Cognos Interview Questions


Cognos interview questions will be asked to judge whether or not you are qualified and experienced enough to fulfill the requirements of the job you have applied for. Asking these questions serves two purposes. First, you are able to make the employer aware of your level of competency and second, you also provide the employer with a chance to learn more about what you can do for him/her if qualified. Individuals who feel that merely sending a resume and possessing the requisite knowledge is enough are probably on the wrong side lane. When an employer confirms an interview with you, he/she already has a set of questions ready with him/her that are necessary in order to gauge your ability and measure it against the job requirements, so that it becomes easy for him/her to decide if you can be provided with a chance to serve the organization.

A cognos developer is involved in the development of business intelligence applications and generates reports through detailed analysis of the information according to a standard procedure adapted by the organization. His/her expertise helps the organization to generate results that help in developing and improving business processes that will help in increasing the overall productivity of the organization and increase revenues, which is the ultimate aim of any business organization.

It is mandatory to prepare for the interview and read thoroughly about the questions and answers because only then you gain the confidence to face the interviewer. If you walk into the interviewer's cabin without preparing much, you will only increase your chances of getting rejected because there is a herd of applicants who are equally skilled and willing to work in the position of a cognos developer. We have compiled some interview questions that will help you to face the interviewer confidently and answer the questions correctly, thus taking the maximum advantage of the opportunity to impress the employer.

  1. Explain in brief about Cognos reporting tool. Also elaborate on Cognos connection.

    Answer: Cognos is a tool that helps in data analysis and generating reports from complex databases. Cognos is one of the oldest business intelligence and performance management software. Started as Quasar Systems Limited, it became Cognos in 1982 and was later acquired by IBM.

    Cognos connection is the web portal that facilitates finding, publishing, and managing business intelligence data.

  2. What is data mining in Cognos?

    Answer: The process of retrieving data from hidden trends from a data warehouse.

  3. What is a content store?

    Answer: Content store is the database where the meta data of the reports are stored.

  4. What is a snapshot?

    Answer: Snapshot is the image of a report, and it helps to document the final results as no further changes can be done in the snapshot of the report.

  5. How many types of catalogs are generally used in Cognos?

    Answer: There are four types of catalogs used in Cognos. These are:

    • Personal
    • Shared
    • Distributed
    • Secured

  6. What do you understand by complex report?

    Answer: Complex report is a term used to define reports in which we use various attributes such as filters, calculations, prompts, etc., to analyze the data and gather results.

  7. What are the different type of indexes used in Cognos?

    Answer: Basically, five types of indexes are used in Cognos. They are:

    • Bitmap index
    • Function index
    • B-tree index
    • Reverse index
    • Composite index

Other than the technical questions listed above, an interviewer might ask some questions with an intention of testing you on other parameters than the technical knowledge. These question can include:

Many more questions like these can be asked and with your presence of mind and wit, you can manage to present a versatile personality of yourself to impress and convince the employer that you certainly belong to the league of extraordinary cognos developers. All the best for your interview!


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