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