TUG Statistics and Reports Group Meeting

Minutes

February 12, 2004 – 9:30-11:00 a.m. – UW Porter Library Room 428

Present: Bill Halahan , Joanne Oud , Linda Teather

Minutes of November 21, 2003

The minutes of November 21, 2003 were approved. They will be added to the TUG Statistics and Reports (TSR) area on the TUG staff web.

Business arising

Reports database bug

George Loney has fixed the keyword bug found in the reports database.

Guidelines and procedures for request form and database

Joanne and Linda confirmed the lists of reports authorizers for WLU and UW.

Functional area	WLU	UW	UG
Acquisitions	Linda Cracknell	Debbie Tytko	To be determined
Cataloguing	Brooke Skelton	Betty Graf	To be determined
Circulation	Vera Fesnak	Alex McCulloch	To be determined
Collections	Joanne Oud	To be determined	To be determined

The group approved the definitions drafted by Gail for the data fields on the request form. Joanne drafted guidelines for the use of the request form for discussion (see agenda item 3).

To do (outstanding items): Ron will consult at UG to determine reports authorizers for UG. Linda will consult at UW to determine the reports authorizer for Collections. Ron will follow up at UG on the sustainability issue raised with regard to the system created by George Loney.

Reports listserv (tugreports-l)

The introductory message has been revised and installed. TUG Managers were informed about the listserv in Joanne’s Nov. 28, 2003 update. Charles will subscribe TUG Managers to the list immediately before TSR activates the list. The group agreed to implement the listserv at the same time as the request form and status database.
TSR update for TUG Managers

Joanne sent a TSR update to the tugmanagers-l list on November 28, 2003.
New Upfront theme

Bill Oldfield reviewed the work required to create a new Upfront theme to prevent inadvertent deletions. Gail created and implemented the new theme and developed a workaround for deletions using a Trash Can. The TUG Reports Training Team incorporated the new deletion process into the Level One, Session Two training program.
Server support document

Linda sent the server support and backup documents to TOMG. Both documents have been added to the TSR area on the TUG staff web.
Documentation review

Gail discussed the documentation review with the Training Team. Linda reviewed the documentation for two reports and cubes and forwarded comments to TSR. As time permits, Bill and Gail are revising the sample reports to remove confidential information.
Training Team update

Joanne, Linda and Ron worked with Training Team members at each institution to inform staff about the training sessions. The option of practice sessions and script review with TSR was discussed with the Training Team. Level One, Session One (Overview of Cognos Upfront) and Session Two (Cognos Impromptu) training has been completed. TSR members recognized the hard work of the Training Team and the success of their training programs. Joanne noted that the WLU trainers are thinking of following up with some function-specific sessions for individuals or small groups at WLU.
Server software upgrade

Gail and Bill successfully completed a software upgrade on the production server on November 26.

Audience for PowerPlay training

The Training Team contacted TSR for advice regarding the target audience for PowerPlay training. TSR members discussed the question and recognized that different approaches might be needed to best meet the requirements at each institution. TSR will suggest a multi-level approach, beginning with a general demonstration of the power of PowerPlay for managers and others who work with statistics and reports. This could be followed by sessions on the mechanics of using PowerPlay for the web, advanced PowerPlay web training and some very specialized training for those who use drill-through reports, create reports with the desktop client, publish from the client to the web server, etc.

TSR members suggested a meeting with the Training Team in early/mid March to discuss their evaluation of the first phase of staff training, the next phase of staff training and plans for PowerPlay training by ThoughtCorp for the Training Team.

To do: Joanne will respond to Scott.
Request form/database

The Procedure for Requesting New Reports drafted by Joanne was discussed. Changes suggested by Gail and Linda were approved along with one additional change to the reference to the list of reports authorizers.

Several suggestions for improvements to the functionality of the request form and change request link were suggested:
- Include a field for the group/person’s email address in the “Authorization table” in the support tables
- Email notification of a new report request should be sent to tugTSR alias, the requestor, the authorizer and the contact, if different.
- Email notification of a change request (through the “Add a change request” link in the report database record) to a report that exists in the reports status database should go to tugTSR alias
- Change the column headings in the database search match list from “Title” to “Title – click on link for complete documentation” and from “Ref. No.” to “Ref. No. – click on link to submit a change request”
- Display the report request form definitions to the user when the mouse is positioned over the field name; suggest this could be a new support table so changes can be made via the maintenance module.
To do: Linda will update the Procedure and add it to the TUG Reports Requests section on the TSR web page. Bill will discuss the suggested changes to the request form & change link with George.
Budget for 2004/05 and report to the Steering Committee

The draft 2004/05 budget was discussed. Main expenditures will be for training: phase 2 of ThoughtCorp’s training for the TUG Reports Training Team and technical training for the TUG Cognos System Administrators. TSR members recognized the value gained in 2003/04 from ThoughtCorp’s training program and from Gail’s attendance at the Technical Forum and Bill and Gail’s attendance at Cognos User Days in Toronto .

In addition to items included in Joanne’s Nov. 28 th update to TUG Managers, TSR suggested the following topics for TSR’s report to the Steering Committee:
- TSR’s progress toward achieving the “vision” of the TUG web reports & statistics environment as envisioned in the June 11, 2002 report of the TUG Statistics and Reports Cognos Project; TSR’s timeline/task list update
- The Training Team’s success with the first phase of staff Cognos training and plans for the next phase, including the use of an external trainer
- Gail’s PowerPlay session and poster session planned for EndUser in April
- Benefits gained from Gail’s attendance at the Cognos 2003 Technical Forum
- Server support and backup/recovery procedures on the TUG web
- Taste of the future (Cognos ReportNet product line)
To do: Bill will confirm the estimate for travel and registration for the Technical Forum and Joanne will update the 2004/05 budget. Joanne will meet with the Steering Committee on Feb. 25 th .
Review of timeline and tasks
The TUG reports timeline and task list was reviewed and updated to reflect progress since the last review on August 6, 2003 . The updated table is appended below.
Next Meeting

Joanne will call the next meeting before March 12 th. Agenda will include a run-through of Gail’s PowerPlay session to solicit TSR input before the deadline for submission of EndUser handouts. This might be a joint meeting with the Training Team.

TUG Reports Timeline and Task List - Revised Feb. 12, 2004

Status	Task
Completed	Implement a TUG Stats and Reports [management] group Establish Cognos Access Manager on PCs of selected staff Complete upgrade of Cognos software on all staff PCs (version 6) Upgrade Impromptu 5 reports & catalogues to Impromptu 6 Review Project Charter with managers/Approve Distribute upgraded ( 5 to 6 ) Impromptu reports & catalogues to all staff Develop UpFront portal organization & customization Complete testing of web reports test server Appoint training team Complete security model Develop archiving procedure Confirm cube archiving schedule with functional managers Negotiate with TOMG weekly rebuild schedule Complete initial review of all cubes by key cube users (Acq, Cat, Circ & selectors) Complete set up & install of web reports production server Train Training Team in web and desktop applications Clean up files from “tug-repts” area on UG server Upgrade Impromptu 6 reports to EPS7 Upgrade selected staff PCs to Cognos Enterprise Series 7 Train staff in Cognos web clients for Impromptu Draft guidelines/procedures for request form & database
Nearing completion	Complete Impromptu reports documentation & link to database
Ongoing	Test with TOMG impact of cube rebuilds on servers Complete testing of web reports production server Train Training Team in cube content Review documentation content with Training Team & key reports users
Deferred	Review options for establishing priorities with managers, etc. Establish method for setting priorities (TSR will set priorities if needed, until impact of implementing request form & database are assessed)
Dropped	Fill UpFront design position Continue writing Impromptu reports to use EPS7 catalogues
Completion goal
Winter 2004	Review & improve documentation template with Training Team & key reports users Demo request form & database to managers & reports users Subscribe TUG Managers to reports listserv Announce reports listserv to TUG staff Develop guidelines for cube review Identify groups responsible for cube review
Spring 2004	Train staff in Cognos web clients for PowerPlay Train Training Team in basics of Impromptu reports