The New Face of TM1: Performance Modeler

Source:http://www.ironsidegroup.com/

April 3, 2012 by Rick Ensign 

 

On February 7, 2012, IBM Cognos released the newest version of TM1: TM1 10.1. TM1 has been around for a very long time but has really only recently come to be recognized as the premier planning tool for any size business.
Its only criticism was that unlike its sibling Enterprise Planning (EP)  it was not an “out of the box” solution that the finance department could run independent of its own IT department.  In fact, it gave rise to a somewhat symbiotic relationship between IT and Finance because of the scripting involved in applying rules to a cube and importing data through a Turbo Integrator or manually coded process. That said, I believe all this has changed with this release (10.1) of TM1.

TM1 – Performance Modeler

TM1 now contains a “partner” to Architect, called Performance Modeler and if you come from the EP world as I did, when you first open and begin to play around it feels more like EP than it does TM1. The first screen of the application provides you an outline on the steps to designing a new TM1 model. Let’s examine each of these four critical areas one at a time.
Model Design Flowchart

1) Define Dimensions: While the functionality behind this step is obvious, one of the most intriguing aspects of this application is that TM1 now recognizes time dimensions and treats them accordingly. Calculations are now being entered at the dimension level, therefor designating a time dimension at its creation becomes critical for several reasons:
• The new TM-1 10.1 logic that automates the cube rule generation.
• It allows for simple leaf level calculations or more complex C-level calculations, such as weighted or time averages within the Measures or Time dimension, e.g. Year over Year comparisons.
• A wide array of attributes/properties can be automatically populated as part of the dimension creation, including Start Date, End Date, First Period, Last Period and so on.
Dimension with Start Date, End Date, First Period, Last Period etc.

2) Build Cubes: The building of cubes from the dimensions you created is not really any different than any other version of TM1. However, there is a new feature called Guided Import, which facilitates data population by mapping. The Guided Import function will auto-generate a TI process in the background complete with all the scripting needed in the Advanced tabs (Prologue, Metadata, Data and Epilogue) to build a Dimension or cube or populate it with data. The TI process can then be saved for updating a cube/dimension on a regular basis.
Another improvement is the ability to now add dimensions to a cube “on the fly”. Iterative development was not something that was warmly received by the TM-1 software. If you were developing a cube where the initial model was designed and the requirements changed with the need to add a new dimension to one or more of the cubes, you basically had to start over rebuilding those cubes. Not any longer, now you simply add the dimension to the cube and tell the application where the data should reside. The dimension is added and placed in the proper order according to the dimension type you have chosen.
Selection of Dimension Type

3) Link Data between Cubes: In this part of the model design process you construct “links” to move data between the cubes you have built. For example, if the need arose to map assumption data from a currency cube with a static data cube. In the background the new TM1 software is building a rules file complete with DB statements that will go out to the database and retrieve the required data and load it to the target cube. It is also important to note that this is where the use of ‘pick-lists” or “virtual dimensions” (as they are referred to in EP) as well as attributes come into play. They are used to create data driven links and determine what type of link (look-up or accumulation) you will build to move the data. In a Look-up Link, the target cube has information on one or more pick lists on a dimension. This makes it possible to take data from the source or “look-up” cube and use it in a multitude of cells in the target cube. Conversely in an accumulation link, the source cube has information on one or more pick lists on a dimension. This makes it possible to accumulate data from several cells in the source cube and populate it to a single cell in the target cube. The software will automatically map identical dimensions for you or you can choose to manually map source and target dimensions. The one caveat here is that if you choose manual mapping you will lose the dynamic nature of automatic mapping and every time an item is added you will have to go in and maintain that link.
Linking Capability


4) Create Rules and Processes: In this final area, you will apply advanced business logic and processes to the cubes you have constructed at the dimension level. With the new engine, you don’t need to recreate complex EP BiF scripting in TM1 because the software will now do it for you along with many other complex calculations. In addition, the new application will now script feeders for you, whether it is pulling data from another cube or applying a complex depreciation formula to a measure to name a few. If you have any exposure to TM1 you know what a quantum leap this new feature represents
Auto Generated Link Feeder Rule
The GUID number(7D4C696E6B5F…)is how the software logic associates the data much like in EP.

Conclusion

There are many more new and exciting features that have been introduced in this release of TM1 and Performance Modeler but there are two caveats that we noticed during implementation: first;  the software has a tendency to overfeed certain calculations and second, in some cases we have witnessed the auto-generated rules were not scripted in the correct order to produce the desired calculation. All in all however, I am very impressed with how far TM1 has come in such a short time. It has all the power, speed and scalability of TM1 with all the ease of use “out of the box” solution capability for the finance department to again work independently of IT.
 

 

5 Tips to Building Effective IBM Cognos Active Reports

Source:http://www.ironsidegroup.com/

February 7, 2012 by Rehka Mylavarabhatla 

 

Active Reports has been quite the buzz since its introduction. As more organizations move to Cognos 10 we have seen many seasoned report developers experiment with Active Reports. In an effort to shorten the learning curve I’m going to go over a few quick tips that I have found useful.

1. Active Reports Tip 1: Object Sizing

Placing data inside a block or table and hard-coding the sizes of the objects prevents content from ‘dancing’. If using similar properties across different objects, use classes to define formats and layouts to reduce file size.

Unspecified sizing

 

Objects nested and sized

 

2. Active Reports Tip 2: Reducing data retrieved

Active Reports should not be considered a direct replacement for standard Report Studio reports. Each has their own place in report consumption. More specifically, think hard before you decide to use Active Reports to retrieve large amounts of detail data. IBM Cognos Active Reports are designed so that all the data retrieved by report queries are included in the report file (.mht). Limiting the maximum number of rows returned by a query can help reduce the size of the output. The default value for this option is set to 5000. This is not a hard limit and can be reduced.

3. Active Reports Tip 3: Data Decks Vs Filtering

Data Decks are objects that are akin to conditional blocks within a standard report. In many cases it may be beneficial to considering using them instead of standard filtering. Filtering data can take more time depending on the amount of data being displayed. In some cases, creating a series of data deck cards with pre-set choices that users would want to see is quicker. In such cases, creating a series of data decks might make the file size larger, but it greatly improves performance over filtering.

4. Active Reports Tip 4: iPad specific authoring

If you are authoring reports to be consumed by mobile users on iPads you should be aware of their native resolution. Reports should be sized to 1024px by 704px with the Page Body padding set to 0. This will minimize scrolling and truncation.

5. Active Reports Tip 5: Reducing Chart Overhead

In an active report, charts are not dynamically generated. Chart views are rendered at runtime and stored within the MHT bundle. Chart heavy active reports could yield large output files. Keeping the charts to a minimum can help reduce the file size and improve performance of an Active report.

 

IBM Cognos TM1 Integration with IBM Cognos BI

Source:http://www.ironsidegroup.com/

March 6, 2012 by Dan Hess

 

IBM Cognos TM1 is fast becoming a critical component of the IBM business analytics suite of offerings. As the application becomes more prevalent in the industry, we are seeing more and more customers inquiring about the integration points between IBM Cognos TM1 and the IBM Cognos BI suite of tools. There are six common integration points between TM1 9.5.2 and IBM Cognos BI:
•IBM Cognos BI Security
•Utilization of previously developed TM1 Web content within the Cognos Connection interface through TM1 Portlets
•TM1 cubes as a data source within the IBM Cognos BI environment
•TM1 Widgets
•TM1 cubes as a source within the IBM Cognos BIA studio
•IBM Cognos TM1 Package Connector to access IBM Cognos Framework Manager packages

Utilizing IBM Cognos BI Security within a TM1 cube

One of the most common integration points between TM1 and BI is to leverage existing IBM Cognos BI security thru the use of the namespaces defined within the Cognos BI framework. Users who wish to access TM1 can pass through Cognos BI security picking up their appropriate permissions along the way. In the case of users who have not previously accessed TM1 or been manually added to TM1 security, the user is automatically created in the TM1 environment and added to existing groups (or added to newly created groups) based upon the users assignments.

TM1 Portlets within Cognos Connection

In order to utilize TM1 data within Cognos Connection pages, three portlets have been made available that can be added to the existing portlets found in the standard Cognos BI installation.
•TM1 Cube Viewer
•TM1 Navigation Viewer
•TM1 Websheet Viewer
These portlets provide a method for developers and end users to consume TM1 data within the Cognos Connection interface. This allows for the creation of portal pages that may contain information from multiple sources.
Installation of these additional portlets can be accomplished in two ways: Specific installation on individual Cognos servers or utilize the IBM Cognos TM1 Business Intelligence interoperability installation program.
Note: The Cognos TM1 Portlets 9.5.2 FP1 installer is for use with IBM Cognos 10.1.1 (Cognos 10 RP1).

TM1 as a Cognos Data Source

Data sources can be defined within IBM Cognos Connection to allow for the consumption of TM1 cubes within Query or Report Studio. These data sources are made ready for consumption by publishing packages within Framework Manager.
To make use of this functionality it is necessary to install the TM1 Client API files into an adjacent directory on the IBM Cognos BI servers. Depending on your environment and your use of compatibility mode versus Dynamic Query Mode you may need to install the 32 or 64 bit client files. Please feel free to contact us if your organization needs assistance in this area.

Accessing TM1 from Business Insight

TM1 data can be consumed within Business Insight. In order to take advantage of this, it is necessary to provide both TM1 and IBM Cognos BI the necessary connection information to allow for communication. End users will have the capability to select TM1 information from the source pane of the Business Insight studio and utilize the information within a dashboard.
Regarding installation: It will be necessary to modify the tm1_contribution.atom as well as the variables_TM1.xml file within your installation. On the TM1 side, it will be necessary to ensure that each TM1 server has a CAMPortalVariable defined within the Tm1s.cfg file.

Utilizing TM1 Widgets in Business Insight

TM1 Widgets allow content stored in TM1 cubes to be viewed in Business Insight in real time, utilizing dedicated TM1 viewer widgets. It is necessary to complete the installation steps outlined in the previous section to ensure that Business Insight has access to the appropriate TM1 sources. There are three types of widgets that can be added to a dashboard in Business Insight:
•TM1 Websheets – Allows you to view content developed in TM1 web as an html object in the BI studio.
•TM1 Cube views – Allows the user to display a saved view from a TM1 cube.
•TM1 Contributor – Points to TM1 Contributor web client and displays the interface within a widget on a page.
It should be noted that TM1 objects cannot interact with slide filters and select value filter widgets in the same manner as other objects. In the case of both the websheets and the cube views the end user is working with “static” content that has been created within TM1Web or TM1 Architect.

IBM Cognos TM1 Package Connector

The IBM Cognos TM1 Package Connector allows a developer to import data from IBM Cognos BI packages into a TM1 server through the use of TM1 Turbo Integrator processes. These IBM Cognos BI packages can be sourced from SAP Business Warehouse, relational or ODBC sources. This application is a separate install that must be installed on both the client machine containing the TM1 Architect tool and on the TM1 server itself.

The Future

IBM continues to enhance the integration points between IBM Cognos TM1 and IBM Cognos BI and provides a more seamless relationship between the two products. The true value of the relationship between the two tools becomes apparent when an architect considers the power of consolidated virtually instantaneous high level (OLAP) information combined with atomic level relational information. Stay tuned for future improvements to the IBM product family and the relationship between IBM Cognos TM1 and IBM Cognos BI in particular.
 

IBM SPSS Modeler – Package Import and Export

Source:http://www.ironsidegroup.com/

January 10, 2012 by Jing Yin

Before we get started with the tech tip, let’s review SPSS Modeler architecture from a high level.

1. Use an IBM Cognos BI source node to read data directly from a Cognos 8/10 Framework Manager package. This allows analysts to dive into the data mining process using friendly IBM Cognos package items rather than use underlying database tables that they may or may not be intimately familiar with.
2. Once the data mining process is completed, export the results back to a database table and create a Framework Manager package to be published on the IBM Cognos server for additional analysis and reporting.

Importing from Cognos Packages

1. Launch IBM SPSS Modeler and create a new stream.
2. From the Sources node tab, drag and drop the IBM Cognos BI node into the stream. Right click on the node and choose Edit.
3. Click on Edit within the Connection box to enter the Cognos connection information. Click OK to establish the connection.

4. Enter the following:

•  Cognos server URL: Enter the dispatcher URL.
•  Mode: Choose Set Credentials to log in with Cognos username and password. Choose Use Anonymous Connection to log in as anonymous user (only if anonymous login is enabled on the Cognos side).
•  Namespace: Enter the namespace used to authenticate the Cognos user.
• User name/Password: Cognos log in credential.

5. Click on Edit within the Package box to select a Cognos package.

6. Once a package is chosen, the content will show on the left hand side of the dialog. Choose one or multiple items to bring them to the right side. All chosen items will be imported as columns to SPSS.

Exporting Cognos Packages

1. From the Export node tab, drag and drop the IBM Cognos BI Export node into the stream.
2. Right click on the node and choose Edit.

3. Click on Edit within the Connection box to enter the Cognos connection information. This is similar to what you have entered in the Cognos BI source node.
4. Once the connection is established, click on the Refresh button next to the Data Source to choose a data source where the information will be written.
5. Click on Edit next to the Folder box to choose a location where the package will be stored.
6. Enter a package name and choose to publish it now or create an action script to publish it later.
7. On the left side, choose ODBC connection to enter the ODBC connection info to the database.

8. Click on the drop down arrow next to the data source box to select or create the database connection. This connection must point to the same data source that you selected in the Cognos connection tab. If the connection has not already been created, the user needs to create it in ODBC Data Source Administrator on the Windows machine. If you are connecting through an SPSS server, the data connection needs to be created on the SPSS server.
9. Enter the table name and select how you would like the information to be added to the table. Edit additional information as needed.
10. Click Run to publish the package in Cognos server.
 

Managing SKIPCHECK and Feeders in IBM Cognos TM1

Source:http://www.ironsidegroup.com/

January 11, 2012 by Rick Ensign

 

When you first begin to use TM1, especially if you came from the EP world as I did, you can quickly become enamored with how well TM1 can handle large cubes with ease. You can create multiple hierarchies within a cube and within those hierarchies TM1’s sparse consolidation algorithm aggregates values at light speed. You can reach out to virtually any data source with a Turbo Integrator (TI) process and create a dimension, create and populate a cube with data, or a myriad of other tasks only limited by the developer’s imagination. The challenge comes when you need to write rules governing more complex calculations or movement of data between cubes. No intuitive D-Links or BiF’s here. Everything must be coded, and getting the calculations to work properly requires mastering the art of feeders.

Why use a SKIPCHECK?

In a large cube with a great deal of data sparsity (relatively few cells with non-zero values compared to the total number of cells in the cube), cube performance could suffer significantly if TM1 was required to perform a calculation on every cell. Anyone who has ever tried building a large cube in EP knows exactly what I mean. The SKIPCHECK statement tells TM1 to ignore cells with zero or null values when processing rules. This is what gives TM1 its efficiency, because it only performs the calculations where there are values to calculate.

What are TM1 Feeders?

What does all of that have to do with feeders? Feeders essentially tell TM1 which cells are rules-calculated, and not to ignore those cells during consolidation. Failure to do so will result in your consolidations having zero values, or worse yet, incorrect values. While using feeders can be confusing, especially when you are new to TM1, it is a necessary exercise to keep the TM1 engine operating at peak efficiency. If managed properly you’ll save yourself the grief and anxiety that so many developers encounter.

How do I use TM1 Feeders?

Let’s start by looking at a simple rule and the construction of the corresponding feeder statement. In this rule ‘Gross Sales’ is being calculated by multiplying ‘Unit Price’ and ‘Volume’. While this is a very basic rule (in TM1 the rules can become far more complex and involved especially when we are coping with cubes where dimensions do no match) it does illustrate what I am trying to show in a way that is easy to comprehend. Here’s the rule as it would be written inside the TM1 Rules Editor:

The corresponding feeder statement is essentially the opposite of the rule, hence the following:

?

[‘Unit Price’] => [‘Gross Sales’]; [‘Volume’] => [‘Gross Sales’];

Feeders are just markers communicating to the rules which values should be calculated and which cells should be ignored because they are zero. After the feeders have marked the cells, the rule(s) are executed and actually perform the calculations on only the marked cells. The feeders above, while technically correct, may not both be necessary, and putting both of them in your rules may result in overfeeding. In very large cubes with copious amounts of rules and corresponding feeder statements, it could potentially result in a degradation of performance. Instead, choose to construct the feeder statement for the element most likely to contain zero values. In our example above, [Volume] would be the logical choice to feed, because there is a greater likelihood that for a given intersection in the cube, there would be a unit price, but no volume. In some cases, you may need a little trial and error to determine the best solution.
That’s our initial look at SKIPCHECK and feeders, and how they can present a challenge for even seasoned TM1 developers. In part two of this article, we’ll tackle the construction of feeders between cubes, with the added complexity of dimensions that do not match.
 

Dynamic Query Mode for Relational Databases

Source:http://www.ironsidegroup.com/

November 14, 2011 by Ralph Baker 

 

In September, IBM introduced Cognos version 10.1.1, the latest update to Cognos 10. Among the significant enhancements in the software is the ability to Dynamic Query Mode with relational databases.
Dynamic Query Mode (DQM) is an intelligent data caching mechanism which can dramatically improve the performance of OLAP style queries. With the prior version, DQM supported cubes built from TM1, Essbase and SAP BW. With version 10.1.1, IBM Cognos adds support for Microsoft SQL Server Analysis cubes, and the most common relational databases, specifically DB2, Netezza, SQL Server, Teradata and Oracle.
Prior to DQM, cube base queries, issuing MDX code, could suffer from poor, or uneven performance. This was especially noticeable in cases where suppression, such as null suppression, was turned on. DQM produces a sharable data caches, including plan caches, and also optimizes database queries. This resulting in quicker, more even queries, particularly noticeable in an ad-hoc query environment. It also retains user-based security restrictions.
DQM over relational data sources is only supported for Dynamically Modeled Relational (DMR) packages. Package not published with DQM turned on, will execute in the traditional manner, which is now called Compatibility Mode, to distinguish it from Dynamic Query Mode.
Dynamic Query Mode introduces the concept of a memory-resident data cache. Unlike Compatibility Mode, reports and queries will produce only MDX code (as opposed to SQL code), and only against the data cache. The query engine may ultimately issue SQL code against the database in order to populate the cache. However the code you will see by examining the report will show only MDX code. The data engine may satisfy queries by returning data from both the existing cache and from new database queries, if some data does not already exist in the cache. But this is invisible to the specific report. The result is that minimal and simplified queries are issued against the database, and only when the data does not exist in the cache (subject to security rules).
In order to enable DQM there are a few specific steps.

1. DQM requires JDBC drivers for relational data sources and required database clients for any OLAP data sources. The JDBC drivers must be copied to the Cognos environment. See the IBM Cognos Administration and Security Guide for details. You may need to restart the IBM Cognos services after installing the drivers.

1. For the Relational data sources, you must enable the JDBC data connection. In the data connection configuration, select
   Enable JDBC Connection as shown.

1. In Framework manager, when you publish the package, select the checkbox indicating Dynamic Query Mode, as shown. This enables DQM for that package.

As another option, when starting a new Framework Manager project which will be used only with DQM enabled data sources, you can enable the entire project to use DQM, as shown. All testing and publishing will use DQM by default.

Testing and Monitoring

IBM Cognos Lifecycle Manager is a great tool for comparing report results with and without DQM. In addition to highlighting any potential differences, it can also compare execution times

IBM provides a free tool IBM Cognos Dynamic Query Analyzer to help diagnose potential issues with the queries. It displays a graphical representation of the queries generated when running a report. You can also run reports from within Dynamic Query Analyzer. See the Dynamic Query Cookbook (IBM Website)
for more information.

Modeling Challenges

In order to utilize DQM, the Framework Manager model must be carefully modeled according to proven practices. For example, modeling many-to-many relationships is never recommended, but will produce errors when used in a DQM package.

Conclusions

Dynamic Query Mode over relational data sources has the potential to be a game-changer. There are certainly some challenges, which are only touched on here. But in the right environment, there is the potential for huge performance gains.
What is the right environment? While it’s difficult to give hard-and-fast rules, I would look for a well-designed dimensional data warehouse as a data source. This lends itself to DMR style data modeling and reports. Also, what is the data refresh cycle? Frequently updated data will benefit less from data caching than data which is more static in nature. Also the number and type of queries issues is a consideration. Are there a large number of ad-hoc, analysis style queries? Repeated analysis is more likely to see benefits than simply running canned reports on a periodic basis.
 

IBM Cognos Tabbed Report Design

Source:http://www.ironsidegroup.com/

November 14, 2011 by De Hsieh

Often times developers will get a request to create several different variations of a single report. While this can be done with user prompting or even multiple versions of a report, another option would be to create tabs within a report which would allow for the user to easily switch between variations. In this month’s tech tip we’ll go over how to create this using drill-throughs, a string variable and a conditional block.
The first step is to identify what tabs you’ll want to display. Each one of the tabs will need to be set up individually. In our example (sample included) we’ll use the seven days of the week.

Create a Query

Create a new query to be used solely to hold the tab values. Call it “Tab Query” and create data items for every tab that you’d like to appear. The expression definition should be a string encapsulated in single quotes.

The end result should appear as below.

Create a String Variable

Next let’s go ahead and create a string variable called “Tab Condition”. Define the expression as shown below:

if (ParamValue(‘TabChoice’) is null) then (‘Monday’) else (ParamValue(‘TabChoice’))

This expression will set a default tab value for the report.
Next, we will need to create a string value to correspond to every data item we created in the query.
Note: The values of this variable must exactly match the expression definition of the data items we created. It is not necessary to use single quotes when defining the values of the string variable.

Create a Hidden Value Prompt

Drag a value prompt onto the page. Name the parameter “TabChoice” within the prompt wizard and click “Finish”
Once created, within the properties menu, set the Box Type to “None” in order to make this prompt disappear.

Associate the Query to the Page

Navigate to the page explorer. Select the page we are working on and associate it to the Tab Query we created in the earlier steps.

Create Tabs

Navigate back to the report and drag a table object onto the page. Define it with 7 columns and 1 row. Drag Text Items into each one of these cells and name them appropriately with each day of the week. Add 20px of padding to each one of these cells.

Define a Conditional Block

Drag a conditional block below the table.
Set the block variable to “Tab Condition” that we created earlier.

Create Drill Throughs:

At this point we’ll need to save the report (call it Tab Example) in order to create a drill through to itself.

Once saved, select one of the tab text values and select Drill-Through Definitions from the left hand Properties pane. Point the drill-through to the Tab Example report.

Define parameters by passing data item values of the corresponding data item
For example, if you are defining the Sunday drill-through then select the Sunday Tab Item.

Repeat the drill through definitions for every tab value.

Select Variable Conditions and Produce Content

We are almost done. All that’s left to do is to develop your content.
Select the conditional block and change the Current Block property to different values. Each one of the values corresponds to a tab. Place your content within the conditional block and test!

Additional Considerations

It is a good idea to conditionally format the table cell (tab) to show active versus inactive tabs. This way users will always know which tab they are currently viewing.
Save frequently. Because this report drills through to itself, any changes made will not be reflected until the report is saved.

Sample Report

Included is a sample report xml which you can bring into Report Studio.  Tab Report Example
 

Cloud Solutions for IBM Cognos Business Analytics

Source:http://www.ironsidegroup.com/

November 15, 2011 by Nate Romanek

 

When an organization begins to embark upon a Business Analytics initiative, they face several challenges including budget, lack of experienced resources and negotiations between the line of business and an overburdened IT department. In an effort to bridge the gap between line of business and IT, reduce the total cost of ownership and accelerate the time to value, The Ironside Group now offers a scalable, secure and reliable enterprise class cloud computing environment.
We provide customizable service offerings that can be designed to fit the specific needs of any organizations, beginning with our Managed Platform Services. Our MPS offering provides enterprise on-demand scalable provisioning of IT services including applications, security, servers, and storage to address all the necessary components (from OS to DB) to host your IBM Business Analytics Solution. Your environment will be hosted in a SAS 70 certified Public Cloud with appropriate physical security to protect your valuable information assets.

We also offer a full Managed Application Service. Our MAS offering provides the hosting of the OS platform including supporting applications; as well as the management and administration of your complete business analytics platform. Our offerings can be all-inclusive or ala carte customizable to your needs and requirements. Along with the hosting we also provide a flexible licensing model where we provide licensing of the software or you can use your existing licenses. The MAS also allows access and participation of Ironside’s expert Cognos Architects, many with over 10 years of Enterprise experience implanting Cognos solutions in some of the countries largest companies and Cognos implementations.
Please reach out to us today for further information on how we can craft a solution that reduces your total cost of ownership and administration while providing greater capability, performance and flexibility.
 

Source:http://www.ironsidegroup.com/

September 27, 2011 by Nate Romanek

 

You are here: Home / Newsletter / Making the Most of IBM Information On Demand (IOD)

Making the Most of IBM Information On Demand (IOD)

September 27, 2011 by Nate Romanek

It is that time of the year again! On October 23^rd – 27^th, IBM will be hosting its second annual Business Analytics Forum at IBM’s Information On Demand Conference in Las Vegas. This year’s docket includes over 200 Business Analytics sessions as well as 100′s of hands-on technical workshops. The topics will range from Business Analytics on the Cloud to to Business Analytics in Social Media, and much more in between. The presenters will include IBM’s best and brightest, as well as customers from organizations leading the way in Business Analytics. In addition to these presentations IBM also offers complimentary certification testing, industry specific birds-of-a-feather sessions to share experiences, and one-on-one executive visits.
The expansive content and learning opportunities at this event are very impressive. In previous years some of our customers have mentioned feeling overwhelmed and struggled to determine how to make the best use of their time. Here are a few quick tips to make the most out of this great opportunity

Register for the sessions early as there are a limited number of available seats

Schedule some time to map out a plan of attack and register for desired sessions early. If the sessions are full you still have a couple options. First, reach out to your IBM rep and ask him to help get you added to the session. If that fails, ask for a one-on-one with the presenter. This is often times more valuable than the discussion you may have missed.

Make time for one-on-one sessions

With so many different sessions it is easy to fill up your schedule. I strongly suggest you leave some time for one-on-one conversations. Feel free to stop by our booth and ask us what we’d recommend. We can help you identify and coordinate time with the resources that would benefit you the most – either with an IBM executive or another customer. In my experience, choosing the right one-on-one resource can mean the difference between going home with some nice tidbits or going home with truly pertinent and invaluable information applicable to your line of business.

Ask your Ironside/IBM team about informal/after hours events

There will undoubtedly be a lot of unadvertised events. Stop by our booth or get in touch with your IBM rep to find out about some of the events that are going on. It’s a great opportunity to get to know other customers and your extended Ironside/IBM team in a fun and informal environment.
With some planning and by leveraging our team to assist you in building a meaningful schedule, you can take advantage of all BA Forum at IOD has to offer and make the most of your time there.
 

Making Business Insight Dashboard Components with Report Studio

Source:http://www.ironsidegroup.com/

October 17, 2011 by Geoffrey Speare

 

Business Insight is a new tool in Cognos 10. With it, pieces of existing reports can be combined into interactive dashboards. This allows users with less report authoring experience to create dashboards using components from more complex reports. (Business Insight should not be confused with Business Insight Advanced, a report creation tool alongside Report Studio or Query Studio that was also introduced in Cognos 10).
While Business Insight can use nearly any report item (chart, list, crosstab, etc.), there are some techniques and best practices which can make these items more “Business Insight friendly”.
Report Studio Best Practices

Business Insight dashboards can include any list, crosstab, chart, or table from a Cognos report (as well as entire reports plus a few other less commonly used items). This can be very powerful. Often, however, items pulled from different reports might not make the best candidates to fit together in a dashboard. There might be differences in layout (such as different font or background color choices), or the data displayed might not match (the filters used might involve different assumptions or views of the data, for example). There are a few best practices which can help make dashboard construction more successful.
Name your report objects
When browsing for report elements in Business Insight, each item (table, crosstab, etc.) is shown using its name. If these are all “Crosstab1″, “CombinationChart2″ type names, it can be difficult to find the right item.

Which of these above menu’s is easier to browse?

Setting the Name property for each item in Report Studio or Business Insight Advanced to a more readable name, and keeping the names consistent across reports, will avoid this problem. (In Business Insight Advanced 10.1, the name of an element cannot be edited; this functionality was added in the 10.1.1 update.)
It’s also possible to keep items out of Business Insight completely. If the Name property of an item is blank, that item will not show up in the Business Insight Content tab. This can be used to keep an item from being misused, or to require items to appear together (for example, by creating a named table with several report elements inside it; give the table a name and give everything inside a blank name).
Create dedicated Business Insight reports and folders

While it can be useful to be able to take any report item and include it in a dashboard, it is difficult to guarantee layout or data consistency. It is often a good idea to create some dedicated “building blocks” reports that are not designed for display on their own, but instead as a holding area for multiple Business Insight elements. By storing these reports in a central folder, a large repository of dashboard components can be created and maintained easily. This practice also allows the naming standards for dashboard components to be independent from other naming standards which might be used for dedicated Report Studio reports.
Use consistent sizes where possible
Dashboards look best when items are the same size, or simple multiples of that size (50% as wide, twice as tall, etc.). Business Insight allows resizing, but if items are consistently sized to begin with, it’s easier and faster to create new dashboards. Use the Size & Overflow property in Report Studio to set height and width for each element.
Filtering Dashboard Items
One issue that can arise when building a dashboard is creating a single consistent filter across multiple objects. In the below example, each item will only filter by data fields that it uses. In the example below, the Revenue by Region chart can filter by Region, but not by Order method type or Product line.

One way to solve this is to add prompts or extra axis items to each report, but this can affect the appearance and performance of each item.
A better way for Business Insight objects is the use of a special query named “_BusinessInsight_” (that’s BusinessInsight with an underscore character before and after it). If a data item appears in both the _BusinessInsight_ query and the query used for a report element, that data item can be used as a filter in a Business Insight dashboard.

(Note that all three charts and the crosstab in the above example were created in a single Report Studio report, and all use the same query for their data.)

Contents of Main Query	Contents of _BusinessInsight_

Once this work is done in Report Studio, the filtering options become much more varied. It’s easy to add extra data items to the query, since there is no need to worry about creating prompts or managing the layout. This will allow a dashboard to filter all elements across separate data items:

Plan for Dashboarding Success
Creating an environment for optimal dashboard creation takes a little preparation and maintenance. These techniques will help create a structure around which users can build new dashboards and manage data in whatever way they might require.