COGNOS USER GROUP November 12, 2019 Agenda BICC Updates- Kelsie - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

COGNOS USER GROUP

November 12, 2019

Agenda

• BICC Updates- Kelsie Newberry
• Current Community Issues – Zach Yater
• Reference Queries - Sabrina Tanner
• Data Module Demo – Josh Newberry
• Authoring Organizational Ideas - Leslie Rody
• Q&A

BICC Updates

Kelsie Newberry

BoilerAD

• Cognos migrated to the BoilerAD domain on 10/12
• Departmental Admin Guide

Cognos Resources

• Upcoming Cognos Tool Trainings
• COG 401 - Cognos Analytics Authoring - 1/27 & 1/28
• Cognos Resources Page
• December Grade Roll

○ Prompt Blank Row Workaround

• Reminder of the Maintenance Window

Boiler Insight Enhancement Releases

• Updated release schedule
• Occur every 4 weeks (except holiday

periods)

• Next up is December 3rd
• Changes of each release will be

communicated once release is in Production

WHO DO I CONTACT?

Boiler Insight

Data Questions/Issues: Data-related questions/issues should first be directed to your supervisor. Email: Finance: treasreporting@purdue.edu GM: spsrept@groups.purdue.edu HR: HR Data Request Form

Student

Data Questions/Issues: Data-related questions/issues should first be directed to your supervisor. Email:

CognosStudentHelp@purdue.edu

BICC

Reporting Tool Questions/Issues: Cognos tool issues - error messages, unexpected behavior, etc. Email:

BICC@purdue.edu

Current Community Issues

Zach Yater

Enrollment Summary & List - Census Performance Issues

Biggest Problem Using one query for all crosstabs

Crosstab Calculations One Query

Some Improvement Using Subqueries No crosstab calculations in Final

Dramatic Improvement Individual Queries (require filters on each one)

Reference Queries

Sabrina Tanner

Reference Query / Subquery / Feeder Query

• Control the order in which items are queried from

the underlying data

○ Ensure calculations & filters are applied in the order you want ○ Useful for complex computations that need executed in a certain order

• Allows a report writer to build the query only
• nce and be able to write different reports from it

Build a base query

‘Main’ contains total campus credits across all student levels

Drag a new query from the Toolbox pane

Create a link between the child query and the parent query by dragging the parent query to the right side of the child query

Undergrad is referencing Main

Drag desired fields from Main into the data items for Undergrad

When creating the child query, you can reference items only from the parent query or from other queries defined in the report

Create a filter for Undergrad - Student_Level

Repeat these steps for Graduate and Professional queries

Main = gets total campus credits across all levels Undergrad = referenced from Main with a filter of [Student Level] = ‘UG’ Graduate = referenced from Main with a filter of [Student Level] = ‘GR’ Professional = referenced from Main with a filter on Student Classification

Uploaded File and Data Module Creation Demo

Josh Newberry

Cognos 11 New Features

• Ability to Upload a File
• Create a Dashboard
• Create a Data Module
• Create a Data Set
• CQM to DQM

Important Points to Know up Front

• Chrome is your best browser for Data Modules

○ IE will work but very slow, new update with Firefox has issues with Data Modules.

• Beware of security

○ Uploaded Files have no security as default (like Data Sets). Data modules will have lowest level security of the package being used

• Have all your components accessible to whomever is going to

run it ○ If you use an Uploaded File and that file is in your My Content, the others are not going to be able to run it

Personal Use Cases

• Take a file and outer join it to the data

warehouse ○ Bursar private awards example

• Use a file as a way to pass in more than a

1000 filter objects ○ Bursar email example for 40k students

• Creative way to solve reporting issues outside
• f what has been possible before

○ DRC example

Adding Uploaded File

• Once you upload your file,

the file will automatically be placed in your My Content. (Remember that if anyone else is going to run this report you will need to move this file out of My Content)

• At any time you want to

update the file just right click the file and say “Refresh”

Creating a Data Module

• Data Modules can be built

with any of the listed

• combinations. For this

purpose we are using a Package and an Uploaded File.

• By clicking on each of them

you get the full listing of

• ptions that you have

access to.

Building the Data Module

• Click the “Diagram Icon” and drag and drop the sources onto the space.

○ Here is where you can do modeling by right clicking a source in the space and saying “Create Relationship”. Unless you are confident in what you are doing I recommend against modeling and leave them as “Stand Alone”.

• Save the Data Module in the desired location.

Building the Report

• Navigate to your Module

and say “Create Report”

• When you first come into

the design mode your package will be fully expanded which you can collapse.

• You will have to join your file

at some point with the package in the report. (the lower the join the more efficiency it will have)

Organizational Ideas

Leslie Rody

Authoring Organizational Ideas

• Notes

○ #/* Note Here */# ○ Examples of use: ■ #/*Past 5 fall semesters*/# [ACADEMIC_PERIOD] IN (‘202010’, ‘201910’, ‘201810’, ‘201710’, ‘201610’) ■ Large Calculation within Data item

• Calculated/changed Data Item

■ An indicator that a field has been changed benefits future report writers/editors, including future you! ■ As simple as an asterisk (*) preceding the name of the data item can indicate a change.

Community Feedback

Questions?

THANK YOU

Sue Wilder Monique Rawles Leslie Rody Sabrina Tanner Julie Jang Katie Hendryx Kelsie Newberry Zach Yater