pg2 creating effective dashboards in cognos 8
DESCRIPTION
Slides on how you can create effective dashboards in Cognos 8. To learn more on creating effective dashboards in Cognos 8, visit http://performanceg2.com.TRANSCRIPT
Creating Effective Dashboards in Cognos 8
June 25th, 2009
Kirk Wiseman VP, Training
Connect with PerformanceG2
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Cognos Video Training Series: Youtube.com/user/performanceg2
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Agenda
What are Dashboards?
Three rules of Dashboards
What to ask when creating Dashboards
Examples of Dashboards
Creating Dashboards with Cognos 8
Tips
Questions
What are Dashboards?
Currentlytwodefini/onsofadashboard: Asinglepagedisplaythatisreadableataglance Afrequentlyupdatedanaly/caldisplaythatisclearandconcise
Abe;erDefini/on: Afrequentlyupdated,clearandconcisepagethatisreadableataglance.
TIP:Adashboardreadershouldbeabletogeta“healthcheck”inabout45seconds fromthedashboard.Putimportantinforma/oninthetopleHcorner.
Scorecards VS Dashboards?
ThetermsScorecardsandDashboardsaresome/mesusedinterchangeably
ScorecardsandDashboardsarenotthesamething: Dashboardsaregenerallymoredimensionallybiasedandusuallyhavetheability
toaddmoredimensionalcontext. Dashboardsaremoreopera/onalinnatureanddataisusuallyupdatedmore
frequently. Dashboardsusuallyansweroneorjustafewperformancetypeques/onsand
performanceisquicklygleanedwithjustaglance. Scorecardsareveryperformancemanagementcentric…thinkaccountability,goals
andperformanceimprovement. Scorecardsaremorestrategicinnatureanddataisupdatedlessfrequently. Scorecardsaregenerallylessgraphic. Dashboardsmaycontainsomescorecardelements.
3 Rules of Dashboards
Placement Dashboardshavetobeaccessible TIP:Jus/fythecostofasecondmonitorandplaceyourdashboardwebpageon
thesecondmonitor. TIP:S/llusingXP?TurnonAc/veDesktopanddisplayyourDashboardonthe
Desktop. Design
Dashboardshavetobeclearandconcise TIP:Placethemostimportantac/onableinforma/oninthetopleHcorner. TIP:Onlyusegaugesifyouhave4orfewerneedles
Accuracy Keeptheresultssimpleandaccurate. Ifthedataissuspect,don’tincludeitontheDashboard
What to ask when creating dashboards
Thereareseveralkeyques/onsthatneedtobeaskedwhencrea/ngdashboards: WhataretheKeyMetrics?(TIP:Keepmetricsto10orless) Istheinforma/onac/onable?
Ifnot,don’tincludeitonthedashboard. Doesthedashboardcontaincontext?
Canareaderquicklyestablishthesource,freshnessandqualityofthedata?
Creating Cognos 8 Dashboard
Cognos 8 Dashboards
SeveralwaystocreateCognos8Dashboards: AReportStudioReportcontainingseveralreportobjects APagePortaltoorganizemul/plereportsandotherobjectsononetab Cognos8.4GODashboard
Thiswebinarconcentratesoncrea/ngdashboardsusingPagePortals.
Dashboard examples
Dashboarddesignisasmuchanartasascience. Whatwillworkinoneorganiza/onwillbethrownoutinanotherorganiza/on.
Cognos 8 Page Portal Dashboards
Cognosconnec/oncancontainmul/pletabsthatcontaindashboardportlets. PortletscancontainCognosviewer,HTMLItems,RSSfeeds,SearchPortlets,Naviga/onportlets,Images,customizedportletsusingWSRPandmore
Cognos 8 Page Portal Portlets
ACognos8PagePortalDashboardisusuallymadeupofNewsitems,Charts,Maps, Naviga/onportletstoPopularreports,scorecards,listsandcrosstabs
Newsitems
NewsitemsarecreatedusingEventStudio Greatwaytocreatealertsbasedonmul/plecriteria:
Salesdropsby10percent Invoicepastdue30,60,90days Reminderstocontactclients
Charts
TherearemanyChartstochoosefrominCognos8: Column,Bar,Progressive,Pareto,Line,Pie,Area,Combina/on,Sca;er,Bubbles,
Radar,Guage,Ranges,Microcharts
TIP:Useachartthattellsthestoryinasimpleandcleanmanner.Don’tjustuseaGuagebecauseit“lookscool”.Ifapiechartworksbe;er,thenuseit!
Maps
MapsallowyoutellaGeographicorloca/onstory. SeveralMapsareincludedwithCognos8.4. YoucandownloadupdatedonesfromIBMCognoswebsite MapManagerallowsyoutoimportmapsthatyoumayhavecreatedwithan
mappingtoolsuchasMapInfo
TIP:Thinkoutsidethebox.MapInfocancreatemapsofanything:thehumanbody,Cars,Manufacturingequipment,etc.
Metrics
Scorecardsallowyoutoalignyourcurrentperformancewithyourcompany’soverallstrategy.
CognosMetricPortletsinclude:HistoryCharts,Lists,CustomDiagramsandImpactDiagrams.
Navigation Portlet
Naviga/onportletsallowforquicknaviga/ontocommonorimportantreportsorlinks.
TIP:CreateaPagePortalthatcontainstwocolumns.Onewithacoupleofnaviga/onportletandtheotherwithaCognosViewerportlet.Haveanyreportthatisclickedinthenaviga/onportletviewedintheCognosViewerportlet.
Take aways
UseEventStudiotocreateAlertsthatwillappearintopleHCorner. UseEventStudiotosendemailsaboutthecri/calalerts. UseSparklines(microcharts)toaddvisualrelevancetolistsandcrosstabs. Createareportthatreferencesthelastupdatedateofthedashboard’sdata. Gaugesshouldbelimitedto4orfewerneedles. Keepcolorschemessimple.Usetheexcelcolorschemeforvisualacceptance. Placethedashboardonanexecu/vesdesktop,iftheyuseWindowsXP. Createascheduledjobtorunallthereportsforthedashboardandhavethatjob
calledbyatriggerevent–suchasadbrefresh. ScorecardsandDashboardsaredifferent.ADashboardcancontainScorecards. Dashboardsarenotsta/c–expectthemtochangeandmorphwithinthefirst18
months.
Contact us
Contactusformoreinforma/onaboutdashboardsoryourcompany’sBIneeds: [email protected] CallTollFree:1‐(877)PG2‐4CPM(1‐877‐742‐4276) Visitusontheweb:h;p://www.performanceg2.com Leaveusatweet:twi;er.com/performanceg2 Readourblogs:performanceg2.com/blog FollowusonFacebook:SearchforPerformanceG2 Checkoutupcomingevents:performanceg2.com/events
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