Cognos Analytics setup

EAM’s Cognos Analytics plug-in allows agencies who own the Asset Management Analytics integration to display any of EAM’s preconfigured Cognos reports as well as custom Cognos reports on the EAM dashboard. Using the plug-in, you can display EAM data within a frame as graphs or charts, or add links to larger, multiple-page reports.

If your agency uses another CentralSquare product, it may already have a license. Contact CentralSquare Support to purchase this integration and configure authentication between EAM and Cognos Analytics.

Available reports

As part of its initial release of the Cognos Analytics plug-in (for v. 21.2), CentralSquare provides roughly 25 Cognos reports preconfigured for EAM data. Additional reports will be offered with later releases.

If you would like to create and display custom Cognos reports, the plug-in can display those on dashboards, as well. For your convenience, you can find a link to launch the Cognos Authoring interface in the EAM Admin Portal under Reports > Analytics.

Features and example

Features

  • Reports display data in graph, chart or table format directly in the frame.

  • Larger reports, or reports that present data in tables, can be displayed as links. When you click the link, a pop-up containing the report appears.

  • If the report you select to display requires you to enter parameters, it must be the only Cognos report displayed that dashboard tab. If you'd like to add multiple Cognos reports requiring parameters to your dashboard, they must be displayed as links.

    However, you can add multiple Cognos plug-ins to a dashboard tab as long as none of the selected reports require parameters.

Example

The report above is a data visualization of the number of open Work Orders that are assigned to each supervisor.

Setup

When you add a Cognos Analytics plug-in in the EAM dashboard's design mode, the following form appears:

Cognos Analytics plug-in fields

Field Description

Selected Report

Indicates the Cognos Analytics report to display in the selected dashboard frame.

Height

Specifies the height of the report (in pixels).

By default, this value is 400 pixels. After creating a Cognos plug-in, and seeing how it displays on the dashboard, you may wish to adjust this value.

Open as Link

Directs the plug-in to display the report as a link, rather than as a data visualization within the frame.

If you choose this display option, which is useful for large reports, the linked report opens in a separate application tab.

  • Open the dashboard and the dashboard tab to which you would like to add a Cognos Analytics plug-in.

  • Select Enter Design Mode Wrench enter design mode at the top of the dashboard tab column.

  • Locate the frame to which you would like to add the Cognos plug-in.

  • Select Add Plugin at the bottom of the frame. The following pop-up appears:

  • Select Create a New Plugin. The tool expands to display all plug-in options.

  • Select Cognos Analytics.

  • Select Create Plugin. The Add Report pane appears on the right.

  • Select 3 horizontal lines select picklist button at the end of the Selected Report field. An expandable list of reports appears.

  • Select Team Content > Asset Management > Reports. A list of modules with Cognos reports appears:

  • Select the desired EAM module group and, if applicable, a specific module in the group. A list of available reports appears below the module name.

    (In the example above, we see reports for the Work > Work Order module.)

  • Select the desired report and select OK. Its name appears in the Selected Report field.

  • Check the Open As Link option if you would like the report to appear in the frame as a link, rather than directly in the frame.

  • Select Save. The report loads in the frame. (This process may take several seconds.)

  • Select Exit Design Mode.

  1. Open the dashboard and the dashboard tab that contains the plug-in you would like to edit.

  2. Select Enter Design Mode Wrench enter design mode at the top of the dashboard tab column..

  3. Select Edit Pencil edit properties icon next to the report you want to modify. The Edit Report panel appears on the right.

  4. Enter the desired Height value. (The default height is set to 400 pixels. Keep in mind, however, that the height of the report may vary at any given time, depending on the amount of data in the report.)

  5. Select Save. EAM adjusts the height of the plug-in. If you are not satisfied with the change, repeat steps 3-5 until the report appears as you wish.

  6. Select Exit Design Mode.