HCL INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

1. What is bursting? How can we burst reports and what type of reports can we

burst?

We can run the report once and distribute it to recipients (like email)

Create the report with group fullname and pass the id to mail

Make avlbl for burst options for the report

2. What schema are you using in your current project? What types of schemas

do we use in DWH? Which schema is best and why?

Star schema, star schema and snow fles schema

3. I have customers, region and sales as columns in a list report? I want to

display each customer on separate page?

4. ** How can we improve report performance?

Fwm through governor options.

Report table limits

Outer join options

Sql query with clause

Query execution time

Large text item maximum size

Retrieval of limited rows

Execution method: sequential or concurrent

Query processing: Database only or limited local

Allow local cache

Report page restrict

If conditions take time avoid filter at report level but use in fwm lvl

Pdf mode runs in compression mode

5. What is drill through? Have you ever prepared a drill through report in your

current project, if yes tell me the process how u prepared the report?

Navigation from one report to another report passing a data item value

For detail information

6. On which model can we perform Drill up and Drill down?

Ans : Dimensional model

7. What is Tec specification? How do you prepare Tec spec?

Ans .Based functional design doc and report requirements like filters, parameters

required to pass, enhancement of the report layout, functional rules,

Based on module, Report requirement columns, formatting of data, calculations,

Is it summary or detail or graphical representation of data.

Analysis of the report columns and lay out of the report.

8. How can you prepare a report with dynamically change column names?

Ans. Using Macros

#prompt(‘param_name’,token,’[default_column])#
 9. In a prompt I want to display: ‘select a value from the list below’, instead of

parameter name to display, how can we do it? What types of prompts do we

use in Cognos?

Change the name of the parameter like type inplace of parameter1

Ans . Date prompt, Value prompt, textbox prompt, select & search prompt,

Date & time prompt, Generated prompt, Time prompt, Interval prompt

10. What is model? Explain the process of model

Set of related query subjects & query items define in project

Business presentation of information.

DB layer, Presentation layer (business logic like filters, folders)

11. What is Metadata, and we use metadata in DWH?

Metadata is raw data which has the historical and aggregated data we use for

Analysis

12. ** How prepare multilingual reports?

We can use by report language variable

Use report language

13. Explain the Architecture of Cognos 8 BI? Which version of Cognos are you

using in your project and which version is running in market now? 8.3

It is a tier architecture 1.WEBSERVER which has cognos gateways

2. Application tier
3.Content store

14. What is the ETL Tool are you using in your current Project? (Pl/SQL

manager) then what is data manger and tell the process of ETL?

Datastage

15. What are repeater and repeater table?

Repeater mailing labels, Repeter table (rows and columns )

16. What is OLAP? Difference between OLTP and OLAP?

Meta data and historical data

OLTP users are more OLAP users are less

17. What is a view? Why we create views?

View is a logical representation of the data

18. What is inline View and Materialized View? (physical storage of data)

Materialized view (aggregated data)

19. What is Hierarchical SQL Query?

Which parent and children in the same table like (inner join)

20. What is the meaning of top down and bottom approach?

21. What are the Cognos components we have?

Report studio,Analysis studio, Query studio

IBM Interview

1. What is the difference between union and join?

Combining the both queries into one result set which gives distinct values in the
result set

2. What is the advantage of data warehouse?

1. Beter BI for end user
2.Ease to access , analyze organize inf
3.less responsive decisions can be easily replaced. (helmet free businesss for org)

3. Explain the difference between star schema and snow flake schema? Why star
schema is used in many projects instead of snow flake?

More join in snow flake schema performance is low

Star scema lesss joins

4. What are the layout component references?

Reusing report object.

5. Difference between where and having clauses?

Where to restrict the rows having to summary results

6. Difference between model and package?

Package is a subset of querysubject, query items, folder and filters

Package is subset of model it is stored in content store
Model is stored in file system

7. Explain about list and cross tab?

List which givesthe detail information in the form of rows and column
Cross tab which represent the summarized inf or aggregated data which displays
the intersection of tha data of row dimension and column dimension
Two dimensional

8. What is the need and advantage of using the data warehouse?

9. You have list in that product name, cost, and prices are the columns. When
you select the price in out put product name and cost only displayed with out the
price and the same for price also that means you can select price then you will get
the out product name ,price with out cost column .how will do?

10. What are the differences between Cognos 8.1 and Cognos 8.3?

No data contents

11. Explain about the SCD’S?

There r 3 types
Type 1 : changes made in the source updated in the target system
s
Type 2 : add the row (hostical status)

Type 3: add a new column (partial historical inf)

Previous place and current place

12. You can delete the column from the list report that relates query item from the
query will be deleted or not?

Yes it will be deleted

13. in the prompt page you have value prompt showing n number of employees in
drop down list I want item called ALL such as when you select ALL, all the n
numbers of employees should be selected

Placing condition

14. What is Hybrid schema? (even I don’t know)

Combination of snowflake and star schema.

HP

1. What is the difference between namespace and folder?

Namespace uniquely idenitifies query subject

Folder organize the query subject based in functionality
Folder can’t identify uniqueness

2. Explain the tuff report which you have solved in your project?

YTD , MTe D OR MOVING AVG report , products returned to vendors

3. SQL Query to return all the students who passed in maths and failed in all
other subject.

**4. If you have a report with list and cross tab in the same page. How do you
restrict one user can see only the list and the other user can see both.

Create a Boolean variable #sq($account.defaultname)# = YES or NO

Based on Macro
Report function s macro user can be filters

**5. Will frame work manager in Cognos 8 use cube or is it RDBMS?

Fwm can’t work with the CUBE

6. There are two query items item1 and item 2 .I want all the data of the both the
queries in a single column of report? (Union) (defining query set by union)

IBM SRINIVAS

1. A report contains 4 Lists, I want to display each list on separate page how
can I do it? Page wise report
2. What is layout component reference? How can we use it in reports?
Reuse the report object from one report to another report.

3. What is cascading prompt? How can we use it reports?

Values selected from the user based on value selected in prompt
4. We have 3 list reports in a report? I want display each list report based on
selection? Tell me the process?
Conditional blaock
5. Difference between dimension model and relational model?

Regular dimension & mesure dimension , Relational model dimesion and facts
6. Which schema are you following in your current project?
Star scemhe
7. What is star schema and snow flake schema? Which schema is best and why?

8. Do you Cognos Installation? If yes tell me the installation process?

9. Which SQL clauses we will use in for detail and group filters in Cognos?

Where and having

 10. What is unit testing? How do you do unit test?

Report data validate check with toad native sql, query performance, align ment
Chenages with the data with client,

11. What is the most complicate report having you done? And why?
Moving avg of price
12. Steps to create model in framework manager?

IBM Praveen
1) Tell me the work flow in your project?
2) How do you test your report and what is the process you follow?
Ans) By writing some unit Test cases we check if the report is according to the
Technical Specifications Document, we check the calcs in report by using query
studio ,we check the filters using query studio and we check the data by using
toad
3) What are the steps you follow for increasing your report performance? ***
Ans) trying to eliminate the unwanted data by applying filters at the framework
level, by creating index at the database to fetch the records fast,loking at the
queries created by Cognos and checking if we can achieve the same functionality
with minimum joins etc.
4) Which model you use in your project?
Ans) we use DMR and the schema we follow is STAR SCHEMA.
5) Difference between dimensional model and relational model?
Ans) In a dimensional model we can do the slicing and dicing of data which
allows us to have a 3 dimensional view of the data according to the business need
and in dimensional model we can drill down to the smallest level I.e. the data
granularity is more.
6) How do you identify which model is it?
Ans) when you expand the package in report studio you can easily identity a
dimensional model as the dimensional model has level member’s symbols which
we don’t have in relational model.
7) If I have a report with 10 pages and I don’t have data in one page I want to
hide that page ( for example if page 6 is not having data then report should
display pages 1,2,3,4,5,7,8,9,10 and if page 3 is not having data then report
should display 1,2,4,5,6,7,8,9,10)
Ans) Write a Variable and a and in the page explorer assign the variable to the
page and on the sectioned item
8) For the above question number 7, how will you specify that in the technical
spec document?
 Ans) We build the Tech Spec document as usually but in the comments we
mention the required condition and in the items tab of the tech spec document
we mention the condition which we are applying to the List or Cross tab ,by
looking into which the report developer can easily understand the required
functionality
9) I have a list in first page of my report and cross tab in second page, and the
prompt page has two choices list and Cross tab, if I select list only first page
should appear and when I select cross tab only second page should appear?
Ans) Writing a variable and applying it to whole page in page explorer by
assigning the Boolean variable to the page.
10) How can we create a dimensional model and what are the advantages of using
a DMR?
Ans) we can first create a relational model and from that relational model we
can then select the items and define the relations by right clicking ans selecting
create dimensional model.
11) What is Cognos architecture?

Dispataher runs the cognos services

12) Can we use 2 dispatchers in Cognos?
Ans) Yes
13) Can we have 2 content stores in Cognos?
Ans) No
14) How do you check the whole report sequel?
15) How many days on an average do you take to develop a report and test cases?
Ans) depends on the report mostly not more than 3 days for avg reports
16) What is the difficult report you have done so far?
17) What is the use of setting solve order and how does it work?
Ans) Solve order specifies the order in which the calculations in a report should be
executed if a report has 4 calculated fields and to achieve the business requirement
the 3rd calc should execute first and the 1st calc should execute last we specify the
solve order in query explorer on the 3rd query as 1 and the 1st query as 2 and we
don’t have to specify any solve order to other queries then the 3rd query executes
first and the 1st query executes second and the remaining queries executes .
18) Tell me about your current project?
19) What is render variable and what is Conditional Block?

Render variable is use to block container based on condition rendered, Condional

block is used block object based on block variable

After page run conditional block will do the operation

Render before page
20) A report contains 4 Lists, I want to display each list on separate page how can
I do it?
21) What is layout component reference? How can we use it in reports?
22) What is cascading prompt? How can we use it reports?
 23) We have 3 list reports in a report? I want display each list report based on
selection? Tell me the process?
24) Difference between dimension model and relational model?
25) Which schema are you following in your current project?
26) What is star schema and snow flake schema? Which schema is best and why?
27) Do you Cognos Installation? If yes tell me the installation process?
28) Which SQL clauses we will use in for detail and group filters in Cognos?
29) What is unit testing? How do you do unit test?
30) What is the most complicate report having you done? And why?
31) Steps to create model in framework manager?
PDM

1) Tell me about yourself?

2) Why have you left your previous organization?
I am idle contract ends ( it was not expiring)
3) What is SDLC?
Resource  planning  analysis(detail design ) develop and
implementation
Unit testing deployment
4) You current roles and responsibility in Logica?
5) Why you want to leave your current organization?
6) What are the reports you mostly work on?
List ,Cross tab and Chat (combinatiinteon, line, bar and pie) mostly high lvl
mgmt
7) How often do you interact with your client?
Based on requirement
Once I am not comfortable with businees anlyst for the actual requirement
I interact with client interactin)
Send mail before
8) What is the difference between BO and Cognos?
9) Question on Joining.

HP Interview Praveen

1) Can we insert 2 measures in a cross tab?

Yes
 2) Can we insert a text in item in measures of a cross tab? No

Products
Products

Dimension
sales
Sales
Profit
Revenue
Fact
Fact
Description
Descripti
on

Dimension

3) Looking at the above figure what comes to your mind?

Complex star schema over counting avoid by determinence
4) What are securities?
5) What is access manager and why do we need it? (cognos 7 in securities)
6) How can you restrict a particular person or a group from running a report?
By remove execute option of the users preveliage
7) What is page set and why do we use it?

Break page
8) Scenario which is required to use page set?

9) How can you show the whole report in a single page?

By running in HTML format
Remove no of rows per page
10) What are the items you see in a query explorer?

11) Indexes and why do we need to create an index?

12) Performance tuning?

13) Drill up and drill down will work with what kind of model?
 14) How do you create a drill trough report?
15) Creation of model and how can we create a dimensional model?
Manju HP Interview

1) What is data mart?

2) Fact less- fact table?
Event tracking
3) What is the difference b/t OLAP and OLTP?
4) What is name space where you can see that in FM.? Have you ever created
name space?
5) In which scenario star schema grouping will come? What is star schema
grouping?
Complex star schema when u have conform dimension
6) What is regular dimension and measure dimension?
7) Which model that you’re following?
8) How do you create DMR?
9) What are the security filters in FM? What is object security filer? Where do
you use it?
10) Can we do drill through in report net 1.1?
11) What is generated prompt?
12) Have you used repeaters? How it will work?
13) I want to put date in the bottom of my report? What I will do?
14) I want to put some image how can I do that? What is the procedure to your
photo in the report what the procedure is?
15) I had prompt or report I want to limit the size what is the procedure?
16) I want to see my prompt should show radio buttons how can I do that ( select
uI)
17) What is parameter and prompt?
Parameter is ask to provide value (condition like ?) associated to query)
Prompt we can see interface
18) What is drill through and how do I set it?
19) How do you deliver your report? **
Through the deployment
20) How do you see your report out put once it is delivering?
View output format
21) How do your see your report XML?
22) What is Cognos 8 getaway? What it does?

CGI (common gate way interface)

23) What is access manager does?
24) What is operational data source?
ODS similar to DWH ( it stors recent inf)
25) Frame work is web based or windows based tool?
Parameter map

parameter map is a key value pair which is used to creating conditional query
subject
session parameter is a variable that framework manager associte with a session such
as user name or run local

Stiched query

The event of cross fact table querys reportnet will send to seperate querys to the
datasorce one for each fact table.It will retrive to records set which will be merged
locally by sticing to the common dimensinol records in the each record set

What is the difference between group and association?

group eliminate duplicate values in the report

Association used with grouped item that display data only when the values for
changed