Tag: cognos insight

  • Lessons from the discovery-driven planning approach

    Discovery-driven planning A few weeks ago I researched ideas for improving current planning and forecasting approaches. I stumbled upon a methodology that I had long forgotten. It is called ‘Discovery-driven planning’ and it was developed by Rita Gunther McGrath and Ian C. MacMillan. The idea was first published in the July 1995 issue of the Harvard Business…

  • Updates, updates, updates

    Busy times Wow. It’s been a busy but exciting week. There is a lot going on in the business analytics space these days. Here are some updates that you might find interesting. There is a new version of the IBM Cognos iPad app. You can download it from the iTunes store. The new version has…

  • TM1 – The swiss army knife for the finance department?

    IBM Cognos TM1 No doubt, IBM Cognos TM1 is a unique solution. I have never met so many loyal and enthusiastic long-term customers than for any other finance-related software solution. TM1 is special indeed. There is a lot to like: it is lightening fast (64-bit in memory), configuration does not require rocket-science, it supports Excel,…

  • Part 2 – Interview with the TM1 book author. More about TM1

    Last Thursday, I posted an interview with the author of the new TM1 book Karsten Oehler. Here is the continuation of the conversation. This part of the interview focuses on the new IBM Cognos TM1 10.1 release. Christoph Papenfuss: IBM Cognos TM1 10.1 was released in February of 2012. What is so special about this…

  • The other side of Cognos Insight – A powerful planning client for TM1 (Guestpost)

    Cognos Insight and TM1 There is a lot of buzz about Cognos Insight. It is a great tool for analyzing and discovering data. There is also the ability to perform powerful what-if analysis through the use of write-back capabilities. But Cognos Insight is actually more than just a personal desktop analytics tool. You can use…

  • Why stacked line charts are useful

    Stacked line charts Stacked line charts are a great and yet simple tool. Here is why. We often run into a situation where we need to analyze data with different units of measure. Think about  a classic but yet simple situation: Vital company data such as revenue, margin % and expenses is used to obtain…

  • Watch that chart aspect ratio!

    The chart aspect ratio The other day I reviewed a dashboard. It looked great. But there was a chart on the bottom that just did not make any sense. It was way too long and stretched out. As a result, it was very difficult to use it appropriately. And that reminded me: We have to…

  • The Cognos Blueprints are back – for Cognos Insight

    IBM Cognos Blueprints Have you heard of the Cognos Blueprints? They are pre-configured planing and forecasting templates. You can download them from the IBM Cognos Innovation Center website. Each blueprint comes with a fully functional set of model definition files, model and business best practices documentation. There are over 50 different Cognos Blueprints available for…

  • Why you should add prototyping to your toolbox

    The value of prototyping Last week, I came across an excellent post by the Truly Deeply blog. It was titled ‘Brands need to Innovate or they will fade‘. The author of the blog argues that brands are under pressure to innovate their products and services. But innovating becomes harder and harder as the “future is…

  • Business Analytics news for the week

    Business Analytics news This has been an extremely busy but exciting week. It seems like the whole world is full of energy. Here are a few things you might want to be aware of. CFO.com Webinar Forecasting If you are interested in forecasting, make sure to register for the upcoming CFO.com webinar ‘Forecasting in turbulent…