Essentials for IBM Cognos BI (V10.2.2) (B5A70G)

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About This Course

This accelerated offering is intended for core project team members wishing to acquire a broad understanding of a Business Intelligence platform implementation. During the ILT segments, participants will perform hands-on demos and workshops that cover three essential topic areas: modeling, report authoring, and administration of a BI platform. Throughout the ILT, participants will be guided to more-in depth training offerings and paths leading to certification. During the WBT portion of the course, students will be required to complete 22.5 hours of eLearning (6 WBTs and 1 recording).

Course Audience Profile

This advanced course is for:

  • Project Managers
  • Technical Analysts
  • Developers

Course Pre-Requisites

You should have:

  • Knowledge of your business requirements
  • Experience using the Windows operating system
  • Experience using a web browser

 

Course Outline

Overview of IBM Cognos BI

  • Describe IBM Cognos Business Intelligence (BI) and its position within the IBM Smarter Analytics approach and offerings
  • Describe the IBM Cognos 10 Family of offerings
  • Describe IBM Cognos BI enterprise components
  • Describe IBM Cognos architecture at a high level
  • Describe IBM Cognos BI security at a high level
  • Explain how to extend IBM Cognos BI

Identify Common Data Structures

  • Define the role of a metadata model in Cognos BI
  • Distinguish the characteristics of common data structures
  • Understand the relative merits of each model type
  • Examine relationships and cardinality
  • Identify different data traps
  • Identify data access strategies

Defining Requirements

  • Examine key modeling recommendations
  • Define reporting requirements
  • Explore data sources to identify data access strategies
  • Identify the advantages of modeling metadata as a star schema
  • Model in layers

Creating a Baseline Project

  • Follow the IBM Cognos and Framework Manager workflow processes
  • Define a project and its structure
  • Describe the Framework Manager environment
  • Create a baseline project
  • Enhance the model with additional metadata

Preparing Reusable Metadata

  • Verify relationships and query item properties
  • Create efficient filters by configuring prompt properties

Model for Predictable Results: Identify Reporting Issues

  • Describe multi-fact queries and when full outer joins are appropriate
  • Describe how IBM Cognos uses cardinality
  • Identify reporting traps
  • Use tools to analyze the model

Model for Predictable Results: Virtual Star Schemas

  • Understand the benefits of using model query subjects
  • Use aliases to avoid ambiguous joins
  • Merge query subjects to create as view behavior
  • Resolve a recursive relationship
  • Create a complex relationship expression

Model for Predictable Results: Consolidate Metadata

  • Create virtual facts to simplify writing queries
  • Create virtual dimensions to resolve fact-to-fact joins
  • Create a consolidated modeling layer for presentation purposes
  • Consolidate snowflake dimensions with model query subjects
  • Simplify facts by hiding unnecessary codes

Calculations and Filters

  • Use calculations to create commonly-needed query items for authors
  • Use static filters to reduce the data returned
  • Use macros and parameters in calculations and filters to dynamically control the data returned

Implementing a Time Dimension

  • Make time-based queries simple to author by implementing a time dimension
  • Resolve confusion caused by multiple relationships between a time dimension and another table

Specifying Determinants

  • Use determinants to specify multiple levels of granularity and prevent double-counting

Creating the Presentation View

  • Identify the dimensions associated with a fact table
  • Identify conformed vs. non-conformed dimensions
  • Create star schema groupings to provide authors with logical groupings of query subjects
  • Rapidly create a model using the Model Design Accelerator

Creating Analysis Objects

  • Apply dimensional information to relational metadata to enable OLAP-style queries
  • Sort members for presentation and predictability
  • Define members and member unique names
  • Identify changes that impact a MUN

Introduction to the Reporting Application

  • Examine Report Studio and its interface
  • Explore different report types
  • Create a simple, sorted, and formatted report
  • Explore how data items are added to queries

Create List Reports

  • Group, format, and sort list reports
  • Describe options for aggregating data
  • Create a multi-fact query
  • Create a report with repeated data

Focus Reports Using Filters

  • Create filters to narrow the focus of reports
  • Examine detail filters and summary filters
  • Determine when to apply filters on aggregate data

Create Crosstab Reports

  • Format and sort crosstab reports
  • Create complex crosstabs using drag and drop functionality
  • Create crosstabs using unrelated data items

Present Data Graphically

  • Create charts containing peer and nested columns
  • Present data using different chart type options
  • Add context to charts
  • Create and reuse custom chart palettes
  • Introduction to visualization
  • Present key data in a single dashboard report

Focus Reports Using Prompts

  • Identify various prompt types
  • Use parameters and prompts to focus data
  • Search for prompt types
  • Navigate between pages

Extend Reports Using Calculations

  • Create calculations based on data in the data source
  • Add run-time information to the reports
  • Create expressions using functions

Customize with Conditional Formatting

  • Create multi-lingual reports
  • Highlight exceptional data
  • Show and hide data
  • Conditionally render objects in reports
  • Conditionally format one crosstab measure based on another

Drill-Through from One Report to Another

  • Let users navigate from a specific report to a target report
  • Pass parameter values to filter the data in drill-through targets
  • Navigate through multiple reports

Create a Report Using Relational Data

  • Describe relational data
  • Choose a report format
  • Build a report
  • Use available query items
  • Use calculated query items

Introduction to IBM Cognos BI Administration

  • A brief overview of IBM Cognos BI
  • The role of the Administrator in relation to the
  • IBM Cognos BI administration workflow process
  • The role of IBM Cognos Administration and IBM Cognos Configuration

Identify IBM Cognos Architecture

  • The features of the IBM Cognos BI architecture
  • The three architectural tiers
  • IBM Cognos BI servlets and services
  • The default servlet container and alternatives to its use
  • Example: IBM Cognos BI request processing
  • Examine the log server
  • Performance planning
  • Installation planning and options
  • Load balancing mechanisms
  • Request affinity
  • Configuration options
  • The IBM Cognos Application Firewall

Secure the IBM Cognos BI Environment

  • Identify the IBM Cognos BI security model
  • Define authentication and authorization in IBM Cognos BI
  • Identify security policies
  • Secure the IBM Cognos BI environment

Manage Run Activities

  • Manage current, upcoming and past activities
  • Manage schedules
  • Enable and disable schedules
  • Set queue priority for schedules
  • Suspend a schedule until a later time

Manage Content in IBM Cognos Administration

  • Add a data source
  • Distribute data and create a distribution list
  • Populate the visualization library
  • Plan a deployment
  • Create deployment folders
  • Export and import entries
  • Identify how to maintain the IBM Cognos BI content store
  • Configure saving content
  • Customize the appearance of IBM Cognos BI using styles
  • Use portlets to display custom Web content