Non technical users

[misscognos]

Hi,

We have some analysis studio and query studio users in cognos 10 who are finding the new reporting tool to be too complex.

I have a lot of experience with cognos10 but am brand new to 11.

How are you guys dealing with this? Is there a way possibly to limit the capablities or something? We are aware of legacy studios but want to try to transition to the newer tools.

Even seasoned RS developers are finding the new ui a bit tedious at the moment but we can manage! It's our lightweight users who are just totally at a loss! Of course it is only available to select users at the moment.... But I am trying to figure out the options.

[Cognos_Jan2017]

I started learning Cognos 10.2.2 in mid-December 2016, and then upgraded to Report Studio around
mid-January 2017.  We upgraded to Cognos 11 Analytics in late May 2017.

Don't be afraid to search Google for "Cognos Analytics ... " and anything Users knew in previous Studios
in Cognos 10.2.2.  Also watch BUNCHES of Cognos Analytics YouTube videos.

Do NOT be afraid to ask questions here in Cognoise.  People moving up to Analytics will see MANY things
differently from Report Studio.  Don't get overwhelmed ... learn a day, a week, a month at a time.

HTH, Bob

[misscognos]

Thanks! I personally quite like it (but realize it will take some learning and getting used to). And people with a slightly higher technical competency are good with it too.

This is more about business users who are not so savvy. Qs and AS are relatively simple to use.. that's all the users I am talking about have ever used. almost anyone can play around a little and see what they can do even without training (or basic this is how you get in.. go nuts) with these simple ad hoc reporting tools. What I meant is that user sees so much stuff and without an RS background they have no idea at all what some of the stuff they see is and are completely confused and flustered and don't know what to do.

Is there anything we can do to limit what they see so that they are not overwhelmed and frightened when they start to use it?

I haven't played around with it yet but the capabilities seem similar to cognos10. For example there is report studio. I am not sure how that works in the context of the new tools but was wondering if anyone has played with them. Doesn't have to be capabilities (just considering my options)... Just generally looking for how folks have dealt with the type of users I am talking about here.

Another way to put it is.. how can I do this without freaking out/scaring the pants off my users 😀

Edit: I do know about the legacy studio options and do have them enabled. But, I think since they are legacy we should start the transition as soon as possible... Generally take the approach: use legacy only if you really have to. Is this a bad approach perhaps?

[Cognos_Jan2017]

You are welcome.

Some YouTube videos say Beware of Self-Service BI (an Analytics feature).  One video said it is possible some self-service BI Users may write reports w/ inaccurate results.

As I migrated to Analytics I thought I gotta learn Cognos that way although there's "a lot of Report Studio in CA".

If you are used to Cognos Workspace Dashboards, they are still there (I still use them) but they are supposedly scheduled to be deprecated.  CA includes new Dashboards, and adds Data Modules.  Start learning those.

Have the not-as-technical ask the more experienced at your company for help when they have questions.

HTH, Bob

[misscognos]

Ok. This is actual user feedback.. it is just too much for them to wrap their heads around. Have you guys had similar comments from your ad hoc report users? I guess no way to dumb down the new tool a bit?

[Cognos_Jan2017]

I am the only one in my Dept actually doing Cognos Authoring.  I do receive, and
seek, active input on User needs.

When I taught college, I taught KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid).  For people wanting
to learn, there is no such thing as a dumb question.  Let your not-as-technical
people know you will support them as they learn Cognos Analytics.

When I first saw Cognos, my Boss said before I could run w/ Cognos, I had to take
Baby Steps ... and the Learning never seems to stop, nor should it.

[misscognos]

Thanks.

I guess another way of asking my question is... In cognos 10 if a user was able to use analysis studio or query studio but not report studio, what capabilities are you granting them in CA. To have access to reporting in cognos 11, you need to grant "report studio" capability (it is still called report studio).

Thanks!

[misscognos]

Or are you guys not taking this approach where we are just trying to cut out the legacy stuff? In other words are your AS and QS users just going to use legacy studios? Do you think it is a good idea to wait for the studios to actually be fully deprecated because by then there will be more functionality included.. well somewhere.. either in reporting or something else.

[misscognos]

Sigh.... I guess my search terms were pretty poor! I looked all over the place before posting here but never even saw this... I hope this is current but the advice at the moment seems to be to actually use legacy studios... So the approach I was thinking of was wrong. We shouldn't rush to get the ad hoc report writers off the legacy studios. If you guys have heard otherwise or have reviewed various approaches it would be most helpful to hear about them.

http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg21977330

[Cognos_Jan2017]

I recommend your Users jump directly into Analytics, leaving AS and Query Studio.

I have Author status.  We have not closely examined non-"Authors" writing Self-Service BI.  When designing Reports, I sit with Users discussing what their Package overs.  This gets them very involved as we discuss what data they really need.  It seems to be working very well.  I need to learn how the less-experienced can utilize Self-Service BI.

We will be upgrading to 11.0.7 soon, and today I read IBM may release 11.0.8 by year end 2017.  Means, to me, continuous learning.

HTH, Bob

[misscognos]

I am not quite sure what to do. If you look in that statement from in:

Q. What guidance do we give Query Studio and Analysis Studio users?
A. All Query Studio and Analysis Studio assets are fully protected. Existing content is executable via Cognos Connection or Cognos Workspace. At such time as IBM Cognos Analytics capability gaps are filled, users should continue to use Query Studio and Analysis Studio.

Q. Can my users move existing saved queries and analyses to IBM Cognos Analytics?
A. Yes, but in different ways for Query Studio and Analysis Studio. We intend to move Query Studio content into IBM Cognos Analytics authoring such that there is full functionality but Analysis Studio content will be executable but not readily maintainable and users will be required to create new content where applicable.

I don't even know what that bold part means!

Analysis studio provides a nice easy way to slice and dice a cube for a user with no technical background. Creating reports against a cube in report studio is a whole different ballgame. Seasoned report authors have a hard time with it.. you can do some slice and dice in reporting but the full functionality is not there (of AS I mean where you just pick a menu option most of the time).

[Cognos_Jan2017]

Since I Author Relational Data (SQL Server), I have no experience w/ Dimensional data.  I have also never used Analysis Studio.

Q. What guidance do we give Query Studio and Analysis Studio users?
A. All Query Studio and Analysis Studio assets are fully protected. Existing content is executable via Cognos Connection or Cognos Workspace. At such time as IBM Cognos Analytics capability gaps are filled, users should continue to use Query Studio and Analysis Studio.

From what I read ... Cognos Connection and Cognos Workspace will both be deprecated.  When?  Don't know.  It is possible they will still be available for a "long time", but IBMs plan appears to be to deprecate both of them.

Based on ... "At such time as IBM Cognos Analytics capability gaps are filled, users should continue to use Query Studio and Analysis Studio. ... I would have your Users continue using QS and AS, BUT have them prepare for the transition to Analytics.

Q. Can my users move existing saved queries and analyses to IBM Cognos Analytics?
A. Yes, but in different ways for Query Studio and Analysis Studio. We intend to move Query Studio content into IBM Cognos Analytics authoring such that there is full functionality but Analysis Studio content will be executable but not readily maintainable and users will be required to create new content where applicable

I recommend beginning the process of moving existing saved queries and analyses to IBM Cognos Analytics to Analytics.  Might be good idea to have users will be required to create new content where applicable

Feel free to continue this discussion.

HTH, Bob

[misscognos]

Bob,

Appreciate your feedback!

Has anyone else been through this? What direction did you guys take for your "dumb"/ad hoc report users 😀

My fear is we don't know what they will do exactly and we may end up making users learn a bunch of stuff and then they will need to unlearn it and learn something new when they remove the legacy studios (in other words when they are at a point where they are comfortable saying all functionality has been replaced).

[Cognos_Jan2017]

"The only thing constant is change."

We all must learn new things, and recognize when to leave "legacy".

At Lunch today spoke w/ IT Mgr for whom I programmed a rather "robust"
project in 1995.  He let me know about SAP HANA which he says is the next
"big" database development.  I don't see Cognos going away anytime soon,
so I will continue being as good as I can be in that ... I will keep an eye open
for how SAP HANA may develop.

[misscognos]

Yeah... True.. more so for us though. This is our bread and butter.

But for an end user, this is just a tool and if we can avoid subjecting them to needless change, we should. Which is why I am still wondering if it better to wait till a newer version comes out where ibm says all functionality has been moved from the legacy studios. The part I'm not certain about whether it is truly needless or if some of the skills they will acquire by using the new reporting will be easily transferable to whatever comes next.

Is anyone else moving their qs and AS users to reporting already?

[dougp]

Using any software to create content stimulates the brain.  The user becomes more capable of learning the next tool and, therefore, less averse to change.  But that may not be the real issue here.

I have lots of users who believe they need ad hoc reporting capability.  They think they can't do their jobs without being able to edit reports.  But they don't understand the data -- content or structure -- well enough to create reports in any tool, regardless of the complexity.  Those responsible for ensuring users have the information they need to do their jobs focus on teaching rather than producing.  (I know I've done this.  If you give a man a fish...)  But that backfires.  It's based on the incorrect assumption that people need data.

To take it a step further...  If your data is non-trivial and your questions are non-trivial, the tool you use to access that data and answer those questions must be at least as complex as the data and questions.  If the user knows how to do their job, the complexity of the reporting tool is trivial.  The reality is this:  Anyone who has a genuine need to work with data should take on the trivial (compared to their business need) task of learning the language(s) involved.  This type of person should know how to use SQL, Python, R, etc. as an incidental part of accomplishing their job.

That being said, it turns out that the vast majority of user don't need data.  Data doesn't produce insights.  What they need is information.  They don't really need to create or edit reports.  They need someone else to create a solid suite of parameterized reports that turn the data into information.  Then they can change parameters and explore their information, gain insights, and make decisions.

I'm trying to move to an environment where my BI team gathers requirements from the users and develops all of the content.  The users consume it.  I think it will be far more efficient than cleaning up messes created by people who don't know how to work with data.  Of course, I'll always have a handful of users as described in my third paragraph, but those aren't the users you are having trouble serving.

[misscognos]

Thanks for the reply.

Well... I agree in principle but this is not always reality. They have reports created for them but at times they need numbers they didn't anticipate. They have an easy way of getting them right now. That's kinda the whole point of these legacy studios. They aren't going away, they are being replaced by a one solution for all.. but that work isn't complete yet.

I think I will wait on ibm to finish what they started and continue to use qs and as for now.

So you don't allow your users to create ad hoc queries at all?

[dougp]

Don't hold your breath.  It's been 22 months (4 lifetimes in web-based application years) since this product's release and it's still not ready for production use.

...and besides... Reporting is no more complicated than Report Studio.  I never used Query Studio.  Was that replaced by Report Studio, or was it replaced by Workspace Advanced?  Reporting can be used exactly like Workspace Advanced.  So, in either case, the problem may not be with the software being too complicated.  It may be you're just dealing with an aversion to change.  Facebook, Netflix, Amazon, banks, etc. are always making changes to the web-based applications with which users interact.  Why these users can't deal with the same experience at work that they have at home is beyond me.

[misscognos]

Haha..

Well.. yes.. we are looking to see if we want to upgrade.

Professionally authored reports are in a good state. It's the ad hoc stuff we would use legacy for.

Have you guys been running into issues? Why not production ready?