Jim Miller

To insure that acceptable levels of performance and maintainability can be achieved, an “architectural purist” (like me) will want to recommend that when implementing your Cognos TM1 model, great care be taken when deciding where you implement the specific logic that the solution requires. Although there will always be “room for exception” (for example to […]

Every Center of Excellence team must develop the ability to measure and report on the performance of all areas and efforts of the CoE as well as related specific efforts of the organization or practice it supports. Measuring performance allows the CoE to set expectations for current and new work- providing answers to certain key […]

Center of Excellence Any self-respecting Center of Excellence will practice solution assurance by conducting timely solution reviews and assessments as part of their teams design, development and deployment processes.  These assessments will of course require formal “deep dives” into the solutions program code, but at a high level, the following are 5 fundamental questions to […]

TM1 Models will all consist of 4 functional components. These will be Absorb, Configure, Calculate/Consolidate and Consume. Remember: Each component must be kept distinct! Components are purpose based not technology based! Focus on which components add value to the business not ones that are generic to any business!  Now let’s have a look at each […]

On the agenda of every Practice Center of Excellence must be:  “Implement and formalize IP identification and development”. The first step in establishing a program of this type is to clearly understand the concept of “practice intellectual property” – keeping in mind that the “traditional” concept of IP is mostly outdated. Practice leadership must understand […]

I’ve found that an integral part of any practice will be subject matter experts (or “SME’s”) that can provide assistance and direction to engineers who are in the field.  SMEs will often be asked to review, improve, and approve technical work; to guide others; and to teach. Where does an SME come from? SME’s will […]

The most effective approach to establishing a center of excellence within an organization is to start on a smaller scale, with very specific and very realistic goals defined. A famous saying can be applied here “it is not a destination, but rather a journey…” This will be true of every successful CoE imitative. Mistakes and […]

    An organizations center of excellence may begin as an “informal body” comprised of experienced and knowledgeable personnel from the practice, but over time, the COE should get additional powers on the basis of noted contributions to successful projects and receive additional funding to expand the scope of its operations. The following are the […]

Data mining provides organizations with a clearer view of current conditions as well deeper insight into the future. In many previous posts, I’ve talked about IBM SPSS Statistics and Modeler. Here is some basic information: IBM® SPSS® Modeler Professional is the data mining workbench for the analysis of structured numerical data to model outcomes and […]

If your organization has implemented a center of excellence initiative, that’s great! But what should you expect from it?   Here are 5 basic CoE objectives: Sharing Your Center of Excellence should continually strive to identify “practical assets” revealed during project work that could simplify or improve the efforts of the practice it supports. These […]

      For a long time relational models have supported the ability to create virtual tables known as “views” to provide a mechanism that allows developers to customize how their users can logically view data stored in base tables. There is a similar concept in Cognos TM1 known as “virtual cubes”. A virtual cube […]

Reengineering the Forecasting Process with Predictive Models Forecasts usually start as historical performance which is then reviewed and adjusted based upon anticipated events. More mature forecasting may also incorporate generally accepted business rules “programmed in” to help “drive” the data into a forecast. Over the years I’ve deployed uncountable applications which provide the ability to […]