Login   |   ITaP Home > Business Technology > Enterprise Reporting at Purdue

 
Frequently Asked Questions


Cognos Project Questions
  1. Why is Cognos being implemented at this time instead of waiting until the ERP is underway?
    When we asked institutions who had implemented ERPs what they learned from the process, and what they would do differently, one point we heard again and again was that it was a mistake to implement a new BI environment at the same time that the new ERP is being implemented. The combination of an unfamiliar BI tool working with unfamiliar data hindered both implementations. When oddities were found, it was not obvious whether the problem was in the query and display of perfectly good data, or whether the problem was in the underlying data. Or both. Or neither, and the problem was in understanding the data. By implementing Cognos now, Purdue is following the pattern learned from other institutions' experience. Cognos can be implemented now using data we already know intimately, focusing our implementation attention on Cognos' improved reporting capabilities. One of these capabilities is data cube reports, which will allow us to provide data access to people beyond our current query user base. These reports can be used successfully without having to understand the details of the underlying data structures. Queries and reports will have to be rewritten to make best use of Cognos' capabilities, but the process of identifying reports to work on will provide a chance to eliminate outdated reports, and combine and improve common reports. This will leave us with a better understanding of our core reporting requirements which will be very useful during ERP implementation.


Brio to Cognos Questions
  1. When is Brio query going away and Cognos available as a financial tool?
    While it is true that our Brio tools are a "terminal release" from the vendor and we will eventually lose technical support from the vendor (no announced date yet), that does not mean we will decommission Brio anytime soon. Our license is perpetual, meaning that we can still use Brio even after it goes out of vendor support. Furthermore, ITaP intends to continue its own technical support into the foreseeable future. It is true that we intend to help our Brio users migrate to new and more powerful Cognos tools; however, abruptly cutting off our Brio user community is NOT in the plan. More on the availability of Cognos will be communicated once the new project scope is determined along with the determination of the license distribution.

  2. Is data access security more granular than we have with Brio?
    Security access is set up which matches the security available in DSS.

  3. How long will Brio work and what are the reasons it will not work? New operating system?
    One example of Brio breaking is a new operating system. Another example is a change to the database software.

  4. Currently I run Brio queries from an access database. Will I be able to run reports queries from Cognos?
    It will be possible to run reports and/or queries from an Access database if it has been defined in Framework Manager.

  5. In our department, we have a couple of databases that are not University databases, and I currently use Brio to report against them. I am assuming that it would require at least a ReportNet Business Author license to run reports against these data sources?
    Framework Manager would be used to define the data models that can be used to create reports using either a Business or Professional Author license. Once those reports are created, they can be run using any of the ReportNet licenses.

  6. When you gave the initial information, you stated that the upgrade to Brio would have cost $1.5 million. As it is structured in the handout, what was the overall cost of Cognos?
    Less than $1.0 million.

  7. When are we moving this into production, and is there anything currently in QA?
    We currently have cubes in production, and both Student and Business Services are in the process of reviewing reports that have been rewritten in Cognos to ensure the accuracy of the results, so they should be moved into production soon. We have about 30 reports currently in QA, and hope to have them in production in October.

  8. Early in the process, we were asked to provide a list of the queries that we currently use. What has become of this list?
    We currently have these lists, but they have been placed on hold until re-scoping of the project has been defined. The standard reports have been rewritten in Cognos, and we are in the process of QA-ing these.


Licensing Questions
  1. After attending the COGNOS demo today, I’m very concerned about being able to provide the same level of customer service that is currently being provided. With Brio I have the equivalent of the “ReportNet Professional Author Named User”. Granted I don’t need to perform at this level on a daily basis, but when the customer requests information, they want it now. I believe that it would be detrimental to the relationship the business office has struggled to build over the years with the academic side of Purdue. The perception among some customers is that the business office only exists to throw roadblocks in their way and the restricted number of licenses would seem to add fuel to that fire. I wouldn’t want to be the one to tell the customer, “I’m sorry but it may be sometime before your request can be completed”. Then you have to explain to the customer about license agreements and that only certain staff members have access and that completion of your data/report request is determined by the license availability. How does that impact the credibility we are constantly striving for?
    With the experience we have gained with the tool, we are finding that we may need to purchase more ReportNet Professional Author licenses and possibly some ReportNet Business Author licenses. The last thing we want is to provide you with a tool that does not enable you to make business decisions. Cognos is a web-based tool and is very different than Brio. If we were to have given every person that had a Brio license a Cognos ReportNet Professional License it would have been very costly. Not everyone that has Brio now, uses all of it’s functionality. The project team did their best to estimate the number of licenses for each Cognos tool.

  2. Are you looking at one Report Net Professional License per area?
    We are working with the Business Analysts from HR/FIN DSS and Student DSS, along with the departmental areas such as SMAS, UD, Physical Facilities, Registrar, etc. to determine who in these areas needs a l icense, and the type of license that individual requires.

  3. Why weren’t the licensing questions asked early in the process - during requirements gathering? BTW - the perception is that this is an ITaP project rather than a business project.
    We had to estimate the number of licenses when we purchased Cognos. The team at that time, did their best to determine those numbers. It would have been better to know more detail about each of the licenses before making this estimate. Without having the experience with all of the Cognos tools, it was hard to make an accurate assessment. We need to put this down as a “Lessons Learned”, and next time spend more time up front learning about the functionality of the tool. As for the perception of it being an ITaP project, we are currently trying to change that. Jeff Whitten is forming a Governing body consisting of Rab Mukerjae, Tom Robinson, Jim Almond, Gary Newsom, and Jim Bottum. This group of people will ensure the project is being led by the customers. They will also deal with the licensing issues with input from the customers. They will also appoint advisors from their area to serve on the Change Control Committee.

  4. I create my own queries daily and if I understand correctly in order to continue to do this I would need to have Report Net Prof. Author-Query Studio Access - I am not sure what level of detail or customizing the PowerPlay Web Consumer cubes will let me obtain the information I need.
    It is necessary to view the metadata for each cube to determine the type of data that is available, and the granularity that can be achieved. If the cube does not have the data or measures that are necessary to answer the question, and no managed reports are available that meet the needs, then a query will need to be written in either Query Studio or Report Studio to answer the question.

  5. Isn’t there another level of license that has Query Studio and not Report Studio at about 1/2 \ the price?
    That license is called ReportNet Business Author and was unavailable when we purchased Cognos. We anticipate obtaining a quantity of this license type.

  6. Can defaults be set on all license levels? (number formats, etc)
    No, this cannot be changed on the license level. It is recommended to wait to change all formatting until after all the appropriate data has been placed in the report.

  7. Why does ReportNet Business Author named user have 0 purchased?
    When Cognos was purchased, ReportNet Business Author was not available.

  8. Which license do we NOT have access to at this time?
    ReportNet Business Author - Which is only Query Studio.

  9. How are the determinations made on who gets a license for each of these items?
    The project manager worked with the business analysts and departmental contacts to come up with a list of people that needed a ReportNet Professional License. This list exceeded the number purchased. In order to start training, the project manager along with the business analysts and a small group of data stewards put together a list of people to be trained in the first few sessions. These people were then approved by all the data stewards. Once they attended training they were given a license. We are currently re-assessing our licensing needs and we are talking to Cognos about additional licenses.

  10. As the use of the tool grows, and we don’t have any Query Studio licenses, what is the advantage of purchasing the Query Studio vs. Report Studio license as far as costs are concerned?
    The Business Author license (Query Studio) is half the cost of the Professional Author license (Query Studio and Report Studio).

  11. Are the quantities listed on the handout accurate for the number of licenses purchased?
    Yes, they are accurate. We will be re-evaluating these numbers after some reports are placed into Production and we can get a more accurate assessment of the number of licenses needed, based on the four license options listed on the handout. If additional licenses are needed, then we will need to come up with a funding plan to purchase the product, and an allocation plan to distribute the licenses to those who are identified as needing a license.

  12. So do you see it as problematic for people who feel they need a license, but may be unable to get one?
    Every effort will be made to get the appropriate tool in each user’s hands. Additional licenses are being obtained. Our plan is to ensure that people have the tools to answer critical business questions so they can perform their jobs. It is important to note that we did not have the option for Business Author when we originally purchased the product, so this product will be taken into account when we perform the reassessment.

  13. Are the Report Net and Power Play web consumer licenses mutually exclusive?
    They are mutually exclusive, but we made the assumption that those who would have the ability to use cubes would be the same individuals who would be running reports. These users actually have one license of Power Play Web Consumer and one license of ReportNet Web Consumer.

  14. When does this go into effect, and what does the individual user need to do to get their license?
    A more detailed schedule for sending people to training is under development. We have sent two groups of twenty through ReportNet Authoring training. These individuals were selected based on recommendations the Business Analysts received from the business areas, and were further approved by the Data Stewards. They currently have licenses. As far as future groups, the emphasis is on users of financial data due to the 10/2006 ERP implementation date. The Change Control Committee will have input on who will be attending training and receive a license. As far as the ReportNet Web Consumer licenses, the plan is that anyone who currently has DSS access will hold one of these licenses, which would be the individuals who currently run standard reports. This may change based on rules to be determined by the new Executive Oversight Committee.

  15. Has any one developed a listing of the capabilities comparing the Business Author license to the Professional Author license?
    This document has been posted to the BI web site http://www.itap.purdue.edu/ea/bii/.


Training Questions
  1. Is there a way to partner with OnePurdue Cognos training?
    Yes. Discussions are in process on how these two efforts can help each other.

  2. Will there be training for student services ReportNet Web Consumer named users?
    Our current plan is to provide showcases on how to run a managed report in Cognos, and to provide a manual on how to run a managed report. If users need additional training, hands-on training will be considered.

  3. What is the tie between the list of queries that need to be developed and the individuals being trained? Are any of the standard or Ad Hoc queries already written?
    There is no tie between the list of queries and the individuals being trained. The individuals that have been trained thus far have been designated by the business analysts as either resident experts or very experienced Brio users. We currently have 30 plus standard reports in Cognos QA. The adhoc reports are currently on hold until the project has been re-scoped. The individuals that have been trained on Cognos will identify a critical adhoc query or two from their area to convert from Brio to Cognos as a way of learning the tool.

  4. Can individual schools roll out the current knowledge to those users who have not been able to attend one of the trainings due to available slots?
    Not exactly sure what this question is asking… If the question is actually asking can the individual schools train their users on the Cognos tool that will depend on what license you are using. Individual Schools would easily train their users on the PowerPlay Web Consumer and ReportNet Web Consumer licenses. However, the ReportNet Business Author and Professional Author licenses would need formal training like we currently have with Brio.

  5. Are there any online demonstrations for ReportNet and PowerPlay?
    The following links provide demonstrations directly from Cognos. You will need to provide contact i nformation for their records in order to view them.
    http://www.cognos.com/demo_web/index.html ReportNet Demo
    http://www.cognos.com/testdrive/powerplay/index.html PowerPlay Cube Demo.


Report Development Questions
  1. Who will develop standard reports?
    In the current schedule, the standard reports are being developed by IT staff, working closely with the business analysts from HR/FIN and Student. The business analysts are working closely with the customers.

  2. There are a specific set of users defined as report creators or query creators. Will there be a list of contacts should we need a new query or report created?
    This has yet to be determined. Once the license allocation is resolved, we will work on this issue.

  3. Will I have to recreate all current reports?
    If the reports are determined to be needed after analyzing the portfolio currently available, then they will eventually need to be recreated in Cognos.


DSS Questions
  1. How are DSS & ODS separated?
    DSS is historical data and ODS is operational data. Financial ODS is refreshed nightly. Student DSS is refreshed at the beginning and end of each semester. HR/FIN DSS is refreshed monthly. DSS models will be in production soon. Financial ODS is currently in QA, and will be published when the QA process is completed.

  2. Will Cognos eventually force us into changing the current DSS/ODS file structures or will they continue to exist as they are now into the foreseeable future?
    We were able to re-create all of the datamodels in both DSS and ODS Financial. As long as DSS is available these datamodels will be available. The plans for the DSS data warehouse is that it will survive as the historical archive of legacy data when we move to the ERP. We are not planning to move legacy historical data into the new ERP-based warehouse. Therefore, the DSS (for pre-ERP data) and new OnePurdue warehouse (for post-ERP data) must co-exist for a long time because longitudinal studies will certainly span historical and recent data for at least 10 years.

  3. For someone who has the authoring capabilities for a particular school or college, is that going to be someone who has access to HR and Student data?
    It would depend on the person. If they are approved for both accesses for DSS, then they will have that ability in Cognos. The Cognos licensing is separate from the underlying DSS access.

  4. Will we need to change the data models currently in DSS?
    No, we will not need to change the existing data models to report against legacy system. However, when we go live with OnePurdue, we will be using a new data wareshouse, which will have different data models than those we are used to, so there will be some change in the way we are currently doing reporting.


PageCenter Questions
  1. How does Cognos reports compare to Pagecenter reports?
    You cannot compare the two applications. Cognos is a tool that allows the user to create reports from various data sources such as the data warehouse and SAS Share datasets. PageCenter reports are typically electronic versions of operational reports generated by the mainframe.

  2. Will PageCenter be replaced?
    PageCenter holds reports generated from the mainframe. As systems on the mainframe are replaced by the ERP, PageCenter reports that are produced by those systems will no longer exist.


Cognos Cube Questions
  1. I’m not clear on how you’ve chosen Cube vs. Query Studio.
    It is necessary to view the metadata for each cube to determine the type of data that is available, and the granularity that can be achieved. If the cube does not have the data or measures that are necessary to answer the question, and no managed reports are available that meet the needs, then a query will need to be written in either Query Studio or Report Studio to answer the question.

  2. Can we share cube views with other users?
    Yes, by placing the view in the shared public folders.

  3. I get asked questions like, “What percentage of our BIOL 231 students are also in organic? I don’t know if a cube can do that or not.
    We currently do not have a cube that answers that specific question, but it is possible to perform this in a cube. The business analysts will help to determine what cubes will be created in the future.

  4. In the cubes, you only used one fiscal year. Can you add two different fiscal years into that cube?
    For our example, we were very specific regarding which data we wanted to view. We could just as easily have chosen multiple years, using the Hide/Show button, by hiding the years we did not want to view. As long as the data is available in the cube, this is easy to do.<

  5. When using a cube, can you export the results and edit the headers and footers to meet your needs?
    Yes, you can export to Excel and edit the headers or footers to show more descriptive titles.
    ,br>
  6. Could you explain how the cubes are similar or different from the data models that we are used to looking at?
    The cubes are information that has been put together for you so that you don’t need to know the data models. We have worked with the Business Analysts to ensure that we have the most needed drill paths available to answer the questions you may have for that particular set of data. There is metadata available on the website that gives further information regarding the data and drill paths for each cube. You don’t need to know the underlying data, you have the ability to simply drag and drop the categories in the order you require them to “slice and dice” the data appropriately. For those data models that have standard filters that have to be applied to the data before reporting on it, these filters have been taken into account as we built the cube. The cubes have also been preprocessed, so that when you access a cube, you are not actually accessing the data source that was used to build the cube. All the calculations have already been performed, so that the access speed to the cube is improved.

  7. How would the business units use Purdue data in a cube presentation?
    Cubes will be summarized data. Examples of Purdue data that are placed in cubes are workforce, sponsored programs awards, pledges, class, and enrollment.


Cognos ReportNet Professional Authoring Functionality Questions
  1. Can Pro Author reports be made public for use by Web Consumers? Will formatting come thru? If consumer client doesn’t want graph, can they suppress it when using Web Consumer?
    Yes, reports can be made public. All formatting saved with the report will still be available when the report is run. It would need to be built into the report if there will be an option to show or hide the graph. Another option would be if the graph is on a separate page from the report, the user can choose which page they wish to print.

  2. Can text be imported into the report?
    It is unsure what this question is referring to. It is possible to cut and paste text into a report text block. It is also possible to use a text file as a data source by defining it in Framework Manager.

  3. Does Report Net Professional Author have the ability to write the query by joining tables?
    It is possible to set up filters to perform joins on tables, if needed. All of the data models currently defined in DSS are being duplicated in Cognos.
    ,br>
  4. What about individual data - will this work? For example, for all ME students with a 3.2+ GPA female underrepresented students? Info about a group of accts?
    Cubes are not designed to go down to the individual level. They are designed to be a summary of the data. It is possible to answer this question with a report from either Query Studio or Report Studio. A report written in Query Studio or Report Studio will allow the user to get specific information about a group of accounts.

  5. Any formatting capabilities at all in Business Author? Do we have an option for Business Author if none were purchased? By department purchases?
    Numbers can be formatted; titles and row headers/column names can be changed. Any report written in Query Studio can be exported to Excel to do additional formatting. We are talking to Cognos about purchasing the ReportNet Business Author licenses.

  6. Is PDF writer included?
    A PDF writer is not needed to send a report to PDF.

  7. Can query undo select ranges of values or just lists of individual values? How flexible is the selection criteria?
    There is no true range function in query studio, similar to a “between” function. However, it is possible to select the list of values using the checkbox feature, or select the values in the “Search for values” feature.

  8. Can you give an example of Boolean logic?
    Boolean logic is not available in Query Studio. This would be the use of operators AND, OR, NOT to combine search terms within a filter. Other functions include the CASE statement or the IF…THEN…ELSE statement.

  9. What about searching for detailed info like DOC # or PUID i.e. daily business office requirements? We don’t run “standard” reports monthly. Needs vary based on what problem our faculty have.
    This could be done in either query studio as an ad-hoc report, or can be done through a managed report using prompts. A managed report is not necessarily one that is run monthly, it is a data set that is required frequently, which may need to be sorted in different ways or looked up using different search terms each time. It can be run regularly or on an as-needed basis.

  10. When you demonstrated the cube in Power Play, you showed how the data could be exported to Excel. Could that also be done within Query Studio?
    Yes. You have the all the same options for exporting in Query Studio as we had as a Power Play Web C onsumer. We can export to PDF, CSV, Excel, and XML.

  11. So in theory, although you could not format your report in Query Studio, you could have exported it to an Excel spreadsheet, and performed the formatting there?
    Yes.

  12. And this option is available across all the tools?
    Yes

  13. On your final scenario, you showed a prompt which allows the user to enter multiple values, but you entered these one at a time. On some of our reporting that we do, we use an Access report, and then we copy those account numbers into Brio as a large list. Will we still have that capability?
    One of the possibilities for entering multiple values, you can import a list of values with a carriage return between each number.

  14. We are entering hundreds of account numbers. How would we do this?
    You should be able to rebuild your Access report to replace the line breaks with carriage returns instead of a comma, or whatever is inserted to make it usable in Brio, which should solve this problem.
    >br>
  15. Using a Report Net Web Consumer license when running a report, the prompts allowed you to limit on account number, and each time you went back to run the report, you had to re-enter these accounts. Is there a feature that can save these account numbers for the web consumer other than what the original a uthor may have used as defaults?
    You can save a Report View, which is a personal definition of how you want to see a report. You can save this report in your “My Folders” with the specific prompt values that you use each time you run it. In addition, you can also schedule this report to run on a regular basis, as frequently as you need it. Anyone who has the capability to run reports can save report views.

  16. Do you have the capability to search on descriptions for items in prompts rather than codes?
    Yes, all we would need to do is set up the prompt to show the object code description rather than the code. There are a variety of prompts available to Report Net Professional Authors that can solve this as well.
    ,br>
  17. How do I change my password for Cognos?
    Go to the following link and following the directions to change your career account password. http://www.itap.purdue.edu/security/careeraccount/index.cfm.

  18. I have been given a Report Studio and Query Studio license, but when I log into Cognos, I only see Query Studio. What should I do?
    Report Studio is only supported by Internet Explorer. So if you are using some other browser (Netscape, Firefox, Mozilla, etc.), you will not be able to use Report Studio.


Cognos Framework Manager Questions
  1. Why did I get an error in Framework Manager when using "Update Query Subject"?
    While working in Cognos Framework Manager, defining the Data Warehouse, I noticed that a table whose definition I had imported in January, now (in August) had some additional fields. So I right-clicked on the table, and selected "Update Query Subject". I got the following series of error messages in a dialog box:
    QE-DEF-0314 An error occurred while calling the content store for the database: 'DSS_cognosone' information.

    CCL-RCI-0003 Content Manager returned a header fault.

    CAM-AAA-0102 Unable to authenticate. The user must select a namespace.

    CM-REQ-4159 Content Manager has returned an error in the response header.
    It turned out that these were caused by my logon to Cognos having timed out, and this process did not check this. I started the "Import Metadata" process, selected "database" as the source, and then was presented by the "logon has timed out" dialog. I signed on here again, and was presented with the list of Cognos connections I was authorized to use. I 'cancel'ed out of the "import" at this point, and re-tried the "Update Query Subject", and it worked this time.

  2. Which one of the four licenses listed on the sheet would be used to import data into Cognos?
    The license needed is not listed on this report. It is another product, called Framework Manager, which is used to define data sources that can be used to produce reports within Cognos. We have currently allocated all of the available licenses for this product, so we may need to re-asses the number needed when we perform the license reassessment.