Using Decision Support Guides

Transcription

1 Using Decision Support Guides Tivoli Decision Support 2.0

2 Tivoli Decision Support 2.0 Understanding Decision Support Guides (August, 1998) Copyright 1998 by Tivoli Systems, an IBM Company, including this documentation and all software. All rights reserved. May only be used pursuant to a Tivoli Systems Software License Agreement or Addendum for Tivoli Products to IBM Customer or License Agreement. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, or translated into any computer language, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, magnetic, optical, chemical, manual, or otherwise, without prior written permission of Tivoli Systems. The document is not intended for production and is furnished as is without warranty of any kind. All warranties on this document are hereby disclaimed including the warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. Note to U.S. Government Users Documentation related to restricted rights Use, duplication or disclosure is subject to restrictions set forth in GSA ADP Schedule Contract with IBM Corporation. Trademarks The following product names are trademarks of Tivoli Systems or IBM Corporation: AIX, IBM, OS/2, RS/6000, Tivoli Management Environment, and TME 10, Tivoli Decision Support 2.0, Tivoli Service Desk, Tivoli Asset Management, Tivoli Change Management, Tivoli Problem Management, Tivoli Service Desk Application Software Expert, Tivoli Service Desk Web End-User Interface, Tivoli Service Desk Tivoli Plus Module, SA-Expert Discovery, SA-Application Software Expert, SA-ExpertView, SA-Expert Advisor, SA-EXPERTISE, SA- Expert Evolution, SA-Expert Foundation Manager, SA-Expert Mail Agent, SA-Expert Quality, and SA-Expert Support Microsoft, Windows, Windows NT, and the Windows logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. UNIX is a registered trademark in the United States and other countries licensed exclusively through X/Open Company Limited. PointCast, PointCast Intranet Broadcast Tools, and PointCast Server are registered trademarks of PointCast Inc. Crystal Reports is a registered trademarks of Seagate, Inc. Cognos, PowerPlay, and PowerCube are trademarks of Cognos Incorporated. Other company, product, and service names mentioned in this document may be trademarks or servicemarks of others. Notice References in this publication to Tivoli Systems or IBM products, programs, or services do not imply that they will be available in all countries in which Tivoli Systems or IBM operates. Any reference to these products, programs, or services is not intended to imply that only Tivoli Systems or IBM products, programs, or services can be used. Subject to Tivoli Systems or IBM s valid intellectual property or other legally protectable right, any functionally equivalent product, program, or service can be used instead of the referenced product, program, or service. The evaluation and verification of operation in conjunction with other products, except those expressly designated by Tivoli Systems or IBM, are the responsibility of the user. Tivoli Systems or IBM may have patents or pending patent applications covering subject matter in this document. The furnishing of this document does not give you any license to these patents. You can send license inquiries, in writing, to the IBM Director of Licensing, IBM Corporation, 500 Columbus Avenue, Thornwood, New York

3 Table of Contents Table of Contents...3 About This Guide...11 Purpose of This Book...12 What this book contains What you will be able to do Audience Considerations...12 Who should read this book What you should know before beginning Contents Overview...14 What is in this book How to use this book Information about third-party products Document Conventions...15 What are document conventions? Instructions for Windows 95 and Windows NT users Icons in this book What you type Tivoli Systems products and their names A Note about terminology The Tivoli Decision Support Documentation Set...18 Using Decision Support Guides 3

4 Table of Contents Other books in this set Online books Online help The online readme file Chapter 1: Understanding and Creating Tivoli Decision Support Guides...21 Overview Introduction Understanding Tivoli Decision Support Guides...22 Overview Understanding Tivoli Decision Support Roles...23 Account Manager Administrator Asset Manager CEO CFO Change Manager Change Review Board Executive Management IT Manager Knowledge Engineer Product Manager Sales Manager Supervisor Support Analyst Support Manager Tivoli Decision Support 2.0

5 Packaging Key Business Information with Decision Support Guides...26 Overview Designing a Decision Support Guide...28 Introduction Recommended skills and stages The design phase Designing business models Creating a New Decision Support Guide...32 Overview Creating a database Setting up 32-bit ODBC DSN Adding DSN to Discovery Administrator Adding a new cube Creating queries Assigning data source to query Exporting a query Adding calculated columns Creating a model file Adding parameters to a new cube Adding a new Guide to Discovery Administrator Building a new cube Adding new roles Selecting a new Guide Adding a cube or view files to the topic map with associated content 49 Opening views to validate data Chapter 2: Asset Management Guide...59 Using Decision Support Guides 5

6 Table of Contents Evaluating and Managing Assets Introduction Discover asset information Topic map views...61 Introduction Asset Management Architecture...62 Overview Dimension map Inventory Value cube Calculated Columns Reference...65 Introduction Chapter 3: Call Center Management Guide...67 Monitor and Assess Call Center Performance...68 Introduction Assess customer health View interaction trends Review how well you manage support requests Topic Map Views...70 Introduction Call Center Management Architecture...77 Overview Dimension maps Open Problems cube Tivoli Decision Support 2.0

7 Closed Problems cube Problems cube Calls cube Common Customizations...84 Introduction Adding Expert Advisor Flex Field To Existing Calls Cube Populating the GROUP_ID field Change specifications for what is considered an open problem Calculated Columns Reference...86 Overview Chapter 4: Change Management Guide...91 Controlling and Managing the Change Process...92 Introduction Viewing change requests Determining scope and impact Managing change tasks Topic Map Views...94 Introduction Change Management Architecture...96 Overview Dimension maps Change Events cube Tasks cube Using Decision Support Guides 7

8 Table of Contents Calculated Columns Reference...99 Introduction Chapter 5: Knowledge Assessment Guide Determine Effectiveness of Your Knowledge Base Introduction Manage diagnostics investments Gather knowledge base solution information Topic Map Views Introduction Knowledge Assessment Architecture Overview Dimension maps Diagnostic Aid cube Solution cube Calculated Columns Reference Overview Chapter 6: Relationship Management Guide Determine the Health of Your Customers.112 Introduction Overall customer health issues Topic Map Views Tivoli Decision Support 2.0

9 Introduction Relationship Management Architecture Overview Dimension map Customer Health cube Calculated Columns Reference Overview Chapter 7: Service Level Management Guide Service and Support Commitments Introduction Monitor support commitments Topic Map Views Introduction Service Level Management Architecture..122 Overview Dimension map Chapter 8: Telephony Guide Improve Telephony Response Times Introduction Evaluate call activities Topic Map Views Using Decision Support Guides 9

10 Table of Contents Introduction Telephony Architecture Overview Dimension map Telephony cube Calculated Columns Reference Overview Appendix: Integrating Customer Survey Information within Decision Support Guides Integrating Customer Survey Information 134 Index Tivoli Decision Support 2.0

11 About This Guide Chapter Topics Purpose of This Book Audience Considerations Contents Overview Document Conventions The Tivoli Decision Support Documentation Set Using Decision Support Guides 11

12 About This Guide Purpose of This Book What this book contains The Tivoli Decision Support 2.0 Using Tivoli Decision Support Guides provides an overview of the Tivoli Decision Support Guides (referred to as Guides throughout this documentation set) provided with Tivoli Decision Support. The book lists each view, roles available in Tivoli Decision Support, and key business benefits associated with each Guide. You also learn about each cube and their associated dimensions and measures. Finally, a reference of all the functions used by Tivoli Decision Support to create calculated columns for each Guide is included. What you will be able to do By reading this book, you will be able to: Understand the function of Tivoli Decision Support Guides Design and create your own Guide Modify existing Guides Learn about each Guide Audience Considerations Who should read this book This book is intended for anyone in your organization who is responsible for the administration of Tivoli Decision Support and anyone who is interested in creating Guides. 12 Tivoli Decision Support 2.0

13 Audience Considerations What you should know before beginning Before you begin learning about Decision Support Guides, you should be familiar with the following: The Tivoli Decision Support Discovery Interface (Discovery Interface) The Tivoli Decision Support Discovery Administrator Your support center s database and ODBC configuration Your support center s network and desktop operating systems The Tivoli products installed at your support center (such as Expert Support or Expert Advisor) The basic use of Cognos PowerPlay and the concepts of cubes The basic use of Crystal Reports It is beyond the scope of this book to teach you about Crystal Reports, PowerPlay, creating views, and cubes. If you are not familiar with Crystal Reports, PowerPlay, or cubes, see the Crystal Reports and PowerPlay documentation sets, which are included with Tivoli Decision Support. If you plan to create your own Tivoli Decision Support Guides, you should be familiar with the one or both of the following languages and environments: SQL for the platform Tivoli Decision Support uses to build cubes Microsoft VBScript (Visual Basic Script Edition) Data architectures for the tables and fields in your databases It is beyond the scope of this book to teach you about SQL, VBScript, and other programming environments. If you are not familiar with these environments, see third-party documentation for SQL, VBScript, and other languages. You can find information about VBScript on the World Wide Web at Tivoli Decision Support does not provide this documentation. This book assumes that Tivoli Decision Support Administrator and the Discovery Interface are installed. It also assumes Cognos PowerPlay and Crystal Reports are also installed. You should read the Tivoli Decision Support Administrator s Installation Guide to learn about installing Tivoli Decision Support components and related products. Using Decision Support Guides 13

14 About This Guide Finally, it is assumed that one or more of the Tivoli Management System products is installed. Contents Overview What is in this book How to use this book This book contains the following elements: Chapter 1, Understanding and Creating Tivoli Decision Support Guides, explains the concept of Decision Support Guides, as well as how to use Guides in Tivoli Decision Support to discover the business information you need to impact your business bottom line. This chapter also provides a detailed procedure on how to create your own Guide. Chapters 2-8 describe each Tivoli Decision Support Guide in detail. You learn how each Guide provides key business information for you to analyze, as well as which views are available to you. Each chapter includes details about the architecture of each Guide, including cube, query, export file, and dimension and measure information. At the end of each chapter is a reference of all the functions that create calculated columns for a Guide. Appendix, Integrating Customer Survey Information within Decision Support Guides, shows how Tivoli Decision Support can use a flat file to read survey information for all your organization s locations. This book explains the features and concepts of the Tivoli Decision Support Guides. It is suggested that you start with Chapter 1 and work through each chapter in sequence, completing each procedure as you go. Information about third-party products Tivoli Systems documents products created at Tivoli Systems. Sometimes, products created by other software manufacturers are shipped with our 14 Tivoli Decision Support 2.0

15 Document Conventions products. In these cases, we ship the documentation that was produced by the original software manufacturer. Tivoli Decision Support uses Cognos PowerPlay and Seagate Software Crystal Reports. You will see references to these third-party products throughout this book. For detailed information on either PowerPlay or Crystal Reports, refer to the documentation sets for those programs. Because Tivoli Systems does not support products created by other software manufacturers, please contact those manufacturers if you need assistance while using their software. If you need assistance while using any Tivoli product, please call the Tivoli Customer Support Center. Document Conventions What are document conventions? Document conventions are special features designed to help you find information easily and quickly. This section describes the conventions that are used in this book. Instructions for Windows 95 and Windows NT users Icons in this book This book contains only one set of instructions for each task you can perform in Tivoli Decision Support. This is because Tivoli Decision Support works the same in Windows 95 and Windows NT. The screen captures for this book are from the Windows 95 operating system. This book uses icons as visual cues to help you find information. This section illustrates the icons and what they are used for. Note: Always read notes. Notes are important points that you should understand. They offer important information and explain special circumstances. Using Decision Support Guides 15

16 About This Guide Caution: Always read cautions. Cautions alert you that data integrity could be at risk when performing a task or step. What you type Tip: Tips help you apply the information in the text to your implementation of Tivoli Decision Support. They may include shortcuts or time-saving advice. Tips also provide alternative methods for performing certain tasks. When you need to type a string exactly as shown in the instructions, the characters are shown in bold. For example: In the City box, type Denver. Italic text denotes a variable, which you must replace by providing an actual value: Replace MM/DD/YY with the date you want to use. Italic text is also used to indicate new terms. Tivoli Systems products and their names Tivoli Systems products are referred to by the following names throughout the documentation set: The product... Tivoli Expert Quality Tivoli Decision Support Tivoli Expert Evolution Tivoli Expert Foundation Manager Tivoli Expert Support Tivoli Expert Advisor Tivoli Expert Mail Agent Tivoli ExpertView Tivoli Expert Web Is referred to as... Expert Quality Decision Support Expert Evolution Expert Foundation Manager Expert Support Expert Advisor Expert Mail Agent ExpertView Expert Web The documentation also refers to Tivoli s EXPERTISE suite of support products. EXPERTISE can be configured differently for Customer 16 Tivoli Decision Support 2.0

17 Document Conventions Relationship Management (CRM) support centers and Enterprise Support Management (ESM) call centers, as follows: If your organization supports external customers who use a variety of products or services, then you probably use Expert Support, either alone or as part of the EXPERTISE for CRM suite. This suite can include Expert Support, Expert Quality, Expert Web, and Expert Mail Agent. If your organization supports internal users of corporate systems, then you probably use Expert Advisor, either alone or as part of the EXPERTISE for ESM suite. This suite can include Expert Advisor, Expert Evolution, ExpertView, Expert Foundation Manager, Expert Web, and Expert Mail Agent. Tivoli Decision Support works with Expert Support and Expert Advisor in the same way, and integrates the same with both suites of products. A Note about terminology Tivoli Decision Support works with Expert Support, Expert Advisor, Expert Evolution, Expert Foundation Manager, and G2. Some of these products use different terminology; for consistency, this documentation set uses Expert Advisor terminology wherever possible. If you use Expert Advisor or other product in your organization, the following table lists Expert Advisor-specific terms and their comparable terms in CRM products: Expert Advisor (ESM) term Caller Call Call center or Help desk System (from SCIM) Component (from SCIM) Item (from SCIM) Module (from SCIM) Location CRM term Contact Interaction Support center Level 1 process component Level 2 process component Level 3 process component Level 4 process component Organization Using Decision Support Guides 17

18 About This Guide Expert Advisor (ESM) term Problem Transfer Solution CRM term Request Forward Resolution The Tivoli Decision Support Documentation Set Other books in this set In addition to this book, the Tivoli Decision Support documentation set includes three other books that may help you: Tivoli Decision Support Administrator s Installation Guide This book explains how to install Tivoli Discovery Administrator, the Tivoli Discovery Interface, Cognos PowerPlay, and Crystal Reports. The book lists system requirements for Tivoli Decision Support and its components, as well as discusses the differences between setting up Tivoli Decision Support in a stand-alone and network environment. Tivoli Decision Support 2.0 Administrator Guide This book explains the concepts and features of the Tivoli Discovery Administrator (a separate module from the Discovery Interface), and shows you how to use it to administer Tivoli Decision Support. The book explains how to build the predefined PowerPlay cubes required by Tivoli Decision Support, and how to set parameters for individual cubes. This book also explains how to ensure that the Tivoli Discovery Administrator is linked to the service and support databases in your enterprise. Tivoli Decision Support 2.0 User s Guide This book covers the basic features and concepts of Tivoli Decision Support for end users. The book introduces the Discovery Interface and 18 Tivoli Decision Support 2.0

19 The Tivoli Decision Support Documentation Set describes Tivoli Decision Support s capabilities. The book also explains how to set the scope of data searches, open and work with different types of views, activate the PowerPlay tool set, and configure Tivoli Decision Support to display data in the desired format. Online books Online help All the books in the Tivoli Decision Support documentation set are available as online books. To view these documents, use the Adobe Acrobat Reader, which comes with Tivoli Decision Support. If these online books were installed, they are available from the Discovery Interface Help menu. You can also access the online books by choosing Books Online from the Help menu. (You may need to have the Tivoli Decision Support Installation CD loaded, if the online books are not installed on your system.) The online books are also available on the Tivoli Decision Support CD-ROM. On the disc, the online books are available in the \docs\pdf folder. The Tivoli Discovery Administrator provides online help for system administrators. To access online help: From the Help menu, choose Administrator Help Topics. Using Decision Support Guides 19

20 About This Guide Result: The Help Topics: Tivoli Decision Support 2.0 Administrator Online Help dialog box opens. The online readme file The Discovery Administrator help system is similar to other help systems used by Windows-based desktop applications. Depending on your preferences, you can use the Contents, Index, or Find tab to browse the help system or to search for help on a specific topic. When the Discovery Administrator is installed, a special text file named admin.txt is installed in the main Tivoli Decision Support folder. The file contains last-minute information that does not appear in this book. Be sure to read this file. You can read the file in any text editor. 20 Tivoli Decision Support 2.0

21 Chapter 1: Understanding and Creating Tivoli Decision Support Guides Chapter Topics Overview Understanding Tivoli Decision Support Guides Understanding Tivoli Decision Support Roles Packaging Key Business Information with Decision Support Guides Designing a Decision Support Guide Creating a New Decision Support Guide Using Decision Support Guides 21

22 Understanding and Creating Tivoli Decision Support Guides Overview Introduction This chapter explains the concept of Tivoli Decision Support Guides (referred to as Guides throughout this documentation), as well as how to use Guides to discover key business information that you need to affect your business bottom line. This chapter also provides a detailed procedure that explains how to create your own Guide. Understanding Tivoli Decision Support Guides Overview Tivoli Decision Support includes several Tivoli Decision Support Guides. You can install all the Guides, or just those you need. Guides can be installed when Tivoli Decision Support is installed, or can be installed after Decision Support is installed. You learn more about installing Guides in Chapter 1, Administrator Essentials, and Chapter 4, Managing Tivoli Decision Support Guides, in the Tivoli Decision Support Administrator Guide. To learn more about each Guide, see Chapters 2-8 in this book. 22 Tivoli Decision Support 2.0

23 Understanding Tivoli Decision Support Roles Understanding Tivoli Decision Support Roles Account Manager Administrator Asset Manager Tivoli Decision Support uses roles to help users select the best description of their responsibilities in an organization. Within the topic map, users can select one or more roles, based on the scope of their position. By specifying one or more roles, users establish the scope of subsequent data searches; the more roles one selects, the greater the scope of the data searches. When a specific role is selected, the topic map displays views that are most useful to someone in that role. This helps users search for the business information more quickly, without sifting through views that may be of little interest to them. Tivoli Decision Support includes 15 roles from which users can choose. These are explained in the following sections. The Account Manager role represents an individual responsible for managing the relationship between the customer, and the department or organization. Views captured by this role allow the Account Manager to gain insight into the overall health of the customer and to identify areas where focus is needed to sustain or improve the relationship. The Administrator role represents an individual responsible for determining the integrity of the data captured by the operational database application. Administrators also are responsible for keeping the information up-to-date. Select this role if you look for reports that describe the entities found within your data architecture. The Asset Manager role represents managers who are responsible for evaluating and calculating total cost of ownership for all your business Using Decision Support Guides 23

24 Understanding and Creating Tivoli Decision Support Guides CEO CFO Change Manager Change Review Board assets. Select this role if you want to gain insight into asset management, interaction trends, and support requests. The CEO role represents an individual who is the Chief Executive Officer in an organization. The CFO role represents an individual who is the Chief Financial Officer in an organization. The Change Manager role represents an individual responsible for managing the change requests within an organization. The information captured by this role reflects a high abstraction of the transactional data, but may go into some degree of detailed data. The Change Review Board role represents an individual responsible for monitoring, assuring, and approving the change request process. Executive Management IT Manager The Executive Management role represents individuals responsible for managing an organization where the Information Technology (IT) department and call centers are part of their overall responsibilities. Therefore, the information captured by this role reflects a much higher abstraction of the transactional data. The IT Manager role represents individuals responsible for managing the IT infrastructure within an organization. The views reflected by this role help the individual determine problem areas in the products they support and help to anticipate those problems before they occur. 24 Tivoli Decision Support 2.0

25 Understanding Tivoli Decision Support Roles Knowledge Engineer Product Manager Sales Manager Supervisor Support Analyst The Knowledge Engineer role represents an individual responsible for creating and maintaining the knowledge base used to resolve requests processed by the call center. The views captured by this role allow the Knowledge Engineer to do deep, root cause analysis of problems, assess the overall health of the knowledge base, and determine the effectiveness of the knowledge base. The Product Manager role represents an individual responsible for managing a product offering or service offering. The views captured by this role help the product manager determine how well the product is supported, help determine the overall health of the product, and help provide insight into the customer and the market. The Sales Manager role represents an individual responsible for managing the sales process and the associated sales resources. The Supervisor role represents an individual responsible for managing the analysts who handle interactions between the call center and customers. The views represented by this role help the supervisor determine the group s overall performance and effectiveness in handling calls and resolving requests. The Support Analyst role represent an individual responsible for managing interactions between the call center and customers. The views represented by this role help analysts to determine their overall performance and effectiveness in handling calls and resolving customer requests. Using Decision Support Guides 25

26 Understanding and Creating Tivoli Decision Support Guides Support Manager The Support Manager role represents the manager responsible for running a support center. The views captured by this role help the manager determine how well the support center is performing and whether it is effectively utilizing resources. Packaging Key Business Information with Decision Support Guides Overview Decision Support uses Decision Support Guides to aid in discovering key information. With this information, Decision Support becomes a powerful end-user solution. This solution provides users with a comprehensive set of views into their enterprise s service and support data. Along with the views are methods (including algorithms, queries, and reports) for abstracting key business indicators from the business data. Managers can use these indicators as key business information to improve efficiency, performance, and profitability. Decision Support Guides organize and group common topics around similar concepts and allow users to immediately gain Decision Support from transactional data. As an example, call center management is one concept, while knowledge assessment is another. The Call Center Management Guide enables you to gain insight into the performance of the call center. The guide provides views that relate to how well you are managing interactions, how well people are managed, and how well requests are managed by your business. Guides contain algorithms, queries, reports, views, and business models that best represent a business concept. Guides can be very robust and contain several hundred views and multiple business models. Or, they can be very 26 Tivoli Decision Support 2.0

27 Packaging Key Business Information with Decision Support Guides simple and contain only a few views or reports. For example, the Change Management Guide has over 50 views into the data with two corresponding business models (called cubes). The Telephony Guide has just over ten views. Some of the views are detailed data reports, while others are views based on the business models included with the Guides. Along with the views, Guides have embedded contextual information associated with views. The context helps users identify, discover, and understand what the view has to offer. For example, as the user views and interprets data in Decision Support, the Tivoli Discovery Interface provides several features to facilitate the user. These features include hints, related views, and keyword searches. No customization, analysis, or programming is required to use Decision Support Guides. By selecting Guides in the Discovery Interface, managers can define the scope of their data searches to yield the most relevant results for their needs. A call center manager, for instance, may want to see only data that pertains to her area of the business. She may not need to review data another department manager needs to review, such as the IT manager. The call center manager can activate the Call Center Management Guide and turn off all other guides. The views shown in the Tivoli Discovery Interface topic map are only those associated with the Call Center Management Guide. Managers can select as many Guides as they want to expand the scope of their data search. For instance, if the call center manager wants to review not only relevant call center data, but also data collected about the health of her business contacts. She selects the Call Center Management Guide as well as the Relationship Management Guide. Now, the views available to her in the topic map are a combination of the two guides she selected. Her scope has changed to encompass more views. Using Decision Support Guides 27

28 Understanding and Creating Tivoli Decision Support Guides Designing a Decision Support Guide Introduction Decision Support is designed to be an open system. Therefore, a Guide can be modified to suit the needs of users, or users can create new Guides. The rest of this chapter serves as an overview to creating or modifying a Decision Support Guide. The person who design Guides can enhance existing guides or create completely new guides. Depending on the desired modifications, designing changes could be as easy as adding new views or modifying existing views. Or, the designer could create a new guide that is integrated into the Decision Support framework. The following figure shows four integration points in the Decision Support framework available to the designer. The first integration point (1) enables modification of a Crystal Reports report or addition of a new Crystal Reports report to the topic map. The second integration point (2) enables the designer to modify or add new PowerPlay reports to the topic map. The other two 28 Tivoli Decision Support 2.0

29 Designing a Decision Support Guide integration points (3 and 4) enable the user to modify the backend queries and model definitions with the Discovery Administrator. Recommended skills and stages To create a new Guide, you should have the following technical skills for optimal results: Database administration You need to be able to determine where the data exists for the PowerPlay cube you want to create. Query creation You need to be able to create SQL statements to query the data sources. Views creation You need to be able to create your own views using a view-generation tool such as Crystal Reports, Cognos PowerPlay, or other application. Model file creation You must be able to create a model file from the exported data file using Cognos Transformer. The general stages involved in building a Guide can be summarized as follows: 1. Decide on a business concept. 2. Map the users work paradigm into questions. Using Decision Support Guides 29

30 Understanding and Creating Tivoli Decision Support Guides The design phase 3. Join questions with key views that satisfy the questions. 4. Reinvent questions from discovery and assumptive research. 5. Create robust business models. 6. Add components to the Discovery Administrator. 7. Add components to the Discovery Interface. Steps 1 through 4 of the preceding summary make up the design phase of the Decision Support Guide development process. Because this phase depends on the expertise of the individual or organization developing the content, multiple methods may exist. The four steps serve only as a guideline for creating your own Guides. To begin the design phase, it is recommended that the designers determine which business processes they wish to assist by using decision support techniques. For example, staffing assessment, call center performance, compliance to service levels, and root cause analysis are business processes encountered by the management of a call center. After the processes are identified, the next step is to formalize a business concept to fit a customer s or department s work paradigm. The concept Decision Support uses is a question metaphor. These questions serve as entry points into the knowledge discovery process. To support this mapping of questions, the Tivoli Discovery Interface groups questions into categories. Within the categories are topics. Topics can be expressed as questions or statements. From there, views that best provide the user with the information they need are associated with the topic. Views that shed insight onto a problem are associated with each question. Views can be designed as: Detailed reports in Crystal Reports Graphical multidimensional views in Cognos PowerPlay References for another analysis engine that is not embedded within the Decision Support framework, such as Microsoft Excel As each question is studied and attached to a view, the designer can identify additional questions that may not have been obvious prior to the design stage. 30 Tivoli Decision Support 2.0

31 Designing a Decision Support Guide Focusing on completeness and determining a minimal set of views that best explain most of the anticipated business needs are important to the design process. If you find a view that seems to highlight a key business process but cannot find a topic with which to associated it, you may want to invent new questions to support the view. This is a natural side product of the discovery and assumptive research processes used to build the Guides. Designing business models With the key business processes and questions identified, the designer must create robust business models that support the decision support process. For the most part, the information captured by Tivoli Systems transactional systems are adequate for the discovery and analysis process. A user may, however, want to classify or categorize similar entities into groups or generate additional business metrics that are not part of the transactional data. In addition, users can create sophisticated metrics that are not readily available from the transactional data. If this occurs, additional models need to be produced. With this in mind, some of the key practices to identify are the following: Business entities Direct access and virtual business measures and dimensions Topic map views and detailed reports Trends to monitor Comparisons between metrics The business models contain two kinds information: information directly derived from the data and information that has been either categorized or generated by algorithms and queries, called virtual dimensions or virtual measures. Using Decision Support Guides 31

32 Understanding and Creating Tivoli Decision Support Guides Creating a New Decision Support Guide Overview After you design a new Guide, you create it. Creating a Guide involves several steps. The following table shows an overview of each of the tasks required to create a new Guide and the order in which the tasks are to be completed. The table also lists the section in which the task is described. Task Create a database for your new Guide Set up 32-bit ODBC data source name (DSN) to database Add DSN to Discovery Administrator Add a new cube Create queries that execute on new data source Assign data source to new query Export query to examine data (Optional) Add calculated column(s) to query Create Cognos Transformer model file (Optional) Add parameters to new cube Add a new Guide to Discovery Administrator Build cube (Optional) Add role(s) to Discovery Interface Described in this section Creating a database Setting up 32-bit ODBC DSN Adding DSN to Discovery Administrator Adding a new cube Creating queries Assigning data source to query Exporting a query Adding calculated columns Creating a model file Adding parameters to a new cube Adding new Guide to Discovery Administrator Building a new cube Adding new roles 32 Tivoli Decision Support 2.0

33 Creating a New Decision Support Guide Task Select new Guide on Guides tab in Discovery Interface Add cube or view files to topic map with associated content Validate data in views Described in this section Selecting a new Guide Adding a cube or view files to the topic map with associated content Opening views to validate data Creating a database Note: You can find additional information about each of the following tasks in the Tivoli Decision Support Administrator Guide and Tivoli Decision Support User s Guide. For information on Cognos Transformer and Cognos PowerPlay, see the Cognos documentation provided with Tivoli Decision Support. You need to use the raw data stored in a database to populate the cubes in a new Guide. The database you use will probably be one already available in your enterprise. Alternatively, you can create one that stores your company s business information. Note: It is beyond the scope of this book to show you how to set up a database. However, you can find an example of a database on the Decision Support CD-ROM. This database is named NATIONAL.MDB and is located in the \samples\data folder. Throughout the following sections, references to this sample database can be found to help you understand the entire process of creating a Guide. Setting up 32-bit ODBC DSN After a database is set up for your Guide, you need to set up a 32-bit ODBC (Open Database Connectivity) connection to this data source name (DSN). To install an ODBC connection: 1. In the Windows Control Panel, choose 32-bit ODBC. Using Decision Support Guides 33

34 Understanding and Creating Tivoli Decision Support Guides Result: The ODBC Data Source Administrator dialog box appears. 2. Choose Add. Result: The Create New Data Source window appears. Note: You may see the Add Data Source dialog box depending on the version of ODBC Administrator you use. 3. From the list of ODBC drivers, select the driver for your database platform. The sample NATIONAL.MDB database is a Microsoft Access database. 4. Choose Finish. 34 Tivoli Decision Support 2.0

35 Creating a New Decision Support Guide Result: An ODBC Setup dialog box appears. Its appearance varies according to the type of ODBC driver you select. 5. In the Data Source Name box, type the name of your ODBC data source. 6. Complete any other required information. Other information may be required, depending on your database platform. 7. Choose OK. Result: The Data Sources Administrator dialog box appears, and shows the name of the new data source. 8. Choose Close. Result: Your ODBC driver is added to the list. Adding DSN to Discovery Administrator You now need to add the DSN to the Discovery Administrator. You can do this manually, or use the Add Data Source Wizard. The following steps show how to do this manually. 1. From the Administrator, make sure the Toggle Wizard Use toolbar button is not pressed. 2. From the Data Sources menu, choose Add. Using Decision Support Guides 35

36 Understanding and Creating Tivoli Decision Support Guides Result: The Add Data Source dialog box appears. 3. From the Datasource Name list, select the ODBC data source to which you want to connect. 4. In the UID box, type your user ID. 5. In the Password box, type your password. 6. In the Qualifier box, type the qualifier you use to fully qualify the tables in your database. Note: If you do not know the qualifier syntax for the database you are referencing, ask your database administrator. 7. Choose OK. Adding a new cube Guides are built around PowerPlay multidimensional cubes and Crystal Reports. Cubes contain the data Decision Support needs in order to display a given set of multidimensional views. Crystal Reports are text-based views generated from standard database queries. Some Guides included with Decision Support use multiple cubes and Crystal Reports. The following sections show how to create and use one cube to form your new Guide. 36 Tivoli Decision Support 2.0

37 Creating a New Decision Support Guide The Discovery Administrator provides two ways to create new cubes. You can use the Add New Cube Wizard or add a new cube manually. The following steps show how to create a new cube manually. Note: For information on creating new cubes with the Add New Cube Wizard, see Chapter 3, Modifying the Way Cubes are Built, in the Tivoli Decision Support Administrator Guide. 1. From the Administrator, make sure the Toggle Wizard Use button is not pressed. 2. From the Administrator pane, right-click the Cubes folder. Result: A submenu appears. 3. From the submenu, choose Add. Result: The Add Cube dialog box appears. 4. In the Cube Name box, type the name for the new cube. Tip: Cube names must be unique for your system. If you enter a cube name that is already used, you are prompted to enter a different name. Also, cube names can be up to 50 characters long and can include spaces. 5. In the Transformer File Name box, type the Transformer file name. Note: If you have not created a Transformer file yet, enter None or any text that will act as a placeholder for the file name. You then need to return to this Using Decision Support Guides 37

38 Understanding and Creating Tivoli Decision Support Guides Creating queries step after creating the Transformer file for the new cube (see Creating model file ) and enter the new Transformer file name. 6. If you do not know which file to specify, choose Browse. Result: The Open dialog box appears. You can use this dialog box to search for the Transformer file you want to use to populate your new cube. All Transformer files must be saved in the shared_source_path\models folder. 7. Choose OK. Result: The Add Cube dialog box appears. 8. In the Description box, type a description of your new cube. Note: The description can be as long as you want and should describe the type of information about which your new cube reports. 9. Choose OK. Result: The Discovery Administrator window appears. The new cube appears at the bottom of the Cubes folder. Also, the Queries and Parameters objects appear beneath the new cube name in the Cubes folder. After you create a new cube, you must create the queries used to populate that cube with data. When you create a query, you must generate an SQL Select statement to return the columns of data that you want to include in your cube. The Discovery Administrator provides two different ways to create new queries. You can use the Add Query Wizard or create queries without the aid of the wizard. The following steps show how to create a query manually. Note: It is recommended that only users experienced with generating SQL code create a new query. For information on creating and editing queries in Decision Support, see Chapter 3, Modifying the Way Cubes are Built, in the Tivoli Decision Support Administrator Guide. 1. From the Administrator, make sure the Toggle Wizard Use button is not pressed. 2. From the Administrator pane, right-click the Queries object for your new cube. Result: A submenu appears. 38 Tivoli Decision Support 2.0

39 Creating a New Decision Support Guide 3. From the submenu, choose Add. Result: The Add Query dialog box appears. 4. In the Query Name box, type a name for the new query. 5. In the Export File Name box, type the name for the text file that contains the raw exported data for the new query. The export file is saved as an ASCII text file to the TDS\Data\Export folder. 6. In the Data Source box, use the list to select a source name for the data source the new query will access. If you need to add a new data source, see Chapter 3, Managing Additional Database Sources in the Tivoli Decision Support Administrator Guide. 7. In the Expiration Life (Hours) box, type an expiration date for the query. 8. If you want to append the results of this query to another exported file, select Append To Export File. Result: A check appears in the Append To Export File checkbox. Using Decision Support Guides 39

40 Understanding and Creating Tivoli Decision Support Guides 9. If you want to enable users to utilize drill through reporting when reports are created, select Export For Drill Through Reporting. With drill through to data enabled, users can explore different aspects of the business, from the highest level of data to the lowest level of detail. Note: If you choose this option, users must be able to write their own drill through to detail report. Otherwise, you can leave this option clear. 10. Click in the SQL Columns tab and type the SELECT statement for the new query. Result: The SQL statement you create is executed against the database platform installed at your site. Decision Support supports any ODBC level 2-compliant database. 11. Choose OK. Result: The new query appears in the Properties pane. If you want to add calculated event code for calculated columns to a new query, you must first choose OK as shown in step 11 and then follow the steps in the "Adding calculated columns" section. Assigning a data source to query You now to need to establish which data source is used to populate your new cube. To assign a data source: 1. From the Administrator, choose the Data Source menu and select Assign Data Source. Result: The Assign Data Source dialog box appears. 40 Tivoli Decision Support 2.0

41 Creating a New Decision Support Guide 2. In the Query Name column, select the new query to which you want to assign a data source. Result: You can see the cube to which a query belongs in the Cube Name column. 3. From the Data Source list, select the data source for the new query. 4. Choose OK. Exporting a query Result: The Discovery Administrator assigns the selected data source to your new query. See Chapter 2, Building Models, in the Tivoli Decision Support Administrator Guide for more information on working with data sources. After you create a new query, you can export the query to examine the data returned. To export queries: 1. From the Administrator pane, open the new cube object folder in which the new query resides. 2. Choose Queries. Result: The cube s queries appear in the Properties pane. 3. From the Properties pane, right-click the query you wish to export. Result: A submenu appears. 4. From the submenu, choose Export. Result: The Discovery Administrator runs the selected query and exports the results to the text file specified in the Export File column of the Properties pane. 5. Open the exported text file in Notepad. Adding calculated columns You can add calculated columns to a query to provide additional analysis of your data that is not available from the database. To create calculated columns, you must have a query created. Using Decision Support Guides 41

42 Understanding and Creating Tivoli Decision Support Guides To add calculated columns: 1. From the Properties pane, right-click the new query you just created. Result: A submenu appears. 2. From the submenu, choose Edit. Result: The Cube Query dialog box appears. 3. Choose the Calculated Columns tab. Result: The Calculated Columns tab appears. 4. Right-click in the Calculated Column window. Result: A submenu appears. 5. From the submenu, choose Add. 42 Tivoli Decision Support 2.0

43 Creating a New Decision Support Guide Result: The Add Calculated Column dialog box appears. 6. In the Column Name box, type a name for the calculated column. The calculated column name must start with a letter, contain only alphanumeric characters (A-Z, 0-9), and can be up to 50 characters long. The name can include spaces, but not extended characters, such as commas. 7. From the Data Type list, select the data type for the new calculated column. 8. Choose OK. Result: The Calculated Columns tab appears. 9. Choose the Event Procedures tab. Result: The Event Procedures tab appears. Using Decision Support Guides 43

44 Understanding and Creating Tivoli Decision Support Guides 10. From the calculated columns list, select the new calculated column. calculated columns list 11. In the calculation event script area of the Event Procedures tab, type the function for the calculated event. Result: When you add a new column, a default calculation event handler is provided that you must edit for your calculated column event. See Chapter 3, Adding Calculated Columns in the Tivoli Decision Support Administrator Guide for information on system objects available for your events. 12. Choose OK. Creating a model file Result: The Discovery Administrator window appears. The next step in creating a new Guide is to create a Cognos Transformer model file based on the exported data file of your query. The transformer file is the blueprint that describes your cube model. Cognos Transformer uses this blueprint to transform your raw data into a multidimensional data file. It does 44 Tivoli Decision Support 2.0

45 Creating a New Decision Support Guide this by receiving your queries, summarizing the data, and packaging the information into a compressed cube file (.mdc file). It is beyond the scope of this book to show you how to create a Transformer model file. To learn how to do this, see the Cognos Packaging Information with Transformer book distributed with Tivoli Decision Support. After you create the new Transformer model file, you should edit the cube. Also, be sure to return to step 5 in the Adding a new cube section earlier in this chapter and type the new Transformer file name in the Transformer File Name box. Adding parameters to a new cube As an optional step in creating a new Guide, you can add parameters to your new cube. Parameters are used to ensure that cubes gather and calculate data according to your requirements. You can change parameters to change the scope of the data that you analyze. You can set the following four types of cube parameters for your new cube: Date range parameters Terminology parameters Mix parameters Categorization parameters For information on each type of parameter and how to set them up, see Setting Cube Parameters in Chapter 2 of the Tivoli Decision Support Administrator Guide. Adding a new Guide to Discovery Administrator You are now ready to create a new Guide within the Discovery Administrator. Guides can be added by using the Add Decision Support Guide Wizard, or manually. The following shows how to add a Guide manually. To add a new Guide: 1. From the Administrator pane, select the Guides object folder. Result: The list of installed Guides appears in the Properties pane. 2. Right-click the Guides object folder. Using Decision Support Guides 45

46 Understanding and Creating Tivoli Decision Support Guides Result: A submenu appears. 3. From the submenu, choose Add. Result: The Add Discovery Guide dialog box appears. 4. In the Name box, type a name for the new Guide. 5. In the Description box, type a description of the Guide. 6. Choose OK. Building a new cube Result: The Discovery Administrator pane appears with the new Guide showing in the Properties pane. At this stage, you are ready to build your new cube to populate it with data. To build the new cube: 1. From the Administrator pane, choose the new cube. 2. Do one of the following: Choose the Build Cubes toolbar button Right-click the desired cube and choose Build from the shortcut menu that appears From the Cubes menu, choose Build 46 Tivoli Decision Support 2.0

47 Creating a New Decision Support Guide Result: The Confirm Cube Build dialog box appears. This dialog box shows the parameters of the cube and asks if you are sure you want to build the selected cube. 3. Choose Yes. Adding new roles Result: The Discovery Administrator builds the cube, populating it with data from the appropriate tables from your company s databases. Tip: You can automate cube building by using the Publish Request Server. For details, see Chapter 5, Automating the Content Delivery Process, in the Tivoli Decision Support Administrator Guide. As an optional step in creating a new Guide, you can create new roles. Roles are descriptions of a user s position or responsibility in a company. To add new roles, you must be in the Tivoli Discovery Interface. Follow these steps: 1. From the Tivoli Discovery Interface, choose the Role tab. Result: The Role tab appears. 2. Right-click in the Role tab. Result: A submenu appears. 3. From the submenu, choose New Role. Using Decision Support Guides 47

48 Understanding and Creating Tivoli Decision Support Guides Result: The Add a new role dialog box appears. 4. In the Title box, type the name of the new role. 5. In the Description box, type a description of the role. 6. Choose OK. Selecting a new Guide Result: The new role appears on the Role tab. Make sure Also show me unclassified is selected to see the newly added role. Before you add views to your new Guide, you should turn on the new Guide in the Discovery Interface. To select the new Guide: 1. From the Discovery Interface, choose the Guides tab. 48 Tivoli Decision Support 2.0

49 Creating a New Decision Support Guide Result: The Guides tab appears. 2. Select your new Guide. 3. Choose the Topic Map tab. Result: The Topic Map tab appears. Adding a cube or view files to the topic map with associated content The final step to creating a new Guide is to add views to it. You may already have some views created that you want to add to the new Guide, or you may Using Decision Support Guides 49

50 Understanding and Creating Tivoli Decision Support Guides need to create new views. Tivoli Decision Support provides support for views saved in several different formats, including: PowerPlay (.ppr) Crystal Reports (.rpt) Executable files (.exe) SA-Script reports (.kml) Access database files (.mdb) You also can add a cube file to the topic map to become part of your new Guide. Depending on the experience of the designer, this step may vary in degrees of complexity. This step requires an understanding of either Crystal Reports, PowerPlay, or another application that creates views. One way to create a view for your new Guide is to modify an existing one. With that in mind, you need to open an existing view in the view pane and make the necessary modifications to that view and save the view to a new file name. See Saving Views in Chapter 3 of the Tivoli Decision Support User s Guide for more information on saving views in the Tivoli Discovery Interface. Some of the modifications you can make to a view include the following: Altering the text within the reports Altering how the Crystal Reports are grouped or sorted Altering the scope of how much data is brought back via filtering Adding charts to a report Altering how the data is graphed Altering the dimensions viewed Note: It is beyond the scope of this book to show you how to create views. For information on creating PowerPlay views, see the Cognos PowerPlay documentation included with Tivoli Decision Support. For information on creating Crystal Reports detailed reports, see the Crystal Reports documentation, which is also included with Tivoli Decision Support. To add a view to the topic map: 1. In the topic map, do one of the following: 50 Tivoli Decision Support 2.0

51 Creating a New Decision Support Guide Right-click a view and choose New View from the submenu. From the File menu, choose New View Wizard Result: The Add View Wizard - Step 1 of 13 dialog box appears. 2. Select Add a new view. 3. Choose Next. Result: The Add View Wizard - Step 3 of 13 dialog box appears. Using Decision Support Guides 51

52 Understanding and Creating Tivoli Decision Support Guides 4. In the reports file box, type the path and file name of the view s source file. If you do not know where the source file is located, choose Browse and select the source file in the Open dialog box. Choose Open to return to the Add View Wizard - Step 3 of 13 dialog box. Result: The Open dialog box appears. 5. Choose Next. Result: The Add View Wizard - Step 5 of 13 dialog box appears. 6. In the Title box, type a title for the new view. 7. In the Description box, type a description for the new view. 8. Choose Next. 52 Tivoli Decision Support 2.0

53 Creating a New Decision Support Guide Result: The Add View Wizard - Step 6 of 13 dialog box appears. 9. From the Type list, select the type of view you want to add. 10. From the Icon list, select the icon you want to represent the new view in the topic map. 11. Choose Next. Result: The Add View Wizard - Step 8of 13 dialog box appears. Using Decision Support Guides 53

54 Understanding and Creating Tivoli Decision Support Guides 12. In the keywords box, type any keyword that should be recognized during data searches, so that the new view is included in the search results. 13. Choose Add. 14. Choose Next. Result: The Add View Wizard - Step 9 of 13 dialog box appears. 15. From the Category list, select the category where the new view will reside. 16. From the Topic list, select the topic where the new view will reside. Tip: If you want to add a new category or topic to the topic map, see Chapter 5, Customizing the Discovery Interface, in the Tivoli Decision Support User s Guide. 17. Choose Next. 54 Tivoli Decision Support 2.0

55 Creating a New Decision Support Guide Result: The Add View Wizard - Step 10 of 13 dialog box appears. 18. Select the new Guide. 19. Choose Next. Result: The Add View Wizard - Step 11 of 13 dialog box appears. 20. Select the Role(s) you want to view this report. 21. Choose Next. Using Decision Support Guides 55

56 Understanding and Creating Tivoli Decision Support Guides Result: The Add View Wizard - Step 12 of 132 dialog box appears. 22. Select the views that are similar to the new view. These views will appear on the Related To tab of the Discovery Interface window. 23. Choose Next. Result: The Add View Wizard - Step 13 of 13 dialog box appears. 24. If the new view is a PowerPlay view and is ranked, select the Automatically Rerank my PowerPlay View. Otherwise, skip to Step Tivoli Decision Support 2.0