The Data

• Source is NASA's personnel/payroll system.
• Records for every civil service employee in NASA.
• Includes snapshots of workforce composition as of certain dates.
• Includes data on personnel transactions, such as hires, losses and promotions.
• Updates occur every 2 weeks.
• Data is extracted from the database and compiled using Cognos' PowerPlay.

PowerPlay

• Look at NASA workforce information in multiple ways
• Drill down to underlying levels of detail.
• Display crosstabs
• Display bar graphs, pie charts

You can, for example, look at the distribution of employees by occupation and by NASA Center and readily see the differences amongst the Centers. Occupation and location are key dimensions of the workforce.

Other dimensions include:

• Pay grades
• Supervisory status
• Education level
• Retirement eligibility status,
• Gender
• Diversity

You can quickly view data across any dimension.

The numbers that can be displayed include:

• Head counts
• Average salary
• Aggregate salary
• Average age
• Average years of Federal Service
• Others

These measures can be explored as values or as percents of totals.

The Web Server

• Change measures and categories
• Drill down on categories
• Filter categories
• Sort columns
• View charts

PowerPlay Web reports are HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) documents. The only workstation software that's required to view the reports is a Web browser. The two most common Web browsers are supported:

• Netscape Navigator version 3.0 (or higher), and
  
• Microsoft Internet Explorer version 4.0 (or higher).
  

Javascript must be enabled in your browser.

Use the conventions of working in a Web environment:

• Drill down on a category by clicking the hyperlinked category label.
• Bookmark reports.
• Compare versions of a report by opening another instance of the Web browser. (If you're using Internet Explorer, you can't use the New Window command of the File menu to open another instance of the report.)

Web report components

• The dimension line enables you to put filters on the data and shows you dimensions that have been filtered. The left most icon on the dimension line removes all filters, i.e., immediately takes you to the top level.
  
  

• The crosstab or chart area is where you view and do most of the manipulation of data.
  
  

• The PowerBar provides icons that switch data between columns and rows and move data into graphical displays.
  
  

For more detailed information on how to use PowerPlay:

• Read the PowerPlay features explanation
• Click on the help icon on the PowerBar.

For additional information on the NASA workforce, contact The NASA Shared Services Center