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Hints and Tips on Managing IBM Cognos Planning Models Effectively. Pat Bann / Paresh Kerai Cognos Planning Consultants. COGNOS PLANNING OVERVIEW. IBM Cognos Planning is an integrated solution for planning, budgeting, forecasting and modelling data
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Hints and Tips on Managing IBM Cognos Planning Models Effectively Pat Bann / Paresh Kerai Cognos Planning Consultants
COGNOS PLANNING OVERVIEW • IBM Cognos Planning is an integrated solution for planning, budgeting, forecasting and modelling data • Allows multidimensional OLAP planning, with consolidation, drill down and slice and dice of data • Consists of three main components: Analyst, Manager & Contributor • Both Analyst and Contributor have Excel Add-In functionality
COGNOS PLANNING COMPONENTS • Analyst – for dynamic data modelling, effectively creating the structure of the budget, plan or forecast • Contributor – deploy models via a web interface for data input and aggregation, involving potentially hundreds of users • Manager – create dynamic flowcharts and interactive front- ends for maintenance and management of budget models
MODEL ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN • Models can be built and run in Analyst only - if in fact models are used and maintained by small number of centralised users, such as finance staff • Models could also be built in Analyst and deployed in Contributor as a web application, allowing potentially hundreds of concurrent users to contribute to the forecasting process
PLANNING MANAGER • Manager can be used to enter data into cubes • Provides easy access into dimensions which may need to be changed - E.g. Timescales • Allows creation of Admin screens to group tasks by functional areas • Can create interactive flowcharts, so that a Modeller can understand the flows of data • Allows maintenance of Centralised Assumption Data (Like FX Rates, GL Mappings Cubes, Profiles, etc)
PLANNING MANAGER ADVANCED TIPS • Creation of Timescale Cubes to make timescale updates easier to maintain (rolling timescales) • Use of TestData Built in Function for Data Validations • Creation of a Timestamp Cube to record when a Cube was updated • Use of SliceUpdate Macro to update a cube a slice at a time overcoming size issues when updating cubes