Cognos Planning Blogs
Below is a list of Cognos Planning (aka Adaytum, Enterprise Planning, EP, Contributor) blogs. To search for a specific topic, use the search bar to the right.
Breaking Down Barriers: Unleash Corporate Agility with Extended Planning and Analytics
Written by Heather L. Cole, November 2nd, 2023 In the ever-evolving landscape of business, the traditional Financial Planning and Analysis[...]
Unlocking Efficiency and Innovation for Midmarket Companies with IBM Planning Analytics
Written by Heather L. Cole, September 8th, 2023 In today's fast-paced business landscape, midmarket companies face unique challenges when it[...]
The Power of IBM Planning Analytics for Mid-Market Companies: Leveling Up from Excel
Written by Heather L. Cole, June 14th, 2023 In the fast-paced world of mid-market companies, there's a hero waiting to[...]
Move to IBM Planning Analytics on Cloud
Written by Heather L. Cole, October 27th 2022 Is your IT department too busy to upgrade your IBM Planning Analytics,[...]
Things to Consider for Corporate Budgeting in Uncertain Times (Part 2)
Written by Heather L. Cole, October 13th, 2022Budgeting and Planning is even more important in times of uncertainty! And I[...]
Things to Consider for Corporate Budgeting in Uncertain Times
October 6th, 2022 It’s that time of year again when most companies are frantically creating their budgets. But this is[...]
Scorecards and Metrics in Planning Analytics
Written by Mike Bernaiche, September 30th, 2021Did you know that you can track your key performance indicators (KPI’s) with Scorecards[...]
Five Tips to Hosting a Virtual IBM Cognos & TM1 User Group
November 12th, 2020 The world has changed, and it is never going back! A year ago we were able to[...]
Have You Secured Funding Yet? It’s Budgeting Season, Secure Funding Now For IBM Cognos
Have You Secured Funding Yet? It's Budget Season. Secure Funding Now for IBM Cognos!Do you need process improvement and require[...]
Simplifying Maintenance of Cognos Planning Access Tables w/ D-Cubes
11/8/2016Are you a Cognos Planning client looking to simplify maintenance of your system? As a business analytics consultant specializing in[...]
How to Copy and Archive Cognos Planning Models
11/1/2016That time of the year is approaching when you either need to rollover your budget or you need to create[...]
How to Zero Out all of the Data in Cognos Planning!
10/25/2016Do you need to reset a cube to zero in order to clear out all the data in the contributor[...]
Help! Emergency! My Cognos Planning Cubes are Not Opening!
Help! Emergency! My Cognos Planning Cubes Are Not Opening!As a business analytics coach with over 15 years of experience implementing[...]
The Secret to Reordering Your Cognos Planning E-list
10/11/2016Have you ever tried reordering your Cognos Planning E-list and wondered, ”What the Heck is going on?” For years, I[...]
Simplifying D-List maintenance with a D-Cube in Cognos Planning
Are you looking to simplify D-List maintenance?Simplifying D-List maintenance with a D-Cube in Cognos Planning can save you time and[...]
What Is The Future Of IBM Cognos Planning?
9/1/2016There are rumors flying around about “What is the Future of Cognos Planning?” I think IBM accidentally created the buzz[...]
Cognos Planning Cubes Not Opening? It’s Your Memory!
4/10/15Cognos Planning Cubes Not Opening? It’s Your Memory!As a Business Analytics Coach with over 15 years of experience implementing Enterprise[...]
Easy Tips For Finding Hidden Cognos Planning Items
Most IBM Cognos Planning models have a lot of items that will be hidden over the web. These items are often used for calculations but do not need to be presented. To hide the item on the web, Contributor Administrators will set up saved selections and access tables for the hidden items.
Cognos Planning Assumption Cubes
Basically, you are able to update global rates in one place and populate them out to your elist nodes via an Admin Link. By using a Contributor Application, you have a bit more flexibility in what you are populating and you don’t have to Synch and GTP. By not having to do the Synch and GTP and depending on your model size, you may increase the speed of data population and since you are not Synchronizing with Analyst, you don’t have to bring over structural changes you are not ready to put in production.
Cognos Planning Collapsing Dimensions
If you have ever moved older models from IBM Cognos Planning to a new release, you may not have noticed the “Expand and Collapse” functionality which was added a few versions ago. Maybe older clients did not experience it because it’s only available if the dlist fits the rules for expand and collapse.
Cognos Planning 8.4.1 Clients with Contributor May Have TM1 Licenses
IBM recently announced a major licensing change in their Cognos Planning licensing. Clients that are on 8.4.1 of Cognos Planning and own Contributor, will receive an equivalent license for IBM Cognos TM1 Contributor. This is great news for clients looking to compliment Planning with TM1.
Announcement of Cognos Planning 8.4.1
IBM Cognos recently announced a licensing change in IBM Cognos 8 Planning Version 8.4.1 . If you weren’t anxiously awaiting the news like Lodestar was, I’ll bet you missed it. Why were we anxious for the announcement? It paves the way for IBM Cognos clients to leverage both Enterprise Planning and TM1 to provide the Best of the Best Planning solution at a reasonable price.
Naming Conventions for Cognos Planning D-List
The idea behind this is that when creating a D-Cube you create it putting the D-List in order of 1-5. This helps in priority conflicts of formulas and formats. Plus, when you browse the library the D-Lists are sorted by the type of D-List. Easy Right? Maybe yes, Maybe no. The naming convention is open to interpretation. If I have a D-List for Years and it has no calculations, is it a 4 or a 3? What about a D-List that has Current Year Budget, Prior Year Actual, and a variance between Current Year Budget and Prior Year Actual. Is this a 5 since it has versions or is it a 1 since there is a calculation? What about a D-List that was a 3 but I’ve recently included a subtotal in the D-List do I need to go back and rename this to a 2?
The numbering method works great in a training class environment to help us learn the dimension order when creating the D-Cubes. After we learn the order, do we really need to number our dimensions?
Integrating Cognos Planning & BI – Dimension for Publish
Choosing the dimension for publish is one of the most critical steps in the Generate Framework Manager model process. The dimension chosen for publish will be treated as the Fact table in the publish process. In addition, the Generate Framework Model admin extension will model the dimension chosen for publish as the fact table. More simply put, the dimension chosen for publish will be your measure dimension.
Integrating Cognos Planning & BI – Reporting Applications
It is always important to consider any Business Intelligence requirements during the design of planning applications to ensure planned information is structured in such a way that it can be leveraged in Cognos BI. Anyone who has ever used planned information as a source for reporting will attest. That being said, it is not always possible to create a planning application that is both Planning and BI friendly. As a result, we have pioneered the concept of a reporting application to help bridge the gap between Planning and BI Requirements. I like to think of it as a mini data mart masked as a Cognos Planning application.