Reporting
This chapter describes the reporting feature of IBM Enterprise Records. It covers the following topics:
10.1 Reporting capabilities and considerations
IBM Enterprise Records provides predefined reports that provide a statistical view of activities performed while using the application. An example is a report to show the electronic folders created within a given time period or the review decisions made for entities during a given time period. In addition to using the preconfigured reports, you can also create custom reports.
IBM Enterprise Records now supports two report engines:
•IBM Cognos
•Crystal Report
Depending on the volume of data (records and containers) of the Enterprise Records system and the amount of audit data that has been captured, generating reports can potentially create a tremendous performance load on the underlying databases. Therefore, for a large system, it is critical to ensure that when reports are generated, the impact on the production environment is minimized as much as possible.
For instance, the broader the search criteria, the greater the impact on the performance. All of the predefined reports give you a warning if, when requested, a section of the file plan is not specified (the default is the entire file plan). However, there are other criteria that can also contribute to slow performance. For example, the report titled “Electronic Records Created by a User within a Specific Period” allows a date range and one or more users to be entered. Entering long time periods and many user names could result in poor performance.
10.2 Running IBM Cognos reports
IBM Cognos reports are based on the report engine framework, which exports the data from the IBM Content Platform Engine to a report database. The Cognos report templates (or any reporting tool) can then read that intermediate database and format it for the user.
Running a report from the Enterprise Records application links those steps together to provide an end-to-end solution from the request to the display of the report.
For more information about this architecture, see IBM Enterprise Records Reporting Framework Developer’s Guide in the Enterprise Records installation media (/CognosReports/IER Reporting Framework Developers Guide.pdf).
10.2.1 Configuration
Enterprise Records must be configured to run Cognos reports. Starting from the desktop Configuration window, complete the following steps:
1. Select Open Administration View.
2. Expand the Desktop node, and select the desktop from which you want to run the reports.
3. Select the Reports tab.
4. For “Report server type,” select Cognos in the drop-down list and specify the Cognos Server Configuration and Report Engine Configuration options. For details about those settings, see “IBM Enterprise Records installation and update” in IBM Knowledge Center:
5. Save your settings.
 
Note: The Enterprise Records server must be configured before running any report. See the IBM Knowledge Center page cited previously for how to set up the application for Cognos.
10.2.2 Predefined reports
Enterprise Records provides six predefined Cognos report templates, as shown in Figure 10-1 on page 246.
Figure 10-1 Predefined Cognos reports
10.2.3 Running reports from IBM Cognos
IBM Cognos reports can be run interactively or as a batch background task by using the Task Manager.
Running a Cognos report interactively
To run a Cognos report interactively, follow these steps:
1. Click Report, and then select the report that you want to run.
2. Provide the required parameters for that report.
3. Generate the report.
 
Note: Rather than running the report interactively, you have the option to use the Task Manager feature to run it in the background. See the next section.
Running a Cognos report as a background task
Cognos reports can be generated as a background process using Task Manager. You have the option to schedule the report to run later (at night or during a weekend, for example), when the charge on the system is lower.
When running the reports through Task Manager, the report is generated as a PDF file that is saved to the Content Platform Engine where you specify. This file can then be downloaded to preview or print.
To schedule a report task, complete the following steps:
1. Open Task View.
2. Click the Schedule tab and, from the drop-down menu, select the Schedule Report option, as shown in Figure 3.
Figure 10-2 Schedule report options
3. Create a scheduled report task.
4. Select the report to run and provide the values required by the selected report.
5. In the next window, provide the name of the task to create. If you want to run the report later, clear the Start Immediately check box to set the start time and enter the user name to use at the report run time.
6. In the next window, specify where you want to save the report PDF file in the Content Process Engine. Provide a name for it, and if it contains confidential information, set up the security for the report.
 
Note: Because the report PDF file is a document, it cannot be filed under the Records Management folder of the default file plan object store. You must select a different object store or create a root folder in the file plan object store (FPOS) where the reports will be saved.
7. Then, click Schedule Report.
When the task is complete, you can access the report PDF file by either of two methods:
•By searching for the report in the file location that was defined while creating the task
•By selecting the task in Task Manager and clicking the Result tab, selecting the report, and then clicking Download Report, as shown in Figure 10-3.
Figure 10-3 Download a Task Manager report
10.2.4 Adding a new Cognos report
The Cognos reports can also be customized to an organization’s requirements or, if necessary, new ones can be created. For the details about how to customize or create your own reports, see IBM Enterprise Records Reporting Framework Developers Guide in the IBM Enterprise Records installation media (/CognosReports/IER Reporting Framework Developers Guide.pdf).
10.3 Running reports from Crystal Reports
The interface that Crystal Reports uses to access the data within the IBM Enterprise Records databases is a standard Java Database Connectivity (JDBC) interface.
10.3.1 Configuration
To run reports from Crystal Reports, IBM Enterprise Records must be configured accordingly. From the desktop Configuration window, complete the following steps to configure IBM Enterprise Records for Crystal Report:
1. Select Open Administration View.
2. Expand the Desktop node and select the desktop from which you want to run the reports.
3. Select the Reports tab.
4. For “Report server type,” select Crystal Reports in the drop-down menu, and specify the Crystal Reports server name.
5. Save your settings.
 
Note: The IBM Enterprise Records server and Crystal Reports server must be configured before you run any report. To set up the application for Crystal Reports, see “IBM Enterprise Records installation and update” in IBM Knowledge Center:
10.3.2 Predefined reports
IBM Enterprise Records provides 17 predefined Crystal Reports templates that can be accessed through the Reports feature within Enterprise Records, as shown in Figure 10-4 on page 250.
Figure 10-4 Predefined Crystal Reports report templates
To run a Crystal Reports report, follow these steps:
1. Select the report from the list of predefined reports.
2. Provide the values required by the selected report.
3. Generate the report, as shown in Figure 10-5 on page 251.
Figure 10-5 Report sample: File plan structure
The report is generated immediately and presented in the Crystal Reports viewer application.
 
Note: Different from the Cognos reports, you cannot schedule Crystal Reports reports. Running them interactively from the Report feature is the only option.
These reports can also be customized to an organization’s requirements or, if necessary, new ones can be created. For the details about how to customize or create your own reports, see “Customizing a report” in IBM Knowledge Center:
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