Introduction to Cognos Analytics and Report Navigation Training. IBM Cognos Analytics 11

Transcription

1 Introduction to Cognos Analytics and Report Navigation Training IBM Cognos Analytics 11 Applicable for former IBM Cognos 10 report users who access CBMS Cognos to run and view reports March 2018

2 This training documentation is the sole property of EKS&H. All rights are reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced. Exception: Health Care and Economic Security Staff Development Center has the right to reuse these materials internally, including the right to further modify these materials and to train additional users. Any other use of these materials is not authorized. These materials were customized for The Health Care and Economic Security Staff Development Center on IBM Cognos i

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4 Table of Contents Chapter 1 Getting Started in IBM Cognos Analytics... 1 Overview of IBM Cognos Analytics Getting Started in Cognos Analytics... 3 Understanding the IBM Cognos Welcome Portal... 7 Understanding the Navigation Panel... 8 My content... 9 Team content Recently viewed How to Request New Reports or Changes to Current Reports Using Cognos Analytics Help Features Chapter 2 Running, Viewing and Interacting with Reports Viewing a Report Where to Capture Report Output Return to the Welcome Portal Create a Shortcut to Save a Report Searching for Content Running a Report in Cognos Analytics Create a Report View to Save a Report Report Scheduling One time run schedule Tips for Using IBM Cognos Analytics iii

5 Chapter 1 Getting Started in IBM Cognos Analytics Introduction to IBM Cognos 11 IBM Cognos Analytics V11 is a web-based, integrated business intelligence suite. It provides a toolset for reporting, analysis, monitoring of events and metrics, and business analytics. WHY USE IBM COGNOS? In many organizations, finding answers to business questions is a manual process that uses a mix of different tools and interfaces. Before using Cognos, frequently, business users across the organization assemble reports on the same subjects, but have different numbers. Each of the people writing the reports will likely make slightly different assumptions, use different calculations, and use different definitions for terms to describe the data. They might use different interfaces, different time periods, or even different data sources. The result of these differences is sometimes disappointing for the business users, who spend precious meeting time discussing where the numbers came from as opposed to what to do with the numbers. This process slows down decision making.. IBM Cognos simplifies the reporting process by focusing on organizing the users into user groups and leveraging best practices when using multiple data sources. 1

6 Chapter 1 Getting Started in IBM Cognos Analytics Overview of IBM Cognos Analytics 11.0 Components and license roles in IBM Cognos Analytics 11 Business Intelligence (BI) tool suite: The following capabilities are most closely associated with Cognos Report User permissions and activities. IBM Cognos Analytics Components Welcome Portal Report Viewer Reporting Use and Capability Run reports, search for content, view My content, Team content and Recent lists, open dashboards, open stories and other items, upload files, check your notifications, set your preferences and home page, and review your subscriptions. Delete, copy, move, edit, run as, set properties, set permissions and more. View results of all reports. Report viewer shows report output after a user has interacted with any prompts. Allows Report Developers to create and edit a wide range of professional reports. Use templates or customize reports with prompts, bursting, advanced charts and visualizations. 2

7 Chapter 1 Getting Started in IBM Cognos Analytics Accessing IBM Cognos Analytics CBMS Cognos We recommend Internet Explorer or Google Chrome as the default browsers for accessing IBM Cognos. To access IBM Cognos instances including UAT for training and testing, Production for reports managed and provided by the State, or Ad-hoc for reports developed and managed by the counties you must first access and login to the My CDHS portal. Once on the portal, click the CBMS tab to find the icons and links to the IBM Cognos environments assigned to you. Access is permissions based. In the following steps we walk through this process to access Cognos UAT for training. HCPF vs CDHS More Notes on Logging in to Cognos HCPF employees access the HCPF Portal: 1. Go to: 2. Click the Secured Sites link to access the Login window. 3. Type in User Name and Password. 4. Click Login. CDHS employees access the CDHS Portal: 1. Go to: Or, click the CDHS icon on your computer s desktop 2. Type in User Name and Password. 3. Click Login. Note: The CDHS Portal User Name and Password should be the same as the user s Novell Login User ID and Password. All HCPF and CDHS employees follow these steps after logging into the Portal: 1. Click the Applications tab. 2. Click the Cognos icon from the CDHS Portal Applications menu. 3. Type in User ID and Password. 4. Click OK. The Cognos User ID and Password should be the same as the user s Novell Login User ID and Password. For this class, we access Cognos via the CDHS Portal. 3

8 Chapter 1 Getting Started in IBM Cognos Analytics Getting Started in Cognos Analytics Getting Started 1. In Internet Explorer type the following URL into the address bar to access the My CDHS portal: 2. In the fields provided type the Username and Password provided by your instructor. Click Login. 3. Click the CBMS tab. 4

9 Chapter 1 Getting Started in IBM Cognos Analytics 4. Under Applications click CBMS Cognos UAT. This action launches IBM Cognos Analytics in a new browser window. It may take a few seconds or minutes for the page to appear, depending on your connection speed. 5. In the fields provided type the Cognos User ID and Password provided by your instructor (may be the same as the portal login provided). Click OK. 5

10 Chapter 1 Getting Started in IBM Cognos Analytics The IBM Cognos Analytics Welcome Portal home page appears. Note that your Welcome Portal screen may look different than your instructor s screen, or this image. What is the IBM Cognos Welcome Portal The IBM Cognos Welcome Portal formerly known as Cognos Connection in previous versions of Cognos is the portal interface to all of the functionality available in Cognos Analytics It is a web application for viewing, creating, and managing queries and reports. In the portal, you can view and run shared reports and personalize the portal to meet your needs. We recommend Internet Explorer or Google Chrome as the default browsers for accessing IBM Cognos. To access IBM Cognos instances including UAT for training and testing, Production for reports managed and provided by the State, or Ad-hoc for reports developed and managed by the counties you must first access and login to the My CDHS portal. Once on the portal, click the CBMS tab to find the icons and links to the IBM Cognos environments assigned to you. Access is permissions based. In the following steps we walk through this process to access Cognos UAT for training. 6

11 Chapter 1 Getting Started in IBM Cognos Analytics Understanding the IBM Cognos Welcome Portal Once you have successfully logged into IBM Cognos the Welcome portal appears. This is the primary way to access all of Cognos Analytics Capabilities, including the Report tool. The web interface means that nothing needs to be maintained on the user s desktop. At the top of the window is the Main Toolbar. Navigation Panel Navigation Menu More button customize the user experience Personal Menu access General and Personal Preferences Help features Support and tutorials Upload Files Upload data files You may not see all of the icons that appear in the image above on your home page as they are based on permissions. 7

12 Chapter 1 Getting Started in IBM Cognos Analytics Understanding the Navigation Panel The goal of the navigation panel is to provide Users with a streamlined way to view content and activities pertinent to them. Home click to return to the area of Cognos you ve designated as Home; by default the Welcome Portal. Smart Search Modernized search engine to find reports and other content available to you My content User s personal content Team content Shared/published content; available to more than one person exists here Recent Displays list of the user s most recently used reports, dashboards, etc.; up to 20 entries New Upload data and create content, such as reports, dashboards, stories or data modules 8

13 Chapter 1 Getting Started in IBM Cognos Analytics NOTE Coach Marks are available as indicated by a green button next to action buttons. Coach marks provide a pop-up of User Interface hints and are provided to enhance the user experience by providing information to the user on how to use features. Click the Coach Mark buttons to open windows with hints. Understanding the Navigation Panel in the Welcome Portal Exploring the Navigation Panel My content My content in Cognos Analytics V11 is equivalent to My Folders in previous versions of Cognos. Please note that though we use My content in this class, there are specific county policies on the use of Cognos My content and this feature is not utilized by all users. Please consult other Cognos users in your county for recommended best practices. If My content is not a storage option available to you/your county, you should be able to create new folders in Team content to help you organize commonly used reports. County policies still apply. 9

14 Chapter 1 Getting Started in IBM Cognos Analytics 1. In the Navigation Panel click My content The My content panel opens. Notice the Folder Tools. Folder Tool Use New Folder Filter the types of content that appear in the list: Reports, Dashboards, Data, or Folders Sort folder entries 10

15 Chapter 1 Getting Started in IBM Cognos Analytics Create a Personal Folder in My content In the next steps we create a Personal Folder in to save all of the reports you build in class today. My content. Use this folder 2. Click New folder. A new folder appears in the list. 3. Type Report User Delta Training. 4. Click off the folder or on your keyboard press Enter. The new folder appears in the list: 5. Click the Report User Delta Training folder. The folder opens. There is nothing in this folder, yet. 11

16 Chapter 1 Getting Started in IBM Cognos Analytics 6. Click the Collapsed Items breadcrumb to navigate back through the folder structure without the use of the browser s back button. Or, click Previous to navigate back to the top folder level: In IBM Cognos, we use these tools to move throughout the folder structure, rather than using the Back button built into the browser. Later in this training we talk more about how Cognos does not work like other websites and how you can use the functionality built into Cognos to move around the application. 12

17 Chapter 1 Getting Started in IBM Cognos Analytics Team content Team content in Cognos Analytics V11 is equivalent to Public Folders in previous versions of Cognos. 7. In the Navigation Panel click Team content. The Team content pane expands. The folders in Team content are permissions based. The folders in your Team content folder may vary from those shown here. 13

18 Chapter 1 Getting Started in IBM Cognos Analytics Notice the contents of this folder is a mix of Folders and Packages. Folders contain reports. Packages are tools Report Writers and Developers use to access data and build reports. Sometimes packages also serve as package folders, and if you click on one you may find reports inside. In most cases you only interact with reports in folders. It is not a recommended practice to save reports to package folders. 8. Scroll down and click the Application Reports folder. 9. In the Folder Tools, click Sort and select Modified. 14

19 Chapter 1 Getting Started in IBM Cognos Analytics Notice the contents of this folder is a mix of Reports, Report views, Folders, and Shortcuts (not pictured here). A Report indicates you can view report output, or Run the report (if allowed) to generate a report with the most up to date data available. A Report view (notice the eye!) is similar to a link to a report. The Report view uses the same report specification as the source report it is connected to, but allows you to setup different properties such as prompt values, schedules, delivery methods, run options, languages, and output formats. A Shortcut is a pointer to another entry such as a report, report view, or folder. You can use shortcuts to organize information that you use regularly. For example, if you frequently use a report in Team content, you can create a shortcut in My content. We discuss these concepts in detail later in this training. 15

20 Chapter 1 Getting Started in IBM Cognos Analytics Folder Access Permissions Let s talk about: Folder access permissions and how they are managed: How to get access permissions for a folder. Recently viewed The Recently viewer option is a new feature in Cognos Analytics 11 that helps you quickly find content you work with on a regular basis. 10. In the Navigation Panel click Recent. The Recently viewed pane expands. The training ID you are using may not have any recently viewed content... yet! Notice there is also a Recent area in the Main Work Area. We learn how to take advantage of these shortcuts throughout this training. 16

21 Chapter 1 Getting Started in IBM Cognos Analytics Using Cognos Analytics Help Features In the upper right-hand corner of the Welcome Portal click the Help question mark and a menu of options appears. Help launches the IBM Cognos Analytics 11.0 documentation site at IBM. Here you can access lengthy PDF documents outlining the tools as well as how-tos. Education Portal launches the IBM Cognos Analytics Learning Center to access demos, videos, tips, lists of what s new and other resources. Community launches the IBM Cognos Analytics Community portal where other Cognos users share content and resources. Keep in mind that the demonstrations and examples used in the IBM Cognos help materials use a generic sample data set from a fictional sports and outdoor equipment company and will not contain any of your own organization s data. 17

22 Chapter 1 Getting Started in IBM Cognos Analytics Trainer Demo: Admin Report folder in CBMS Cognos This is also a good point in our training to talk about two resources available in the Team content folders to help you understand the data available in CBMS Cognos reports, as well as which reports are available. 1. In CBMS Cognos, from the Welcome Portal, in the Navigation Panel click Team Content and open the Admin Report folder. The folder opens: Please do not click any links inside the Admin Report folder in training! 18

23 Chapter 1 Getting Started in IBM Cognos Analytics Complete Production Cognos List is a list of every production (aka canned) report available in CMBS Cognos Production Data Dictionary List a list, that is updated every other Sunday, that provides definitions for each piece of data available in the production (canned) reports in CBMS Cognos For more information on the Admin Reports, please contact the Help Desk. 19

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25 Chapter 2 Running, Viewing and Interacting with Reports In this chapter we learn how to: View a report Search for a report Save a report shortcut Create a report view Run and interact with a report Print or save report data in various formats to your network or desktop View a Report from Team content In the next lesson we navigate to Team content to find and view a Cognos Analytics report. Viewing a Report 1. In the Navigation Panel click Team content. 2. Click the Application Reports folder. 21

26 3. Mouse over the right edge of the Team content pane, and use the bars to drag the pane wider so we can see the full report names: 4. Click the Summary of New CDHS Application Determinants County Detail report: The report opens in the Cognos Viewer window. This report is in PDF format. Notice the PDF Toolbar that allows us to: Download the report to your network or computer, or Print this report output. 22

27 Where to Capture Report Output Let s talk about where to save report output: Save in Cognos Save to your desktop or network location Local County or Department policies apply Return to the Welcome Portal Once we are finished viewing the report, we can close the report and return to the Welcome Portal. 5. At the top of the Cognos Viewer window: a) Click the Navigation button: b) Click the x to close the report. 23

28 This action brings us back to the Welcome portal. You also have the option leave the report open, and click Welcome in the dropdown, and return to the Welcome Portal to open or run another report. In the Navigation Panel, you can also click Home Portal. to return to the Welcome How to Request New Reports or Changes to Current Reports Create a Shortcut to Save a Report A shortcut is a pointer to another entry such as a report, report view, folder, job, agent, page, or URL. You can use shortcuts to organize information that you use regularly. For example, if you frequently use a report in Team content, you can create a shortcut in My content. You cannot update the source entry (report) by clicking the shortcut. Updating the source automatically updates all shortcuts to the entry. Note that if the source entry is deleted or moved to another location, the shortcut icon changes to indicate a broken link. You can change access permissions for a shortcut entry, but it does not change the access permissions for the source entry. In the next lesson we navigate to Team content to find and save a shortcut to a Cognos Analytics report. 24

29 Creating a Shortcut 1. In the Navigation Panel click Team content. 2. Confirm the Application Reports folder is still open. 3. Mouse over the Summary of New CDHS Application Determinants Statewide Summary report: a) Click More. b) Click Create shortcut 25

30 4. In the Create shortcut window: a) Click My content b) Open the Report User Delta Training folder you created in Chapter 1. c) Click Create shortcut. A confirmation message appears briefly at the top of the screen: 5. In the Navigation Panel click My content. 6. Open the Report User Delta Training folder to see the shortcut: 26

31 Smart Search The Smart Search in Cognos Analytics provides a modernized search engine that uses a smart, intent-driven search algorithm to assist the User. As you type, an auto-fill feature launches and renders search suggestions for related terms. Search results are permissions based. Searching for Content 1. In the Navigation Panel click Search. The Search panel expands. 27

32 2. In the Search field type Running a, and on your keyboard hit Enter. Watch how Cognos automatically returns all reports that meet the search criteria: 3. Hit Enter on your keyboard to see a full list of search results. Note, you may see different results than your instructor. 4. Mouse over the right edge of the Search pane, and use the bars to drag the pane wider so we can see the full report names. In the Search tools, you have the option to: Click Save to save the search. Click Narrow your search to reveal additional fields to further narrow the search results. 28

33 Running a Report in Cognos Analytics In the next steps, we learn how to run a report in Cognos Analytics. 1. In the Search results, click the Running a Cognos Analytics Report report specification: When you click a report name in Team content or My content, the report may only display as it was last run; the data displayed may not be the most current. To execute a report in the Welcome Portal we recommend that you: (1) Mouse over the report name (2) Click More, and (2) Select Run as. 29

34 A prompt page opens in the Cognos Viewer window. A prompt is a question we must answer before the report can run. In this example we are asked to select a County. In most of the reports you access, the data may already be sorted by your County. 30

35 2. Select San Juan. 3. Click Finish. The report runs and displays the data, for the selected County, in the Cognos Viewer window. 31

36 NOTE When you run a report in HTML output, always check to see if there is a Page Down option in the bottom left of the report. There may be more data that isn t displayed on the initial page. Notice, the Main Toolbar. Tool Use Add this report Save report or Save report as report view Edit Users with applicable permissions can open and edit the report in the Reporting tool Undo and Redo Run as Refresh 32

37 4. Click the drop-down next to Run as. The Run as drop-down allows you to select a different report format. We ask that you do no run any reports to PDF or Excel in today s training. Before we explore the report, let s save a copy to My content. 5. In the Main Toolbar click the drop-down next to Save and select Save as. 33

38 6. In the Save as window click My content. 7. Open the Report User Delta Training folder. Click Save. 8. Click inside the report and notice the Toolbar that appears. Tool Use Filters Sort Summarize Explore Group Change chart type 34

39 The appearance of this Toolbar which is permissions based, and may only be available on select reports allows Report Users to manipulate the data returned by the report in the Viewer. 9. Click inside the App Count column, and in the Toolbar click Sort and select Ascending. The report refreshes and sorts the rows descending by the App Count column. Next let s assume we would prefer to only see data for a specific Program in the report. 10. In the Program Name column, click the Adult Financial row cell. 11. In the Toolbar click Filters and Include Adult Financial. 35

40 The report refreshes to only display data for the Adult Financial Program. 12. In the Main Toolbar click Undo. This action undoes the addition of the Include filter on Program Code. 13. In the Main Toolbar click Undo again to Undo all changes to the report. Your instructor may demonstrate more changes you may be able to make to the report output. 36

41 Create a Report View to Save a Report You can create a report view, which uses the same report specification as the source report, but has different properties such as prompt values, schedules, delivery methods, and run options. Creating a report view does not change the original report. You can determine the source report for a report view by viewing its properties. The report view properties also provide a link to the properties of the source report. If the source report is moved to another location, the report view link is not broken. If the source report is deleted, the report view icon changes to indicate a broken link, and the properties link to the source report is removed. Please note that this feature is not available/may not work for all CBMS Cognos reports, especially those that you only view versions/output for! Creating a Report View 1. In the Main Toolbar click the drop-down next to Save and select Save as report view. 2. In the Save as window click My content. 37

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43 3. Open the Report User Delta Training folder. Click Save. 4. In the Navigation Panel click My content, and open the Report User Delta Training folder. Notice the Report view : 39

44 You can also create a Report View from the Welcome Portal, and the More menu. Mouse over the report: Click More and click Create report view 40

45 Report Scheduling One time run schedule In the next steps you learn how to schedule a report to run one time. Setting up a Report Run Schedule 1. In My content, and the Report User Delta Training folder, mouse over the Running a Cognos Analytics Report: a) Click More. b) Click Run as. 41

46 The Run panel expands. 2. Toggle the switch to Run in background The switch activates... And the Advanced menu appears. 3. Click the Advanced drop-down. Notice the option to run the report Now or Later. 42

47 4. Click Later. Notice the option to choose a date and time in the future to run the report. For this example we run the report Now. 5. Click Now. 6. Click the Delivery drop-down. Notice the options available. Ensure Save report is the only option selected. 7. Click Done. 8. Click Run. 43

48 A Prompt page opens. We must select a County before the report can be scheduled. 9. Select San Juan. 10. Click Finish. The report runs in the background. To View the output versions 11. In the Navigation Panel click My content, open the Report User Delta Training folder. 12. Find the Running a Cognos Analytics Report: a) Click More. b) Click View versions 44

49 The Versions pane expands: 13. Click the information arrow to see more detail. 45

50 14. Click the entry from today and click the HTML icon to view the report. Note that some of the reports you access in CBMS Cognos have been run for you already, and when you want to view the output you need to click the View versions option for the report. Report Scheduling Reoccurring run schedules To setup reoccurring run schedules for reports, please see your Cognos Administration team. Return to the Welcome Portal 1. In the Main Toolbar click the Navigation Menu and click Welcome. The Navigation Menu provides a drop-down that allows Users to easily move between the different content they ve worked with during the current session. 2. Click Home to return to the top of the IBM Welcome Portal. NOTE IBM Cognos Welcome Portal is the primary way to access Reporting. This allows developers to create hyperlinks to reports directly from another application or web page and link them to Cognos. This bypasses the Welcome Portal after the user has been authenticated. 46

51 Tips for Using IBM Cognos Analytics As you work with IBM Cognos Analytics and the Reporting tool, keep these tips in mind for easier use and better performance. It doesn t work like a browser. IBM Cognos does not fully support the functionality of the browser. For example, you may notice that sometimes the browser Back button works and sometimes you get errors or no response at all. For greater Cognos reporting happiness, only use options visible within the IBM Cognos interface rather than those in your browser. Cancel doesn t really mean Cancel. When you run a report, you might notice that Cancel is an option while the report runs. Unfortunately, if you click the Cancel button it does not cancel the query and can contribute to a backlog of data requests if used repeatedly for the same report. Unless you plan to change the report in some way and resubmit the query, it is better to wait out the report rather than try to interrupt it. As an alternative, you can click Select a delivery method. Navigate to the Bottom for faster performance. If you run a long report in HTML there will be navigation options at the bottom of the screen. If you pick Page down, the report needs to re-run. Choose Bottom instead, which places the entire report into memory (cache) and allows you to more quickly move between pages. 47