This accelerated offering is intended for core project team members wanting to acquire a broad understanding of IBM Cognos Analytic platform implementation. During the ILT segments, participants will perform hands-on demonstrations and exercises that cover three essential topic areas: modeling, report authoring, and administration of IBM Cognos Analytics. During the WBT portion of the course, students will be required to complete 16.5 hours of eLearning (6 WBTs and 1 recording).

eLearning:

• B5130G - IBM Cognos for Microsoft Office: Integrate with Microsoft Office (v10.1/10.2)
• B5231G - IBM Cognos BI Event Studio: Create and Manage Agents (v8.4/10.1)
• B5169G - IBM Cognos Transformer: Create PowerCubes (v10.1)
• B6088G - IBM Cognos Analytics for Consumers (v11.0)
• B6089G - IBM Cognos Analytics: Create Dashboards (v11.0)
• B6090G - IBM Cognos Analytics: Create Data Modules (v11.0)
• B6091G - IBM Cognos Analytics: Departmental Administration (v11.0)

Please refer to course overview.

Core Project Team members
• Project Managers
• Technical Analysts
• Developers

• Knowledge of common industry-standard data structures and design.
• Experience with SQL
• Experience gathering requirements and analyzing data.
• Knowledge of Web application server architectures
• Security systems administration
• Knowledge of your business requirements
• Experience using the Windows operating system
• Experience using a web browser

1: Introduction to IBM Cognos Analytics
• Describe IBM Cognos Analytics and its position within an analytics solution
• Describe IBM Cognos Analytics components
• Describe IBM Cognos Analytics at a high level
• Explain how to extend IBM Cognos Analytics
2: Identifying common data structures
• Define the role of a metadata model in Cognos Analytics
• 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
3: 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
4: 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
5: Preparing reusable metadata
• Verify relationships and query item properties
• Create efficient filters by configuring prompt properties
6: Modeling for predictable results: Identifying 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
7: Modeling 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
8: Modeling for predictable results: consolidate metadata
• 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
9: Creating 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
10: 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
11: Specifying determinants
• Use determinants to specify multiple levels of granularity and prevent double-counting
12: 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
13: 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
14: Introduction to IBM Cognos Analytics - Reporting
• Examine IBM Cognos Analytics - Reporting and its interface
• Explore different report types
• Create reports in preview or design mode
• Create a simple, sorted, and formatted report
• Examine dimensionally modelled and dimensional data sources
• Explore how data items are added queries
• Examine personal data sources and data modules
15: Creating list reports
• Group, format, and sort list reports
• Describe options for aggregating data
• Create a multi-fact query
• Create a report with repeated data
16: Focusing 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
17: Creating crosstab reports
• Format and sort crosstab reports
• Create complex crosstabs using drag and drop functionality
• Create crosstabs using unrelated data items
18: 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
• Introduce visualization
• Present key data in a single dashboard report
19: Focusing Reports Using Prompts
• Identify various prompt types
• Use parameters and prompts to focus data
• Search for prompt types
• Navigate between pages
20: Extend reports using calculations
• Create calculations based on data in the data source
• Add run-time information to the reports
• Create expressions using functions
21: Customizing reports 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
22 Drill-through definitions
• Discuss parameter-driven drill through
• Discuss dynamic drill through
• Set up package-based drill-through definitions
• Set scope
• Use the Drill Through Assistant
23 Introduction to IBM Cognos BI Administration
• IBM Cognos Analytics enterprise components
• Role of the Administrator in relation to the IBM Cognos Analytics administration workflow process
• Role of IBM Cognos Administration and IBM Cognos Configuration
24 Identifying IBM Cognos architecture
• The features of the IBM Cognos Analytics architecture
• The three architectural tiers
• IBM Cognos Analytics servlets and services
• The default servlet container and alternatives to its use
• An example of IBM Cognos Analytics request processing
• Installation options
• Load balancing mechanisms
• Configuration options
• The IBM Cognos Application Firewall
25: Securing the IBM Cognos Analytics environment
• Identify the IBM Cognos Analytics security model
• Define authentication in IBM Cognos Analytics
• Define authorization in IBM Cognos Analytics
• Identify security policies
• Secure the IBM Cognos Analytics environment
26: Managing 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
27: Managing content in IBM Cognos Administration
• Add a data source
• Distribute data and create a distribution list
• Add visualizations to the Library
• Plan and perform a deployment
• Identify how to maintain the IBM Cognos Analytics content store
• Configure saving content outside of the content store
• Customize the appearance of IBM Cognos Analytics using styles
• Use portlets to display custom Web content

Prior to enrolling, IBM Employees must follow their Division/Department processes to obtain approval to attend this public training class. Failure to follow Division/Department approval processes may result in the IBM Employee being personally responsible for the class charges.

GBS practitioners that use the EViTA system for requesting external training should use that same process for this course. Go to the EViTA site to start this process:

http://w3.ibm.com/services/gbs/evita/BCSVTEnrl.nsf

Once you enroll in a GTP class, you will receive a confirmation letter that should show:

• The current GTP list price
• The 20% discounted price available to IBMers. This is the price you will be invoiced for the class.