Data modeling in Cognos Analytics
Use data modeling in IBM® Cognos® Analytics to fuse together multiple sources of data, including relational databases, Hadoop-based technologies, Microsoft Excel spreadsheets, text files, and so on. Using these sources, a data module is created that can then be used in reporting and dashboarding.
Star schemas are the ideal database structure for data modules, but transactional schemas are equally supported.
You can refine a data module by creating calculations and filters, referencing additional tables, and more.
After you save the data module, other users can access it. Save the data module to a folder that users, groups, and roles can access. This procedure is the same as saving a report or dashboard to a folder that controls who can access it.
Data modules can be used in dashboards and reports. A dashboard can be assembled from multiple data modules.
Intent-driven modeling
You can use intent-driven modeling to add tables to your data module. Intent-driven modeling proposes tables to include in the module, based on matches between the terms you supply and metadata in the underlying sources.
While you are typing in keywords for intent-driven modeling, text from column and table names in the underlying data sources are retrieved by the Cognos Analytics software. The intent field has a type-ahead list that suggests terms that are found in the source metadata.
Intent-driven modeling recognizes the difference between fact tables and dimension tables by the number of rows, data types, and distribution of values within columns. When possible, the intent-driven modeling proposal is a star or snowflake of tables. If an appropriate star or snowflake cannot be determined, then intent-driven modeling proposes a single table or collection of tables.