Analysis Studio Issues

[Opher]

Hello All -

I am preparing to move to Cognos 8 MR2 and have some concerns about Analysis Studio.Ã,  I've checked all of these (below) with Support and was told they are either "as intended" or "enhancement".Ã,  Since all of these functions were available in PowerPlay, how do I convince users to move to Analysis Studio?Ã,  Have any of you found these to be issues?

• No way to disable cubes to update as was done with PPADMIN
• No way to move columns/rows into defined order
• No option to rename labels for cube-based categories
• No way to create dimensional intersections
• No way to put dynamic cube elements into page header (cube build date, current measure, current period, etc.)
• Nested rows prevents suppress zeros on rows
• Multiple measures in report prevents suppress zeros
• Formatting unable to over-ride model format definitions
• No way to create calculations using nested columns

[MFGF]

Hi,

The reason for these changes is that Cognos 8 (and Analysis Studio) is a completely different product from PowerPlay, and has an entirely new architecture.

1.  You cannot disable cubes - instead you use cubeswap to point you datasource at a different cube file.
2. Using member-based sets, you can select the members you require in the order you require them and drag them to rows or columns.
3. No. You can do this in Report Studio.
4. No. You can do this in Report Studio.
5. No. You can do this in Report Studio if they have been brought in as session parameters.
6. Not entirely.  Suppression works on the minor rows, but you still see a major row with zeros.  This can be hidden, though.
7. If you nest multiple measures in rows, you can zero suppress in rows.
8. No. You can do this in Report Studio.
9. Not using members from different nested levels, but you can using members from the same nested level.  Anything more complex you can do in Report Studio.

The reason for the change is that PowerPlay was both a reporting and analysis tool - it had to do both as Impromptu would not report against cubes.  In cognos 8 it's a different story - you can use cubes and/or relational sources in Query Studio, Analysis Studio and Report Studio, so you are no longer forced into using a particular tool for a specific data storage type.

Analysis Studio is just analysis - no real reporting capabilities.  Query Studio gives simple reporting but no real analysis capabilities.  Report Studio gives you reporting and analysis capabilities (and does much more than PowerPlay ever could).

It's now a case of giving the users the relevant studio to suit their requirements.  Analysis Studio does not have the reporting capabilities of PowerPlay, but has far better analysis capabilities. Query Studio does not have the analysis capabilities of PowerPlay but has far better reporting capabilites.  Report Studio blows PowerPlay out of the water! :-)

Regards,

MF.

[Opher]

This is very interesting, MF.Ã,  Thanks for the reply...but it leaves me wanting.

All those "you can do this in Report Studio" have me stumped, because I have tried and have been unable to.Ã,  Where are you finding documentation about these functions within Report Studio?Ã,  I can find hardly anything about Report Studio and cube data sources.

For example, renaming labels:Ã,  If I have the Sales Team level of a dimension in the rows of Analysis Studio, when I open that in Report Studio is says "All Sales Teams (visible items set)" and there is no place to rename 'Blue Team' as 'Jim's Team'.Ã,  If you drag each individual member into Report Studio you can rename them, but then the set doesn't auto-update when a new Sales Team appears in the cube.

Cognos Support tells me it is not possible to create dimension intersections in Report Studio...how do you do it?

Would like to learn more.

Thanks,
Opher

[jacon]

Ask your cognos support center about "PCSWAP".
It is not officially supported, and doesn't run when using SSO, but it works.