There are multiple approaches to drilling data with Cognos Controller. We’ll take you through several methods in this knowledge base article. #

Trial Balance with Drilldown   #

This is a standard Controller report and can be accessed by: 

• Selecting Group within Controller Classic 
• Then selecting Reports 
• Then clicking Trial Balance with Drill down 
• Once open the “Drilldown” option should be checked under the “Report Type” selection. Users can then select individual data cells for investigation once the report is generated, updating the ‘Drill On dropdown menu to choose the dimension they want to investigate. 

Flat Company Structure  #

Linked to Trial Balance with Drilldown reporting option, it is common to set up a flat group reporting structure. The usage of a single group code within this structure under which all group entities are connected means that the group result can immediately be drilled to all leaf level components. 

However, note that this approach necessitates the use and maintenance of an additional consolidation structure. 

Browse Data  #

This is function available in Controller Classic by selecting: 

• Maintain 
• Then Special Utilities 
• Then Browse Data 

This utility allows you to view database content. This approach requires knowledge of the database table names, headers and run commands, but fortunately this knowledge is readily available within IBM published material.   

This report function is categorised as an Administrator action, so be cautious when assigning user access to this function if you are utilising an On-Premise licensed product as users granted Browse Data access will be categorised as Administrators. See our other article on auditing your Controller users for more info. Typically, this function is restricted to a small central pool of users. 

Web Load  #

Data drill is also available via Controller Web. When data is imported through the Web portal, the content that is imported can be drilled by individual data cell on Web forms. The result is a summary of data content by source account reference.  

For example, Controller Web contains a value of £1,000 on account code P1000 for external sales. When drilled, it presents a breakdown by local account references X, Y and Z, each individually showing balances for 200, 300 and 500. 

FAP Publish to IBM Planning Analytics  #

Controller content can also be seen through IBM Planning Analytics when enabled through the design and set up of FAP data publish. Once Controller content is available within IBM Planning Analytics, the feature rich reporting options available from the IBM Planning Analytics product can be readily used.