General

How does Sigma work?

Reports are configured in Sigma Studio by operation or IT users. Report consumers log-on to Sigma Application (portal) and generate or schedule the reports that they have access to based on their entitlement.

What skills are required to use Sigma product?

Sigma Studio facilitates quick configuration of reports using single-click and drag-and-drop interface. Sigma Studio users are expected to have knowledge and access to the functional schema or web services so that they can configure the data entities required for the reports.

Report consumers can easily access the reports they are entitled to view in the Sigma Application (portal) and can either generate ad-hoc reports or schedule reports.

I want to use Sigma. Whom to contact?

You need to clear online Sigma assessment with minimum 75% score. Reach out to ravikumar.babu@intellectdesign.com for training and assessment.

The assessment will have 30 questions (multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank). The duration for assessment is 30 minutes. A maximum of three attempts are provided to clear the assessment.

What is Sigma Studio and Sigma Application?

Sigma Studio is for configuring the reports and their functional data entities. Sigma Application is a portal for report consumers to generate and schedule reports that were configured in Sigma Studio. Typically, Sigma Studio is used by the operational or IT staff who have access and aware of the functional data entities and need to create reports for end-users. Sigma Application is used for end users (report consumers) who need to generate ad-hoc reports or schedule reports. Sigma Application can be used by operational staff who need to generate reports on behalf of customers.

Which formats of reports can be generated using Sigma?

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

Where are the generated reports get stored?

The generated reports are stored in the server where Sigma is deployed. However, you can specify custom location to store the reports, such as a specific target folder, FTP directory or cloud storage.

What to do when multiple notifications are sent instead of one?

Multiple emails get triggered even though only one entry in the table (OD_PENDING_MAIL) from where CT picks up records to be sent as email. In such cases refer these kind of errors found in the SystemOut.log (WebSphere log).

WTRN0006W: Transaction {0} has timed out after {1} seconds
For example:
```
WTRN0006W: Transaction 00000188D7CBD648000000455D953708CCA97D4013E3EDB45FD179E3597A7D478393378300000188D7CBD648000000455D953708CCA97D4013E3EDB45FD179E3597A7D478393378300000001 has timed out after 120 seconds
```
Solution: Increase the total transaction lifetime timeout and maximum translation timeout in seconds. These settings can be updated through the WebSphere Application Server console, using Servers > Server Types > WebSphere application servers > server_name > [Container Settings] Container Services > Transaction Service
Reference links : https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/troubleshooting-java-transaction-service-jts-problems
https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/was-nd/8.5.5?topic=server-transaction-service-settings
WTRN0037W: The transaction service encountered an error on an xa_recover operation. The resource was com.ibm.ws.rsadapter.spi.WSRdbXaResourceImpl@1f5b7ee3. The error code was XAER_RMERR.

Solution:
Run the following commands as user SYS:
```
grant select on pending_trans$ to <user>;
grant select on dba_2pc_pending to <user>;
grant select on dba_pending_transactions to <user>;
grant execute on dbms_system to <user>;  //If using Oracle 10.2.0.3 or lower JDBC driver 
grant execute on dbms_xa to <user>; //If using Oracle 10.2.0.4 or higher JDBC driver 
```
In the above commands, <user> is the username configured in the Oracle datasource's authentication alias.
Reference link : https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/exception-occurs-during-recovery-oracle-database-transactions

Sigma Studio (for Configuring Reports)

Are all the formats automatically enabled for all reports?

No. The report designers (Sigma Studio users) can configure or enable specific formats for each reports. Report consumers or generators (Sigma Application users) can generate the reports in the enabled formats only.

Does Sigma store functional or business data in its schema?

No. Sigma fetches the functional data from the configured data entities at the time of report generation.

How does user entitlement for reports work in Sigma?

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 Sigma Studio. The entitlement must be configured for the reports. Sigma provides role-based access to reports in Sigma Application based on the entitlements configured for the reports. When users log-on to Sigma Application (portal), they get to see the reports that they are entitled to view.

What are the integration options Sigma provides for functional data required for reports?

Sigma Studio provides following integration options for fetching functional data - Database, JNDI, REST Web Services, Excel Import, and Google Sheets.

Can we create a DB datasource with SQL statements in Sigma Studio?

Yes, in Sigma Studio you can create datasource with SQL statements. Alternatively, you can create datasource for DB tables, views and stored procedures.

I want some SQL statements to be executed before a report is generated in order to prepare the data for the report. Is this possible in Sigma?

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

What level of control Sigma provides for the report columns?

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

Can the configuration to change the font size be turned off?

Not enabled as of now. It is always turned ON.

Is it possible to aggregate column data in Sigma?

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

Average
Count
Maximum
Minimum
Sum

Does reports have RTL support?

Yes.

Can Charts be included in the report?

Yes. The App Designer feature in the Sigma Studio can be used to create the chart as a 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.

Is it possible to password protect the report files in Sigma?

Yes. Password protection can be enabled for PDF, DOCX, and XLS formats. Refer Configuring Password Protection for Reports for more information.

Can the template used to render the report be modified?

In Sigma Studio, the HTML editor in Template Designer can be used to design the reports. Refer Template Designer Configuration.

In the data builder what is the difference between record and object?

Record is a combined selection of rows in the table.

Object is an individual selection of an item in the table.

What is a derived column?

A custom column that can be used for computation purpose to deduce a value and use in report. Refer Adding Formulas in Data Aggregator for more information.

Can derived columns be created based on conditions?

Yes and it achieved in two ways:

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

Using the Java Expression Language (JEXL) conditional statements in the Derived Column field in Sigma Studio.

Can data entitlements be controlled, e.g. Generate the reports for a specific set of clients?

Yes, based on system filter and default filter.

What is the maximum number of columns that can be configured in the report?

You can add columns without limits. However, the column length (width) must be specified appropriately to avoid error scenarios.

For example, if your 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.

When the report / data source configuration changes is it enough to run the generated report again or should a child report be created?

When the data is updated, it gets reflected when you run the report. However, the structure of the database should not be changed.

In cases where data is aggregated and there are no child records, instead of printing an empty page with no data message, is there a configuration to avoid adding it in the report?

Yes. Open the report in Sigma Studio, in the Report Parameters tab use the Generate output for no data drop-down to control report generation.

End of report message should be a configurable option in cases where data aggregation is used.

Currently the End of Report option is enabled for all. However, you can modify the End of Report message in the Add Labels screen with report configuration.

Can we have drop-down values or list box (multiple selection) as report parameters while generating reports in Sigma?

Yes. Refer Enabling Drop-downs for Report Filters for more information.

Can we include a report in another report?

Yes. Refer Sub-Reports for more information.

How to view the Data builder performance metrics?

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

Column Name	Description
APPLICATION_ID	SIGMA
DATA_SRC_ID	It displays all the data source ID used in the Data builder.
REFERENCE_KEY	A unique key is generated, when a report which has data builder configured is generated and hence this can be used to analyze the metrics of that particular report instance.
DATA_SRC_INSTANCE_ID	A random data source instance ID is generated.
REFERENCE_TYPE	REPORT
DATA_REQUEST_INFO	It displays the query of the SQL data source, if not {} is displayed.
ROW_COUNT	It displays the number of records fetched.
CREATED_DATE	It displays the report generated timestamp.
FETCH_TIME	It displays the time taken to fetch the functional data.

When the report bursting is resumed, does it kick-start all instances or start from the next upcoming instances?

Report bursting schedules are executed like a 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.

Sigma Application (Portal for Generating Reports)

What actions report-consumers can perform on Sigma Application (portal)?

Report consumers can perform the following on Sigma Application (portal):

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 if configured
- Choose contacts and notification channels
Save base reports with customizations
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 group reports

How to view a report generated a week back?

In Sigma portal, on the Generated Reports tab, you can use the 24 Hours, 3 Days, and 7 days filters to view older reports.

How to view the reports generated in Sigma?

Once a report is generated successfully, it can be downloaded from the 'Generated Reports' tab in Sigma Application.

How to combine multiple reports into single file?

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

What are the report scheduling options in Sigma?

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.

Is it possible to set multiple schedules for a report?

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

Where can we find the logs for Report Schedule?

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

What are the notification options available for reports in Sigma?

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 Sigma Studio.

How does Sigma handle report generation failures?

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.

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