Anyone else missing the old Cognos kb?

[robmac]

I don't know about the rest of you guys, but finding anything useful in IBM's Technotes is usually an exercise in futility >:(, compared with how easy it was to find answers to all your problems in Cognos' knowledgebase

Rob

[SomeClown]

I don't know about the rest of you guys, but finding anything useful in IBM's Technotes is usually an exercise in futility >:(, compared with how easy it was to find answers to all your problems in Cognos' knowledgebase

Rob

It's pretty bad.  I opened a ticket/survey on that and got the canned "here's how to use advanced search".  I never was a fan of the old Cognos KBs (before and after the upgrade/update) but the IBM site makes me desperately wish for the old Cognos site to return.  It's so bad that I've resurrected an old list of errors/KBs that I personally keep, and plan to update in the future.

All this reminds me of a quote from an old Fortune article in the early days of Gertsner's reign at IBM.  A customer said working with IBM was like trying to wade through pools of peanut butter (or something to that effect).  Sure feels that way these days.

[robmac]

At least Cognos support feel the same way (after a discussion I had with one support agent after logging a service request for info I felt should have been readily available in a KB)

They said they would pass along my feedback (as they had with other users) but I suspect it will have little influence on the way IBM does support.  I won't hold my breath waiting to see 'IBM Software Support Search - powered by Google'

Rob

[jkb]

I found really helpful information in the old Cognos KB and it really helped me out. I search for KB titles and KB numbers that used to exist in the old KB and find nothing in the IBM Cognos KB. Any tips on where to searh other than here at Cognoise would be appriciated.

John

[kmuller]

I agree, the IBM support site is the worst I have used in 15 years in IT.  If I were just looking at purchasing a BI tool now and saw how bad the support site was, I would go somewhere else.

I have complained and complained at both Forum and to my local rep, and nothing gets better.

I do not think they are listening, or IBM is so impossible to change that nothing gets better.

I have given up on seaching the support site and just create a ticket when I have an issue.  I have yet to get a relavant result back from the search tool.

Although the help you get that way is not better.

In general, it sucks.

Is this the first step in the death of Cognos....

[Grish]

...If I were just looking at purchasing a BI tool now and saw how bad the support site was, I would go somewhere else.

I have complained and complained at both Forum and to my local rep, and nothing gets better.

...I have given up on seaching the support site and just create a ticket when I have an issue.  I have yet to get a relavant result back from the search tool.

Is this the first step in the death of Cognos....

I'd have to agree with you on all the points, we have pretty much the same complaints... no improvement.

We'll be raising this and other support issues with the IBM executives, as it makes us wonder where Cognos is heading.

[kolonell]

As soon as the Cognos KB switched to the IBM site I started using google to find my KB documents and never had any problems.
I use something similar for searching (and restricting results to) the IBM support pages

Code Select Expand

site:www-01.ibm.com/support/  1005283

The above one would search for the document containing the old KB number 1005283.
Since the IBM KB pages are open to the World Wide Public google can index them and easily(!) find stuff ;-)

Enjoy  ;D

[robmac]

awesome idea - thanks!

[melnykJC]

Came across this article while looking for info on the new IBM Support Portal that just went live.  To be honest, I am a bit surprised to read all the negative comments.  The old Cognos KB was a real mess in ways - that product dropdown with so many out of date products you had to sift through, etc.  Maybe we're too nostalgic to forget the bad stuff...

It took me some time to get used to the new support page structure but it really worked.  When you searched for KB articles on a particular product page, the results were filtered by that product automatically.  And all the main links were on the product page, so you only needed one bookmark per product you support.

That got to be a bit much when I was asked to be our support contact for multiple Cognos products though.  I just tried the new Portal today and it is pretty cool.  I can have all 5 products configured and every link I need is on one page.  When I have a situation that is related to either WAS, C8 or both, I can search across both products at once.  I have some colleagues who have a pretty deep IBM/Cognos product stack and this is going to save them a bunch of time.  Using Google works (sometimes) but this is way better.  And you can filter search results on the metadata found within each document (doctype, functional task, product version, etc.)  Nice!!  As with any tool, you just gotta spend some time learning how to use it - I like what i see so far...

btw, you can still search on old KB numbers, even though they have a new Technote number.  One of the Support reps explained that the 'historical number' of every document is kept (buy other companies much, IBM? lol...)

Took me a while to get used to the new Support Request (?) tool (SR anyway...) but once I got the hang of it, it's easier to log and manage calls and contacts than ever.  And now the link is right on the main Portal page, along with downloads, documentation, etc.

Has anyone else tried out Portal yet?  Maybe I should start a new thread on that, but I couldn't resist replying to the things said on this one first. (forgive me, this is the first Cognos related forum I've belonged to...)

[kolonell]

Hi ALFC, it's true that the old kb had its problems but people knew how to find the knowledge due to the good search. People not finding the articles anymore was probably the main upset I guess.
Haven't tried the new page yet but have seen a demo already. Might just jump on trying today ;-)

[SomeClown]

The new support page might be good, but my experience with IBM and its support has been so bad that I would do almost anything to avoid their site.  Not fair, I suppose, to the rework done, but like Twain said about cats, "The cat, having sat upon a hot stove lid, will not sit upon a hot stove lid again. But he won't sit upon a cold stove lid, either".  Since I'm not smarter than a cat, I still avoid the IBM site.

[melnykJC]

The new support page might be good, but my experience with IBM and its support has been so bad that I would do almost anything to avoid their site.  Not fair, I suppose, to the rework done, but like Twain said about cats, "The cat, having sat upon a hot stove lid, will not sit upon a hot stove lid again. But he won't sit upon a cold stove lid, either".  Since I'm not smarter than a cat, I still avoid the IBM site.

Yeah, I've felt that way about other sites in the past.  My favourite Twain quote is this one: "The problem with most folks ain't what they don't know....it's what they know that ain't so..." and that really applied to some of my colleagues when I joined the team.  They were so bitter about all the changes they had to get used to but when I showed them how things worked, they got over it pretty fast.

I guess I am lucky because I joined the team late in the game, so I never had to 'unlearn' anything and just got used to the systems for how they worked.  After watching the demo videos on how to use Portal (via the Site Assistance link in the bottom left corner) I was up and running in no time.  I can't believe I had to work with so many different pages before, and the layouts were often different so it was hard to switch gears when troubleshooting complex issues that spanned products. 

I may still find some things I don't like about it, but so far I am very impressed.  In particular, I like the fact that I can do a generic search against one or more of my configured products, then filter the results based on the various metatags - I am not limited to the accuracy of my search query alone.  And my other favourite thing is that you can leave a comment at the bottom of every document which (according to one Support rep I spoke with) gets routed directly to the document author.  The rep was saying some of the comments earlier on were "less than professional" (I can only imagine) but that things have improved a lot since those early days after the migration.  I don't know of any other support site where customers can get involved at the document level - maybe Adobe and their livedocs, but I think that works differently...

Anyway, I'd be curious to hear what others think of the new Portal - especially if you've found something new and cool!

[MFGF]

The new support page might be good, but my experience with IBM and its support has been so bad that I would do almost anything to avoid their site.  Not fair, I suppose, to the rework done, but like Twain said about cats, "The cat, having sat upon a hot stove lid, will not sit upon a hot stove lid again. But he won't sit upon a cold stove lid, either".  Since I'm not smarter than a cat, I still avoid the IBM site.

The folks you end up in touch with if you do raise a PMR are still dedicated Cognos support staff - although the processes are a little different, the same folks still deal with the requests as when the support was via Cognos.com.

MF.

[SomeClown]

Yes, I sometimes recognize the names of the support staff.  Getting us set up in IBM support to be able to do that was a nightmare.  I still hear rumors that some internal IBM staff cannot open tickets for their own products. 

[MFGF]

That's just an urban myth, I'm afraid.  Most IBMers can even log calls on behalf of customers provided they have the customer's ICN (IBM Customer Number).

MF.

[SomeClown]

Could be, don't know.  My source can't, don't know how many others, and they made it sound plural.

[MFGF]

If your source is an IBMer, PM me their details and I will be happy to send them instructions on how to log a call, either for themselves (which will incur an internal cross-charge back to their department) or on behalf of a customer (just ask the customer for their ICN, then pick up the phone and dial).  Either that, or I can put them in touch with someone in Support who I'm sure will be more than happy to assist them.

MF.