will need to be made to the default settings of the TM1 Server configuration file (tm1s.cfg) in order to perform a live backup successfully.
The advantages of this method are ease of administration, 24x7 system uptime, and automation can be created within TM1 using Turbo Integrator and Chores. The disadvantages are that there is initial configuration that must be performed and the potential exists for lost data between "Saves" if the Data Directory files become corrupt.
The following steps must be performed in order to run backups from a Live TM1 Server:
1)
Modify the default TM1 Server Configuration file (tm1s.cfg).
a.
Point the Log Files to a location other than the Data Directory by inserting the "LoggingDirectory" parameter in the configuration file. By default, TM1 writes log files to the Data Directory. Since these files will be open and active while the TM1 Server is running, any attempt to back them up will result in a file sharing violation and may cause a backup process to fail.
b.
Verify that the AuditLogOn parameter is set to 'F'. This is the default setting, but if the AuditLogOn parameter is set to 'T' then, as in the case above with the transaction logs, open and active files will be in the Data Directory. Attempting a backup will cause a file sharing violation which may result in a backup failure.
Note the sample tm1s.cfg file below which has been modified to allow for live backups from the TM1 Server.



--
BI CENTRE
http://bicentre.blogspot.com


TM1 Backup options

The first backup option that will be demonstrated is a basic process of shutting down the TM1 server, saving the data, and running a backup of the data directory.
The advantage of this method is simplicity in the initial system configuration – no changes need to be made to the configuration file. Also data assurance is guaranteed, no one will be entering data while the system is down and the backup is executing. Additionally, audit logging can be enabled via the TM1 configuration file when using this method for backing up the TM1 system.

The disadvantage of this method is that the TM1 server must be taken offline and shutdown for a period of time. This may or may not be a problem; it will depend on the uptime requirements of each organization. Also, any data entered between backups may be lost if the data directory files become corrupt.

1.  Shutdown the TM1 Server and respond "Yes" to the "Do you want to save changes" prompt. This will save any changed data in RAM to the data directory.

2.   Backup all files in the TM1 Data Directory. There are a number of ways that this can be accomplished using various third-party products or operating system commands. There are also many ways to automate this process using third-party tools and schedulers. In MS-DOS a simple XCOPY command with the appropriate switches will copy all of the TM1 Data Directory files and sub-folders to another location (backup folder, drive, or other media).To verify the location of the TM1 Data Directory, view the TM1 Configuration File: tm1s.cfg.

The Data Directory will be listed next to the DataBaseDirectory item. This is the directory that should be backed up. Be sure to include all sub-directories in the backup.

For many organizations TM1 is a critical application that must be maintained as a 24x7 enterprise application. In these cases, it is not acceptable to shutdown the TM1 Server to perform a backup. TM1 provides organizations the ability to maintain 24x7 uptime and also perform regular backups of the Data Directory. Several changes will need to be made to the default settings of the TM1 Server configuration file (tm1s.cfg) in order to perform a live backup successfully.
The advantages of this method are ease of administration, 24x7 system uptime, and automation can be created within TM1 using Turbo Integrator and Chores. The disadvantages are that there is initial configuration that must be performed and the potential exists for lost data between "Saves" if the Data Directory files become corrupt.
The following steps must be performed in order to run backups from a Live TM1 Server:
1)
Modify the default TM1 Server Configuration file (tm1s.cfg).
a.
Point the Log Files to a location other than the Data Directory by inserting the "LoggingDirectory" parameter in the configuration file. By default, TM1 writes log files to the Data Directory. Since these files will be open and active while the TM1 Server is running, any attempt to back them up will result in a file sharing violation and may cause a backup process to fail.
b.
Verify that the AuditLogOn parameter is set to 'F'. This is the default setting, but if the AuditLogOn parameter is set to 'T' then, as in the case above with the transaction logs, open and active files will be in the Data Directory. Attempting a backup will cause a file sharing violation which may result in a backup failure.
Note the sample tm1s.cfg file below which has been modified to allow for live backups from the TM1 Server.



--
BI CENTRE
http://cognos8help.blogspot.com


TM1

TM1 is RAM-based system which provides superior performance to disk-based systems by reducing physical disk I/O operations. Since TM1 is RAM-based, a back-up strategy must take this into consideration. In order to back-up all TM1 data that is currently residing in RAM, two approaches can be taken.
The first approach is to shut down the TM1 server and then to respond YES to the save changes confirmation. Once the TM1 server application is closed a backup can be run against that TM1 server's data directory.

The second approach is to leverage the Transaction Logging capabilities in TM1 to perform a live backup against the TM1 Server without the need to shut down the server. When users are working within the TM1 application, any data that is entered is held in RAM until a "Save Data" operation is executed, this will save any in-memory data to the disk files in the data directory. In this case, the administrator would execute a Save Data command and then proceed with a backup of the data directory.

--
BI CENTRE
http://bicentre.blogspot.com


TM1

TM1 is RAM-based system which provides superior performance to disk-based systems by reducing physical disk I/O operations. Since TM1 is RAM-based, a back-up strategy must take this into consideration. In order to back-up all TM1 data that is currently residing in RAM, two approaches can be taken.
The first approach is to shut down the TM1 server and then to respond YES to the save changes confirmation. Once the TM1 server application is closed a backup can be run against that TM1 server's data directory.

The second approach is to leverage the Transaction Logging capabilities in TM1 to perform a live backup against the TM1 Server without the need to shut down the server. When users are working within the TM1 application, any data that is entered is held in RAM until a "Save Data" operation is executed, this will save any in-memory data to the disk files in the data directory. In this case, the administrator would execute a Save Data command and then proceed with a backup of the data directory.

--
BI CENTRE
http://cognos8help.blogspot.com


Analysis Studio -- Nesting items

Dimensions, members, and measures can all be nested in rows or columns in multiple ways. Nesting gives you a way to group items in the analysis.

Nesting dimensions or members in a row or column is useful when you want to see items grouped in a hierarchy. This will enable you to drill down or drill up on the nested items. Nested items can be deleted from an analysis by right clicking on the item in the overview area and selecting Delete from the context menu.

Analysis Studio -- Nesting items

Dimensions, members, and measures can all be nested in rows or columns in multiple ways. Nesting gives you a way to group items in the analysis.

Nesting dimensions or members in a row or column is useful when you want to see items grouped in a hierarchy. This will enable you to drill down or drill up on the nested items. Nested items can be deleted from an analysis by right clicking on the item in the overview area and selecting Delete from the context menu.

Self-Service BI

Topic: Self-Service BI

There's a lot of talk these days about the importance of self-service business intelligence (BI), but little discussion about the downsides. Unfortunately, I've seen self-service BI initiatives go completely awry.
Typically, a small percentage of power users employ the new-fangled tools to create tens of thousands of reports-many of which contain conflicting or inaccurate data-and this makes it harder for casual users to find the right report or trust its contents. Ironically, many turn to IT to create a custom report, which expands the report backlog that self-service BI was supposed to eliminate. In addition, many power users use the self-service tools to query large data sets that they export to Excel for analysis. These runaway queries erode query performance significantly, making the BI environment even less inviting for casual users.
So despite its allure, self-service BI can cause overall BI usage to plummet, report backlogs to grow, query performance to diminish, and information inconsistency to increase. To avoid such unintended consequences, here are five ways to implement self-service BI properly:
1. Deploy the right type of self-service BI

Power users need ad hoc report creation while casual users need ad hoc report navigation. There is a big difference. Powers users need to create reports from scratch, often accessing data from multiple locations. Casual users, on the other hand, simply want a report or dashboard that contains their top ten performance metrics and makes it easy to drill down into details, if desired.
2. Don't abdicate responsibility for creating standard reports
To ensure that business units exploit the full value of the data warehousing resource, BI teams should take an active role in creating standard reports or dashboards for each group. This requires BI teams to get more engaged with the business, not less, which is usually what happens when an organization deploys self-service BI tools. It is not enough to create the data warehouse; if you want widespread adoption, you need to deliver the end-to-end solution.

3. Create a network of super users
Super users are technically-inclined power users in each department who function as extensions to the corporate BI team. Their job is to create ad hoc reports around the edges of the standard reports, suggest enhancements to the standard reports, and work with the BI Competency Center to define standards, select tools, and create a BI roadmap. Super users are the eyes and ears of the corporate BI team within each business group and critical to its success.
4. Liberate and manage power users
Power users can make or break a BI program. To get them on your side, give power users access to the best tools, unlimited access to data, and a sandbox within the data warehouse in which to conduct their ad hoc explorations. To ensure that they don't proliferate spreadmarts, limit their ability to publish reports back to the server and establish a review board of power users (i.e. their peers) to examine new requests for published reports. This two-pronged approach will both empower power users to generate critical insights while minimizing their ability to foment report chaos
5. Educate executives to use standard, certified reports
For self-service BI to really work, executives need to make a companywide declaration and commitment to use standard, certified reports or dashboards when making decisions. Of course, there will always be exceptions, like when standard reports don't contain the data needed to address issues required for a decision. But a corporate edict backed up by action makes all the difference.

Following these five steps will help your BI program achieve the holy grail of self-service BI.
Wayne Eckerson is director of TDWI Research at The Data Warehousing Institute. He can be reached at weckerson@tdwi.org.

Self-Service BI

Topic: Self-Service BI

There's a lot of talk these days about the importance of self-service business intelligence (BI), but little discussion about the downsides. Unfortunately, I've seen self-service BI initiatives go completely awry.
Typically, a small percentage of power users employ the new-fangled tools to create tens of thousands of reports-many of which contain conflicting or inaccurate data-and this makes it harder for casual users to find the right report or trust its contents. Ironically, many turn to IT to create a custom report, which expands the report backlog that self-service BI was supposed to eliminate. In addition, many power users use the self-service tools to query large data sets that they export to Excel for analysis. These runaway queries erode query performance significantly, making the BI environment even less inviting for casual users.
So despite its allure, self-service BI can cause overall BI usage to plummet, report backlogs to grow, query performance to diminish, and information inconsistency to increase. To avoid such unintended consequences, here are five ways to implement self-service BI properly:
1. Deploy the right type of self-service BI

Power users need ad hoc report creation while casual users need ad hoc report navigation. There is a big difference. Powers users need to create reports from scratch, often accessing data from multiple locations. Casual users, on the other hand, simply want a report or dashboard that contains their top ten performance metrics and makes it easy to drill down into details, if desired.
2. Don't abdicate responsibility for creating standard reports
To ensure that business units exploit the full value of the data warehousing resource, BI teams should take an active role in creating standard reports or dashboards for each group. This requires BI teams to get more engaged with the business, not less, which is usually what happens when an organization deploys self-service BI tools. It is not enough to create the data warehouse; if you want widespread adoption, you need to deliver the end-to-end solution.

3. Create a network of super users
Super users are technically-inclined power users in each department who function as extensions to the corporate BI team. Their job is to create ad hoc reports around the edges of the standard reports, suggest enhancements to the standard reports, and work with the BI Competency Center to define standards, select tools, and create a BI roadmap. Super users are the eyes and ears of the corporate BI team within each business group and critical to its success.
4. Liberate and manage power users
Power users can make or break a BI program. To get them on your side, give power users access to the best tools, unlimited access to data, and a sandbox within the data warehouse in which to conduct their ad hoc explorations. To ensure that they don't proliferate spreadmarts, limit their ability to publish reports back to the server and establish a review board of power users (i.e. their peers) to examine new requests for published reports. This two-pronged approach will both empower power users to generate critical insights while minimizing their ability to foment report chaos
5. Educate executives to use standard, certified reports
For self-service BI to really work, executives need to make a companywide declaration and commitment to use standard, certified reports or dashboards when making decisions. Of course, there will always be exceptions, like when standard reports don't contain the data needed to address issues required for a decision. But a corporate edict backed up by action makes all the difference.

Following these five steps will help your BI program achieve the holy grail of self-service BI.
Wayne Eckerson is director of TDWI Research at The Data Warehousing Institute. He can be reached at weckerson@tdwi.org.

how to plan and manage projects

Tom Mochal provides valuable advice about how to plan and manage projects. Tom first describes a common-problem scenario, based on real-life situations. He then describes a solution, using practical project management practices and techniques.

Estimating the cost of an IT project can be a hit-or-miss proposition, especially if the task involves unfamiliar technology. Here is how one project manager used two methods to make sure his estimate was on target.

The dilemma
Sean works in the IT Research and Development (R&D) Department at Blue Sky Manufacturing. He was asked to create a proof-of-concept for sending information from the company intranet to new handheld devices. His boss had returned his first estimate for the project.

"I gave my boss a high-level estimate," Sean said. "But he said there were too many guesses in it. He asked me to get more facts and estimate the work to a greater degree of certainty. I agreed that my first attempt was a guess, but how can it be more reliable than that—we have never done a wireless project before."

"There are usually ways to estimate work that are better than guessing," I said. "Let's start at the beginning. Do you have a project definition?"

I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Sean did have an abbreviated project definition and a template that described what needed to be done on a proof-of-concept project.

"We have much of the information we need," Sean said. "But now what should I do? This technology is completely new to us."

Mentor advice
"First, the fact that you have a template should help us put together an initial estimate," I said. "Second, although your point about the technology being new to us is valid, handheld devices are not brand new. We should be able to validate our first estimate by talking to some experts who have experience in this area."

Many people struggle with estimating because they are not really clear about what they are trying to do. This may be especially true in R&D work. However, good estimates are the result of good techniques.

In Sean's case, he had the advantage of a project definition and a template to guide him through the proof-of-concept project process. From there, he should be able to estimate the work separately using two techniques:
  • A simple work breakdown estimate
  • Expert opinion

Break down the work
For the work breakdown technique, Sean needs to start with his work-plan template and estimate each activity. Activities that have been done before can be estimated reasonably well. New activities are more difficult to estimate, but the work breakdown structure, which defines activities at a more granular level, should help produce estimates that are reasonably close.

The lower-level estimates are added up to a summary number. Project management time is estimated at 15 percent of the summary total. Sean should also add a 20 percent contingency to cover the remaining estimating uncertainty and risk.

Consult the experts
The second technique is expert opinion. Even though Sean has not done this type of work, he can talk to a research analyst or an industry expert to gain an understanding of what is involved. These experts will know what other companies are doing and can validate or challenge the previous estimate.

If the two techniques do not yield similar results, Sean can go through the work breakdown estimate with the expert and determine which one might need revising. When Sean is comfortable that the two techniques are yielding similar estimates, he can document the estimate package and send it on to his boss—this time with substantial supporting detail.

Project management veteran Tom Mochal is director of internal development at a software company in Atlanta. Most recently, he worked for the Coca-Cola Company, where he was responsible for deploying, training, and coaching project management and life-cycle skills to the IS division. He's also worked for Eastman Kodak and Cap Gemini America and has developed a project management methodology called TenStep.


--
BI CENTRE
http://bicentre.blogspot.com


how to plan and manage projects

Tom Mochal provides valuable advice about how to plan and manage projects. Tom first describes a common-problem scenario, based on real-life situations. He then describes a solution, using practical project management practices and techniques.

Estimating the cost of an IT project can be a hit-or-miss proposition, especially if the task involves unfamiliar technology. Here is how one project manager used two methods to make sure his estimate was on target.

The dilemma
Sean works in the IT Research and Development (R&D) Department at Blue Sky Manufacturing. He was asked to create a proof-of-concept for sending information from the company intranet to new handheld devices. His boss had returned his first estimate for the project.

"I gave my boss a high-level estimate," Sean said. "But he said there were too many guesses in it. He asked me to get more facts and estimate the work to a greater degree of certainty. I agreed that my first attempt was a guess, but how can it be more reliable than that—we have never done a wireless project before."

"There are usually ways to estimate work that are better than guessing," I said. "Let's start at the beginning. Do you have a project definition?"

I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Sean did have an abbreviated project definition and a template that described what needed to be done on a proof-of-concept project.

"We have much of the information we need," Sean said. "But now what should I do? This technology is completely new to us."

Mentor advice
"First, the fact that you have a template should help us put together an initial estimate," I said. "Second, although your point about the technology being new to us is valid, handheld devices are not brand new. We should be able to validate our first estimate by talking to some experts who have experience in this area."

Many people struggle with estimating because they are not really clear about what they are trying to do. This may be especially true in R&D work. However, good estimates are the result of good techniques.

In Sean's case, he had the advantage of a project definition and a template to guide him through the proof-of-concept project process. From there, he should be able to estimate the work separately using two techniques:
  • A simple work breakdown estimate
  • Expert opinion

Break down the work
For the work breakdown technique, Sean needs to start with his work-plan template and estimate each activity. Activities that have been done before can be estimated reasonably well. New activities are more difficult to estimate, but the work breakdown structure, which defines activities at a more granular level, should help produce estimates that are reasonably close.

The lower-level estimates are added up to a summary number. Project management time is estimated at 15 percent of the summary total. Sean should also add a 20 percent contingency to cover the remaining estimating uncertainty and risk.

Consult the experts
The second technique is expert opinion. Even though Sean has not done this type of work, he can talk to a research analyst or an industry expert to gain an understanding of what is involved. These experts will know what other companies are doing and can validate or challenge the previous estimate.

If the two techniques do not yield similar results, Sean can go through the work breakdown estimate with the expert and determine which one might need revising. When Sean is comfortable that the two techniques are yielding similar estimates, he can document the estimate package and send it on to his boss—this time with substantial supporting detail.

Project management veteran Tom Mochal is director of internal development at a software company in Atlanta. Most recently, he worked for the Coca-Cola Company, where he was responsible for deploying, training, and coaching project management and life-cycle skills to the IS division. He's also worked for Eastman Kodak and Cap Gemini America and has developed a project management methodology called TenStep.


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Business Intelligence Overview

Business Intelligence systems allow organizations to improve business performance by leveraging information about customers, suppliers, and internal business operations. BI systems:

Extract data from many sources, such as Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Supply Chain Management (SCM), and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, and other applications.
Centralize, organize, and standardize information in repositories, such as data warehouses and data marts. This may also involve cleaning the data and appending additional data.
Provide analytical tools that allow a broad range of business and technical specialists to run queries against the data to uncover patterns and diagnose problems.

Extract, Transform and Load (ETL)
Data integration technology is generally used to extract transactional data from internal and external source applications to build the data warehouse. This overall process and the steps in it are referred to as ETL for extract, transform and load. The data is extracted from its source application or repository, transformed to the format needed for the data warehouse, and then loaded into the data warehouse. Data integration technology works hand-in-hand with technologies like Enterprise Information Integration (EII), database replication, Web Services, and Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) to bridge proprietary and incompatible data formats and application protocols.

Data Warehouses and Data Marts
A data warehouse or data mart stores tactical or historical information in a relational database and allows the user to extract and assemble specific data elements from a complete dataset to perform a variety of analyses. The data warehouse can be architected according to schema (star, snowflake, etc), data composition (values and attributes) and dimension levels, and descriptors. Data marts enable additional segmentation within a broader data warehouse environment.

Query, Reporting and Analysis
Technical and business analysts use a variety of tools to access data, analyze information, and view the results.
 
They include:

Query and Reporting Tools Most BI systems allow users to perform historical, "slice-and-dice" analysis against information stored in a relational database. This type of analysis answers "what?" and "when?" inquiries. A typical query might be, "What was the total revenue for the eastern region in the third quarter?" Often, users take advantage of pre-built queries and reports.
On-Line Analytical Processing (OLAP) and Data Mining. OLAP analytical engines and data mining tools allow users to perform predictive, multidimensional analysis, also known as "drill-down" analysis. These tools can be used for forecasting, customer profiling, trend analysis and even fraud detection. They answer "what if" and "why?" questions, such as, "What would be the effect on the eastern region of a 15 percent increase in the price of the product?"

Business Performance Management.
BPM uses real-time business intelligence to proactively improve productivity and encourage continuous process improvement in an enterprise. This approach extends the more traditional approach of business scorecards and can include financial, organizational, customer service, supply chain, and channel performance management.
Information Delivery. Query results and reports can be delivered through dedicated desktop applications, dashboards, intranets, and extranet portals.

Business Intelligence and Web Services
Business Intelligence is being fundamentally changed by eXtensible Markup Language (XML) and the emerging Web Services model. XML provides a universal syntax for the representation of data, enabling integration and analysis across BI environments and across traditional organizational and technical boundaries. As this area evolves, it becomes easier for different organizations to share data.

 


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