About this Course

This course provides professional report authors an opportunity to learn report building techniques using relational data models. Techniques to enhance, customize, and manage professional reports will be explored. Demonstrations and exercises will illustrate and reinforce key concepts during this learning opportunity.

Prerequisites

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

Course Outline

Unit 1 - Introduction to the Reporting Application

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

Unit 2 - Create List Reports

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

Unit 3 - Focus Reports Using Filters

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

Unit 4 - Create Corsstab Reports

• Format and sort crosstab reports
• Convert a list to a crosstab
• Create crosstabs using unrelated data items

Unit 5 - 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

Unit 6 - Focus Reports Using Prompts

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

Unit 7 - Extend Reports Using Calculations

• Create expressions using functions
• Add run-time information to the reports
• Create expressions using functions

Unit 8 - Use Additional Report Building Techniques

• Enhance report design with report objects
• Reuse objects within the same report
• Share layout components among separate reports
• Discuss report templates
• Choose options to handle reports with no available data

Unit 9 - Customize 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

Unit 10 - 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

Unit 11 - Drill Through Defininitions

• Discuss parameter-driven drill through
• Discuss dynamic drill through
• Setup package-based drill through definitions
• Step scope
• Use the Drill-Through Assistant

Unit 12 - Enhance Report Layout

• Force page breaks in reports
• Modify existing reports structures
• Apply horizontal formatting
• Specify print options for PDF reports
• Format data and report objects

Appendix A - Overview of IBM Cognos Analytics (Shared module)

• Describe IBM Cognos Analytics and Financial Performance Management (FPM)
• Describe IBM Cognos Analytics components
• Describe IBM Cognos architecture at a high level
• Define IBM Cognos groups and roles
• Explain how to extend IBM Cognos Analytics