Sigma FAQs

CT- Sigma is a cloud-ready Data Enterprise Application powered by Intellect’s Canvas Technology Platform. It enables users to create Dashboards & Reports  based on data from multiple systems/ sources on the fly.

Reports are configured in SigmaStudio by operation or IT users. Report consumers can log-on to Sigma Application (portal) and generate or schedule the reports they are entitled to access (based on the entitlement settings).

Sigma Studio is used for creating the reports/ dashboards. It facilitates quick configuration of reports & dashboards using single-click and drag-and-drop interface. Typically, Sigma Studio is used by the Bank’s operations or IT staff who have access and are aware of the functional data entities and wanted to configure reports or dashboards for end-users to consume.

Sigma Application is used by end users (report consumers) to generate and schedule reports. Sigma Application can be used by Bank’s operations staff or business users who need to generate reports on behalf of customers.

• Configure data

  • Create Data sources from database, or web service

  • Merge data from multiple sources / systems & create formulas using data builder option

• Formatting & Customization

  • Create labels, group, sort & filter data

  • Choose Paper, Layout, font, format fields

  • Add customizations at Client Level

• Execution of EOD reports through Online

• Entitlements setting & permissions

  • Configure entitlements to set up which data needs to be accessed by which user

Report consumers can perform the following actions:

• Generate and download reports.

  • Choose report formats from among those configured.

  • Change column positions.

  • Add or remove configured columns.

  • Change column-level configurations.

  • Change report orientation and page size.

  • Use sort and group by columns.

  • Choose contacts and notification channels

• Save base reports with customizations as derived reports.

• Regenerate executed reports.

• Schedule reports.

  • Configure multiple schedules for a report.

  • Configure retry frequency in case of failures.

  • Pause, resume, and delete report schedules.

• Create report groups.

Please write to canvas.technology@intellectdesign.com for any assistance / requests regarding SIGMA, and the team will get back to you accordingly.

Sigma Studio supports the following connections for fetching functional data – Different Databases (i.e.Oracle, MySQL, POSTGRES, SQL), JNDI, REST Web Services (APIs), MS Excel, Amazon S3, Amazon SNS, Google Sheets etc.

A data source is a unique source created from any data root source that is already connected. The data sources should have a unique name and can be configured from any data root source, be it a database or an excel file.  Please refer to Data Sources creation in SIGMA for more details.

Yes, you can create data sources from DB with SQL statements. Alternatively, you can also create data sources from DB tables, views, and stored procedures. Refer Applying constructed queries for SQL Data Sources for more details.

Yes, you can execute stored procedures as pre-hooks before a report is generated. Refer Using Stored Procedure as pre-hook for Creating Reports for more details.

Yes, you can use the data builder feature to create an aggregated data source, connecting data from multiple sources (irrespective of their data root sources). Refer to Join Types in DataBuilder for more information.However, the data will be processed in application memory. Hence, sufficient care to be taken while creating the data aggregator.

Record is a combined selection of rows in the table. Object is an individual selection of an item in the table.

Refer the CT_DATA_SOURCE_METRICS table, to view the Data builder and SQL query data source performance metrics collection in detail:

Yes. The App Designer feature in the Sigma Studio can be used to create the chart as an individual app (widget). The Template Designer in Report configuration can be used to map the chart to the report. The generated report displays the chart and the report data. Refer Improve Business Reports with Charts.

Sigma Studio supports the following Chart Types:

• Bar

• Column

• Doughnut

• Pie

• Funnel

• Pyramid

• Multi-series combination

• Bubble, Scatter and more.

Also, support the 3D version of the following chart types: Bar, Column, Doughnut, Pie, Multi-series Bar, Multi-series column, Stacked Column, Stacked Bar, Multi-series combination and Pareto.

Sigma enables generation of reports in the following 7 formats - CSV, DOCX, HTML, PDF, TXT, XLS, and XML.

No. The report designers (Sigma Studio users) can configure or enable specific formats for each report based on their business requirements.

Report consumers or generators (Sigma Application users) can generate the reports choosing the respective formats from the formats enabled for that report in Sigma Studio.

Sigma does not have any internal storage to store any functional or business data. The generated reports are stored in the server where the Sigma application is deployed. However, the user can also specify custom locations to store the reports, such as a specific target folder, FTP directory or cloud storage on need basis.

Sigma provides role-based access to reports in Sigma Application based on the entitlements configured for those respective reports. When users log-on to Sigma Application (portal), they can view those reports that they are entitled to view based on the entitlements configured.

The users and roles must be defined in the authentication and authorization system. The roles must be re-defined and mapped to the entitlements in SigmaStudio.  Refer Enabling Role-based access to reports for more details.

Using Sigma Studio, you can configure the following for report columns:

• Column positions

• Column alignment (by default number/amount columns of float data type are automatically right aligned)

• Column width

• Column data aggregation (average, count, maximum, minimum, and sum)

• Display names for columns

• Column visibility

• Column datatype

• Date and time, currency formats

Yes. Sigma Studio provides following options for aggregating report columns' data:

• Average

• Count

• Maximum

• Minimum

• Sum

Yes, Sigma supports RTL capability. Refer Right-to-Left Text Capability for more details.

In SigmaStudio, the HTML editor in Template Designer can be used to design the reports. Refer Template Designer Configuration for more details.

A derived column is a custom column which is created to perform computations using multiple fields in the aggregated DS, and store computation values to use them in the report. The computation formulas used between fields is restricted to use only JEXL operators. Refer Adding Formulas in Data Aggregator and JEXL Operators  for more information.

Yes, and it achieved in two ways:

• Using the CASE WHEN expression in the SQL select statement itself.
  OR

• Using the Java Expression Language (JEXL) conditional statements in the Derived Column field in Sigma Studio. Refer JEXL Operators for more information.

A derived report is a customized report version where the user can customize all the values (like filters, format etc.) in the report and saves them as a local copy in Sigma Portal for themself. These derived reports  help in saving time for the user as the users can use these reports (with all selections in place) every time instead of customizing all the options again and again.  Refer Saving reports with custom configurations for more details.

No, currently a derived report created by one user can only be consumed by that user.

A user can add any number of columns without any limit using Sigma. However, the column length (width) must be specified appropriately to avoid error scenarios.

For example, if you specify 10 characters for an address column, the values for that column should not exceed that limit. Also, depending upon the number of columns, the report page size and orientation needs to be configured accordingly.

Any changes in report / data source configuration (without any changes in the structure of the database), will be automatically reflected in the report whenever it is regenerated. However, any changes in the structure of the database, will require a new report configuration for the changes to be reflected.

Yes, the report pivot option is available in Sigma. Refer Pivot reports for more details.

Yes, this is feasible and supported in SIGMA. Open the report in Sigma Studio and navigate to the Report Parameters tab. Select the Generate output for no data drop-down to control the report generation in these cases.

Though the end of report option is enabled for all, it can be modified using the report configuration option under Add Labels Screen in Sigma Studio.

Yes, drop downs or list boxes can be configured for reports in Sigma. Refer Enabling Drop-downs for Report Filters for more details.

Yes, any report can have another report embedded into them so that the main and the sub reports are connected by a common measure (primary key). Refer Sub-Reports for more information.

Once a report is generated successfully, it can be downloaded from the 'Generated Reports' tab in Sigma Application post which the report can be accessed accordingly Also, the status of the generation will also be shown here with various status messages for easy tracking.

In Sigma portal, on the Generated Reports tab, select the 24 Hours, 3 Days, and 7 days filters to view reports that are generated in the past accordingly.

1. Sigma Studio provides support for the following currency formats:

• Indian

• EURO

• US

• South Africa

• Egyptian

Sigma Studio provides support for the following languages:

• English

• Arabic

• Chinese

If you need to add a new language to the Sigma application, Refer /wiki/spaces/sigma2021/pages/2577957192 for more information.

Yes, Sigma enables you to create incremental reports with simple and efficient configurations. Refer Incremental Reports for more information.

You can retrigger the failed schedule based on the number of retries provided in the configuration of the report scheduling. Refer Scheduling Report for more information.

Yes, SigmaStudio enables you to protect your PII data by masking the relevant data and configuring passwords for the reports. Refer Data Masking and Password Protection for more information.

Yes, Sigma enables you to perform specific actions like  displaying the grand total, average,    count, etc, for a column in a report. The “Select Group Header” attribute in Sigma Application helps in the same. Refer Totals and Subtotals in SIGMA for more details.

Yes, passwords can be set up for report files in SIGMAStudio to protect your data. Refer Configuring Password Protection for Reports for more details.

The password feature is applicable for PDF, XLS, and DOCX formats only. XLS reports when password protection  must be opened in Microsoft Excel only.

Yes, the report can be scheduled to run to get the report data in incremental mode from the last report generation. Incremental reports can be scheduled on an hourly, daily, weekly or monthly basis as per needed. Refer Incremental Reports for more details.

Yes, the report header and footer can have some free text and can be templated using the Template Designer feature. Refer Static Content using Template Designer for more details.

Sigma Studio provides support for the following report formats:

• PDF

• CSV

• HTML

• XML

• XLS

• DOCX

• TXT

You can combine multiple report outputs into a single file using the Group Reports feature. Refer Grouping Reports in Sigma for more information.

Grouped Report output can be generated in 3 different formats based on the requirements shared.

• If you choose the Individual File option, PDF and XLS formats are supported.

• If you choose the Single File option, PDF and XLS formats are supported.

• If you choose the Multi Sheet option, only XLS format is supported.

Report consumers can schedule reports in the Sigma Application (portal) in the following frequencies:

• Minute

• Hourly

• Daily

• Weekly once

• Monthly

Refer Scheduling Reports for more information.

Yes. In Sigma Application (portal), multiple schedules can be set for a report.

The logs for the Report Schedule are displayed in ctschedulerLog.log file in Sigma.

Yes, Sigma allows you to do two-layer templating.

1. Delivery medium level (SMS, SMTP or INBOX)

2. Delivery status level (Success or Failure) 

Refer Notification Template for Reports for more information.

Sigma Application (portal) users can choose either SMS or email notification and select contacts or contact groups that must receive the notification when the report is generated. The contacts and contact groups must be defined in SigmaStudio.

Yes, the report bursting feature on Sigma helps in this. This feature enables you to schedule and distribute single or group reports to multiple contacts and contact groups. Each recipient gets a subset of the report data related only to them. Refer Report Bursting for more information.

Report bursting schedules are executed like normal report scheduling. Pausing the report-bursting process essentially puts it on hold. The process stops at the point where it was paused. If report bursting is resumed, it fires the missed schedules once and continues with the next upcoming instances based on the given frequency. For example, when a report bursting is paused on August 1 and resumed on August 15, it kick-starts the report bursting on August 15 and continues with the next upcoming instances based on the given frequency.

When report generation fails in Sigma Application (portal), users can view the failure reason upon which they can take further action. Sigma also offers options when scheduling reports to specify the  number of times for retrying report generation in case of failures.