Candidates who will be appearing for the Cognos interview round must be well prepared with all levels of questions to be asked. They are confused about where to start from. So for all those candidates who are willing to get prepared for this interview round, can check out this article for an idea of the questions that can be asked. In this article, we will be covering both basic level questions and that certain high-level questions at the same time. So, without wasting any further time let’s get started with it.
Cognos Interview Questions with Answers
1. What do you understand by the word name Cognos and how it relates to IBM?
Answer: The word is derived from the Latin word “Cognosco”. This word has a beautiful meaning which says “Knowledge that is gathered through personal experience”. Later in the year 2008 Cognos was officially granted by IBM and used as a software to analyze and develop business reports and other related services.
2. What is the role of Dynamic Cube?
Answer: This is mainly present in the memory Online Analytical Program (OLAP). They provide services to load data from the relatable source.
- This is mainly supported for the version IBM Cognos BI 10.2 or above that.
- The main role of this is analyzing reports and another task that involves great usage of data.
- It also provides higher performance for data handling.
3. What are the advantages of Cognos?
Answer: There are several advantages of using Cognos. Some are discussed below.
- Cognos can be run on any operating system. Which makes the task easy for the user as they do not require to install it on changing the operating system.
- It is a very reliable software that helps in analyzing and developing reports with maximum accuracy.
- Also, it is considered cost-efficient.
- Supports all RDBMS (Relational Database Management System).
- Having multiple chart options that include, crosstables, bar charts, etc.
4. What do you understand by prompts in cognos?
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Answer: This feature is mainly used to find any information in a report. This can be easily done with the help of prompts.
5. What are the various types of prompt in cognos?
Answer: There are different types of prompt for cognos that are mentioned below:
- Value prompt.
- Text prompt.
- Date prompt.
- Time prompt.
- Date and Time prompt.
- Select and search prompt.
- Textbox prompt.
6. Explain Drill Through Report?
Answer: This is mainly done to link one report to the other.
7. What is cognos impromptu?
Answer: This is a tool that is mainly used to provide business intelligence reports.
8. What are the different types of report in cognos?
Answer: There are several types of report in cognos.
- Blank report.
- Chart report.
- Cross report.
- List report.
- Repeater report.
9. Mention the different gateways that are used in cognos?
Answer: There are different gateways that are used in cognos as mentioned below:
- Common Gateway Interface (CGI).
- Internet Service Application Interface (ISAPI).
- Tomcat Server.
10. Explain Query studio?
Answer: This is a tool that is used in cognos to create queries and also it deals with the reports.
11. What is the use of cardinality in cognos?
Answer: In simple terms, cardinality can be defined as the interconnected relations in between the tables. Provided below certain relations between the tables:
- One to one.
- One to many.
- Many to many.
- Many to one.
12. Discuss data minimg?
Answer: As we all know what mining is. So simply data mining is nothing but to trench out the data from the clusters of data kept in a warehouse.
13. What is actually Snapshot?
Answer: It is required to make a comparison of your present report with the previous one. The main role of this is to copy the data of your present report and give a comparison with the older one.
14. Explain difference between Standard and Metrics Folder?
Answer: The difference between standard and metrics folder are discussed below:
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| Standard folder | Metrics folder |
| This actually works like a storage or a container of all existing folders. | This folder is different from the standard folder and is mainly used by the metrics studio. It is mainly used to store metrics and other related information. |
| Also, it simple resemblance it’s task just as the local computer. | This folder can be opened directly while in the metrics studio. |
| This folder can be differentiated by it’s yellow color. | This folder can be differentiated with it’s color. This is actually blue in color. |
15. Discuss the difference between Data warehouse and Enterprise Data warehouse?
Answer: When the organization is big the responsibilities are also big to handle. There are multiple data and files to store. So almost every organization separates their important documentation and files in a big storage area called a data warehouse.
On the other hand, certain data is confidential and kept secured in the companies warehouse which is known as the Enterprise Data Warehouse.
16. What is the difference between Macros and Prompt?
Answer: The difference between macros and prompt is discussed below.
Macros: This is nothing but a set of instructions that is used to run various applications.
Prompt: Whereas, the prompt is completely different from macros. This specifies the pattern in which the data will be displayed in your respective reports.
17. Explain cognos powerhouse and why it used for?
Answer: This plays a major role in rapidly increasing the productivity of the applications. This helps in creating a highly productive and reliable business platform for web-based or client-based access.
18. Explain the difference between list reports and crosstab report?
Answer: The difference in between list and Crosstab reports are discussed below.
List reports: This is completely different from the crosstab report. In this, the report is segmented into rows and columns. Moreover, this is a detailed analysis in comparison to the crosstab report.
Crosstab report: This report is also shown in grids. Also, contain rows and columns. But this is not as detailed a report as the list reports.
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19. Explain Cognos ReportNet?
Answer: This is used for reporting applications. Moreover, this does not require any additional software to access. We can simply access these through a web browser directly.
Components require for Report Net are as follows:
- Framework manager.
- Report studio.
- Query studio.
- Cognos connection.
20. Explain the difference between static and dynamic conditions?
Answer: The difference between static and dynamic conditions are discussed below.
Static condition: While you run the report and if the condition of the report does not change this is known as a static condition.
Dynamic condition: On the other hand, if the condition changes every time you run the report that is known as the dynamic condition.
21. Explain cube?
Answer: This is to be said in simple terms is a multi-dimensional view of dimensions and also measures. This is mainly used in analyzing the data in various ways using methods like slicing and dicing.
Download the list of questions in .PDF format, to practice with them later, or to use them on your interview template (most asked Cognos Interview Questions):
Conclusion
I hope the questions and answers discussed above would be like a crash course for the students who are shortlisted for the interview round in Cognos. I hope this article would be helpful for all the aspirants. Also, if you genuinely found it helpful then please do share it, Thank you.
References
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