IBM Cognos Analytics – Conditional Notifications

Recently I was asked by a client to setup notifications for a daily report output. This is a routine request that can be addressed within the Cognos portal by creating and scheduling a job for the report. The unique challenge presented in my case however was that the client wanted results to be emailed to […]

How Cognos 10 tasks are performed in Cognos Analytics

This blog post covers some common tasks in Cognos 10 and details how they can be performed in Cognos Analytics. Access content Cognos 10 – The Public Folders tab provides access to shared content. The My Folders tab provides access to personal content. Cognos Analytics – The Team content button on the left-hand menu provides […]

IBM Cognos Analytics – the Inside Scoop on the R5 Release!

After attending the World of Watson in Las Vegas at the end of October, here are a few of the highlights that can be anticipated in the IBM Cognos Analytics R5 release at the beginning of December. As you may or may not know, the upgrade from IBM Cognos BI to Cognos Analytics will be […]

Make Report Maintenance Easier by Implementing these BI Development Strategies

To “Get it done” and to “Get it done well” are two entirely different things.  Both have merit and are appropriate under specific conditions.  A mission critical output under a strict deadline must be prioritized to “get it done” to meet the objective.  Often this approach has delayed consequences that the urgency of the objective […]

Configure Multiple Reports in One Report Specification

One report specification can contain different views of your data, essentially rendering different reports. But why would it make sense to set up one report spec to do this, you ask? This makes sense when the queries behind the pages share a lot of content, and it’s easiest to maintain that content in one location […]

Relative Time Prompt Token Macro Technique

Prompt token macros are used to pass the definition of a data item rather than a value. They are very efficient and useful for both relational and dimensional data sources and prove to be a friendly administrative and end user experience. You can use the relative time token for scheduling purposes as well as a […]

Manage Framework Manager Model Changes

Managing change is difficult in any aspect of life, whether changing jobs, moving cities or simply adapting to the fact that Panera has done away with your favorite Cuban Chicken Panini (bummer, right?). Addressing changes in business critical systems can range from mildly annoying to down right time consuming depending upon several factors. How big […]