IBM B6370G - Overview of IBM Cognos Analytics Dashboards (v11.2)

Course Outline

Unit 1: Introduction to Dashboards

• Define key features of dashboards
• Identify dashboard interface components
• Upload data files for dashboard creation
• Customize dashboard visualizations
• Explore and use the AI Assistant for dashboard design

Unit 2: Create a Basic Dashboard

• Select and integrate at least two different types of data sources into a dashboard
• Add visualizations to a dashboard using drag-and-drop, AI Assistant queries, and Pinned tabs
• Customize a dashboard with widgets
• Share a dashboard with custom configurations

Unit 3: Advanced Dashboard Functions

• Implement filters into a dashboard
• Configure a dashboard with interconnected visualizations
• Use the Visualization feature to change the type of a chart in an advanced dashboard and customize the chart’s properties
• Use the AI Assistant to generate relevant visualizations
• Apply natural language queries and refine output with filters and aggregations

Unit 4: Create a Story

• Create a basic story by adding scenes and integrating visualizations and animations
• Adjust the timeline of objects in a scene to control appearance and disappearance during playback
• Enhance a story by adding animations to objects and highlighting key data points to emphasize insights

Unit 5: Create an Exploration

• Explain the purpose and advantages of using Explorations, including how they reveal insights and correlations
• Create an exploration from a data source
• Interact with the Relationship Diagram to filter unique fields, select starting points, and generate corresponding visualizations

Unit 6: Visualizations

• Identify and describe at least five types of visualizations, including their appropriate use cases
• Demonstrate how to configure a drill-through definition for a visualization in a dashboard
• Apply forecasting techniques to predict future trends using historical data in visualizations
• Create and import a custom visualization into a dashboard, ensuring its integration and usability

Unit 7: Features in Cognos Analytics 11.2

• Demonstrate how to create and manipulate 3D hexbin maps
• Customize visualization properties, such as bullet charts and axis-specific formatting in a dashboard
• Apply cascading filters to guide logical data exploration in dashboards
• Utilize and customize tooltip features to add context to data visualizations

Objective

After completing this course, learners should be able to:

• Customize dashboard visualizations
• Explore and use AI Assistant for dashboard design
• Select and integrate at least two different types of data sources into a dashboard
• Customize a dashboard with widgets
• Configure a dashboard with interconnected visualizations
• Adjust the timeline of objects in a scene to control appearance and disappearance during playback
• Create an exploration from a data source
• Apply forecasting techniques to predict future trends using historical data in visualizations
• Apply cascading filters to guide logical data exploration in dashboards

Prerequisites

Participants should have the following skills:

• An understanding of your organization’s business intelligence process and reporting needs
• Experience using basic Windows functionality
• An understanding of Cognos reporting

Audience

This course is intended for data professionals in multiple roles: business analysts, report authors, developers, data administrators, data modelers, project managers, and technical users who are involved in data preparation, reporting, and business intelligence within their organization.