In the last post, we had discussed how to get started in upgrading to Cognos 11. Now we will discuss the final steps to upgrade from Cognos 10 to Cognos 11.
Planning the Upgrade from Cognos 10 to Cognos 11
Like any other Cognos upgrades, we start with the 4-stage upgrade workflow:
Stage 1: Create an upgrade Plan
a. Review resources – FAQs, documentation, supported environments
b. Evaluate existing system – audits, surveys, available resources
c. Detailed upgrade plan – milestones, testing, resources
Stage 2: Create the TEST environment and test
a. Prepare the environment
b. Upgrade the content store
c. Test applications, validate existing reports, make new ones to test functionality and data
d. Resolve validation or configuration errors, if any
e. Retest report content
f. Revise the upgrade plan for use in the next stage.
Stage 3: Create the QA or Production environment and finalize
Same steps as the previous Stage 2. However, when you are retesting report content, make sure you are performing comparison tests too to ensure the data is coming out right and the systems are still reliable after the upgrade.
And then, announce that you’re now LIVE!
Stage 4: Add new features, where applicable
This is an additional step we would like to recommend, as recommended to us by IBM Cognos Analytics team, where you should review the new features documentation, and turn on (or off) the features you believe would maximize the productivity, precision and reliability of your business systems. This is where you can call in Team Cresco to make an informed decision for you – contact us here!
ProTip: We suggest you create a checklist of the above steps to make this upgrade more easy on you and your team members.
Important Note on “Ready to Run” Install Option
As you are aware, there are multiple install options available, one of them being “Ready to Run”. Most users get nervous with the “Ready to Run” install option since sometimes the install process stops at 100% for a long time, but remember – this is only so because the service is being started so it is available for immediate use, so that extra time you’re seeing is the installation process PLUS whatever time your system takes to make itself available to you.
However, if there is any issue, drop us a line at info@crescointl.com
Cognos Analytics Lifecycle Manager
Be sure to take advantage of the Cognos Analytics Lifecycle Manager to validate your upgrade. It’s basically a stand-alone application that helps validate and compare report outputs within a single environment, or even between different version of Cognos like Cognos 8.4.x, Cognos 10.1.x, Cognos 10.2.x and Cognos 11.0.x
Want more help? Contact us today!
