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Hands-on Lab: Different Methods for Creating Dashboard Visualizations with

Cognos Analytics
Estimated time needed: 45 minutes

Purpose of the Lab:

This lab is meticulously designed to enhance skills in utilizing IBM Cognos Analytics for creating sophisticated dashboard visualizations. The primary objectives include
working with tabs, initiating new dashboards within these tabs, and mastering different methods for crafting dashboard visualizations. The lab guides users through
automatic and manual techniques for visualization creation, as well as leveraging Cognos Analytics Assistant for this purpose. The focus is on practical application,
enabling users to navigate through various features of Cognos Analytics, such as employing various visualization styles (like radial charts and packed bubble charts), and
understanding how to effectively use data to create meaningful and interactive dashboards.

Benefits of Learning the Lab:

Participating in this lab provides invaluable benefits, particularly for those aspiring to excel in data analytics and visualization.You will gain hands-on experience in using
IBM Cognos Analytics, a leading tool in the business intelligence domain. The skills acquired include creating diverse types of visualizations, understanding the
application of different visualization methods, and effectively presenting data in an interactive and engaging manner. This knowledge is crucial for professionals in data
analytics, marketing, business intelligence, and other fields that rely heavily on data visualization for decision-making and presentation purposes. The lab offers a robust
foundation for those aiming to build or enhance their expertise in using advanced business intelligence software, thereby increasing their proficiency and employability in
the rapidly evolving field of data analytics.

Software used in this lab

Like the videos in the course, for the hands-on labs, we will be using IBM Cognos Analytics trial version (currently limited to 90 or 30 days), as this is available at no
charge.

Dataset used in this lab

The dataset used in this lab comes from the VM designed to showcase IBM Cognos Analytics. This dataset is published by IBM. You can download the dataset file
directly from here: CustomerLoyaltyProgram.csv

Objectives
After completing this lab, you will be able to:

Work with tabs

Start a new dashboard within tabs
Use an automatic method to create a visualization
Use Cognos Assistant to create a visualization
Use a manual method to create a visualization

Exercise 1: Work with tabs and start a new dashboard within tabs
In this exercise, you will learn how to work with tabs and start a new dashboard within tabs.

1. To sign in to the Cognos Analytics platform with your IBMid, go to myibm.ibm.com/dashboard/.

2. Enter your IBMid and password.

3. Scroll down and click Launch.

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4. From the Recent section, double-click Simple dashboard to open it.

5. Ensure that Edit is turned on in the top left corner. Then click the Add new tab button to the right of the A - Product Sales tab.

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6. Select the four-panel template with 2x2 configuration. Click Create.

7. Click the tab named Tab 1 and select Edit the title. Rename the tab to B - Customer.

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Exercise 2: Differentm methods for creating dashboard visualizations

In this exercise, you will learn different methods for creating dashboard visualizations.

As you build the dashboard, the location placement for widgets in the dashboard template will be referenced using the following panel numbers

Task A: Using an automatic method to create a visualization for panel 1

1. From the Navigation panel, select Sources to open the data source panel if it is not already open. The data source panel displays the uploaded file
CustomerLoyaltyProgram.csv as the selected source.

2. From the data source panel, expand CustomerLoyaltyProgram.csv if needed.

3. From the data source panel, press the CTRL key, select Latitude, Longitude, and Quantity Sold and drag them to the center of Panel 1, releasing them once you
see the drop zone turn blue.

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The map will look like the following:

4. Click the map chart in Panel 1 to bring it into focus.

5. To change the map style, open the Properties panel and expand Chart to see the various options of maps available.

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6. In the Map base list, select Streets.

7. Open the Fields panel to view the data slots. From the data source panel on the left of the screen, drag and drop Country, Province or State, and Revenue into the
Locations, Locations, and Location color data slots of the Regions section of the Fields panel respectively.

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8. Expand the Latitude/longitude section of the Fields panel.

9. Ensure that Quantity Sold is in the Point color data slot of the Latitude/longitude section of the Fields panel.

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10. Click the Fields button to close the fields panel.

11. Click the map chart widget in Panel 1 to bring it into focus if needed. Select the title of the visualization and change it to Revenue and Quantity Sold by Location.

12. Click the Properties button in the top right corner to open the Properties panel and click the General tab. Expand Appearance, click Border color to open the
color options for borders, and select a black border.

13. To save the current work of the dashboard, press CTRL+S or click the Save icon in the toolbar.

14. Ensure that the Regions section has the correct fields in the relevant data slots as per the image in step 7 above.

15. Your Panel 1 visualization should look similar to the one below:

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You can also change the visualization color palette as below:

For instance, in the below image, we have selected a Magenta palette.

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Task B: Using an automatic method to create a visualization for panel 2

1. From the Navigation panel, click Visualizations and then select Radial chart from the visualizations.

2. Click the Fields button on the dashboard toolbar to open the Fields panel.

3. Drag and drop Product Line to the Repeat (column) data slot.

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4. Next, drag Coupon Response to the Color data slot. Also, drag Coupon Response to the Bars data slot, and then drag Quantity Sold to the Length data slot.

5. Click the Fields button to close the Fields panel.

6. Click the radial chart widget in Panel 2 to bring it into focus if needed. Select the title of the visualization and change it to Product Line by Product Line and
Coupon Response colored by Coupon Response.

7. Click the Properties button in the top right corner to open the Properties panel and click the General tab. Expand Appearance, click Border color to open the
color options for borders, and select a black border.

8. To save the current work of the dashboard, press CTRL+S or click the Save icon in the toolbar.

9. Your Panel 2 visualization should look similar to the one below:

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Task C: Using Cognos Assistant to create a visualization for panel 3

1. From the Cognos Analytics main toolbar at the top right of the screen, click the Assistant icon to open the Cognos Assistant panel.

2. In the Ask a question input text box, at the bottom of the right hand pane, type show Quantity Sold and City and press Enter or click the Ask question arrow.

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It will show you visualizations created automatically based on your question as below:

3. Scroll down the pane and click Show related visualizations.

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4. Select the second chart visualization.

5. From the Cognos Assistant panel, select the second chart visualization and drag it to the center of Panel 3, releasing it once you see the drop zone turn blue.

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6. Click the Quantity Sold and Unit Cost by City chart in Panel 3 to bring it into focus if needed.

7. Open the Properties panel and click the General tab. Expand Appearance, click Border color to open the color options for borders, and select a black border.

8. To save the current work of the dashboard, press CTRL+S or click the Save icon in the toolbar.

9. Your Panel 3 visualization should look similar to the one below:

Task D: Using a manual method to create a visualization for panel 4

1. From the Navigation panel, select Visualizations to open the visualizations library.

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2. Select the Packed Bubble chart from the list.

3. The packed bubble chart visualization will be added to Panel 4 of the dashboard template, and its Fields panel will be open, ready for you to set up the data
definitions for your visualization.

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4. From the data source panel on the left of the screen, drag and drop the Product Line, Quantity Sold, and Loyalty Status sources into the Bubbles, Size, and Color
data slots of the Fields panel respectively.

5. Click the Fields button to close the panel.

6. Click the packed bubble chart visualization in Panel 4 to bring it into focus. Select the title of the visualization and change it to Department Sales by Loyalty Status.

7. Open the Properties panel and click on the General tab. Expand Appearance, click Border color to open the color options for borders, and select a black border.

8. To save the current work of the dashboard, press CTRL+S or click the Save icon in the toolbar.

9. Your Panel 4 visualization should look similar to the one below:

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Finally, your dashboard B - Customer should look similar to the one below:

Congratulations! You have completed this lab, and you are ready for the next topic.

Author(s)
Sandip Saha Joy

Other Contributor(s)

Steve Ryan
Dr. Pooja

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