a. Common Operating Picture Synchronizer (COPS) was designed to provide a means of common visibility to Human Resource Command (HRC) and Major Army Commands (MACOM) personnel strength managers. The system provides users a single view of authorization and strength data for enlisted and officer personnel. COPS presents a view-only capability of existing data derived from multiple sources and initial access was limited to select HRC and MACOM staff. COPS is instrumental in resolving personnel management issues as we rapidly transform the Army. Currently, HRC utilizes the Personnel Management Authorization Document / Updated Authorization Document (PMAD/UAD) to manage strengths based on authorizations while MACOM managers utilize both The Army Authorization Documents System (TAADS) and PMAD/UAD. COPS enables users to see both management documents simultaneously. The system also incorporates personnel strength information extracted from existing EDAS and TOPMIS data. COPS merges this authorization and strength data to create a common operating picture. HRC will continue to manage strengths based on the PMAD/UAD and will not perform off-line personnel management unless fully documented. COPS provides the capability to view authorization and strength information, by specialty and grade, at the MACOM, Distribution Management Level (DML), Distribution Management Subordinate Level (DMSL), Parent Unit Designator (PUD), and Unit Identification Code (UIC) levels. Strength projections can be displayed for up to six months, at one-month increments. Additionally, COPS provides a drill down capability to view assigned strength at the individual Soldier level. This capability enables the user to concurrently see officer and enlisted assigned strengths for the current month, down to the individual Soldier level.
State theTerminal Learning Objective
NOTE: Tell the students that all of these references are not required for COPS operations, but are provided for their information, to aid in identifying specific requirements for manipulating the system.
b. The following references assist HR personnel in managing strength
c. COPS receives updated information from the Integrated Total Army Personnel Database (ITAPDB). ITAPDB receives authorization updates directly from TAADS and also from PMAD/UAD through Enlisted Distribution Assignment System (EDAS) and Total Officer Personnel Management Information System (TOPMIS). Strength Managers can then pull information from COPS through the World Wide Web (www), which goes through the Human Resource Command (HRC) portal, which then goes through the Cognos Web Server before finally reaching the COPS system.
NOTE: Tell the students that the first part that will be covered is how to access COPS and the tools available to help users better understand how to operate the COPS system.
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d. COPS can be access directly typing the web address https://www.ahrceprp.army.mil/cops. Once at the home page, click on the COPS icon near the bottom of the page.
e. Accessing COPS system requires an Army Knowledge Online (AKO) account and then an additional authorization to access the COPS system.
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f. The COPS Home Page is the initial entry page for all users. This a generic information page to provide functional descriptive comments. The HRC COPS portal can be accessed 3 ways:
g. There are other useful tabs in the COPS Home Page:
h. Data Sources - reflects the time and date the COPS system was updated by different Human Resource (HR) systems such as PMAD/UAD, TAADS Auth, Total Army Personnel Database - Active Enlisted (TAPDB-AE), and Total Army Personnel Database - Active Officer (TAPDB-AO).
i. Functional Comments - reflects COPS related news to include new version releases and COPS system functionality upgrades, faults, and fixes.
NOTE: Have students access HRC COPS portal through one of the 3 links available.
j. The HRC COPS web portal is the user interface and the starting point to view, find, organize, and share HRC Cognos reports. The HRC portal contain a personal NewsBox, which is the first listed item from the left panel. The second listed item from the left panel is the NewsIndex folder and its subfolders. The personal NewsBox is the user’s NewsBox where customized and prefabricated reports can be saved and easily located for quick access. These include:
k. As a preference and to avoid having to expand to COPS - FOUO every time, users can make COPS FOUO as their home page by clicking on “View” then choosing “Set This View As Home”.
j. As a reference, listed in alphabetical orders are icons used in the COPS system and a brief explanation of its function, Page 1 of 2.
k. As a reference, listed in alphabetical orders are icons used in the COPS system and a brief explanation of its function, Page 2 of 2.
l. Users can access the “Help” feature of the system by opening up any COPS Cube then clicking the “Question Mark” picture located near the bottom center of the page. Users can also click on the “Up Arrow” by the question mark picture and select “Help” from the 3 options that appears. Clicking on the help feature will open up another window for an online help.
m. In the Online Help, users will have 3 tabs to choose from:
n. Power Play Quick Tour is a demonstration of the Cognos system, not the COPS system specifically. Users can access Power Play Quick Tour two ways. One is through the Online help. Under the “Contents” tab, click on the “Take the Quick Tour” link. Another way to access the Power Play Quick Tour is through the COPS-FOUO NewsBox. In the COPS-FOUO NewsBox, click on “FORCE ANALYSIS”, then choose “Power Play Quick Tour”.
o. The “Return To Source” icon located by the bottom right corner of the window allows users to the original menu, i.e. the COPS-FOUO page.
NOTE: Tell the students that the next part that will be covered is the different COPS functions available to users in the COPS system.
a. Users can open the different COPS cubes from the COPS-FOUO page. Users can begin their analysis by choosing one of the available report or cube. The common COPS cubes are the By Month View, the Tri-Month view, and the Non- Availability view. The Power Play Cube of data is a consolidated summarized view of data based on an X - Y intersection of data. This display is the common starting point for most cube analysis. Typical of Power Play, the last row will be the roll-up summary of data. The row can display a breakdown of the Active Military as displayed above.
b. The Cube is a multidimensional data source, which contains measures and dimensions, organized to provide faster retrieval and drill-down analysis. The Dimension Line, Dimension Viewer, Measures, and Dimension Categories are all fundamental Cognos Cube terminology. We will be using these words most frequently to help identify the data we are viewing. A Dimension is a broad grouping of descriptive data about a major aspect of a business, such as products, dates, or markets. Each dimension includes different levels of categories in one or more drill-down paths, and an optional set of special categories.
c. COPS by Month cube displays information for the current month and each projected month out to six months. The default view can be described as follows:
d. Two important notes to remember about the COPS system is that it did not initially account for commissioned officers in the specialty field, i.e. medical, chaplain, and JAG. It recently just started accounting for the medical field, to include the dental and veterinary services and these numbers are now reflected in the system. It still, however, does not account for the Chaplain and JAG branch. Additionally, Soldiers in a promotable status are reflected as gain in the system. However, if users drill through all the way to the by-name list of the gains roster, these promotable Soldiers will not be reflected. Only true physical gains to the unit will be reflected in the roster.
e. COPS Tri Month cube reflects the same strength information as the COPS by Month View cube. Additionally, it also reflects the current month’s projection for strength in 3 and 6 months.
f. COPS Non-Availability cube contains the assigned strength, the current month PMAD, the current month TAADS, and the current month TAADS Required measures. The Non-Available roster reflects non-deployable strengths to include Absent Without Leave (AWOL), Conscientious Objector, Profiles, and other status.
g. The “Explain” feature is an excellent method of identifying the data cell in question. This feature is activated by first selecting the cell in question. After selecting a specific cell, the explain feature can be activated by either right clicking on the cell or clicking on the “Explain” icon located near the bottom center of the window. The Right-Click option from the mouse will produce a small window with two options, “Agent” and “Explain”. Selecting the “Explain” option will open the Explain split screen. The “Explain” icon will also open the Explain split screen view. The Explain split screen will simply identify to the user which column and row the user is focused on. It will also display any other actions performed. To deactivate the Explain split screen, simply click on the small X to close.
h. The Drill-Down concept is the process of opening data to view a lower level of detail, when available. For example, when you want to see the pay grades for the Enlisted Active Military, simply click on “Enlisted” and it will expand to display all pay grades for enlisted personnel. Where the mouse becomes a finger is where the data can be drilled down into detail. The drill down and the filter function are almost alike. Notice how the data category when selected reflects at the top of the dimension line. When the drill-down is no longer available, the lowest level of detail information has been reached.
i. The Drill Up is the reverse process of drill down. Drill up removes the child categories of data and resets the data up to the parent level. The Drill Up category is typically the summary row or column common in the data cube display.
j. Filtering is focusing the data to specific categories and values. This is the process of funneling the data into a more refined and specific value of the data. For example, the data can be restricted to a specific Major Command (ARQODA) and/or Special Qualification Identifier (SQI). The filter capability can be activated either from the Dimension Line or the Dimension Viewer.
1.Applying Filters:
A. From the Dimension Line, click on the down arrow for a specific dimension and
select the desired category.B. From the Dimension Viewer, you open the appropriate Dimension folder and
locate the desired data category. Right click on the chosen category and select
Filter.
2. Removing Filters:
A. To remove all filters, click on the reset icon.
B. To remove a single filter, from the dimension viewer or dimension line, filter on the
parent level.
k. Zero Suppression is the action of suppressing a row or column when all the values for the complete row or column is zero. When Zero Suppression is applied, the words “Zero suppression” will appear near the bottom of the window. Users can execute Zero Suppression by clicking on the icon directly located at the bottom of the window or by clicking at the up arrow located to the right of the icon and choosing from one of the 3 options.
NOTE: “Blank” data are Soldiers records that are inputted into the system with errors. These are identified and fixed at HRC.
l. There are 3 dimension control functions located at the top right corner of the window.
m. “Find” function can be executed two ways. One is by clicking on the up arrow to the right of the “Help” Icon (Question Mark picture) located near the bottom center of the window. Once another window opens up, choose “Find” from the 3 options. The other way to execute the “Find” function is to right click on any white space. Once another window opens up, click on “Find…” from the 4 options. Once “Find” is chosen from either method, a “Find” window opens for users to enter search criteria.
n. Users can search the current report or cube to find specific dimensions or measures in their data. Finding specific items in highly complex and large dimensions can significantly speed up the analysis time. The different find criteria are:
1.Search string - users can search for text in a category or measure based on the following criteria without concern case sensitivity:
A. Contains
B. Begins with
C. Ends with
2. Find text in - lets you choose where to conduct your search:
A. Report - searches the current report
B. Cube - searches all data in the cube
3. Dimension - designates which path the search will take. The choices are the same as the Dimension Viewer. The search results provides the category name and full path.
NOTE: Tell the students that the next part that will be covered are the different operations that can be performed in the COPS system that can help users in manipulating reports to produce a desired result.
a. Row values and Column Values can be replaced with another dimension data or lower level detail. By right-clicking on a dimension folder or category in the dimension viewer, i.e. MACOM (ARQODA), users will have the options to replace the rows or columns.
b. Swap Rows and Columns is the action of changing the row values with the column values and vice versa. This allows the user to view the data from a different perspective and can sometimes reveal more meaningful information. This is just for the user’s preference on how he or she wants to view the data.
c. To perform disconnected operations, the ability to save a file as a PDF or a XLS file is available. The user has the ability to save any display and save the data to a file for future reference. To save a report, users must click on the “File” icon located at the bottom of the window. A window will open up and the user must choose the format of the report to save. Once the format is chosen, another window will open up and the users can choose to either open, save, or cancel the process. When the user choose “Save”, another window will open up to allow the user to name the report and choose the location to save the report to. The different formats for saving the reports are:
d. A nested report includes summary information for nested categories. For example, the summary for military grouping, i.e. a summary for all the enlisted, a summary for all the officers, and a summary for all the warrant officers. The following are the steps for nesting categories:
e. Another way to nest categories is by clicking on the category you want to nest from the dimension viewer and
dragging it to the row nest level or the column nest level area. As you drag the category over the nest level area, the area becomes highlighted. The row nest level area is located in the far right of the row heading area. The column nest level area is located at the bottom of the column heading area. To nest a category from the dimension line, click the dimension, locate the category you want to nest, and then drag it to the row nest level area or the column nest level area.
f. Another way to remove nested categories is by right-clicking on the level selector area for the nested category and then clicking on “Delete”. For nested categories, the level selector area is located to the immediate left of nested column categories and immediately above nested row categories. To use the level selector toolbar to remove a nested category, click the level selector area for the nested category. On the level selector toolbar, click the “Delete” button.
g. Ranking adds ordinals to a report so users can compare categories to one another. For example, a report that outlines current assigned strengths for all for all MACOMS. Users can add a rank category to this report to see which MACOMS have the highest current assigned strength. Categories are ranked by their value in a specific row or column. The rank ordinals appear in a new row or column. The labels and values of the rank category are italicized. The rank results can be unsorted, meaning that they are not in numerical order, or they can be sorted in ascending or descending order. For example, when you rank products by their value in the “Cur Assigned” category, PowerPlay Web adds a rank column to the report that shows what place each unit came in. If a user wants to see the top ten unit with the highest assigned strength, they can sort the rank category to arrange the ordinals in numerical order. The number of the population result can be adjusted according to the user’s needs. Rank categories and sort orders are automatically regenerated whenever there is a change to the report data. Users can display more than one ranked column or row at a time, but they must do the process one at a time. PowerPlay Web reports with rank categories can be exported to PDF, CSV, or Excel format. The following are the steps for creating a ranked report:
h. Users can also use the “Rank” button on the PowerPlay Web toolbar to add, delete, edit, or rename a rank category. Right- click the column or row you want to base the rank category then click on the “Rank” icon. The new rank category appears in the PowerPlay Web Explorer report, to the right of the selected column or under the selected row.
i. Users can define subsets of categories in PowerPlay Web Explorer based on specified criteria. When users create custom subsets of data, users can isolate, explore, and analyze specific elements of their data. Subsets can be dynamic, meaning that they can be updated whenever a change in the cube data affects the categories in the subset. For example, a division commander wants to analyze the troop allocation in his region for the airborne only. You create a category subset defined by search criteria that all FORSCOMS contain the text “airborne". As more airborne categories are added to the cube that meet the search criteria, they are added to the subset dynamically.
j. Users can create subsets of categories by search criteria, by measure value, or by individual category selection. Users can also create a category subset for a dimension directly from the crosstab in a PowerPlay Web Explorer displayed report.
k. The custom subset of categories must contain only categories in the same dimension. Users cannot nest a subset within the dimension from which it was derived. Also, users cannot nest a subset within a subset if they are both from the same dimension. When users create a new category subset, the subset appears in the dimension viewer. Users can create, edit, and delete category subsets only in PowerPlay Web Explorer. In PowerPlay Web Viewer, PowerPlay for Windows, and PowerPlay for Excel, you can open, but not edit, PowerPlay Web Explorer reports that include category subsets. Here are the steps for using category selection.
(1a) On the PowerPlay Web toolbar, click the Custom Subsets button. .
(1b) In the Custom Subset Name box, enter a name for the category subset. This name will appear as a new report category in the
dimension viewer.
(1c) In the Dimension list, select the dimension on which you want to create the category subset. Click Select Categories, and click
Next.
(2a) In the Available Categories list, expand the categories, and then select the categories you want to appear in the subset.
(2b) Click the Add to Custom Subset button to move the selected categories to the Result Set list. When you create a category
subset by selecting individual categories, the categories are static and remain in the subset until you delete them.
(2c) To remove a category from the Result Set list, select the category and click the Remove from Custom Subset button.
(2d) Click Finish.
(3) The PowerPlay Web Explorer report shows the category subset. In the dimension viewer the subset appears as a new category.
a. Drill Through operations lets the user drill through from the Major Commands to the subordinate commands all the way down to a detail report at the individual Soldier level. Key thing to remember when conducting drill through operations is that it must be done in a specific sequence.
b. To conduct a drill through operation, users must choose the cube they want to work with and open it. For this example the “COPS By Month View” will be used.
NOTE: The drill through reports for the gains and losses will no longer show the projected Promotion Gain Loss types even with the filter off. For example, the above drill through is looking at the number for All Gain Loss Types of 19, but of those 19, there are 8 that are promotion type records. Therefore, when users execute the drill through, they will only see 11 records. The 8 promotion types will not be displayed.
b. Drill Through is the ability to open another report in another software application. This creates an added ability to provide even more data to display for the user. At this time, software incompatibility issues prohibit users to drill through all the way down to the individual soldier level. Users running on Adobe Acrobat Reader version higher than 7.0.3 is unable to view individual soldier’s data. This is an Adobe issue, not a COPS issue, that has already been addressed by HRC. The data can also be drilled on the measures for all gains, all losses, and all projections.
NOTE: Tell the students that the next part that will be covered are the different ways to manage COPS Reports.
a. The split screen view is an excellent way to display a graph and detail data together. When selecting a display, PowerPlay web gives the flexibility to change the graph and the split screen area for maximum visual effect. The available graphs are listed as follows:
b. Data can be hidden and revealed (Unhidden) at any time within the report. This action is available to create custom views of a report. Row Values or Column values can be hidden or revealed.
Users can selectively show or hide any category in a report, including precalculated categories that were inserted when the cube was created. When users hide categories, the summaries in the report are not affected.
c. To hide a single category, right click on the category you want to hide, and then click “Hide Selection”.
d. To hide multiple categories, click on the row or column space first and then click on the hide/show icon. From the “Visible Categories” column click on the categories you want to hide and click on the left arrow to add them to the “Hidden Categories” column. To move categories back, highlight them and click on the right arrow. Click “OK” to complete the action.
e. Users can combine rows or columns to obtain a new item based on a custom calculation. For example, users can add the total strength of lower enlisted personnel (E1-E4). Users can perform the following calculations - add, cumulative percent, subtract, rollup, multiply, exponentiate, divide, accumulate, percent, forecast, and percent of base. To perform the calculation, select the desired category to calculate and click on the Calculation Icon. Select the type of calculation desired and select the second category to calculate with the first selection. Click ok to view results.
f. The “Save As” action in PowerPlay web saves the current display to the user’s Personal NewsBox. The Personal NewsBox is the users NewsBox where customized and prefabricated reports can be saved and easily located for quick access. The “Return to Source” icon will always take you back to the NewsBox or NewsIndex that the browsing started from. To save a file after creating a report, click on the “Save As” icon. When a new “Save As” window opens up, provide a name for the report and click “OK”. The report’s default save location is the user’s personal newsbox. To retrieve and view the report, click on the user’s personal Newsbox. An important thing to remember when saving a report is that you are only saving the format, not the data. This means that when users try to retrieve today a report they saved last month, the format of the report will still be the same but the data will be today’s data, not last months.
g. “Other Newsbox” allows users to save reports in a public Newsbox for other users to be able to access. After creating a report, click on “Save As” and a new window will open up.
NOTE: Advice students that they should always save a master copy of the report in their personal Newsbox. Any reports saved in the public Newsbox can be changed by individuals that access it.
a. Ron Drew is the main POC for the COPS system at HRC. Oanh (Female) is his assistant.
NOTE: Reiterate to the students the importance of COPS and how it can be useful to them as a Human Resource Officer.
NOTE: Open a forum for students to ask questions.
Restate the Terminal Learning Objective