Create an Agent

To help individuals who are responsible for business processes manage business events that are time-critical, you can create an agent that examines a data source on a predefined schedule to determine if a business event occurred. When the agent detects a business event, the agent sends a notification to one or more recipients that includes details about the business event.

For example, you can create an agent that will notify you if a specific customer places an order with a value greater than $200,000. The notification initiates a follow-up process with the customer.

An agent appears as an entry in Upfront. Agent entries are similar to other Upfront entries. For example, you can view the properties and create custom views of Agents.

You can provide notification about changes or updates to other types of information delivered through Upfront. For example, you can deliver notifications that are triggered each time an Impromptu report runs. For more information, see the IBM Cognos Web Portal User Guide.

Before you create an agent, identify some important information about the data sources and the individuals responsible for the processes that provide input to the data sources. To select the most appropriate schedule for the agent, you should know how often the data sources are updated. By scheduling the agent to run immediately after the data source update, the agent evaluates the most current data. To ensure that the business event triggers some action, select email recipients that have control over the processes that contributed to the business event.

To create an agent, the IBM Cognos reporting environment must include IBM Cognos NoticeCast. Also, you must have owner or write privileges for the NewsBox where the agent will appear. Anonymous and guest users can’t create agents.

For more information about creating agents, see the IBM Cognos Web Portal User Guide.

Steps

1. In the crosstab, select the row, column, or cell that you want the agent to evaluate.
2. Click the Agent button .
3. In the Agent dialog box, click the Create Agent link.
4. On the Condition page, enter the parameters for the agent.
5. If you are prompted to select a destination NewsBox, click Other NewsBox, select a NewsBox in the NewsBox list, and then click OK.
6. On the Name, Description and Location page, enter the name and description information for the agent.
7. On the Schedule page, choose when to run the agent:
   • If you want the agent to run each time the data source is refreshed, select Run when the Data Source is refreshed.
   • If you want the agent to run on an established schedule, select Run on the following schedule, and then select the schedule you want to use from the drop-down list.
8. On the Send an Email page, enter the information you want to include in the email notification.
9. If you want to receive duplicate emails, choose one of these options:
   • Clear the Suppress duplicate emails for the selected topics check box, and click Select topics.
   • On the Select topics page, select the topics for which you don’t want duplicate notifications, and then click OK.
10. If you want to attach a PDF of the PowerPlay report to the email, select the Include the Report as a .pdf Attachment check box.
11. On the Email page, click Finish.

The agent appears as an entry in Upfront.

For information about editing agents, see Edit an Agent.