Cognos Source Control Integration
Store Dashboard JSON, Report XML and other specifications to GitHub, GitLab and Azure DevOps.
What is Cognos Source Control?
Cognos Analytics is an AI-fueled business intelligence platform that supports the entire analytics cycle, from discovery to operationalization. As content development grows, so does the demand to keep versions and monitor changes of the reports, dashboards, models, etc.
Why GitHub?
GitHub and GitHub Enterprise is a web-based hosting service for Git repositories to manage source code and revision history, and to track defects, feature requests and tasks. "More than 40 million people use GitHub to discover, fork, and contribute to over 100 million projects". This makes it the most popular source control, with no string attached.Add / Push / Commit
After changes are made to an object in Cognos and validation tests performed, the Developer can easily check in the new specification directly from Cognos Portal.
Each push synchronizes Source Control repository with the Cognos object specification.
Creates an entry in the Source Control repository with the developer's signature that indicates who, when and why did the change. This synchronization flow is based on the Source Control repository process, saving the steps to extract the specification from Cognos and creating a file/tree structure in the Source Control repository.
Adds a comment that the Developer provides in Cognos.
Cognos Source control offers automation through a script which can be run on a schedule.
Supported Cognos Objects
Reports, Queries, Analysis, Dashboards, Models/Packages, Stories, Data Modules, Templates, Explorations, Notebooks
Dynamic hierarchy
The extension connects to a predefined Source Control repository. The repository can be set per environment, or a combination of environments. For example /master/Dev, /master/UAT, etc.
Content Tree is further extended dynamically (at add/push/commit) to match the Cognos Folder/Package hierarchy with same folder names and structure, as they are defined in Cognos Analytics environment.
Update / Push / Commit
After additional changes are made to an object in Cognos and validation tests performed, the Developer can easily check in the new version specification directly from Cognos Portal. If an entry already exists in the Source Control repository, the application compares the Source Control repository version and the new one. If the new version is the same, it will not be pushed to the repository. If the new version is different, it will be saved as new with the developer's signature that indicates who, when and why did the change (commit message).
Pull
If previous specifications of the same object are already stored in the Source Control repository, the user will be presented with a list of versions with date/time of commit, user committed and commit message, up to predefined versions. The user can select any of the previous versions and commit back to Cognos Content Store. The current version of the object in Cognos will be overwritten for all users.
Download
Any submitted version of the specification can be downloaded locally to the user's environment. A list of the last (configurable) number of updates are displayed with their commit messages and users that pushed the specification. After selection, the specification is downloaded through the browser. This specification can be modified further or used for manual upload into a different Cognos Environment.
Easy Install and Configuration
Cognos Source Control is distributed as a Cognos Analytics extension and is easily uploaded to any environment, version 11.x that supports extensions. System Administrators can assign permissions to Groups or individual users to use the extension.
In addition, the implementation can be extended to suit Client additional requirements.
Cognos Source Control is a pre-packaged solution provided as a paid subscription, ready for deployment in Client’s environments. The service includes setup and configuration assistance; warranty and latest updated versions.